Kassem Mosse – We Speak To Those review

“Kassem Mosse lives in a nighttime world somewhere on the edge of forever,” we are warned on his MySpace page. Dark enough. But he continues… “Can it all be so simple? Choose your steps carefully, as black holes pave our way through the shadows (…) will the night last forever? I remember nothing.”

Cryptic, slightly sinister, are these mere ramblings or lucid, idiosyncratic thoughts? Who knows. One thing’s for sure, the German maverick – a purveyor of the deep, ambient side of techno and house dipped in a distinctly European aesthetic – is certainly an interesting character. He’s had releases on Mikrodisko and Workshop; comparisons have been drawn with deep house don Theo Parrish and his previous efforts have quite rightly garnered widespread applause and admiration. This time, he goes in on a deep, experimental tip for a release on increasingly eclectic Instra:mental owned label, Non Plus.

“We Speak To Those” begins with the thumping pound of marching drum beats, like hob nail boots trudging down a tarmac path. Solid as steel, the ticking percussive hiss kicks in, along with warm atmospheric waves and melodic vocal snatches. An organic flow of sound is sustained masterfully, with a hint of Autechre in there, and a pervasive sense of drift as sounds entwine themselves around the steady paced tempo, coming in and out of focus like wind down a tunnel. “Hi Res”, on the flipside, completes the package with a tripping, tribal pattering intro, which leads us to a more spaced out, experimental mid section. A warm, evocative background is hinted at behind a flurry of ecstatic sounds and hyperactive kinetics, creating an immense soundscape.

Belinda Rowse