A review by Tobias Fischer – tokafi.com Net Decks

“Airport Affairs” is the very first sign of life by Cologne-based Sophie Tiedtke,whose band-lineup includes nothing but her sweet self and her Midi-Keyboard. Without a single doubt, this concise four-track EP will not be the last we’ll hear of her. Tiedtke is anything but yet another technohead with an inflated ego and she definitely doesn’t strut her love for minimalism around like a peaock on an 80s revival. Instead, her tracks are emotional, exceedingly melodic, hypnotically sweet and disarmingly straight-forward hymns of joy. “Mysterious Baggage” takes off on a sort of Ragga-bass and a staccato-synth pattern filtering around seemingly aimlessly for minutes, before it gets ornamented with an exstatic side theme. “Departure Unknown” is nothing but bass and atmospheres pulsating nervously and penetratingly in search for a vein. Everything hinges on the power of her motives, presented by irredescent vibraphone- or bell-sounds and minutely synchronised with the stoically repeated rhythm section. Closing piece “Lost Gate” is a 21st century chill-out tune with an ominous and foreboding presence, but it is really the monumental opener “Unknown Arrival” which turns “Airport Affairs” into something special and frankly unforgettable. A tribal groove of delayed railroad hihats and claps, cinematic vibratos and a brooding variation over a deep string section make for a gravitational pull comparable to forces of nature beyond control. Makes you want to dive in again and again to repeat the sweet stupour of listening to it for the first time. Curious as to where Sophie and her Midi Keyboard are off to next.(tf)

Download Airport Affairs Zip-Archive