Aparde Alliance

Apardex27s new album, Alliance sees the Germannmusician retreat from his recent experimentationsnwith avant-gard pop music back into the world ofndeep, and oftentimes dark, electronica. For hisnprevious album, Hands Rest, Aparde venturednoutside Berlinx27s club scene through the use of hisnvoice, which gave his music a softer and morenintimate edge. Alliance is no less intimate, exceptnthis time the musicianx27s vulnerability seeps throughnthe cracks rather than taking center stage.nAs impressive sonically as it is technically, Apardenused a mixture of electronic sounds, analoguenequipment and his own voice either as a soundnelement or lyrical component to explore this dualitynof sound. x27x27This album was about focusing onnsomething that calmed me down and brought menaway from reality,x27x27 says Aparde. When the musiciannsays x27away from realityx27, he doesnx27t mean intondreamy, ethereal soundscapes, but rather a deepndive into dystopian atmospheres of drone soundsnand chewed-up drum machines. Alliancex27s secondntrack, Allies has a dire beginning and one mightneven be tempted in skipping it if it werenx27t fornApardex27s hushed voice shining through thenshadows, melancholic yes, but also warm. Despitenthe albumx27s focus on electronic gear the music isntnexactly dance-able, tracks have a ruminative pace,brooding even, x27x27I wanted to make the tracks withnmore breathing space between the atmospherenand silence. There are fewer elements but morenimpact, I think,x27x27 says Aparde.nThings change gears toward the middle ofnAlliance, with both Lined and The Shift representingnthe colder, club-ier tracks of the album. Fornboth of these tunes, any emotionality getsnconverted into a dense and thumping energy thatnis released in a cathartic fashion. It is, as Apardendescribes, music x27x27for you to move to when younhave a good moment or a mental crisisx27x27