Driftmachine — Eis Heauton

Berlin electronic duo Driftmachine are back with Eis Heauton, their follow up to 2014's debut, Nocturnes. Working with modular synthesis and self-generating patches, the duo present a stark, minimal, electronic daydream. Letting the synth spill its inner thoughts and ideas, the listener is given insight into what makes the machine tick. Sparse, but generally engaging, Eis Heauton has the listener play therapist hearing the robot's confession.

Starting with an almost John Carpenter-esque beat, "Rungler Statik" is definitely the oddball of the album. Soft bass hits provide a steady pulse that is joined by echoed buzzes, beeps, and cracks. The sparseness makes this one work, and it never gets overreaching in its approach. The only deliberate song on Eis Heauton is a fun one, and a great opener, but it doesn't set the listener up well for what's to come. Driftmachine's use of self-generating patches allows their synths to grow and speak on their own, which causes an electronic randomness. If seen as the soul of the machine coming forth, one can take much more out of this record. At times very quiet, the space in between notes can be felt as the machine making up its mind on what it would like to talk about next. Lows mix with highs in an almost lilting pattern of speech. The machine opens up to reveal its secrets, and it gets pretty telling in "Sunlit Reverie." Busier than the previous track, "Das Trunkene Schiff," the synth rambles on with a more serious, darker approach. After spilling its guts, "Eis Heauton" shows the machine in a more contemplative, quiet state. Far off drones play against buoyant notes and the space fills with thoughtful sounds.

Eis Heauton is a very interesting concept; let self-generating patches go and see what the synth comes up with. Unfortunately, this leads to an unpredictable result in which some stuff works and some stuff doesn't. Overall, this is an engaging listen, but there are enough spots of inactivity that it doesn't hold up well on repeated listens.