- Agitation courses through Roman Flügel's latest 12-inch, Black Acid. Though its track titles—"Too Hot To Sleep," "Troubled Mind"—reference everyday problems, the music sometimes conveys a more profound unease. Beneath snares and toms that scuff and stumble through "Black Acid," a paranormal howl gargles in the distance. Bass tremors more in step with Bristol than Flügel's home town of Frankfurt rattle "Too Hot To Sleep," a hybrid of Chicago house and modern UK techno enhanced by compositional delicacy. But while it uses sounds that feel irritable and anxious, Black Acid illuminates Flügel's playful instincts.
This shows itself through a twist on a recent theme in Flügel's work. Verschiebung, his only single of 2016, was anchored in steely techno minimalism. The music on All The Right Noises, an album also released last year, explored the dislocation that comes with spending a lot of time in hotels and airports. In both cases, the introspective passages—a common hallmark of Flügel's work—were intense and gloomy. He instead expresses some joy on Black Acid. On "Troubled Mind," a bass synth that might sound foreboding on a techno track is uplifted by glimmering bells and an ascending three-note arpeggio. Mirroring the easy-going connotations of its title through droplets of melody and a woodwind-style synth, "Work & TV" swaps the EP's conceptual guise for a more routine excellence.
TracklistA1 Too Hot To Sleep
A2 Troubled Mind
B1 Black Acid
B2 Work & TV