Name: Efdemin - Naïf
Item: Efdemin - Naïf
Author: Matt Unicomb

The so-called "Berlin sound" can mean a few different things. For some, it refers to the bouncing tech house and melancholic vocals associated with clubs like Bar 25 and Watergate. For others, it's the pulverising techno DJs like Kobosil and Boris play on Sunday evenings at Berghain. Until a few years ago, it also meant something more subtle: deep and dubby techno deployed at relatively low tempos, best captured on Marcel Dettmann's era-defining mix CD, Berghain 02. But as techno's popularity, and intensity, has grown, this delicate sound feels like a relic, replaced by booming sets of the globe-trotting DJs it inspired. Efdemin's Naïf is 79 minutes of hypnotism perfect for anyone who misses those formative years. Made up of 29 new tracks, Naïf follows mixes from artists like Steffi and Will Saul by exclusively drawing from unreleased music from friends and associates. A few of the artists featured—Margaret Dygas, tobias.—helped shape the early Berghain sound, which Efdemin still pushes through his residency there. Dygas's "Fony" provides momentary respite from the tunneling groove in the middle section, while "Keep Me Insane" is tobias., a longtime Efdemin collaborator, at his clubbiest, gazing at the stars with a bubbling synth and thumping beat. Testament to Efdemin's soft touch, Naïf's flow is smooth and steady, building up and down slowly without any disruptions in mood. The dubby haze that cloaks the mix adds to the cohesive sound, as the energy ebbs and flows with smooth chords and modulating basslines. "Sirius," one of several tracks Efdemin has produced or coproduced here, is another highlight, combining with the brain-scrambling bassline of Marco Shuttle's "Onda Anomala" for the trippiest moment, capturing its rolling momentum with a seamless transition and spacey effects. Most of the tracks are without claps, amplifying Naïf's hypnotic effect. At 29 tracks long, the mix packs in more tracks than most. But rather than chop between moods and styles like, say, Objekt's 36-track Kern Vol. 3, Efdemin opts for patience. There are flashes of intensity, like the sharp acid of Gunnar Haslam's "Neuromantic" or the churning low-end of Patrik Skoog's "Drake Equation," but even these moments feel restrained, never messing with the set's introspective mood. As techno embraces high-impact styles like EBM and electro, it's nice to know there's at least one veteran Berlin artist keeping it deep.

Tracklist

01. Autolyse - Tag Drei 02. Phillip Sollmann - Aliasing Bells 03. Sollmann / Gürtler - Watte (Efdemin Version) 04. WaWuWe - Beams 05. Efdemin - Sirius 06. Marco Shuttle - Onda Anomala 07. Jeroen Search - Modus Luminatione 08. Kuf - Untitled 09. Staffan Linzatti - Gas 10. Cassegrain - Future D'Argent 11. DIN - Glide 12. Pharaoh - Donald 13. Pom Pom - Untitled 14. Efdemin / Konrad Sprenger - Laveline 15. Margaret Dygas - Fony 16. Rhyw - Not Now, Not Yet 17. Gunnar Haslam - Neuromantic 18. Savas Pascalidis - 1Q84 19. Patrik Skoog - Drake Equation 20. Inland - Sherpa 21. Jinge - Kation 22. tobias. - Keep Me Insane 23. Nihad Tule - Lean Forward 24. Steve Bicknell - Running Man 25. Efdemin - Move Your Head 26. DIN - Akustikkoppler 27. Efdemin - Palindrome 28. Aubrey / Simone Gatto - Groove 1996 29. Efdemin - Love