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PRESS

"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)

“”Bodenhex” is unlike most electronic releases this year, though it brings together familiar elements. Vlimmer is an exciting discovery, and his latest offering is both approachable and alluring in its production and execution. [...] 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)

"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)




ENGLISH:
From the small to the large: The soil on which a seed grows into a tree, a building is erected, human existences come and go, flow into and replace each other, while a regularly renewed intangible feeling of being at home creates a warm connection between place and person; Vlimmer wants to plow up this soil on his fourth album and rob it of its very own magic. For the musician, this means separating himself from learned patterns, getting rid of his certainties, approaching his own identity from a different perspective. Is that possible? “Bodenhex” is a document of the process of this attempt, which is not about isolating oneself from society, but about finding oneself in the overflowing stimuli on offer: ‘Give me this downpour of overflow / I wasn't asked if I could do it all’ (“Vielzuviel”). Out of the chaos of life, the individual emerges who has no one to justify himself to but himself. So the opener “2025” starts with sparse, chugging, laid-back beats to foggy drone, intoning ethereal, lifeless vocals and increasing the tension with every passing minute, be it distorted drawn-out guitars, increasingly dense tribal drums, echoing raspy screams far beyond the horizon until Donat finally breaks out into a more passionate vocal style. Vlimmer has turned his sound upside down and continues to do so: the foreboding of the approaching attack is immediately confirmed in the thundering “Überrennen” which combines industrial with metallic shoegaze and blastbeat slaps in the face. After that, Donat makes up for it with indie-wave and electro-pop excursions, but ensures a constant atmospheric wisp in the firmament with haunting zithers, streaky post-punk guitars and dark synthesizers. The concluding blackgaze-meets-darkwave race, “Fadenverlust”, pulverizes itself to forestall the inevitable apocalypse. Soil burnt. Restart?


DEUTSCH:
Vom Kleinen ins Große: Der Boden, auf dem ein Samen zum Baum heranwächst, ein Gebäude errichtet wird, menschliche Existenzen ein- und ausgehen, ineinanderfließen und sich ablösen, während ein regelmäßig neu einsetzendes ungreifbares Gefühl des Zuhauseseins eine warme Verbindung zwischen Ort und Person erschafft; diesen Boden möchte Vlimmer auf seinem vierten Album umpflügen und seiner ureigenen Magie berauben. Für den Musiker bedeutet das, sich von erlernten Mustern zu trennen, sich seiner Sicherheiten zu entledigen, die eigene Identität von einer anderen Perspektive anzugehen. Ist das möglich? „Bodenhex“ ist das Dokument des Prozesses dieses Versuchs, in dem es nicht um die Isolierung von der Gesellschaft geht, sondern ein Finden seiner Selbst in den überbordenden Reizangeboten: „Gib mir diesen Regenguss aus viel zu viel / Ich wurde nicht gefragt, ob ich das alles kann“. Aus dem Chaos des Lebens schält sich das Individuum heraus, das sich vor niemandem zu rechtfertigen hat außer sich selbst. So kann der Opener „2025“ mit spärlichen, pluckernd-unaufgeregten Beats zu nebligem Drone starten, ätherisch-leblosen Gesang intonieren und mit jeder verstreichenden Minute die Anspannung steigen lassen, seien es krächzend langgezogene Gitarren, sich zunehmend verdichtende Tribaldrums oder verhalltes Gekeife weit hinter dem Horizont: „Keine 100 für niemand“ bricht es schließlich Cure-esque heraus. Vlimmer hat seinen Sound umgekrempelt und führt fort: Die Ahnung des nahenden Angriffs bewahrheitet sich umgehend im donnernden „Überrennen“, das Industrial mit metallenem Shoegaze vereint und Blastbeat-Ohrfeigen verpasst. Danach versöhnt Donat zwar mitunter Indie-wavig, pumpt elektropoppig, sorgt aber mit beklemmender Zither, schlieriger Post-Punk-Gitarre und dräuenden Synthesizern für ein stetes atmosphärisches Irrlichtern am Firmament. Das abschließende Blackgaze-meets-Darkwave-Wettrennen „Fadenverlust“ pulverisiert sich selbst, um der glühenden Apokalypse zuvorzukommen. Boden verbrannt. Neustart (er)folgt.

CD/tape/vinyl label from Berlin, Germany

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

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