The Phantom / Sad City Schleißen 2

The 2nd part of the 4 part split (SchleiBen) series welcomes rising stars of the experimental end of modern electronica, with Warsaw's The Phantom and Glagow's Sad City bringing a lush, Fourth World ambience to ErB002. Emotional Response returns to the SchleiBen series with another cross-European exploration of ambient minimalism, film sources, field recordings and fluid soundscapes to create an over-whelming album of beauty for the listener to simply let go and wash away to. This time the influences are softer, but still prevalent, with forbears Satie, Stockhausen, Reich, Cage, Russel, Cunningham, Toop and of course of Hassel and Eno all acknowledged and explored through structure and the gentle syncopation of melody or occasional rhythm. With a nod to the film works of Tangerine Dream (or is it Global Communcation?) The Phantom follows up his outstanding LP1 with a move further in to the ethereal. Working as one piece, Across The River, Beneath The Trees and Europa go beyond the real train with their blissful, floating arrangements creating an atmospheric blanket that consumes you. This is matched by up and coming producer Sad City. With 2 recent EPs on Phonica's Special Editions series as well as his debut on Underwater Peoples, his offering, Limbo, shows an exemplary understanding of sound design, resulting in an immersive, panoramic 18 minutes of pure music. Ambience, drone and modulation interwine and slowly engulf the listener so, as the title suggests, the only option is to be still. A change from SchleiBen 1 then, ErB002 is gentler on the mind and ears, but still challenges you to stop and (un)listen.