German electronic musician Markus Guentner has been a favourite for many years now. You can dig through HC archives and find plenty of coverage on these pages, beginning with his appearance on the celebrated Pop Ambient compilations [he appeared on the very first instalment back in 2001!], his gorgeous albums Theia (2015) and Extropy (2021) on A Strangely Isolated Place, and, most recent collaboration album Overlay (2023), with Joachim Spieth on the latter’s quickly growing in influence Affin imprint. I even got a chance to meet him over a decade ago when he performed live at the Substrata festival in Seattle, curated and put into fruition by the one and only Rafael Anton Irisarri (I can’t believe it’s been so long, Raf!). This Friday, February 7th, 2025, Guentner will unveil his brand new album, Black Dahlia, on Affin, diving even deeper into sound design, lush with ambient textures and dimly-lit depths. I don’t want to call this album “dark”, but I must acknowledge the [very much welcome, IMHO] shift towards even more cinematic soundscapes, where the nocturnal atmospherics drift in their haunting obscurity and shadowy tints. This is a delicious concoction of sonic delights, which is only enhanced by the visuals created by Markus himself to accompany each piece. “The Turning Wheel” is the last piece on the album, with its monochrome artwork re-imagined as an evolving visualizer, reflecting the fusion of the natural world and technology. All you need is a subwoofer, large screen, and a dark room now!
