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3x12"
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HERZ 050-3LP
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2019 repress; Pressed on 180-gram vinyl; includes download code. German techno mainstay Stephan Bodzin unleashes his full-length musical vision on the world in the form of Powers of Ten, providing another great insight into the melodically rich mind of this modern great. Bodzin says, "Powers of Ten has been with me all my life and is named after a book that has been my background hiss, its confusing truth is my only real faith and its infinity shows me its finiteness. The album is about harmonies, melodies, rhythms. It is an homage to Bob Moog, full of techno beats and sounds and space and party and ecstasy and dancing and listening, and crying and feeling. It is a journey, a philosophy of life, a view of the world, a vague perception. It is my wife, my children, my family, my friends, my passion, my enemy, my greatest fulfillment, my fear, my deepest peace, my power, all my love." As such, this album is hugely personal and is filled with cerebral messages and well-thought-out concepts. All this shines through and makes the listening experience all the more engaging from start to finish. Kicking off with the spine-tingling chords and louche beats of "Singularity," cuts like "Lila" then continue to confirm that Stephan Bodzin has a classical understanding of melody that is way above average. "Blue Giant," "Wir," and "Ix" all manage to be uplifting and thoughtful while simultaneously driven and groovy, and "Birth" comes on with a hymnal high note, long-tailed pads, and subtly shifting beats. The ghostly grooves of "Zulu" mark the majestic midpoint of the album, which then continues to seduce with spiritual synths and more beautiful melodies on cuts like "Odyssee" as well as the album's standout title-track. Unfolding coherently and in soothing fashion, this album once again proves that few producers in the modern world have a knack for melody and an ear for sonic ingenuity quite like Stephan Bodzin.
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