Some albums feel like memory made sound – Spool is one of them. Conceived as a multidisciplinary collaboration between musician and producer Florian TM Zeisig and perfumer Angel Paradise, the project pairs sound and scent. But for this review, we’ll focus solely on the musical component, shaped entirely by Zeisig.
Recorded in a remote village in the Bavarian Alps, Spool presents nine ambient compositions built around looping structures that recall the melancholic decay of William Basinski’s tape works. Opener »One (Runaway« leans into a hauntological aesthetic – drawing from textures that evoke faded nostalgia and analogue warmth while remaining subtly disorienting. On »Oneandhalf«, reverberated guitar tones and hushed, barely-there vocals create a more intimate atmosphere, blurring the lines between song structure and spatial collage.
This interplay between cohesion and dissolution continues on shorter pieces like »Four«, where tightly crafted sonic choices give weight to even the briefest gestures. Zeisig’s attention to detail ensures each piece feels intentional, never incidental.
Spool oscillates between warmth and unease, familiarity and strangeness. Fans of Basinski, Fennesz, or Loscil will recognize the sensibility at work – but Zeisig’s restrained layering and tactile palette lend the record a distinctive, personal tone.
