Klartraum | E2 EP [LFO060]

E2 is the second part of a quarterly EP series from German duo Klartraum , with the following two instalments due to follow later this year. Supposedly, the “E” in the title stands for Enneagram, which is “a model of human personality that allows you to describe or to find out through which lens you see your reality.” Author Stephen Wolinsky has written a book on the subject and it is something that permeates the work of Klartraum.

Klartraum is composed of Helmut Ebritsch and Nadja Lind . They founded Lucidflow in 2009.

With the title ‘Sky Fall’, the duo makes reference to Felix Baumgartner’s jump from the stratosphere back to earth last year, which was sponsored by Red Bull. The track has a spacious epic soundscape, a funky smooth feel and a cheeky bittersweet mood. The duo weaves together driving electric guitar chord stabs, soft Fender Rhodes melodies dressed with airy reverb, and a driving four-to-the floor groove. The club mix makes for an excellent tool for the dj, but my personal preference is the “cinematic mix”. I love the way the arrangement slowly unfolds, which is why I used it to open up the last episode of my podcast series– The Bootleg Tapes | Vol. XIX .

On ‘Celebration’, the duo offers up polished understated tech house with a palette of crisp 909 percussion, warm jazzy chords, short speech samples, and funky disco synth plucks.

‘Tree of Life’ is slower than the other two tracks, and it’s clear that this one is meant for a more mellow context. It’s a lonely contemplative walk into the dark forest of your mind. It feels like I’m surrounded by the canopy of tall trees; I can hear the wildlife buzzing, rattling, and chirping.

E2 is a moody cerebral organic ambient tech house journey. It will be out May 20th on Lucidflow.