Building Bridges

Despite having released scores of records under a multitude of aliases over a 25-year career, David Moufang has released relatively few solo albums under his Move D moniker and is still arguably best-known for his classic 1995 debut Kunststoff (Plastic). This album is his first as Move D since 2014. All the tracks are unreleased, but rather than comprising all-new material, the album is a collection of tunes recorded throughout his career, including two made by groups of which Moufang is a part, Magic Mountain High (with Juju & Jordash) and Reagenz (with Jonah Sharp). Bearing that in mind, its astonishing how cohesive the album is. It plays in largely the same space as Kunststoff, with a blend of deep house and ambient techno, and in some ways could even be seen as a kind of Kunststoff, Vol. 2.0, which is not a bad thing. Moufang is an acknowledged master and its not hard to see why. Cycles opens the album with a long, serene, ambient intro over which float the voices of random people of all ages and cultures, talking about everyday things in their respective languages, like a snapshot into their lives. You can be anything, baby, this time around, intones a mans voice before a funky disco b-line and splashing hats that sound lifted from an old Sister Sledge song enter. When the guitar lick comes in, youre sent. Mysterious, looped vocal samples are a big part of the record. On Dots, a faded Southern belle, wry mischief in her voice, informs us You think you know what we have over lush pads and playful stabs. Dusted Links is the funkiest thing on offer here, guaranteed to get any dancefloor grooving with shuffling percussion, a simple but infectious melody, filtered synths, and growling subs. One Small Step..., by Reagenz and Thomas Fehlmann, dials things down for a dubby journey replete with rubbery bass and reverberating guitar licks. Building Bridges goes even deeper, featuring the dulcet tones of Fred P, who riffs on People... coming together... building bridges over languid Rhodes and buttery-smooth bass. Perpetual State finishes things off with a warped, trippy journey down the rabbit hole while a robot voice intones a poem in German. You might forget that Moufang is German, so international is his sound -- more Chicago or Tokyo than Berlin. This album is a triumph, easily the equal of Kunststoff, and in places, arguably even better. A treat for die-hard Move D fans and newcomers alike, its like the mans career in microcosm. ~ John D. Buchanan

90年代から活躍するヴェテラン、ムーヴDの新作は、ウィル・ソールとフィンクが立ち上げたアウスからのリリースで、ここ20年の活動を通じて作り上げてきたハウス、ダブ・テクノ、アンビエントを横断する珠玉のトラック集です。参加アーティストもオーブのトーマス・フェルマンなどぬかりなし。もはや職人の域に達している彼の楽曲が、時代に左右されない輝きを放っています。
bounce (C)長谷川義和