Justus Köhncke

Perennial Kompakt Records producer Justus Köhncke's first album in five years has been described as his poppiest collection of songs to date, but to call anything on Justus Köhncke & the Wonderful Frequency Band pop-oriented may come off as a stretch to anyone not familiar with the Cologne-based technoist. Still kilometres away from anything resembling UK, French or Chicago house, much of the material on Köhncke's fifth LP actually follows the similar paths of his early works. Layering clean piano accents with popping beats and earworm samples, it's Köhncke's production and structure that gives songs like "Tell Me" and "Nucleus Accumbens" their gooey textures. Utilizing field recordings on "Flitter und Tand" and vocoder-aided melodies on the Eric D. Clark and Andi Toma produced title track, Köhncke keeps things fresh, fruitful and entirely compelling throughout the entire record. Although Köhncke may have released stronger singles in the past ("Timecode", "I Wouldn't Wanna Be Like You"), Justus Köhncke & the Wonderful Frequency Band stands as his most all-around complete full-length to date.