Genre: Electronic/ Ambient

Track Listing:

01 Final - 4 am Internal
02 Pure h - Kogel
03 Woo - Life Bloom
04 Go Tsushima - Mu
05 Left Eye Dominant - Grand Hysterie
06 Alexei Borisov & Tania Stene - Disclose
07 Henrik Nordvargr Bjorkk - Thyras and Och Arv
08 The Cherry Blues Project - Stars
09 Dodecahedragraph - atan3fftrack
10 Sunao Inami - The End of Spiral
11 Lull - The Gulley

CD samplers, in the quest to simplify the complicated, can be a mixed bag. Either too much of a certain genre, or such a mixture of genre’s that it becomes unlistenable. Throw in the fact that they can sometimes only have 2 or 3 excellent tracks that are encumbered by 10 tracks of filler, and you have a not so enjoyable listening experience. Fabriksampler v2, thankfully, does not fall into the above-described categories. While staying in the genre’s of electronic and ambient, the tracks as a whole show us just how diverse those styles can be.

With 11 tracks, all by different artists, it’s inevitable that some stand above the others. In this case, with happy abandon it can be said, that over half the songs here within fall into this category. Pure h’s Kogel transforms sound into a moving mass. Great use of bass, static and spoken word strengthens the piece. All these elements combine to make an imposing and expressive track. Go Tsushima’s Mu features electronic effects over a drum machine and throbbing bass line. It can only be described as a spacey and trippy feel, minimalist in its approach yet drone-like. Left Eye Dominants Grand Hysterie is experimental in its use of jazz inspired drumming with vocal effects and synthesizers. It is innovative and at the same time is emboldened by it’s foreboding aura. Henrik Nordvargr Bjorkk’s Thyras and Och Arv is an atmospheric test of cavernous and desolate sounds. A malevolent voice rises above the din, only to be drowned out by a chilling backbeat. Likewise, Do Decahedragraph’s Attn3fftrack has harsh noise and beautific ambient. The roughness turns into the rhythm of the piece, soaring over the lush sounds. Sunao Inamis’ The End of Spiral is awash in an oceanic atmosphere. A surreal and somewhat remote feeling dominate the track. It all too quickly ends with Lull’s The Gulley. An eerie, levitating, and oscillating rush of sounds are found within. As the last track of the cd it is somber and much too brief.

Some of the tracks that were not mentioned were no less compelling, but at times repetitious or dull. Taken out of the context of the album or project they were intended for was a negative factor, as the songs didn’t stand up on their own, or quite possibly just not warranted as a “single”. That said the music within as a whole, is a good representation of the electronic/ambient style.