Qualm cover

Qualm

Released

Hamburg-based DJ and producer Helena Hauff’s track titles betray a mordant sense of humor: “Lifestyle Guru,” “The Smell Of Suds And Steel,” “Hyper-Intelligent Genetically Enriched Cyborg,” “It Was All Fields Around Here When I Was A Kid.” Her music deploys analog technology and retro sonic signifiers — both her chosen devices, and how she uses them — to create a mind-bending mix of electro and industrial, a more stoic and impassive version of Aphex Twin’s Analord singles. But the bangers on this 2018 LP are broken up by almost childlike melodies on beatless interstitial tracks like “Entropy Created You And Me.”

Phil Freeman

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