Office Listening: Tensnake 'Glow'

Photo: Tensnake

Marco Niemerski, better known to music lovers as Tensnake has been concocting groovy dancefloor tracks since the mid-2000s. After facing mainstream recognition following the release of 'Coma Cat' and 'Mainline', Tensnake became renowned for his ability to thoughtfully and skillfully produce unique yet widely popular music.

There was a lot of hype surrounding his most recent album release on Astralwerks, Glow. After all, the man is considered to be a hit machine and with the legendary Nile Rodgers jumping on board, expectations were significantly high.

Glow (stream above) sees Tensnake push in a different direction and introduces him to an audience he may have not previously accessed before. Although a lot of the tracks on the album reflect his profound and ongoing love for disco and electro music, there's enough pop to ensure a cross-over appeal. 

'Love Sublime' is one of the tracks that has received the magic touch from Mr Rodgers. It is reminiscent of Todd Terje's 'Inspector Norse' and features quirky, electro driven synths with a bouncy flare. Australian singer Fiora adds energetic vocals on a fair few of the tracks on the album including this one, she has a gloriously vintage sounding voice that suits the production of the songs to a T.

'Good Enough To Keep' is another product of the producer power duo. Nile Rodger's touch overpowers Tensnake's on this, the stronger bass and pulsing disco beats place you in a remarkably happy place.

'Pressure' sits at the cheesier end of the spectrum but that by no means is a negative point. The sickly-sweet, soulful vocals shouldn't work, but they do, and push the track in an 80s pop direction. 

The sexy, heavy bassline in 'No Relief' channels the fist-pumping force of Tensnake. The track wholly represents summer, it's completely club ready and flutters between electronic and bass house. It's overwhelmingly uplifting and the vocals give you something solid to grab hold. It's destined to be listened by substantial crowds of sun-baked ravers. 

'58 BPM' does what it says on the tin, an extremely slow jam given an extra edge thanks to an unexpected eeriness courtesy of the dreamy synths and vocals. It's dependent entirely on the drums, which steadily keep the pace. Fiora delivers yet again with the vocals; husky, high pitched and graced with an angelic tone.    

Glow is undoubtedly a 'chill' record, an album that occasionally plays on Tensnake's revered dancefloor appeal whilst bravely embarking on more down tempo departures. Fans will either gravitate to on side of his creative psyche or the other, making it a bold move for the Hamburg native, who must be congratulated for pushing his sound in new directions, whilst retaining his distinctly sun-filled disposition. 

Catch Tensnake in action at Creamfields by grabbing your tickets here, or below. Find out where else Tensnake is appearing by heading here.

Tickets are no longer available for this event