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12"
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TRAUM 274EP
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Traum release another vinyl 12" with Carsten Halm adding up to the series the label have released with him so far. This EP marks the end of the series, but not the end of the relationship with Carsten. Carsten has been very successful with his releases on Traum starting with his Taubenflug EP in June 2020 followed by Fuchsbau and Hammerhai. As Traum stated with his first EP: "His music has the unique quality to bring people together and experience something very positive." Carsten showed this quality with all of his EPs and last but not least this also makes him a popular DJ. Carsten plays clubs all over Germany but he still sticks to his roots and organizes parties in his hometown Cologne in his own dedicated space which he has rebuild with his friends after it was destroyed last year. The fourth vinyl release with Carsten Halm Licht Und Schatten highlights another cover design by graphic designer Daniela Thiel and shows collages of the animals in a similar graphic context as his previous releases. The idea was to keep the graphic idea of the series but to use only artifacts of his previous designs to create a new cover. The EP kicks off with "Licht" a track that has the quality to embrace you emotionally as well as musically with a massive warm and widening synth sounds that is a true A-side tune. "Chimäre" instead is more jumpy and good natured, resulting in a nice break to carry the listener throughout the track. "Schatten" kicks off with a rather dry drumming but in the course of the track is joined by a merry melody which is pushed aside by a bad ass rectangle synth sound that inflates the track with a techno spirit that is very welcomed at open airs. The EP closes with the track "Notes" a horse ride though valleys of sparse vegetation with a happy sad Morricone inspired soundtrack that is very easy to like.
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12"
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TRAUM 242EP
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Carsten Halm is a German DJ and producer who keeps his doings very much under the radar. With his release on Traum, Carsten Halm drifts slightly towards a different direction which can be described as a blend of techno with melodic elements all done in a minimalist fashion. Powerful and warm sounding... ready to rock the dance floor. The EP kicks off with "Taubenflug" using a classic sequential sound in the beginning that is layered with a catchy bassy synth that soon follows. That can be considered only the beginning of "Taubenflug". The track builds up step by step adding a fast-paced melody and a panoramic spread string melody that give the track its wonderful feeling of elevation. The track is gifted with a very natural progression that can be instantly absorbed and generates a collective feeling of extraordinary happiness. "Herbstnacht" has a tribal sequence running that places you right into an open-air setting at night. The track communicates perfectly the exchange of one's inner self with the things that happen around you. The track has the aura of an epic dance track which seems to defy time since it could go on forever. The flip side of the vinyl offers the track "Sternenfunkeln" in its original version and the remix version by Nils Hoffmann. The original is brooding and mysterious yet it does generate a lot of forward motion that pulls you into the track. The track could be understood as expressing the feeling of dancing below the starts catching illuminating glimpses of stars with their thermonuclear fusion happening while we are too far away to understand any of this but see the radiation into space. Nils Hoffmann's remix is a sensitive composition with melodies that seem to glide, never touching the ground but on the other hand he has an underlying kind of tension running through the track.
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