Stefan Kozella is a whimsical guy. His music, from his early hip-hop moment through to his minimal techno heyday, has always been suffused with warm psychedelic colour. He brings that touch to his renowned remixes, where he reshapes the tracks of others in ways that would seem totally foreign to most. His first solo album in nine years, Amygdala appears after a quiet period that produced only 2009’s remix retrospective Reincarnations, and the founding of his own Pampa imprint. The German producer’s newest original work retains the quirky spirit of Reincarnations but settles into a kaleidoscopic landscape.
In a quote that’s been haunting Amygdala, Koze has apparently claimed the LP as his Sgt. Pepper’s. Hubris aside, that’s not such an unfair comparison. Both records rethink their respective genres from the ground-up, using elements and instruments that seem unusual on first glance but quietly lay the foundation for subtle reinvention. While it’s not likely to set the world on fire, dig beneath the pastel sheen and Amygdala is uncommonly engrossing for a techno album. Its visionary ambition recalls the fertile sprawl of Villalobos’ 2003 debut Alcachofa; baroque techno blessed with the carefree spirit of lounge music and Quiet Storm, dressed up in tie-dye, the music on Amygdala glows with an easy confidence.
Amygdala feels like a painting made up of delicate brushstrokes compared to techno’s laser-cut precision. Kozalla often chooses softly expressive horns or lolling organ over electronics, as on the plush spring overture of “Royal Asscher Cut”, and numerous vocal features only add to the effect. For an artist who has spoken on record how he hates collaborating, over half of Amygdala’s tracks have a “feature” credit as he brings out a cast of charismatic vocalists from Caribou's Dan Snaith to Matthew Dear. The dips into German balladry via his retouch of the classic Hildegard Knef lament “Ich Schreib’ Dir Ein Buch”, or his own heartworn slow-jam “Das Wort”, contribute to the the hallucinatory haze of styles and voices, like scrambling through a radio dial on mushrooms.
Koze has always had a predilection for looping microscopic vocal fragments as the chief anchor for his songs. But now these ghostly voices coexist with the fleshed-out songwriting; on “Das Wort” they provide a sugary counterpoint to Dirk Von Lowtzow’s gruff German consonants, and on “Ich Schreib’ Dir ein Buch 2013”, a Motown choir’s rendition of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” is twisted into a sickly tapestry of moans and screeches. Overstuffed and overfed, each track is an embarrassment of riches with a hook or melodic morsel everywhere you look, but Kozalla never loses the plot in the overflow of ideas.
That’s probably why Amygdala feels so accomplished: songwriting. It’s not something we often think too hard about in dance music. But Koze considers every aspect, from hummable melodies to pristine soundscapes to lyrics. Wisely leaning away from dance music cliches of love and desire, *Amygdala’*s subjects veer from everyday life to grappling with nostalgia and self-identity. Its most charming moment comes with Matthew Dear’s quirky vocal spot on “My Plans”. In a typically alien cadence, Dear addresses the anxiety of a world where everything seems to be going wrong with the cheeky line: “When I notice the world is falling apart/ I will run a bath/ And why does this make me laugh?” It’s a fine motto for Koze himself, never losing sight of his infectious sense of humour or complete resistance to trends. With Amygdala, he's created an album that invites obsession.
