Recondite – Hinterland

A subtle and understated album of delicately-constructed minimal house, Hinterland is a very personal debut record for Berlin-based producer Recondite, laced with field recordings from his native Bavaria, and inspired by the region's environment and atmosphere. More restrained than his previous releases on labels like Hotflush and his own Plangent, the album showcases a precision-tooled intimacy, with echoing keys drifting across gentle kicks and whispering percussion hits. 

Finding common ground with the polished, melancholic house of Alex Smoke, Recondite avoids the pitfall so troubling to the majority of minimal techno and house producers – his tracks never overstay their welcome, clocking in at the 4 or 5 minute mark, with only a few cuts pushing 7 minutes. The melodic progressions are austere and beautiful, the rhythms hypnotic. The subtlety of their construction also lends them a uniformity – this is an album which will take time to sink in, and risks being overlooked before that happens. [Bram E. Gieben]