Berlin Calling- Soundtrack

This is Paul Kalkbrenner's soundtrack to the 2008 movie.

The opening song, Aaron, is unfortunately a bit conflicted. On one hand the groove is nicely chill, but the staccato melody is quite tense.

Speaking of strange sensations, somehow the bass of Torted feels like it's sucking at your ears. It may sound like I'm going mad, but it's true! And quite unpleasant. While I'm on my recording quality high-horse, many songs have a strange effect in the mid-bass which feels oppressive and fatiguing to me. If you're unable to dial it out, this could make the album unlistenable on some speakers or headphones. Some other songs have a strong sharpness to the treble, so overall it's quite a... ahem... "challenging" album to listen to.

Azure is nicely captivating, despite the lack of a standout melody. It just hangs off a simple groove, a lovely synth sound and wonderful layering. And, as per much of this album, the genius is in the timing. The rhythm is repeated over and over, then just before boredom sets in, a subtle change is made to keep things fresh. It is perfectly executed.

Since minimalist techno is already at the edge of my musical taste, the more experimental songs (such as Queer Fellow and Bengang) are a bit much for me. I'm a bit surprised that Queer Fellow is the 2nd track on the CD, its contrasting style seems better suited to mix things up later in the album.

The pop song of the album, Sky and Sand, hits the nail on the head, with great hooks and a strong chillout/feelgood vibe. Train has wonderful layering and a fantastic melody. These are my favourite songs on the album.

Altes Kamuffel, QSA and Castenets all have a great upbeat feel, which reminds me of Moby (although this might be a completely uneducated statement from someone barely familiar with electronica!)

Favourite songs

Azure, Sky and Sand, QSA, Castenets, Train

Worthwhile?

Aside from a couple of songs, the overall effect for me is that it isn't an album I would concentrate on or find memorable afterwards. This isn't a criticism, because it works well as a chillout album or for watching the world flash by (eg while staring out the window of a train).

However, as the token "minimal techno" album in my collection, Berlin Calling hits the nail on the head.