7/10

There's a real sense of space running through 'Refugium'. Across four immersive tracks, Berlin-based instrumental project WELTSCHMERZ creates a warm, melancholic hip-hop world built around retreat, stillness and the need to step away from constant distraction.

The project’s 90s hip-hop influence is immediately apparent, but it never feels stuck in nostalgia. Organic guitar, bass and piano sit alongside atmospheric synth textures, understated lo-fi production and laid-back drums, giving the release a tactile, lived-in feel.

‘Beyond Noise’, ‘Missing Out’ and ‘Still Life’ each approach the wider theme from slightly different angles, but they feel connected by the same reflective mood. There's a sense of distance in the music, as though each track is creating a small pocket of calm away from the pressure and overstimulation outside it.

But its the opening title-track that brings that idea into particularly sharp focus. Floating a sombre pace, ‘Refugium’ moves between guitar-led and piano-led passages, with real DJ scratches providing a welcome physical edge between the smoother textures. It's calm without becoming passive, and reflective without drifting into background music, while the drums still hit with enough weight to keep everything firmly rooted in a hip-hop aesthetic.

Having previously worked in drum & bass projects including Duo Infernale and Electrolyte, the shift towards slower tempos and more contemplative arrangements feels less like a retreat from rhythm and more like a different way of using it.

In all, 'Refugium' is warm, thoughtful and grounded by a genuine sense of groove. At every turn, it captures WELTSCHMERZ turning distance and stillness into something with real momentum.