Kontakte - We Move Through Negative Spaces

  by Adrian Huggins

published: 4 / 3 / 2011

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London-based Kontakte have brought to the world ‘We Move Through Negative Spaces’ as a follow-up to their 2009 debut album ‘Soundtracks to Lost Road Movies’, and I for one think the world may be a much better place for them doing so. Having all but withdrawn from the live circuit in order to concentrate on making this album the results are well worth the sacrifice. I was drawn to this band when I read of the comparisons to This Will Destroy You amongst others. It is fair to say that This Will Destroy You are the sort of band that change your life. They make music that transcends everything and as such I think and hope that Kontakte appreciate the reference. What is even better, however, is that they do far more than just live up to it. With such powerful and distinguishable bands there is always the danger of sounding a bit too much like someone, but I really feel like these Londoners have their own unique sound. I must have had my head seriously far up somewhere dark not to have been aware of these lot before, but I am now and am not going to waste any more time in trying to get others on board. From the opening record crackling of ‘Astralagus’ you are immediately taken to another world, a magical place that needs no singing or explanation. To relate them to another band, 65 Days Of Static would be an obvious comparison and, yes, fair enough there are only so many instrumental ‘alternative’ bands, but they sit so perfectly amongst them it would be unfair not to mention the obvious and if nothing else to spark the sort of enthused reaction I myself had before actually hearing Kontakte. Falling shy of 65 Day’s electro intensity, but just above the guitar led drama of This Will Destroy You, songs like ‘Hope’, ‘The Owls Won't See Us in Here’ and ‘With Glowing Hearts’ are just so gorgeously crafted you cannot help but be utterly captivated and moved. It’s evident that all that time in the studio working on ‘We Move Through Negative Spaces'was time very well spent. It’s the sort of album that has been lovingly and meticulously worked upon rather than being ‘over produced’. You feel that every single tiny detail, sound and note are there for a reason and it really pays off. This is reminiscent of the likes of Fuck Buttons who manage to straddle the line between between being over powering and creating a blanket of sound that feels so good it’s almost spiritual. What is also amazing about this band is that they’ve really made an album of it. It is best enjoyed in its entirety culminating in the incredible ‘The Ocean Between You and Me’ which just takes you that little further into orgasmic audio territory before it finishes. This is an incredible album and, believe me, it may just be the best 56 minutes and 42 seconds you spend listening to this year.

Track Listing:-

1 Astralagus
2 Hope...
3 With Glowing Hearts
4 Early Evening Bleeds Into Night
5 A Snowflake In Her Hand
6 The Owls Won't See Us In Here
7 Every Passing Hour
8 The Ocean Between You And Me

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/pages/kontakte/10237621989
https://twitter.com/kontaktemusik
http://www.kontaktemusik.com/

Label Links:-

http://www.driftingfalling.com/
https://twitter.com/driftingfalling
https://en-gb.facebook.com/driftingfalling/

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