Nils Quak - Aether (CD)

Nils Quak (pronounced quack, like the duck noise) is a sound artist, writer and journalist living in Cologne, who has released a slew of records under various names including one last month on the ever popular Nomadic Kids Republic label (just like this one) which Phil described as “a rumbly affair with strange dark throbbing noises, micro-clicks and electronic melodies creating a somewhat oppressive listen”. Which is pretty much what this one does too, it’s all low end undulating hums, drones stretching out until the end of time. One track sounds like the noise of an overhead helicopter buzzing about

At other times I’m reminded of being stranded in the industrial quarters of a particularly bleak and isolated American city, full of weird clanking factories, humming electrical cables, the sound of distant aeroplanes whilst a sickly sun beating down on the whole sorry scene. The fact that I’ve even written that sentence exemplifies the music’s ability to transport the listener to somewhere completely remote from reality.