Being and Nothingness

Electronic musician Steve Hauschildt explores rhythmic and melodic frequencies that go beyond lyrics and tradition structures. On Dissolvi, lush arpeggios, deep space atmospheres and crushed minimal percussion teleport the listener into an alien realm of the progressive sublime. Created in a windowless room, cutting off the influences of outside stimuli, Hauschildt attempts to synthesize his subconscious into the realm of beeps and boops.

“M-path” begins and ends as an array of ethereal modular synth arpeggios. The sequences seem to be continuous at first but in reality, they slowly build on one another, creating a dense wall of plucky electric ooze. Rolling bit-crushed percussive voices humanize the synthetic arpeggios and introduce us to Hauschildt’s universe.

“Phantox” is darker and the spacious drawn-out synth pads hint towards an entrance into the unknown. Sporadically panned percussion under beautiful synth sequences and pads give the track a large sense of scale and width. “Saccade,” a collaboration with LA musician Julianna Barwick, sees her vocals add a sense of calming familiarity. The synth plucks are playful, the percussion is more traditional and Barwick’s atmospheric vocals give us something to hold onto.

“Alienself” is a minimal techno journey through thick clouds of electronic tones and subtle human hums. “Aroid” features wonderful glitched out percussion and a refreshing modular sequenced bassline. This track showcases Hauschildt’s subtle progressive track building. If you’re not paying attention you might think nothing new is happening but subtle modulations in volume and composition keep the ride moving along beautifully.

“Syncope” starts with techno drums and Hauschildt’s predictable array of synth voices. Track collaborator GABI drowns the track in bizarre yet gorgeous vocal passages. This is techno at its most colorful and mysterious; each instrument and voice is akin to a different color of paint on an abstract expressionist’s canvas. The track “Lyngr” plays with layering humanlike vocal pads over sporadic arpeggios and downtempo techno grooves. “Dissolvi” starts with slowly modulating glitchy percussive voices, and Haudchildt shows off his ability to layer and mix different modular synths and build huge worlds with just a series of oscillators and filters. While not having a set defined structure, these ever-changing tones morph from basic and sterile to complex and as emotional, and at the end blinking synths and ethereal pads dissolve away into nothingness.

On Dissovli, Hauschildt removes himself from the world and liquefies his consciousness into a bubbling pot of ayahuasca tea. Akin to a grid-like abstract painting, transistors morph energy into complicated, vague and meticulously layered sonic journeys. Maybe more voices and instruments could have given Dissolvi greater emotional variety, but Hasuchildt sticks to his strengths to attempt to reveal the nature of being, through a series of beeps and boops.