The overwhelming talent emanating from Klavierwerke is Blake’s ability to do so much with so little. Choirs are built out of reverbed pitch-shift echos and beats from bone-dry, distant kicks. Adroitly demonstrated in “I Only Know (What I Know Now)”, we bare witness to Blake’s elegant mastery of space and silence where he constructs an intense, emotive atmosphere from the barest of elements. Klavierwerke is virtuosity disguised with what’s not written rather than what is.
Purely for its intrigue and restraint, this is an enticing release from an enigmatic proponent leaving tortured metaphors struggling in his wake to portray his clear talent. Klavierwerke leaves me intrigued by the direction such a boundless producer will take his tailored perception of ‘post-garage’ will take next.
One last thing, and maybe it’s just me, but does the bassline at the end of the first track sound like the music on the computer game Commandos – Behind Enemy Lines? What a game that was.