Thomas Fehlmann returns to produce a slower more textured approach on his new album Lowflow. Here, his normal club-related techno vibe is watered down and microwaved, to deliver warmer downtempo grooves, splintered by metallic, incandescent tones and scratches.

The opening Goldhaar is evidence of this, but the mood expands on the following, more experimental, Prefab; where echoed out background scratches and barely audible choral vocals mix with lo-fi minimalist sounds and luxuriant grooves. Slinky darkens the tone further still, as dynamic sounds flash past the decayed, urban grooves, which tend to constantly mutate within the track, a feature of the album. The later track, Feat, is very similar.

One of my favourite tracks on Lowflow is Hana, which has a delicious bass line, more pungent techno notations and shimmering backing synths, whilst Springer sees Fehlmann at his most experimental, fabricating some bizarre loops.

Lowflow is not an easy album to grasp, it goes over your head after the first few plays, but eventually the smallest seeds begin to flower from Fehlmann’s subliminal tunes. His dubby, minimalistic compositions are expertly crafted, and Lowflow should see his reputation deservedly expand, after another fine experimental techno-related outing.