Struktur - Levitation - Maloca
Frieder Blume, known among other monikers as Struktur, steps outside his usual Berlin territory with a new album on the Belgian Maloca label, run by Le Motel since 2020. Nonetheless, Levitation seamlessly continues his previous work, embracing a genre-fluid scope deeply shaped by his artistic signature sound, also offering a new, refreshing twist.
When Blume launched his label and artist project "Σ" in 2013—which concluded with a final release by Caterina Barbieri in 2017—it already seemed as though he had defined his very own sonic identity. His early releases on tape, 7", and 12" ranged from sparse, purist drones to mesmerizing, cold techno, a versatility superbly captured on his debut album Schleifen. Under his new moniker Struktur, he carried this sound forward, stuck to a tight circle of Berlin imprints (such as Sonidos del Arbol), and founded another self-titled label for the first chapter of this new era.
Following a brief hiatus, he returned with Schleifen II in 2025 and, alongside this latest release on Maloca, another album titled Still—a project fully focused on extended ambient, electronica, and drone-heavy big-room jams.
What was already emerging on Schleifen II becomes particularly evident on Levitation: fans of Blume’s earlier output will get their money’s worth with berlin-schooled techno cuts tailored for large spaces, such as Disparity, Suspension, the slow-grooving Adrift, or Gravitational Pull (an essential track for fans of Nullpunkt and Hidden Hawaii). Degeneracy Pressure serves as a prime example of his evolving sound, where classic Σ elements merge with Struktur’s newfound focus on trippy synth arpeggios—effectively bridging the two eras.
Much like Schleifen II, this new record reveals a dreamy, floating, and melancholic side. The title track "Levitation", alongside Grounding, Carrier, and Falling Through, features carefully and patiently arranged, mournful halftime steppers that never drift into cheesiness. Meanwhile, Uncertainty—a proper drum n bass roller—and Falling Through, with its heavy breakbeat samples and deep dub techno chords, stand out and might even offer a compelling glimpse into where Blume’s sound might be headed next.
