The Field 'The Follower' review

Photo Credit: Sonia Alvarez

Albums in the electronic world are a fickle beasts, so it makes for a strong calibre artist to make two or three. It's almost unheard of for them to clock up five, but that's what Swedish dreamy techno doyen The Field has managed, Reflecting Lights also marking his fifth effort for the legendary German imprint Kompakt.

Real name Axel Wilner, The Field's trademark style has been crafting droning soundscapes which softly eschew standard clubbier grooves for more ambient textures. It's a sound which isn't for everyone but has nevertheless earned him a devoted following - and this LP continues that template.

The opening title track, which at 9.55 is one of only two cuts shy of ten minutes long, is probably the most dancefloor driven of the tracks. It utilises a gnarly bubbling acid line for the first four minutes before shifting into the kind of dreamy alt-techno both he and the label have become renowned for. You won't hear many DJs drop this in the future, but the ones that do will be taking you to a twisted nirvana.

Elsewhere the results are mixed. 'Soft Streams' is an eventually rewarding cut which hurtles into bleepy territory after a soft build up, but it's way too lengthy at nearly eleven minutes. The same can't be said for 'Raise The Dead', which despite being even longer somehow manages to stretch it's muted euphoria perfectly over its tenure - building to a mesmerising climax slowly but surely.

He's definitely at his best though when not too removed from the dancefloor, as 'Monte Verita' showcases. Here the subtly shifting feel is augmented by a barely legible vaguely female vocal (almost like a much slower and refined cover of Vitalic's 'Repair Machine', above), making for the bubbling pace change at six minutes all the more worthwhile. 

Appreciating the tracks as individual pieces of music though goes somewhat against the purpose of an album from The Field, and overall there is a cohesion which allows the loops, textured samples, bleeps and whirs to permeate your ears. This won't win him many new admirers, but devotees will get enough to slip into his alluring aural haze.

Like this? Try Skiddle Mix 070 - Claremont (This city is ours).