Gens

Answer Code Request returns with his sophomore album Gens on Ostgut Ton, entering darker but equally bass-heavy territory. On Gens, Gräser looks beyond the bass euphoria of Code toward darker horizons and a desolate atmosphere befitting of current global circumstances. In a sense, Gens (Latin for tribe or lineage) reverses the notion of the hardcore continuum as proposed by music journalist Simon Reynolds: embedded in a tradition of US and continental European techno, Gräser seeks its disruption through hardcore outgrowths, from ambient jungle to later variations of British bass music and IDM. On Gens, the unsettling atmosphere is established early on with the fading rave opener of the album’s synonymous title track, and continues through the scrambled military communications and post dubstep rhythms of Sphera. From there, sci-fi pads, heavy phasing and alien syncopation lead explorative third track Ab Intus out into space. A glimmer of otherworldly positivity arrives with the warm, distorted breakbeats and interwoven synth melodies of album standout knbn2, while Gräser’s most dancefloor- oriented melds jungle and techno, Amen and 4/4 kicks, on Cicadae. On Gens, Gräser continues to offer an alternative, bass-heavy, and groove-based path forward for techno – one that both challenges listeners and leads them through a sonic narrative. It’s electronic music free from genre constraints – one where a broad palette of broken rhythms, varying speeds, different colors and sound design draws listeners into a synthesized world of its own.

2LP - With Download.