Automat - Plusminus
by Maarten Schiethart
published: 19 / 6 / 2015

Label:
Bureau B
Format: CD
intro
Stripped to the bone rhythms, jazz licks, dance and electronica on rich and diverse second album from Berlin trio, Automat
Deep and heavy right from the start with its opening track 'Mono', Automat's second LP does't exactly get off on the wrong foot. It, however, really starts to cut loose on the next track 'RE 201', which features wobbling bubble basses aplenty. Combining Orwellian NewSpeak with a touch of 'Star Wars' dance music, 'Plusminus' merely flirts with Krautrock. 'Achtung', the next track, is mesmerizing in its repetition. Strikingly original already, 'H 910', the third track, provides the next sharp turn. The smoothness of the title track serves as ample refinement to these Basic Channel Berlin excursions. It is as if its molten beats have reached a much higher ground. Working in a similar fashion to an Autobahn navigating system, 'Plusminus' leads us through archaic clickhouse - anyone remember 1998 and clicks_+_cuts? - to dubs and electro beats. All in all, 'Plusminus' provides the perfect balance in beats and melodies. Astute, deep and funky, such as on 'SST 282', Automat make sounds that are impossible to match. Automat rejoice in a mish mash of King Tubby, Basic Channel and Jeff Mills. From today onwards, Automat will be the mightiest act to follow.
Track Listing:-
1 Mono2 RE 201
3 Achtung
4 H 910
5 Plusminus
6 DMX 15-80 S
7 SST 282
8 EMT 140
Band Links:-
http://www.automatmusik.de/https://www.facebook.com/automatberlin
http://www.automatmusique.com/
https://twitter.com/automatmusique
Label Links:-
http://www.bureau-b.com/https://www.youtube.com/user/bureaub/videos
https://www.facebook.com/bureaub
https://twitter.com/bureaublabel
Have a Listen:-
bandcamp
soundcloud
reviews |
Heat (2023) |
![]() |
With personnel changes German supergroup Automat's fifth album proves dull and unimaginative |
Modul (2020) |
Ostwest (2017) |
most viewed articles
current edition
Carl Ewens - David Bowie 1964 to 1982 On Track: Every Album, Every SongArmory Show - Interview with Richard Jobson
Colin Blunstone - Thalia Hall, Chicago, 16/7/2025
Visor Fest - Valencia, Spain, 26/9/2025...27/9/2025
Bathers - Photoscapes 1
John McKay - Interview
Robert Forster - Interview
Billie Eilish - O2 Arena, London, 10/7/2025
Sir Tim Rice - Interview
Loft - Interview
most viewed reviews
current edition
Sick Man of Europe - The Sick Man of EuropeLucy Spraggan - Other Sides of the Moon
Amy Macdonald - Is This What You've Been Waiting For?
Phew, Erika Kobayashi,, Dieter Moebius - Radium Girls
Davey Woodward - Mumbo in the Jumbo
Bush - I Beat Loneliness
Blueboy - 2
Alice Cooper - The Revenge of Alice Cooper
Cynthia Erivo - I Forgive You
Suzanne Vega - Flying With Angels
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart