From the outside, German artist Laima Adelaide looks very humble, reserved, withdrawn, while a whole world is living inside of her, fed from geographical and musical travels. She’s a deep person, who communicates from the inside with art, made of broken beats and poetry, instead of with confident words. Her discography contains two albums: Modern Nature on Annulled and Parallel Space on Diffuse Reality. In both projects, she unveils some of her profound inner-being, linked with her fascination for nature, which she regularly meets during meditative walks in the forest, but which is in fact part of a higher inquisitive personality: Laima Adelaide loves to explore, all the time, from new places to new sensations. She’s a traveller. She’s a snowboarder. Ultimately, her music is first and foremost experimental, as sensed in her LPs and perhaps even more in her EPs, such as in Air, her last memorable creation on Oslated. As a DJ, she diffuses more classic atmospheric techno, an aesthetic that remains at the centre of her musical tastes as much as ours, and which is well-honoured in her deep selection:
THEMATIC SELECTION
CLASSIC
Luigi Tozzi – Flusso Perpetuo [Hypnus, 2016]
Laima Adelaide: Hypnosis… I think this is one of the first tracks that got me into deep techno. The uneven tom drums with the different accents bring such great energy. Then, the cold atmosphere, which envelops the rhythms, totally dissolves my mind into an unescapable world, and in the end, the harmony gets very bright. The barely perceptible melody is very subtle yet emotionally strong. The feeling for me in the track is like recalling good home memories and thinking about them in the present.
DEEP
Architectural – Unknown Fluid [Non Series, 2017]
Laima Adelaide: Very dynamic track, very mental. I love the always-changing bass and synthetic sounds, as well as the very deep atmosphere, emerging without a clear ambience. All the sounds are so close, deep and enveloping. This is a perfect example of minimalism where each composing element has such depth and texture. It’s a genuine atmosphere, not too dark for my taste.
MENTAL
Voices From The Lake – Drop 1 [Prologue, 2011]
Laima Adelaide: The slow build-up, the musical smoothness and the wrapping atmosphere are so immersive in “Drop 1”. It could go on forever. It’s crazy how subtle the groove of the bassline is. It does sound quite simple, but all the elements, reunited together, form a mesmerising mental world. In the beginning, you focus on the bassline which then becomes weaker in perception to make room for the ambience and other sounds. I love it when in a track, the focus shifts from one layer to another while I get lost in it.
DARK
Adhil Moorish – Exit (Alexskyspirit Remix) [Khoros Records, 2022]
Laima Adelaide: Darkness… For me, the atmosphere is like a very cold underwater place with no light. The synthetic accents also give the feeling that it’s an environment where no human could live. I like this strange mood, carried by the grounding percussion set in the back.
EXPERIMENTAL
Low Gravity – Eclittica [Camera Magmatica, 2020]
Laima Adelaide: When I first heard “Eclittica”, I was fascinated by the sound design and the groove of it, and still am. During the listening, I imagine numerous tiny ants working and moving under the woods. This is a bright track for me, with small high-frequency details working so well together with the kick. The fast echos bring a feeling of micro rhythms in the more spaced-out rhythmic structure, giving the impression of having several tempo layers at once. I enjoy this complex architecture, as well as the colours of the sound.
DOPE BASSLINE
Kontinum – Luyten [Crescent London, 2021]
Laima Adelaide: “Luyten” has a very groovy bassline, with strong, confident energy. The always-changing small nuances in the mid-bass spectrum make the listening experience very interesting. Then, the almost voicelike atmosphere comes and gathers all the elements together, building great consistency toward the journey. I also enjoy the aerial textures and the clarity in this production, very pleasant to hear.
OLD SCHOOL
Plastikman – Core Ten [M_nus, 1998]
Laima Adelaide: It’s like dreaming. “Core Ten” is very subtle and hypnotic. The atmosphere brought by the various noises pulls you in, and then the shift in perception goes from vertical rhythms to horizontal passing of time, which is particularly mesmerising.
TO START A MIX
White Pyramid – Habitat [White Pyramid, 2022]
Laima Adelaide: “Habitat” is perfect to set a hypnotic forestal atmosphere. I love the mix of three and four rhythmics, designed with tom drums and other percussions. Also, the mid-bass, which is quite aggressive in timbre, as well as the animal-like atmosphere, really transport me mentally into the woods. For me, the whole EP is so well constructed and mixed.
FOR THE PEAK TIME
Feral – East Slope [Hypnus, 2018]
Laima Adelaide: I love the strong immersive feel brought by “East Slope”. I think this is one of my favourite tracks. Every element is so well-balanced and the atmosphere is crazy. The melody gives me a feeling of otherworldly chants, and the mid-bass is very subtle yet palpable. I can feel the elements: Water, Earth, Air and Fire. Not to forget also the long ambient break before the drop, which totally wowed me!
BONUS – TOPIC BROUGHT BY OUR GUEST
A SPECIAL TRACK
Oliver Thurley – Sanguine [Line, 2021]
Laima Adelaide: As I come from the classical composition world, I find avant-garde music particularly close to me. The slow-evolving sounds and textures in “Sanguine” are so hypnotic. I listen to this late at night when I want to calm down and let myself go into music. I’m very intrigued by the power of such minimal material. I enjoy the creative process, which consists of merging the low-end sounds of bass drums and cymbals together, bringing creative ritualistic harmonies just out of the percussions. It fascinates me.
WRITING BY: LAIMA PRIEDITE & CEDRIC FINKBEINER | 17 NOVEMBER 2022
