Roman Flügel’s third studio album on Dial, All The Right Noises, represents a sound born more from his sanctuarial experience of “empty hotel beds” than the dancefloors associated with a DJ’s life on the road. A world away from the club-readiness of Sliced Africa or Brasil, its introspection marks a thematic departure from the loose krautrock-inspired sounds to have come from his previous long player Happiness Is Happening.

The producer from Frankfurt has assembled a record with limitless mileage for dissection. Serene in tone, with gentle pitch modulation, a careful selection of notes sound warm and reassuring for opening track, ‘Fantasy’. The soft but steady 7/4 kick-snare-hat groove of ‘The Mighty Suns’, and the superposition of straight and triplet rhythms in ‘Dead Idols’ toy with conventional pulse; in the case of the latter it feels as though this pulse continually contracts and expands. The clustered chromatic flourishes of ‘Warm and Dewy’, swelling and unnerving, make way for lush, harmonic chords and delicate melody; whilst ‘Believers’ sees metallic samples treated, their texture tweaked and repeated as rich organ tones meander. Flügel’s signature playful sequenced synth work can be heard bouncing throughout. Though, come the title track, I would sooner recline with headphones on, enveloped in distortion, awash with reverb.

All The Right Noises is a just title for Flügel’s latest collection of work; the sound world is refined and coherent. Elements are recycled but never exhausted. Rhythms are varied, disjunct or perpetual; often woven. Special attention is awarded to the placement of sounds, not only to their production. It is a masterclass in tasteful execution from the electronic music mainstay.

My copy is in the post. I don’t imagine it will stray far from the turntable any time soon.

Roman Flügel – All The Right Noises is out now, and available in all good record stores including Juno and Boomkat.

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