Review of Rainer Straschill – Oscillator Theory EP on Mobius Spin (mbsspn16)


 
Straschill on twitter
Mobius Spin on twitter

There is a very well chosen collection of songs on this EP from a hypnotic ambient soundscape, to a drum machine improvisation and an evolving minimal song. That said, the songs are not limited or defined by these definitions, there’s a great fusion or blending of contrasting elements of different styles which really grab your attention. Each song has a great selection of sounds that are really well layered to create a darker edge at times.
Schumann Resonance Schumann Resonance is basically the frequency of the earth which is 7.83Hz or thereabouts. And this song is a great example of blending of styles and ingenuity of this EP. Normally such a song would effectively be a drone with little variation but in this case there’s a great soundscape to this song, a brilliant evolving ambience with some really well layered sound effects and great synth sounds. It’s a really hypnotic song and I hear some new sounds in each listen. Just make sure you listen right to the end, it has a sort of encore.
Impatt NDR This song is then a complete contrast to the first song, it is quite uptempo and edgy. It sounds like a drum machine (an angry one, having a bad day) playing a solo accompanied by a really gritty bassline and intense melody line.
Wien Bridge This song has an ominous opening, a drone with hi hat which leads into a driving rhythm with a sparse lead. The song evolves gradually with great changes in rhythm and feel through the song which to me has a minimal feel and a darker edge at times too.