False Light

A key member of the Minus family for almost a decade, Jon Gaiser presents False Light, his third artist album on Richie Hawtin's label. The ten-track affair is a cohesive tale of contemporary techno. Says Gaiser of his working methods: "I've always been a big fan of analog gear, both old and new. I'm also a big fan of new digital technologies that create sounds that have never been heard before. I prefer to have the best of both analog and digital worlds working together, to make the most creatively flexible production environment as possible." Gaiser is revered as a live performer for creating immersive on-the-fly soundscapes using Ableton MIDI controllers and Maschine, and regularly performs at some of the world's best festivals and club nights, including Hawtin's own ENTER. Nights at Spanish club Space Ibiza. False Light was written with a specific approach in mind, as Gaiser explains: "My main idea while working on this album was to go into the studio and have as much fun as possible. I wanted to create something where each track complemented each other, where all of the tracks relate to each other in a way so that the whole album tells a story. But ultimately, I wanted it to be a fun story." And it is: everything here comes with a playful percussive line, a wiggling synth lead, and the sort of bassline that cannot be ignored. The opener, "Strangers," immediately establishes a squelchy groove with ghoulish voices bringing lots of dark energy to the thumping drums. From there, Gaiser keeps up a high tempo with "Oozewave" and it's spritely, squealing synths, "Say What" and it's rubbery drums and percolating bassline, and the superbly synthetic and rolling "Droplets," a classic Gaiser track. The second half of the album unfolds through kinetic, funkled affairs like "Reflekts," with it's pained and lingering synths, and the tightly coiled and apocalyptic "Drift work," and then shuts down with the lush, ambient textures and liquid synths of "Way Out." Tied together by a keen sense of rhythm and a playful sense of off-kilter melodic charm, False Light is Gaiser's most complete artistic statement yet.