Back in 2007, The Field (Axel Willner) simultaneously burst onto the electronica and indie-pop scenes with From Here We Go Sublime, a debut that filtered the shoe-gazing sensibilities of production-leaning predecessors (Ulrich Schnauss, Seefeel) through the pristine/precise techno on which the Köln-based Kompakt label is renowned.

While many in these overlapping circles revelled in its shimmering minimalism, contrarians could reasonably counter that there was little notably substantive or innovative inside its microloop compositions, particularly with Wolfgang Voigt’s standard-bearing Gas project looming so close by. Still, both Sublime and Gui Boratto’s Chromophobia were major coups for Kompakt around this time, bringing their utopian take on pop ambience to a critical mass, spilling off dancefloors and onto home hi-fis in abundance (and still exerting its gravitational pull today).

Following a sophomore album that saw The Field up the organic quotient by incorporating more live instrumentation in the mix, Willner stays the course with the aptly titled Looping State of Mind, a collection of seven long-form excursions (none shorter than seven and a half minutes) all very much in the vein of his earlier output.

As ‘Is This Power’ makes clear from the outset, these productions are still anchored in hypnotic, shifting repetition, with just enough motion (and emotion) in the background to accommodate active and/or passive listening. An unobtrusive pulse underpins ethereal textures the better part of the album, which range from the bittersweet beauty within the blurred vocals of ‘Burned Out’ to the potent synth washes that propel the title track. “Then It’s White” takes the proceedings down a notch, weaving its constituents softly around a simple piano hook to create an almost too-delicate soundscape, one that feels like a premature closing track and begs for a string arrangement in lieu of its soft, arcing synths.

The album’s actual closer, ‘Sweet Slow Baby,’ is nonetheless deserving of its placement, with rolling waves of emotion moving effortlessly over a mesmerising triplets-on-two ostinato. Willner is at his best when his works feel detached from time and space, and as a whole Looping State of Mind manages to occupy this non-realm. A successful outing that will undoubtedly satisfy the loyalists and likely bring its share of new fans into the fold.