Dominik Paß knows electronic music. He grew up with the emerging scene of the German media capital of Cologne in the early 90s and sporadically publishes both electronic music and phonetic poetry under his real name and various pseudonyms such as Liquid Diffusion, Sapere Aude!, and Serve & Destroy. But he does not only produce music, he also studies the theories behind it and shares his insights in his written publications: on abstract electronic music, on phonetic poetry, and on Break- and Speedcore in his doctoral dissertation.

One of his (way too) rare vital signs in the netaudio scene is the not less than brilliant "Transcendere LP" from 2006, which has been released on the excellent German netlabel Dreiton.net. Although Paß explores known territories like Ambient, Minimal Dub, and Dub Techno with it, he finds uncharted spaces in these genres, opens doors for further investigations and thus paves the ground for thinking artists. It's striking that Paß moves between these different approaches to electronic music, dense rustling soundscapes, lugging beat constructions, and minimalistic harmonies with the most impressive ease, without ever losing the focus on the overall coherent sound of the whole album. And while his debut is a didactic play of precise composition techniques, detailed sounddesign, and the integration of all of these aspects into one harmonic picture, it never bothers its listener with a sterile, an all too systematic or even indoctrinating style, but stays soothing and emotionally stimulating at the same time.

Dominik Paß' "Transcendere LP" sums up the essence of electronic music in its purest form: it perfectly reflects the digital environment of its listener's actualities of life while eluding itself from any secularistic methods of comprehension - and therefore lends itself to the "staging of counter-worlds", as Dreiton itself puts it so very tellingly.

Dominik Paß - Transcendere LP | Dominik Paß' biography on Dreiton.net

Communication is not only the art of talking. It also defines the art of listening. When it comes to music, a good arrangement is always like a perfect communication. Between the artist and his music. Between the bass and the drums. Between the melody and the rhythm. Between the head and the heart. And between the music and its listener.

Adam Williams aka Model Citizen and Leonardo Rosado aka Subterminal decided to communicate. And they chose the most conclusive language that exists in this universe: They started a dialogue via their music, using their native tongue of piano and electronics. And it turns out they're great communicators, as they both know the art of listening.

Attracted to subtle and minimal arrangements, they develop the most interesting musical dialogue on their joint EP "Take This Longing". While Williams leads the conversation with cautious notes and chords, Rosado illustrates these fine contours with his discrete electronic sounds and field recordings. Both respond to one another, closely observing each other's every musical move, to be ready for the next answers and questions.

"Take This Longing" invites you to spy this dialogue. And you consequently take part in it - as listening is part of the art of communicating.

Adam Williams and Leonardo Rosado - Take This Longing | Subterminal on MySpace | Model Citizen on MySpace