Null and Void – Cryosleep

Swiss Producer Flexes Creative Muscles

Usually when people speak of an artist’s debut studio album, the artist is usually a fresh face on the scene or they have been a part of a larger act. However, few have the impressive behind the scenes resume that Null+Void has. The Swiss born producer hailing from New York city released his first major studio album under the name Null+Void on November 3rd entitled Cryosleep.

While Null+Void has released singles and EPs under the name Kap10Kurt, his work has largely been as a producer, working with artists such as Depeche Mode, Soulsavers, and Sara Bareilles. Cryosleep at its core is a dark dreamy synthpop album where Null+Void shows off his talents as not only a producer, but an artist as well.

One aspect of this album that makes it truly special is the ability of Null+Void to give listeners a varied experience while not straying too far from the overall vibe the album presents. There is a certain level of fluidity that  is consistent throughout the whole project, yet Null+Void still manages to show his artistic range. A strong dreamy ethereal feel is established from the opening track on Cryosleep and can be heard throughout the entirety of the album. However this dreamy nature is sometimes switched up with a more upbeat dancefloor feel.

On tracks such as “Asphalt Kiss” and “Paragon” this upbeat rhythmic feel is demonstrated beautifully. “Asphalt Kiss” is an entirely instrumental track and features a slick synthpop melody on top of nice rhythmic drum pattern.Even though it is the third track on the album and follows two of the more slower paced song on the album, it doesn’t feel out of place as the progression from the album’s slow ethereal opening up to “Asphalt Kiss” is smooth

Null+Void crafts Cryosleep in such a way that the tempo builds at a reasonable pace so that way it doesn’t come as complete surprise when the tempo is amped up at this point in the album.“Paragon” is another track that carries a more upbeat feel to it. The track feature the classic four on the floor dance rhythm commonly seen in EDM alongside catchy synthpop melodies.  

While both “Paragon” and “Asphalt Kiss” are more rhythmic instrumental tracks, Cryosleep also has a strong line-up of vocal tracks and features vocals from artists such as Shannon Funchess, The Big Pink, and Null+Void’s long time friend and Depeche Mode frontman David Gahan. The vocals on the album largely add to the dreamy vibe that’s given off on the project.

The track “Where I Wait” featuring David Gahan, has a dark eerie feel to it and the vocal arrangement from Gahan add to the unease. “Take It Easy,” which features vocals from The Big Pink has less of the dark feel and more of an atmospheric quality that is only exemplified by the vocals on the track.

The strengths of Cryosleep lie in the fact Null+Void takes what has made him such a prominent producer, expands it, and then applies it to his own solo project. The creative versatility gives listeners their unique experience, yet still remaining fluid and consistent. Overall this project is an amazing debut album that shows promise for a successful future as not just a producer, but as an artist.