Customer Reviews

Lowflow

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Being a fan of the Orb, I took it upon myself to try out some Fehlmann's work to add to my collection of music. So I purchased Thomas Fehlmann's 'Visions of Blah'. I thought the album was good, but a little lack-luster overall. Not satisfied enough with just one release from Fehlmann, I wanted to give Lowflow a try. This album definatly punches things up a bit and is much more what I was looking for from a strong collaborator with the Orb. I think the album is beautifully done overall and is best appreciated when listened to in its entirety. The tracks are straight forward and skips over any unnecessary ambient noodling which I have been drowning in lately. Lowflow is well worth the money and will be a strong piece to anyones collection.

Thomas Felhmann's back on the attack with LOWFLOW, his outing for Plug Research, after previous appearances on Apollo and Kompakt. This album is much more abstract and hip-hop oriented than those works, as "Goldhaar" attests with its loping beats and Middle Eastern shawms, and into the low-level growl of "Prefab" and the subtle brass menace of "Slinky." Fear not, though, his dub and syncopated tendencies come out on "Lindt," which has a calm bob to its step, and "Hana," with its deep bass. The heavy chug on "Alice Springs" is like a Mack truck running over a daisy, and "Springer" tries to replant those daisies in the aftermath. Oddly, there doesn't seem to be much delight in "Andrea is Delighted," but there's plenty of dub, instead. The deepness and darkness return with "Feat," which lumbers around like a killer in a dark room. And "Fellmaus" ends the album where we started, back with the abstraction and the beats. A good album, but not as compelling as Fehlmann's other work.

This CD is "OK" ...but if you want to hear Thomas Fehlmann because you like the Orb, buy his album "Goodfridge Flowing nine zero nine eight." If you like "Otticker" (Autechre) then buy Lowflow (or buy Autechre's music!).