Music in all shades of blue… Philip Sollmann aka Efdemin is a German label, permanently associated with the Hamburg label Dial.
He specializes in deep subgenres of house and techno music, but he also came across experimental playing. He cooperated with Dessous, Aus and BPitch Control publishing houses. It leads Berlin's Panorama Bar and other legendary clubs whenever it stands behind the decks.
"Decay" is an album inspired by the artist's 6-month stay in Kyoto, Japan, which aims to find peace in passing and come to terms with the inexorable passage of time. The cover is a collage depicting mountain ranges in various shades of blue – Sollmann admits that so far, it is his favorite artwork.
"Some kind of up and down yes" is one of Efdemin's favorite songs, which is probably why this number opens the album. Deep techno, interspersed with magical, dense sounds and diversified by a mysterious dialogue between a woman and a man, puts you into a trance. "Drop Frame", its wobbly percussion and sonorous bell voices, transport us to the interior of damp, old churches. "Transducer" would be the softest and lightest on the album, if not for the thick, masculine vocalizations, from time to time shaking the wonderful balance of the song. "Solaris" is a tribute to Sollmann's old inspirations – works published under the M_Plant and Axis labels. The title "Decay" is futuristic and overwhelmed by a lot of short, broken, digital sounds. You can freely approach it from foot to foot, and even raise your hands up. "Subatomic" is a stifled gasp hidden at the back of the song and a shyly hammering rhythm, which then rocks the song without hesitation. "Track 73" is a song in which Efdemin himself sings like a chorus, some light phrase about love – you can melt. "The Meadow" is a charming song about the backyard behind Sollmann's studio in Berlin, and "Parallaxis" is covered with cymbal sounds and breathes psychedelia. "Ohara" is the tenth and last track on the album, and tells about… touching music. Lose yourself with this beautiful release!
I rarely like to deal with albums. In electronics, long-playing releases are too much for me. EPs, in my opinion, have an ideal format and are usually just succinct, which I appreciate very much. If the material takes too long and does not get to the 'heart' of the matter, I simply lose patience. Interestingly, I clung to Efdemin's "Decay" like a moth to the light and for now it does not seem that anything will dissuade me from it.
