Is that you, James?

Have you ever experienced that? A friend that you haven’t seen in a while, like a few months or a couple of years, entering the room and then you’re like, yeah, that’s him, but somehow it isn’t. A slightly different smile, a new sense of ease, a different and more embracing kind of intensity.

That’s how JS Zeiter comes in on “Context Collapse”. Every time he entered the place before there was this directness about him, quite in-your-face actually. Not like a bully or something, not confrontational, just very straightforward. Like someone that is incapable of beating around the bush.

Maybe for some it could have been a little too… how do you say it? Too non-ornamental? A little dry? Too much function and not enough form? Well, you know how people are. To quote a legend from a completely different part of the music world – some people like cupcakes better, I for one care less for them.

But back to Mr. Zeiter. Right from the start of this album you wonder what happened to him. Must have been something good. And deep. All those warm and embracing sweeps and pads floating and floating, and not just on one of the tracks, on all of them! I really wonder what triggered that. I can’t imagine him sitting in the studio and suddenly realizing that synths can do even more wonderful things.

Just listen to “Open” and find yourself scratching your head both in wonder and amazement. How is it possible that a track does so little and have such a positive impact? It’s been two decades since Dub and Minimal Techno have been this emotive and transcendental. Even the rhythmic foundation feels deep and plush.

“Arrival” could have been called “Bliss” and it would have been just as fitting. It’s the track that makes the most out of a contrast that ceases to exist – moving forward and feeling suspended at once. Again I wonder where JS Zeiter might have arrived to find so much peace. Just as on the other end of the album, on “Departure”. A little more bouncy and playful maybe, but carrying a similar enraptured lightness.

At times, the sound of “Context Collapse” takes me back even beyond the early 2000s, way back into the early to mid-90s, and yes, now I remember, it was 1993, when Johnny Klimek and Paul Browse had this short-lived project called Effective Force. “Illuminate The Planet”. Need to check that out again soon.

The big difference is probably that back then the approach was closer to outer space, for Zeiter it feels much more like inner space. “Paradox” sweeps so long it makes you wonder if the track is fully Ambient, but just when it seems to fade out one of the most convincing beats of the album takes over and we’re on the floor, each and every one, all by ourselves, again paradoxically submerged still moving forward.

Sometimes it’s not what you hear – it’s what you don’t hear. “Paradox” has only the slightest bit of hi-hat work, often completely fading into the background. “Exile” has no hi-hats at all. Maybe it’s simply because they are always so much at the front of your ear. So in-your-face. Taking so much away from what is really center-stage on “Context Collapse” – the atmospheres, the sweeps, the warmth, the soul.

The promotional text talks about a “significant new chapter” for JS Zeiter and limits this significance to musical aspects only. I’d be surprised if this new chapter hadn’t been triggered by something that doesn’t have anything to do with music. But whatever it may be – the result is extraordinary.

Release for review:
JS ZEITER – CONTEXT COLLAPSE – LEMPUYANG

Get the album on Bandcamp: Click
If sold out, try Decks: Click
Or on Juno: Click
Discogs as last resort: Click