The opener »Bloom« sounds like an endless spiral of bliss. For the second instalment of their Collaboration series, Dutch duo Artefakt have invited Maayan Nidam aboard the spaceship — because, quite simply, lift-off is more beautiful together. Four live-improvised tracks emerged from the sessions, each more free-spirited than the last. But back to the start: the way the high tones in »Bloom« flicker like autumn sunlight on skin lifts the mood instantly, while the unhurried bass swells push from below, activating the whole body. Something moves — even without a beat — and a velvety endrave atmosphere sets in, marking only the beginning of what’s to come.
»Mangrove« follows with a fractured, stumbling rhythm that first seems to lead into a chamber of horrors. Yet within seconds, the same sense of joy from the opener returns: the soul drifts through a teeming jungle landscape, lost in the moment. The EP’s central formula reappears here — playful lightness in the synths, grounded experience in the lower frequencies. Yin and yang, sky streaks and soil, in perfect balance.
»Dimple« marches straight ahead, overloading the senses and firing from all cylinders — at times recalling Laurent Garnier’s classic »The Man With The Red Face«. Organ-techno with hi-hats that decisively shake off the dust and agile leaps from one plateau of escalation to the next. Only »Outzones« closes the record with a menacing rumble, the hangover track perhaps, while Maayan Nidam’s monotonous, echoing vocals drift in one ear and out the other.
