Jürgen Paape, one of the several founders and owners of the Kompakt empire, is something of a slow mover. His split release with Tom Pooks on Speicher 45 and now this two-tracker constitute his first new music in roughly five years. Perhaps its quality control; “Fruity Loops 1” and “Fruity Loops 2” are extremely intense yet well-mannered productions, no matter how strong the connection is with the popular downloadable software of the same name.

The first version is an iceberg, pummeling you with strident, mechanistic tech-house beats above a chilly oceanic swirl, while the more thawed-out second version sports one of those elusive Kompakt almost-melodies to great effect. The gorgeous balance of shimmer and sway dovetail nicely for a perfect Teutonic trance excursion: ethereal enough to be dreamy, physical enough to break a sweat.

Kompakt Extra / KOMEX47
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[Mallory O’Donnell]