Flug 8 – Trans Atlantik

“Krautey-housey-techno” is how producer and DJ Daniel Herrmann (here in his on-off Flug 8 guise) describes his uncompromising, minimal beats. Now there's a premise nigh on impossible to resist; the Frankfurt-based maverick sculpts sparse electronica into hypnotic, shadowy soundscapes. Trans Atlantik is an appealingly catholic set, vaulting from stripped beats (the pulsing title track and Musik Aus Metall) to the haunting Watch Me Grow where Mono Girl's vocals provide warmth amid the chill.

Android recalls prime John Carpenter and his 70s synth masterworks: you can almost see that ice cream van pulling up from here. It doesn’t quite fulfil all of its cinematic aspirations, but at its best, Trans Atlantik paints a convincing picture of man and machine as one. Fans of of electro classicists like Carpenter or (early) Jean Michel Jarre should look in, as should those in thrall to the recent adventures of Aphex Twin and Daniel Avery.