Review:
This album from serial electronic music experimentalist Ulrich Troyer is surprising on many levels - not least that it's been released by Mala's respected Deep Medi Musik imprint. Fiercely downtempo, Songs For William sees Troyer turn his hand to dub with mesmerizing results. Troyer has previously eschewed more traditional musical forms in favour of white noise and breathtaking ambience, but here he gets the formula just right. The combination of dubstep/dub techno style atmospherics, unassuming dub rhythms, analogue pulses and soft-focus electronic melodies is judged perfectly (see the Kraftwerkin-dub vibes of "Driving To Cologne", or brilliantly titled "Shoegazing Muff"), resulting in an album that's simultaneously calming, beautiful and steadfastly otherworldly.