To date, Objekt's work has mined a furtive dialogue between broken-beat UK dubstep and a more continental techno sound. However, Flatland has none of intricately undulating techno epics or the gut wrenchingly cavernous sub-bass explorations that have peppered his discography to date. This largely plays to the album's advantage — there are no dizzying peaks to eclipse the numerous subtle webs of sound that he has created here. This is not to say Flatland is lacking in intensity: tracks like "Strays" and "Dogma" are driven by grating industrial scratches and submerged in sublime atmospherics, but neither relies on Objekt's more bombastic tendencies to be intriguing.
Though this is his most contemplative release to date, Flatland still seems fidgety, with each track seemingly owing little to the ones before it. However, much of this comes from Objekt's tendency to flit between broken-beat and straighter rhythms, a trope that serves as welcome internal logic to the album. Though the Berlin artist's turn away from the dance floor will come as a disappointment to some, his move towards a more restrained sound represents a maturity that, though it's not missing from his earlier works, is a welcome addition to his first foray into the LP format.
(Pan)Though this is his most contemplative release to date, Flatland still seems fidgety, with each track seemingly owing little to the ones before it. However, much of this comes from Objekt's tendency to flit between broken-beat and straighter rhythms, a trope that serves as welcome internal logic to the album. Though the Berlin artist's turn away from the dance floor will come as a disappointment to some, his move towards a more restrained sound represents a maturity that, though it's not missing from his earlier works, is a welcome addition to his first foray into the LP format.