Download from Bandcamp

PRESS

"13/15 - What a force. And it's incredible that Donat, with his creative potential and sense of aesthetic stylistic confidence, is still an insider tip. [...] The new songs distance themselves from former role models like The Cure or classic shoegaze. Instead, the ten songs initially seem significantly darker and more fragmented. As the record progresses, they also become more electronic and nervous. What's truly surprising about Donat is that, despite his multitude of projects, even within a band, he never repeats himself." - Legacy (GER)

"A complex yet impressive statement about transformation and the search for identity - a musical new beginning that consistently breaks up the familiar [...] not only an album about the individual struggle for self-discovery, but also a soundtrack that celebrates melancholy and resistance in the midst of an overstimulated world. On Bodenhex, the dance floor becomes an introspective oasis, permeated by metallic-industrial sounds and flickering synth lights. The album is both a place of retreat and a party soundtrack, melancholic and dramatic, a work full of tension and at the same time an outlet for the pressure of modern life." - Underdog Fanzine (GER)

"Vlimmer unleashes the apocalypse [...] Donat creates a world in which the listener feels lost and yet strangely at home. [...] a work that is both a challenge and a refuge - an album that explores the boundaries of darkwave and industrial in its raw, uncompromising style, achieving a rare form of musical and emotional honesty. [...] On Bodenhex, Vlimmer shows himself from a new, rougher side - and the second track “Überrennen” impressively puts this announcement into practice. With a mixture of industrial, metallic shoegaze and blunt blast beats, Donat breaks with musical conventions and hurls almost physically tangible waves of sound at the listener. This cathartic intensity leads to a musical chaos that simultaneously shows the listener their own path to realization." - Gothic Empire (GER)

"[A] declaration of identity that leaves no doubts [...] an album that reveals new, interesting ideas in Vlimmer's music. Bodenhex continues his exploration of electronics and postpunk, mixing the melodic aspect with forays into more robust and ‘industrial’ areas, with insistent rhythms and darker and more daring sounds. Donat seems to want to reconcile innovation and coherence here, remaining faithful to his own history without giving up experimenting" - Ver Sacrum (ITA)

"Another unique and somewhat unusual album, where "style" also means "style break. [...] You get ten tracks, each sounding different and yet typically Vlimmer." - Dark Entries (BEL)

“What is especially noteworthy across the whole album is the placement of Donat’s vocals, crooning with enough reverb and echo to sound ominous, but not so far into the mix that they’re lost. [...] From the dreamlike to the dread-inducing, the M.O. for his fourth full-length was to break new ground entirely , […] the 10 tracks on Bodenhex all feel like they have their own signature. […] At multiple times throughout the nearly 45 minutes will the listener be surprised by the journey Donat lays out, but at no point will said listener feel like departing from the path.” - ReGen Magazine (USA)

“Confirms once again how his whimsical artistic freedom prevents the sonic immobility that instead grips too many other artists […] changing skin through a fascinating game of dark-tinged minimalism” - Darkroom Magazine (ITA)

"[O]nce again wants to evade expectations and work out new facets of Donat's sound cosmos. Hence, "Überrennen" and the closing "Fadenverlust" blast out of the speakers with tons of double bass that Alexander has borrowed from the black metal fund. [...] The Berliner only keeps his trademarks such as the eerie zither sounds and his Cure-esque vocals, but otherwise shows himself to be very open, which is manifested in the "Lichtbruch" which is almost synth-pop by Vlimmer standards." - Unter.Ton (GER)

"As regards genre: “dark arts?” [Bodenhex] is post-industrial as much as it’s post-punk, with plenty of goth, some metal, some doom, some dance music, and so on factored in, there’s not a lot else that might encompass the divergent intentions of “Endpuzzle” or “Überrennen” as the Berlin solo-project of Alexander Donat harnesses ethereal urbanity in the brooding-till-it-bursts “Sinkopf” or the manic pulses under the vocal longing of closer “Fadenverlust." [...] Bodenhex never goes anywhere it isn’t meant to go, and unto the finest details of its mix and arrangements, Vlimmer‘s work exudes expressive purpose." - The Obelisk (USA)

