Berlin-based Cosey Mueller doesn't mince her words. Yet the raw structures on Embodiment of Denial — reduced to a bare-bones framework of synthesiser sequences, techno beats, crunchy guitar and slightly distorted vocals — still possess an organic, personal quality. Although her machine-driven snapshots of urban nightlife initially seem cool and detached, she repeatedly opens up, allowing deep-seated melancholy to emerge and lending her sound a unique quality. This invites her audience into a hidden analogue universe where loneliness, identity and self-reflection are the dominant themes, subversively undermining the cool surface.
In 2015, Germany welcomed almost a million refugees, nearly half of whom were fleeing the civil war in Syria. Among them was Ameen Khayer, who ended up sharing an apartment with Thorben Diekmann in Hamburg. The two men became friends and launched the collaborative music project Shkoon. Arabic harmonies and vocals come together in a tribute to the power of cultural diversity, blending Western underground music with Oriental downbeat. The result is greater than the sum of its parts. While the fusion of different tonal systems, rhythmic interpretations, and languages works harmoniously, the most important element of Shkoon remains the overarching symbolism of equal, transcultural artistic collaboration across the divided European continent — the act of arriving, getting along with one another, and the possibility of peaceful, creative exchange.
Supported by gentle sounds and a light beat, Molly Mogul’s voice seems to come to us from a dream. But her album A Bouquet of Hopes and Dreams has more to offer. Take her single Run, for example, where she moves in a different direction with hypnotic dark electro, a minimalist beat, and raw vocals that convey both independence and vulnerability. Molly Mogul is a multidisciplinary artist, singer and songwriter who blurs the boundaries between music, theatre and dance in her work. Born in Germany, the 25-year-old currently lives and works in Bristol, Munich, Barcelona and Paris. Her music reflects encounters, travels, and intercultural explorations, and she even ventures into covers such as There’s a Light… by The Smiths.
The concept of sustainability first appeared in Sylvicultura oeconomica (1713), a book by the Saxon mining administrator Hans Carl von Carlowitz, who was a pioneer of ecological thinking. In 1973, the German-British economist Ernst Friedrich Schumacher published his work Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics as if People Mattered, in which he advocated a decentralised economy aimed at enhancing human well-being. But why is this relevant here? Because Radical Hope, the new album by Munich-based artist Mathias Götz, who also calls himself Le Millipede, is a concept album about a better, more sustainable future. Its technoid 'nature conservation music' draws on electronic and jazz music, as well as everything in between. Analogue brass instruments take centre stage. The song titles immortalise thinkers and the year of one of their works. They explore how positive concepts have evolved over the centuries and demonstrate that, as the saying goes, hope is the last to die. These brief musical statements serve as tributes to people such as Carlowitz, Lovelock, Spinoza and Joanna Macy, and their ideas and contributions towards a better future.
This is Kreidler's ninth album with the Hamburg-based label Bureau B. While they continue to focus on atmospheric soundscapes, their signature grooves remain, though everything feels airier and less urgent on Schemes. The sound is shaped by numerous nature and outdoor recordings and is rooted in ambient realms, maintaining a delicate balance between spontaneous, playful elements and arrangements that are thought out down to the last detail. Schemes is less a fixed concept than a starting point: structures remain sketchy, allowing for chance and coming across as light and subtly humorous. Recorded at a variety of studios and locations, the trio used field recordings and unusual instruments, such as a giant steel tank. This spontaneous approach is reflected in the open, fluid soundscape — precise yet relaxed, curious and finely balanced.
