This is a unique and very ambitious project by Alexander Leonard Donat, aka Vlimmer. The Berliner musician foresees a long course of 18 EP’s, a concept that will contain all of his inner musings and experimental soundscapes. Earlier in February he released parts ‘IIIIII’ & ‘IIIIIII’ through Blackjack Illumnist Records, of 10 tracks (5 per EP) in his trademark style. So, being familiar with his music, I lay back and prepared myself for another interesting journey with him. It’s neither easy nor particularly helpful to “label” his style, so let’s consider Vlimmer as a freestyle concept. We’ll travel through dark, but not pitch black, tunnels of music that could easily be considered as dark ambient along with a lot of shoegazing work. Post-rock is among his interests, and his songs are arranged similarly, placing his vocals, however, in a fairly 60’s experimental avant-garde style. Pretty interesting, don’t you think?
I realise that his work is driven by rhythmic loops with several layers, sometimes distorted but fragile at the same time, perfectly balanced and tight enough to keep the auditor “trapped”, like in ‘Traumalität’ where I found myself tripping out of my window nailed by this kind of arrangement. Then came ‘Rotflimmern’, a typical mid-tempo darkwave oriented, nervy and hypnotic song, with an inspiring climax to navigate you like a conductor leading an orchestra. Brilliant! I also didn’t realise how 12 mins and 36 secs passed so discreetly in ‘Freiwärts’, a genuine masterpiece, emerging from post-punk, though arranged on the German proto-industrial keystone, the Einstürzende Neubauten heritage. Consider that melodies are not here just as a fill-in, but as an individual who narrates the whole. What a successful inspiration by Vlimmer! ‘Sonnenschwarz’ came as an anxious raven, squeezing out of the musician’s industrial and almost terrific disposal, where he shows a quite maximising conduct in his music.
Travelling along with his art I once again synchronized with his pulse, tearing down genre boundaries and proceeding into modern alternatives, mentioned in the already established alternative musical streams. What remains in the end is that Vlimmer is more than dedicated to his vision of 18 EP’s, offering the public his current unrest on his certain aesthetics. It takes more than will to keep the listener alert, and this is talent! I travelled from tunnels to light and from grey to blue, always through his urban musings that offered me surprises to enjoy, like travelling by train for example where landscapes change at a certain pace. All Vlimmer’s releases are interesting and of a good quality for anyone who has the time and restlessness to choose a “schedule” to trip. Here are experiments ‘IIIIII’ & ‘IIIIIII’ in one special release (‘llllll/lllllll‘)to guide you my friends, lie back and enjoy!
Mike Dimitriou