Thomas Fehlmann – Flow EP

Always loved this EP. The Black Dog Productions influence is strong here.

Thomas Fehlmann has had a long and stories career in techno, and his debut EP for R&S Records, FLOW, has all the trappings of early 90s techno: solid consistent kick drum, basic synths. And yet Fehlmann manages to squeeze some lonely tunes out of them. “From Ape to Apollo” sounds like straightforward techno, but with a mellow, twinkling tune, while “Flow, Form & Spiral” moves more towards IDM, though with a shiny, major key melody. “Finger on the Map” returns to a solid thump with more international instrumentation including a tabla and didgeridoo-like drone, and “Perfectly Natural” sounds as if it could have come off an early B12 album. “Epique” goes for a more cinematic view, and despite the creepy title of “Vivisection Experimentation,” it’s more like The Orb circa 1994 getting his hands on a drum machine. Just go with the flow!

As reviewed by me in August 1994:

Summary: A technically superior midtempo IDM offering that is not that memorable (except for one track) but is a tasty alternative to the typical experimental techno sounds.

German dance music producer extraordinaire Thomas Fehlmann has been collaborating on scores of releases over the last ten years, guiding the likes of Sun Electric as well as putting out his own records under the name Ready Made, and running his own Teutonic Beats label, home to Marathon and Sun Electric's former incarnation of Fischerman's Friend. Now Fehlmann has composed the Flow EP, an interesting departure into the world of IDM: intelligent/experimental dance music, the new genre dominated by Aphex Twin wannabes and retro-techno gearheads who arrange mainly textural works derived from traditional electronic dance music instrumentation. Fehlmann's stab is to me more listenable than the established "IDM sound" of the Warp label's Artificial Intelligence series. I'm thinking it's because he's got a stacked studio and enough time on his hands to make full use of everything at his disposal. Okay, maybe he's a bit talented, too. There's enough structure in each track to keep the listener listening, but there's enough spacey effects and things going on in the background—lots of non-stock sounds, I might add—to give the songs an aura of otherworldliness. "Epique" stands apart as the EP's masterpiece. Wow, what a trip. Spacemusic fans will want to take that track for a test drive and not come back to the dealer. The rest of the EP is more IDM-ish, and to tell you the truth I'm not familiar enough with the genre to compare the other tracks to anything specific. If you like IDM, or if you like spacemusic and you're willing to go out on a limb and give the innovative side of techno a try, pick up the Flow EP.

i really think its hard to capture in words how good this EP is. the shear volume of incredible and life changing (for me) music that Thomas Fehlmann has been involved with over the years really begins with this. it oooooozes detroit inspired techno and makes me grin with giddy glee whenever i listen to it. It's more straight ahead than the material from the "flowing 93-98" compliation, but each song here could stand next to the best of that record (which is also incredible, of course!). i dont mean any disservice to the black dog when i say this, but sometimes i feel that Thomas Fehlmann does the black dog better than the black dog.

i saw this wasn't as highly rated as i was expecting, so i suspect many people may disagree, however, there was so much amazing music released in the first part of the 1990's that there is plenty of praise to go around. and if you like what you hear here, you may want to check out Thomas' other project that he is involved in....now...what was that band called again...? :)