Electronica

Returning to the full-length format after their much-acclaimed 2012 album HOTEL AMOUR (KOMPAKT 248 CD 95), open band project TERRANOVA (aka DJ/Producer duo Fetisch & &ME) presents new magnum opus RESTLESS - a finely tuned succession of excitingly straightforward house bangers and a brilliant study in gravitational pull. Much like their previous releases, the album was produced in "liquid Terranova soundsystem" fashion - a smooth blend of instrumental and vocal tracks created with the help of old and new friends. For „Restless“, this global family of soul sisters and brothers includes CATH COFFEY, LYDMOR, BON HOMME, STEREO MCS and MANDEL TURNER - all revelling in the wholesome house lunacy that is Terranova's signature move. As the center of a cooperative consortium with shifting focal points, Fetisch & &ME have indeed amassed an imposing expertise in their open-minded approach to production, their cosmic grooves and the high-flying melodies.
Inspired by both interpersonal and interstellar travellings, RESTLESS couldn't have been named in a more appropriate manner, constantly propelling forward its protagonists without loosing the slightest ounce of momentum in between takeoffs. After the meticulously refined, panoramic patchwork of HOTEL AMOUR - which was mostly produced in Paris -, the new album was recorded from November 2014 through January 2015 in Berlin bedrooms and mixed in Keinemusik’s Wedding studio... and these ten cuts have a definitive Berlin flair to them. There's also no mercy for stalling vintage studio nerdism - with the band members taking pride in using banged-up, old laptops, keeping the album's bang-per-bucks sonics slinky and bendy.
Opener TELL ME WHY wastes no time with elaborate countdowns or some ambient pad dragging on - starting out with the characteristic vocals from Stereo MCs front man Rob Birch, the track immediately cuts to the chase with its well- pronounced rhythm section and a simple, but sturdy bass. As is the custom with TERRANOVA, the cameos don't end here - NY house agent provocateur Mandel Turner makes a well-intonated appearance on protofuturistic strobe manifesto UNDERVERSE (refering to a constellation of dark, new stars), while singer Cath Coffey performs on uncanny valley's national anthem TWISTED SOULS, again deploying her unique brand of anarchist logotherapy after last year's HEADACHE EP (KOMPAKT 296). With Bon Homme aka Tomas Høffding, another known collaborator takes a stand on RESTLESS SUMMER, a pinnacled reimagining of "Endless Summer" from the PAINKILLER EP (KOMPAKT 262) - less campfire and more wormhole, his lyrics take on an urgency unheard in the parent track. Tomas is also featured on SKIN & BONES, where he lands a flawless duet with partner in crime Lydmor - equally melancholic and muscular, this one is sure to become a crossover triumph on all sorts of bunfights.
From the sequenced beauty of GOLDILOCKS to the intuitive mayhem of WATCH ME or the ruggedness of house jam LABRADOR, the album is a quest for the outer rim of club culture, looking for habitable exoplanets beyond the main floor. This becomes nowhere as clear as on the appropriately named KEPLER 186F, both a tribute to NASA’s iconic Kepler project and a thrilling amalgamation of pounding drums and sharp synth stabs - the perfect soundtrack to the lumps and bumps of humanity's race to space. This larger-than-terrestrial-life journey finds a suitable conclusion in UCHŪ NO INU, translatable as "dog in space“: it's TERRANOVA's executive producer, driving force and guest vocalist Rocco (the choc labrador) who takes center stage here, lending his lyrical musings to a highly energizing cut and wrapping up the riveting listening experience that is RESTLESS - an ideal sonic companion for dance floors, living rooms and space pods alike.

Electronica

dPico