Berlin is pretty too
Apparat - Arcadia (shorter version)
This is going to be one of those times where I tell you about something I like, but it is not going to be available for you for a while yet, so I apologize in advance. I'm sorry. I know you don't like to wait.
The new Apparat album, Walls, is coming out in the middle of May, and I think it will be worth the wait. According to Apparat (aka Sascha Ring) the thirteen tracks on the album are the refined results of over 70 unfinished tracks he had begun working on over the past few years. Four of the songs feature vocals from Raz Ohara, who also appeared on Apparat's Silizium EP, and a few of the songs feature vocals by Ring himself, marking the first time he has sung on a record - in fact, this song (which also appears on Ellen Allien's Fabric Mix) is one of them.
The music itself is downright gorgeous too: a solid combination of popping electro tracks (as in his collaboration with Allien, Orchestra of Bubbles), and loads of actual acoustic instrumentation and strings, with barely-there electronics. Ring is quoted in the press release for the record saying that he "was bored of too much programming. My studio is quite a playground these days. Lots of instruments", and it shows in the wide-ranging sonics of the record. Oh, and interestingly enough, the final mixing of the record was done by Josh Eustis, of Telefon Tel Aviv, who are closely tied to our friends at Hefty.
Walls is being released by Shitkatapult, the label Ring co-founded with Marco Haas, aka T.Raumschmiere, on May 15th. The first single for the record, "Hold On", is out now (I think) and features some excellent remixes by Modeselektor and the Funkstörung follow-up project Chris De Luca vs. Phon.o. Walls will be available via our friends at Forced Exposure and iTunes here in the US, and from the usual Europe sources, like my favorites Picadilly or Boomkat, or direct from Shitkatapult's online store.
Highly recommended.