Aone man experimental electronic outfit, Field Rotation was formed (if that’s the correct term for a one-man band) in 2008 by German composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Christoph Berg.
Since then he’s released several EPs and an album, 2011’s Acoustic Tales, all well received in dark ambient and other such rarified circles. Combining electronic and electro-acoustic elements with samples, field recordings and orchestral textures, his latest effort adeptly evokes atmosphere and manipulates mood.
Each of the six tracks evolves from a core theme or colour subtly different from the rest, making the album somewhat less monolithic than the vast soundscapes of some of Berg’s Teutonic forebears. Underpinned throughout by a Robert Rich-style shamanistic drone, the tone varies from organic to alien, from unsettling to outright ominous. Compositions this sparse usually have a musique d’ameublement quality about them, but if there’s anything slightly soporific about Fatalist it’s also sumptuous and soothing.
Fans of everyone from Brian Eno to Harold Bud via Labradford and krautrock’s quieter side should get a (gentle) kick out of this.
