Berlin’s Watergate club has been a mainstay amongst the cities top clubs for more than a decade, and their in-house record label has brought us music from the likes of Patrice Baumel, Kerri Chandler, Tim Engelhardt, and YokoO during the past year. More recently, the label turned their attention to Belgian born producer Biesmans, who following several EPs with the German imprint has brought his debut studio album, Trains, Planes & Automobiles. It’s one of the many lockdown albums that we’re likely
to see released this summer, and comes from Biesmans challenging himself to produce 3 tracks per week for a month, in a time when regular life was temporarily put on pause, and we had to occupy ourselves in different ways than usual. The resulting product is 12 tracks of nostalgia-tinged dance music which deliver a combination of mix piercing drum hits, thick, roaring basslines, and well polished, highly resonant melodies. It’s a serious throwback to ‘80s music, with plenty of similarities to retro pop, or the soundtrack from your dads favourite arcade classic. Commenting on the album, Biesmans said “Our society is based upon being mobile and when Corona hit us, we could taste a bit of being immobile. As an artist that meant I could focus on making music 100%. No distractions, no weekend gigs, no parties, just making music. This new lifestyle resulted in my first album. A journey into the past but looking forward to the future, experimenting with other genres and techniques to make a real album that goes beyond club music.”
Where to start:
Another World: Vocoded hooks and energetic drum rhythms
The Last Chase: A combination of sparkling melodies and rich synth bass
Hawkins: Dreamy pads and melancholic chord progressions come to life here
Previous from Biesmans:
Inglorious Express EP (2020, TAU)
Risky Business EP (2019, Future Disco)
If you like this then check out:
Kavinsky – Outrun LP (2013, Record Makers)
Etienne De Crecy – Super Discount 3 LP (2015, Pixadelic)
Biesmans – Trains, Planes & Automobiles is out now on Watergate Records.