7/10

Berlin’s underground has long thrived on artists who understand that atmosphere is as vital as melody, and Marc Gundermann’s debut solo EP 'Konsole' is a testament to that ethos. Drawing from half a decade of recordings, Gundermann distills his vision into a five-track set that is equal parts tactile and spectral, a meditation on solitude rendered in magnetic tape hiss and modular synth hum.

Gundermann’s background in both classical composition and electronic production shapes 'Konsole' into a narrative told through contrast: the warmth of analogue gear set against the cold gleam of digital space, the intimacy of field recordings caught in Berlin backstreets, or Santa Barbara breezes colliding with cavernous synth swells. The result feels like a living archive of moments; both half memory and half dream.

Influences from Trent Reznor’s industrial elegance, David Lynch’s surreal tension, and Brian Eno’s textural patience loom large, but the artist at the helm channels them into something deeply personal. Tracks like 'APPARITION' and the opener 'SANDPIPER LODGE' unfurl slowly, building layers like weather systems, their atmospheres thick with shadow yet charged with motion.

Above all, 'Konsole' carries the quiet conviction of an artist making the record he had to make before moving forward. It’s a work steeped in experimentation, where every hum, echo, and distant clatter feels intentional, an artefact of a world observed through the lens of both discipline and abandon. In a city famed for its relentless nightlife, Marc Gundermann offers a soundtrack for the hours after the last train, the part of Berlin that hums in the dark.