BnB Review: Gabriel Ananda - Selected Techno Works

Written by Youri Jozee

House/Techno -

German techno mainstay Gabriel Ananda is about to release a two CD package with career highlights and previously unreleased chillout tracks… Here's what we think of it.

Those of you who have been following the German minimal/techno/house/whateveryouwannacallit-sound for the past decade should have come across the name of Gabriel Ananda, the man who has brought us chart toppers such as Doppelwhipper, Ihre Persönliche Glücksmelodie and Schnee. Therefore, one could label this release as a 'Best Of CD', but Gabriel also drops a variety of previously unreleased chillout cuts too. “I made this CD because I wanted to have something in my suitcase to give back to the people who support me so much. (…) The selection of tracks are partly the ones I think most people like best and the other ones are my personal favourites.”The first disc includes some of Ananda’s best know work, such as the aforementioned tracks Doppelwhipper and Ihre Persönliche Glücksmelodie, which are both great examples of the man’s somewhat trippy and dreamy sound. Both tunes still sound as fresh as they did a few years back, while other tracks such as the vivid Süssholz, the nasty jacking Offbeat and the abstract but very catchy Schaukeldrehen provide an even deeper insight in Gabriel’s nifty studio works. All in all a nice collection of Gabriel’s versatile and original view on house and techno.

The Chillout disc has been finished since 2005 as a means for Gabriel and his friends to kick back and ehr… chill to. And there’s a whole lot of sofasurfing going on on this one. Some tunes carry a more jazzy touch, while others border on the side of glistening electronica and thick, warm soundscapes. However, all of them feature a somewhat mysterious vibe that far exceeds ordinary electronica. The more experimental ones on this disc, such as the druggy Rolshover 98, the moody Last Virgin and the utterly deep minimal waves on Dicht (Chill Edit), take the grand prize. With this disc, Gabriel Ananda proves that his skills stretch further than producing exciting club cuts only.

Our verdict:
As a whole, Selected Techno Works has become a very convincing and diverse selection of intriguing cuts that have stand the test of time. Whereas the first disc is a great collection of his best club tunes till date, the second CD proves that Gabriel knows his way around the chillout genre too. Now let’s hope for some new GA cuts soon…

Rating: 7.4/10
Label: Basmatic
Release date: Late May 2011

Tracklist
CD1: Selected Techno Works
1. Babypunk
2. Coconut Blues
3. Doppelwhipper
4. Süssholz
5. Schnee
6. Offbeat
7. Ihre Persönliche Glücksmelodie
8. Kennst Du Das Auch?
9. Schaukeldrehen
10. Stream of Consciousness
11. Lamakova
12. Sweet Child of Mine

CD2: Chill Out
1. Nala
2. Zwischendurch
3. Space +
4. Ambient
5. Rolshover 98
6. Last Virgin
7. Zeit für Zeit
8. Dicht (Chill Edit)
9. Clau
10. SND
11. Egal
12. Flächenfunktion