Music Review: Letterson Twine - Greet In Silence The Glow EP

Letterson Twine is a one-man Electronic project from Berlin, Germany. His music is firmly settled on the deep end of the genre, which is also where he seems to draw most of his inspiration from.  Influences from artists like Burial are unmistakenly present, with deep, rumbling basslines, playful percussion sounds and very atmospheric instrumentation. But he manages to give this well-proven formula a personal twist by building his music on rythms and arragements found in Minimal Techno.

The "Greet In Silence The Glow" EP is Letterson Twine's second release. It was recorded and produced between August 2011 and January 2012. It contains four tracks totaling at just over 20 minutes. It can be downloaded for free on his blog, which I suggest you do, if you're into that sort of thing.

The first track on here is an homage to this EP's muscial godfather, Burial, by sampling some of his signature sounds. Those sounds are being backed up by a hard, pounding contemporary "Club Techno" beat, which are usually not really my cup of tea. But what eventually wins me over is the very rich bassline that, combined with a soft synth sound, creates a soothing atmosphere. In the middle of the track you can make out some vinyl crackle, before the pounding techno beat breaks down into a two-step-like rythm.

The second track picks back up on the Minimal Techno theme, again paired with a soft atmosphere, and a soft xylophone or Glockenspiel melody. It's probably the most "danceable" track on here and also the one I care for the least.

The next song, "What If I Lay My Fate In Your Navigation," starts off with a continually modulated, low-end mechanical synth sound that eventually gets backed up with another deep bassline, a Techno beat and a very soft and playful melody, transforming the whole thing into a very grooving piece of machinery, moving through a lush, rolling, green landscape. This track feels like it could go on for ages, and I would have no problem with that.



The closing track "Video Games" is easily my favorite. On here, the feet pounding rythms get traded for head nodding, filled with a soft, echo-y string section and a thick, wavering bassline. Contrasting a female vocal sample, the deep end of the percussion hits hard, until it basically breaks out and escalates towards the end. The whole song invokes an urban atmosphere; something you'd want to listen to on the way home at four in the morning.

Overall, this EP is a very fine piece of music. The only gripes I have with it stem from the production. In some parts, the low end - be it drums or the basslines - seem too loud for their own good. I feel they would benefit from a softer finish.


Linkage:
http://letterson-twine.blogspot.de/
http://www.lastfm.de/music/Letterson+Twine


Review Disclaimer

Music Reviews, Review Scores etc.

I like it when people like something I like. As such, I want to share my tastes with the world in hopes of a) finding like-minded individuals, or even better, b) enriching someone's life with something they didn't know before. Because good stuff deserves to be shared and celebrated.

As for music in particular and what I'm trying to do, it wouldn't make sense to review and/or share something I don't like. And with that, scores or verdicts or what have you wouldn't make sense, since the fact that I share or review something already means that I like it.

Does that make sense? I hope it does.

So in short: No scoring on music reviews, because I choose not to. Listen and judge for yourselves: If you like it, that's awesome! If not, maybe next time.

In addition to that, if you feel that a band/project/artist you like is something that would be corresponding to my tastes, always throw them my way. Doesn't matter how old, new, or popular it is: Sharing is caring!

How I post Blog?

Tim Schafer once said that a blank page can be scary. I was going to compare that statement to text boxes on THE INTERNET, just to find out that creating posts here on Blogger kind of looks like writing on a sheet of paper. I'm not sure how I feel about this.

Thinking about it, an empty blog seems even scarier. So much potential, so many possibilities. How could this possibly lead to procrastination, doubt, pressure and surrender? I lost count of the times I tried starting something like this.

This is the first post, and usually that's where it ended everytime so far. I don't fully understand why. Something about forcing myself to produce content and, in turn, sucking the fun out of it. That really shouldn't happen. It will not happen this time, god damnit.

And then there's the fact that I'm writing this in English right now. I'm very comfortable writing in English. It has flow and I feel like you can get to the point quicker. But at the same time, I'm afraid of un-learning how to properly write in my native language. It's defnitely already happening. I'll have to work on that.

Anyway.

Are you supposed to make some kind of "mission statement" in a first post? Is that how this works? I don't know. I guess the mission is to write and post whatever I damn well please.

Oh, and whenver I finish a post, I will note (any maybe link) whatever song I'm listening to at that moment. Because music is fucking awesome and deserves to be shared.

Wil Wheaton once quoted someone, whose name I forget, saying that the first 100 things you write will suck. So far, so good?


Endless Boogie - A Life Worth Leaving (Full House Head, 2010)