Mark van de Maat is sufficiently known as a label boss with a sure sense of taste. With Knekelhuis, van de Maat heads a taste institution that has introduced the world to both the duo As Longitude (aka Eva Geist and Ondula) and Victor de Roo. Enough of the honor? No, the compilation »And Felt Likeû represents a new highlight. With sure instinct nine tracks are lined up here, which individually AND as a whole leave a lasting impression. A touching elegance seems to be common to all tracks, a poetic flow. This new quality of the label, which for the most part stood for a sound that has made a worldwide impact from Berlin to Düsseldorf to Amsterdam in recent years with its quaint gloominess, is no contradiction to the restrained class of, say, Avsluta’s »Mono No Aware«. »Himlen Den Vackraste« by the Swedish duo Treasury of Puppies on the one hand leans in the direction of Boards Of Canada, then you think you can hear DJ Metatron aka Traumprinz out. What stands out: The mastering of Dean Blunt’s chief sound tinkerer Amir Shoat keeps the actually divergent source material together famously. So the 4th World track »L’Abete Al Contrario« and the dusty groove »Yuma« by Ayaz can get along on this vinyl and pull together. Speaking of 4th World, the fact that the press release cites Brian Eno and the recently deceased Jon Hassell as sources of inspiration really surprises no one. The one is probably on earth, the other beyond being allowed to proudly cue.
And Felt Like...
