‘The Softest Lace’ is the new album by Oberlin, an experimental musician based in Koblenz, Germany. Inspired by the sights of early morning dew behind his windows as Oberlin played his analogue and modular synths, The Softest Lace is a work of minimalist arrangements, wintry atmospheres, and slowly shifting layers of electronic tones and textures occasionally supplemented by guitar recordings. With his instruments of choice, Oberlin paints lush soundscapes, sometimes muted and dreamy, sometimes hypnotic with subtle rhythmic pulses, and other times cold, misty and dark.
Credits
The Softest Lace was recorded in Oberlin’s Gold-Pit-Studio, Koblenz, Germany in winter 2023 with a Moog Grandmother, a Eurorack modular synth and an Ibanez Custom guitar.
Artwork by Elise Wilson
Layout by Timothy Allen
© 2023 Oberlin
REVIEWS
A common hallmark of ambient and drone-based electronic music, is the trance-inducing resonating loops, often decorated with faint embellishments, gentle white noise, and hypnotic repetition — the new album from Oberlin is of no exception. “The Softest Lace” by Oberlin is reposeful and contemplative, a bit like a late night quiet drive in the rain, with the gentle cadence of the windshield wipers gliding back and forth, and the alluring sound of raindrops drumming to their own time signature off the roof of your car. The somnolent orchestration is seducing, compelling you to pull over and give into the symphony of sounds, and to close your eyes and dream lucid dreams to the meditative pulse of life.
Michael Tangen
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Koblenz, Germany-based artist Oberlin created The Softest Lace at his Gold-Pit-Studio during the winter of 2023, taking inspiration from gazing at the morning dew from his studio window. Using Moog Grandmother synthesizer and Eurorack modular he daubs stirring ambient drones and textures augmented with subtle guitar to evoke wintry vistas and the magic of the elements during the coldest season but viewed from the comfort and warmth behind the window.
Anthony Locke
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‘The Softest Lace’ is the new album by Oberlin, an experimental musician based in Koblenz, Germany. Minimalist arrangements form beautiful, slowly developing ambient pieces. Recorded with a Moog Grandmother, modular synth and electric guitar, and released on independent Australian label Perceptual Tapes.
Christian Wirrwitz