Having already released a wonderful album by Totakeke earlier in the year, Tympanik Audio shows no signs of letting up with another terrific release, this time at the hands of Subheim, a.k.a. Kostas K of Athens, Greece. Although the label is still young, with less than ten releases under its belt, it has demonstrated a keen ability to search out some of the more exciting rising artists in the electronic/ambient world. While it seems like every other new label that crops up these days is trying to sell you some permutation of the genres found on Tympanik, few could claim artists with as much depth and maturity as the Chicago imprint. That, my friend, is the cold, hard truth.

Enough label fellating, let's get down to Subheim. Kostas' music is a blend of various well established genres, the primary ones being ambient, IDM, and downtempo. On top of that, he includes industrial influences and some of those ethereal females vocals that guys go completely nuts over. Vocals are always a tricky business in ambient music, but the ones on Approach sit at the back of the mix and just penetrate through the layers at precisely the right moments. Otherwise Kostas is ripping through one layer to the next with the utmost expertise and intent. Fans of Kiln, Boy is Fiction, and Helios will surely find much to agree with on Approach, and there are cross sections available to all their most recent works. 

Subheim joins the small number of musicians who excel both at sequencing beats and constructing ambient layers. Even those of us living in caves can probably testify that this is a hot spot in musical exploration of the last two years or so, and many have gone down in flames attempting to mix the cocktail just right (see Port-Royal's latest). The first two thirds of the disc are just marvelous. "Hush" gets things started with great results, and "Ybe 76" brings in a piano for some Boy is Fiction-esque action. The beats are strong and not flimsy, and the ambience is convincing and tasteful. "One Step Before the Exit" sets the pace with a glitched out IDM beat, and runs just long enough for us to get our fill. The real treat of the album is the seven minute "Howl," which stitches together everything Kostas does well. It's a gloomy track that makes great use of the vocals, as well as the interplay between the elecronic and ambient parts of the album. Oh, there's also some string work in the back end of the track, ala Bersarin Quartett. Really, what's not to like?

After "Away," "Hollow," and "Stranded" carry Approach's momentum, things begin to unravel with "Intact." At just two minutes and thirty-two seconds, the piece is very minimal and not much happens at all. This run contrary to much of the preceding material, and really only works as filler in its currently position. Moving the track up in the ordering might help, but otherwise it's not earning it's salary. "Voces Perdidas" suffers a similar fate. Though a much longer track, it's mostly an interplay between ambient and the vocals, and not much develops over its course. On one hand, the last two tracks show that Subhiem might not be as proficient of an ambient artist as we initially expected. But, on the other, it does illustrate just how intriguing his meshing of different genres is -- when he sticks to more simplistic compositions he's often at a loss of motivation. The album is extended by two additional tracks, a remix of "Hollow" by Mobthrow, and a reconstruction of "One Step Before the Exit" by Flaque. Both pale in comparison to the originals, and don't fit into the scope of Approach's goal. 

Aside from ending on a weaker note, Approach is a very strong effort from the Grecian artist and should be applauded on many levels. The criticism is minor at best, and greatly outweighed by the delights discovered on the front side of the album. Tympanik has released another gem, and with a string of solid releases under its belt, we're now anxiously awaiting their next move.

-Lee Whitfield