Sonder - Miscellaneous

​Sonder

Miscellaneous
​self-released; 2022

3.8 out of 5

By Matt Jensen
​

Sonder is a one-man project from Germany by Tamigo Kopf. He played bass in a project called Soul Therapy but then wanted to fulfill some of his other ideas with his own solo project. His first release is Miscellaneous and it contains four tracks. Kopf explains “The idea was to carry the feeling of stress, anxiety, fear and insomnia in a listenable experience. Different experiments on instruments.”

The EP song starts with “The Worst Point in Life” which circles around the notes on electric piano. It’s fairly haunting and dissolves in a throbbing bass drone and scattered notes. As someone who has experienced insomnia this does sort of feel like that. It’s not exactly pleasant but replicates an idea. The song continues to flutter and barely holds on with very loose foundations. More ominous noises are created. Towards the end you can hear someone crying against long pads. It’s pretty terrifying.

“Not Alone” has a beat that sounds like it’s going through some kind of filter. It might be a tremolo filter jacked up and automated. Similar to the previous song it’s got a haunting quality. It’s not exactly inviting but Kopf is able to get his point across. About halfway through it dissolves into static, glitches and robotic sounds as if you are traveling across a circuit board. Some of the frequencies are piercing so be careful.

“I used to love You” was a highlight. The soundscape here reminded me of Keith Fullerton, Whitman and Alog who are two artists I highly respect for their work in electronic music. This song is more cerebral and feels like you are listening to something on the quantum level. Points shift and patterns change as if electrons are a precise path. The song does have some changes and gets mostly serene and calm. This section was a little more comforting.

“Dark Fantasys” sounds like the title. This track in particular has a Oneohtrix Point Never type feeling. It is singular or relies on a single synth at times. It gets dissonant, warps and evolves over time. 

​This isn’t for everyone but a niche community will love this. It takes you into unique emotional landscapes that are deep in the caverns of your mind. Take a listen.

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