Sven Stillich

Vertical and layered in form, “Strata” is austere and powerful music with a clearly Northern sensibility. The textures swirl and surge restlessly, building tension with harsh, emphatic brass chords set against high winds. There is an instense staccato outburst halfway through – with malign, mach-like drumming passages – evincing the composer’s rock influenes. Near the end, Tüür uses a pastoral motif from an Estonian (“Setu”) folksong, as the music slows down and coalesces in a shimmering coda and a sense of infinity in its long slow fade to silence. Performances by the Nordic Symphony Orchestra under Anu Tali are bracing, powerful, and very well recorded.

Catharsis is Sven Väth's first solo album in almost 20 years, and the 50th album to be released on his incomparable label, Cocoon Recordings. Produced alongside Gregor Tresher, it is a musical autobiography that charts Sven’s most extraordinary life in techno.

"Tres Momentos" describes a section of the infinite spiral, in which disorder and structure, the sacred and the profane, life and death are mutually dependent. Drone sounds connect three composed moments for string orchestra. The composition's lyrical tones contrast with multi-layered noise elements, which ultimately dissolve into a waltz. With this release, Sven Helbig departs from his previously preferred rigorous tonal harmonies, and the electronic components become more prominent.