"Sometimes the measure of a musician is not whether they can create a single song or album that gets repeated plays, but rather whether they can do it more than once. For Vlimmer, that longevity doesn't seem to be a problem as this is their fourth album and it is already filled with some new surprises while maintaining that goth-doom sound you've come to know and expect." - Raised By Cassettes (USA)

"4/5 - A rather quiet album, which nevertheless doesn't make it easy for listeners. [It] isn't an album to be consumed casually. [...] It takes time to really get into it, which is becoming increasingly difficult in our fast-paced world. Only gradually do the ideas and subtleties reveal themselves. Vlimmer has experimented a lot, consciously breaking away from what came before and reinventing himself in a sense. Post-punk, wave, electro, industrial, film score, and even black metal are interwoven here in a very idiosyncratic way." - Schwarzes Bayern (GER)

"8/10 - [E]xpands his horizon towards black metal and IDM, while Alexander Leonard Donat's vocals rush through light and shadow with reverb and echo. [...] Dark drums and guitars. Time stands still. The tension rises. [...] Shoegaze turns black. A wall. A sound. A whirlpool [...] Rain. Overstimulation. No path, no choice. Chaos. [...] Wall. Time. Destruction. Dark. New. Start. Snow. Tastes good. Apocalypse in the crosshairs." - Saitenkult (GER)

"The songs on this record jump from genre to genre but keep the same darkwave feel overall, leading to a special type of musical cohesion not seen even on bigger records." - ISSUES Magazine (USA)

"I always enjoy the music of Vlimmer, and the tracks contained within 'Bodenhex' have done little to change that view." - The Rotting Zombie (UK)

"The record consists of heavy and ethereal tones, nimbly adapting itself, whether it's gritty blackgaze, zither and synth-led prog rock, or syrupy electro-pop. [...] Left-field post-punk with driven drum-machine rhythms and countless influences, namely death-rock, industrial, EBM, darkwave, goth, and noise rock [...] It's a very cool release, nice to see some noise, discordance, and weird rhythms in post-punk!" - Norman Records (UK)

"Dark, emotionally charged but always with a hand on the light switch. Very beautiful! [This time] it is all a bit more powerful, partly due to the solid beats, and also more melancholic than before. Donat's vocals, who always have something of Robert Smith without make-up in them, also ensure that you are wonderfully sucked into the music. He also knows how to colour it darker and put on different bat wings every time." - De Subjectivisten (NED)

"Ten tracks that are once again inspired and inspiring [...] At the crossroads of genres, Vlimmer once again finds his place. Überrennen, a well-launched post-punk indus and shoegaze track, confirms this. The rendering is restless, never inert. Vielzuviel, alert, dreamy cold-pop, is equally convincing. Vlimmer clearly has little left to prove. Fine motifs are set into his flawless weft." - Muzzart (FRA)

"Let Vlimmer musically whisk the ground away from under your feet! [...] Imagine dark shoegaze, somewhere between melancholic guitar droning and the soothing embrace of a rain-soaked cloud. Exactly the kind of music that makes you sigh deeply after two minutes and think: "Cry, life is a bit dramatic. [...] "Überrennen" picks up the dark tempo and combines electronic sounds with metallic shoegaze, while fine beats blast through the speakers like slaps in the face. [...] Sounds like chaos? It is. And that's wonderful!" - Medienkonverter (GER)

"Breaks all boundaries and simply cannot be pigeonholed. The list of genres that could be considered is quite long. Can I digest it?"
"I would put this heavy piece under "modern art". "Modern art" is not always supposed to be pleasant or easily accessible. Anyone who has a penchant for darkwave and is not afraid of a challenge can cautiously give this a listen. Be warned, it won't be easy!" - Bleeding4Metal (GER)

CD/tape/vinyl label from Berlin, Germany

Post-punk/ Shoegaze/ Darkwave/ Industrial/ Dreampunk/ Coldwave/ Indie/ Ambient/ Drone

1. Facebook
2. YouTube
3. Twitter
4. SoundCloud
5. Instagram