Blaumilch [LP]

Aroma Von Troisdorf - Blaumilch [LP]

R.i.O. welcomes a new member. Straight in full length. An album created by Dorsten, North-Rhine-Westfalia based producer Aroma Von Troisdorf -- a man who refuses to be put in a box. Unlike others, who politely stay in one lane, he is a tuneful shape shifter. Already his 2021 debut on the Cologne based label Papercup Records smashed Krautrock, synthpop, electro, ambient, and dub together. His 2023 and 2024 Papercup EPs Buttergolem and Rode ln am Rhein added Italo-disco, synth-pop and a drop of experimental electro to his versatility. Now eight new creations, brilliantly composed, yet -- even in odd flashes -- effortlessly catchy. They bring once more a stylistic melting pot, now enlarged with TheCure-ish dreamscapes, stretching over guitar riffs and bass grooves, like in the closing ambient-folk star ''Zeiten'' or the dreamy opening track ''Fog Frog Green.'' There is the motorik krautrock pulse of ''Osmopower,'' that boogies heavy in drum machine hypnosis under Aroma's entrancing new-wave vocals. Tunes like ''Dreams Unfold'' or ''Amplify Shrooms'' are likewise propulsive, each one psyching in its very own rhythmic sector. More voices are present too. In the two-minute manic preacher ''Colas,'' were Togolese rapper and political activist Yao Bobby chants edgy. Or in ''Closer,'' where singer Aprico sends spoken-word trances echoing through the cosmic jacking. And there is ''Lovers Lake,'' a hypnotic drift of witchy vocals, bluesy chords, and endless synthscapes, that makes you swim on your feed. Shift the shapes, Blaumilch opens the gates. A1. Fog Frog Green A2. Lovers Lake A3. Closer (feat. Aprico) A4. Colas (feat. Yao Bobby) B1. Amplify Shrooms B2. Dreams Unfold B3. Osmopower B4. Zeiten