CID RIM – Material

Combining bright melodies and enticing arrangements...

Viennese multi-instrumentalist Clemens Bächer, AKA CID RIM, is something of an enigma. Having provided imaginative remixes for everyone from pop-house stars Klangkarussell to CHVRCHES, his signing to Glasgow’s LuckyMe seems an anomaly. For a label notorious for their eccentricities, previously releasing the likes of Machinedrum, Claude Speeed and Sevendeaths, Bächer’s maximal, pop-influenced work may be an incongruity.

Yet, with his debut LP ‘Material’, it is clear that he exemplifies the LuckyMe ethos. Opening with the tape-worn piano ambience of ‘Clay’, Bächer launches into a frenzy of instrumentation with the dense synth arpeggios of ‘Surge’, the polyrhythmic crescendo of ‘Zünder’, and the frantic jazz-funk of ‘Mouches Volantes’.

Bächer is at his best when he stays upbeat. The glitchy hip-hop of ‘Serra Serra’ and the ambient interludes of ‘Genesung’ and ‘ASDW’ distract from the otherwise joyous cacophony of noise. Yet, this is overshadowed by his inventive turns with Samantha Urbani on the propulsive ‘Repeat’, cementing his talent for treading the fine line between bright melodies and enticing arrangements.

7/10

Words: Ammar Kalia

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