- Musicality, humanity, soul—these are the prerequisites for a release on Central Processing Unit, the Sheffield-based label that has '90s-era Warp coursing through its veins. Lenticular, the debut LP of Rotterdam-based musician Nadia Struiwigh, a self-professed hardware nerd whose productions are saturated with emotion, has all these qualities in spades.
Much of the music here exists in the ether. Tracks are warm, light and floaty, expanding like a balloon that slowly ascends, lifting you up along with it. This is especially true on "Intrope," which begins with lazily strummed guitar before being swept skywards on propeller-like synths. Airiness is even more perceptible in "Space Tribe"'s wispy details. It's got a bubbling acid techno undercurrent to it, too, that nods to AFX.
Sometimes, darker moods prevail. Dense bass tones weigh down "Lenticular" and "PLCS," though swooning melodic phrases prevent them from staying glum for long. The melodies on Lenticular are all sublime and iridescent. They are the beating heart of the record and the reason it will stay with you, looping about in your psyche. The waltzing "4Es" is a particularly lovely earworm.
It's only right at the end that Struiwigh shows a threatening side. "010101" is a slamming piece of techno that sneers and snarls, like a beast about to lash out. Eventually it does, with the only harsh melody on the record. Its jarring chords, though, keep it from being too club-friendly. It's a reminder that Lenticular is a listening album—a superb armchair techno record for the post-IDM generation.
Tracklist01. Intrope
02. Space Tribe
03. Extraterrestrial
04. 4Es
05. Genetically
06. Lenticular
07. Trip In Fiction
08. PLCS
09. 010101