Frankfurt-based electronic music artist Krystian Shek appeared on the scene in 2003 with his first of three artist albums on the late Pete Namlook’s FAX +49 – 69 / 450464 label. Impressively prolific, other albums appeared on labels such as the Indonesian imprint UTC Wired, Diventa Recordings, and Cold Busted. Since the unfortunate passing of Namlook a few years ago the FAX material has fallen out of print, and Shek has worked to reissue these evocative albums on his own Thai Dust (Red) label. This compilation collects Shek's personal favorite tracks from those albums, highlighting a compositional style that is both melodic and atmospheric but still built upon a rhythmic foundation. Early inspiration from Vangelis and Jean Michel Jarre is evident as well as the solid beats of '90s downtempo electronica. These cuts groove as sounds shimmer and float through cerebral layers of synthesized texture. Highlights include the dark and pulsating "Quan", the cinematic "Cherry Girl", and the sci-fi pseudo-soundtrack of "Love Liptease & 808". There's much more to explore here.
Nick Warren - "Amazing work from Krystian. An excellent artist."
Sunshine Jones (Dubtribe) - "Beautiful."
Mojo Rising (Cold Busted) - "Absolutely lovely melodic electronic goodness here. I'm so happy Krystian was able to get this material back into circulation."
Quincy Jointz - Great music. It sounds really good after all these years."
Stereo 77 (Plimsoll Records) - "Cinematic, yet groovy at times."
Pathaan (Globetronica) - "A great listen!"
Adam Warped (Whiskey Pickle / Strange Days) - "I love love love all of these!"
MadameFLY (BeatConcious) - "A solid abstract set that celebrates the ominous side of the FAX sound."
DJ Doubles (Freestyle Fusion) - "This is just so beautiful."
DJ Nova (Rodon FM, Greece) - "It's a collage of downtempo and slo-mo electronica, and tastes like a bitter sweet dark chocolate."
Diesler (A Little Something Radio) - "I really enjoyed 'Splashin'' … deep."
Clairvo (Tilos Radio, Hungary) - "So glad to hear these melodies and harmonies … they all pet the listener's mind!"