Tuesday Has Survived | CD Review: "Diorama" by "Dominik Eulberg"

Today I'll be discussing a very tough CD. I can tell you, it isn't my usual cup of tea. Dominik Eulberg uses a wide variation on his fourth album, but still manages to keep them all in the certain line. But enough vagueness, let's pack our tent, flashlight and hiking gear, and discover the magical natural world of Eulberg's "Diorama".

What Do You Get?

On the left side of the CD, you can find the tracklist of the album. Every track is giving some background on why it's on the disc and what the title of the track should suggest. It's often the case that you get a trackname on your hands, but don't have a clue why it's called that way. It actually adds something to the whole thing! On the right side of the album lays the CD itself.

11 Wonders Of Nature On A Disc

It's important to know a little bit of background of Eulberg. Eulberg grew up in a small town in Germany, where nature pretty much ran its course. Growing up in such an environment, Eulberg developed a close bond with mother nature. At the same time, he got interested in Elektronic music, and heavily influenced by the Sven Väth show that was popular at the time, he learned himself to DJ and produce. Those two passions never seemed to get in each others way, more importantly, the two passions became one! His tracks are iconic for having sounds of nature blended inside of them. Croaking frogs, tjirping birds, the flowing of rivers...Nothing is too tough for the german producer to use for his songs.

Even now, while his producer career is blooming, he remains active as a park ranger in the German National Park. One of the reasons I wanted to do a review on this album, is because Nature and Music are also the main lines of interest in my life. The two combined can be magical, when used correctly. In this review, I'm going to see if Dominik has accomplished such a thing!

The theme of the album is of course of Ecological nature. He took a long study and field trip expedition in the German landscape. While he was on that expedition, Eulberg took the eleventh most wonderful scenery and creatures he could find, and transformed them into a composition of stellar precision. From the familiar "Bat" to a 9 eyed fish species, the album varies from recognizable creatures to utterly unknown one.

The Album

Täuschungs-Blume

Täuschungs-Blume, in other words "Deceiving-Flower", is named after its extraordinary looks. The lower part of the flower looks a like bee, which attracts real bees. In that way, the plant's chances to spread seeds are much bigger than other plants. The reason you haven't heard of seen much of the plant is because of it's rarity.

The track itself sets the tone for the entire album. The dark but slightly uplifting vibe it gives up will be heard throughout the entire eleven tracks. The tone is set quite dreamy and serious at the same time. It's a track you can easily put on, which is very clever from Eulberg. As soon as you've listened to this song, you'll be almost craving for more tracks!

Echomaus

"Echomaus" is a lot more close to Eulberg's roots. The pure techno feeling it gives to the listener might feel a little misplaced after the beautiful "Täuschungs-Blume". The track's distortion embodies the Bat's radar, that it uses to navigate itself at night. It almost feels like your finding yourself in the position of the flying bat, since the main sound of the track keeps the same but changes the entire time, like discovering new areas while flying. At around 4:50, a beautiful breakdown starts which I like to listen too everytime I hear the track. Very hard to listen to though. You could to push yourself through the song to actually enjoy the feeling of a bat described earlier.

Das Neunauge

The Lamprey, dubbed by the Germans as the "Neunauge (Nine Eyes)", is the oldest (500 million years!!!) living vertebrate (sharks, flamingos, jelly fish) living on planet earth. The species lives as a larve for a long time, but then abruptly transforms into a fish.

The track is just like "Echomaus", a lot darker. The creature lives its entire life undersea, and the track sets that vibe perfectly. The track sounds like a clear techno tune has been put underwater and been recorded. The first part of the track represents the larve state of the creature. The absence of a bass and tempo, suggest a weak defenseless slow creature. Abruptly (like the transformation), a strange sound comes in and kicks the track off with a bassline (fish state). A fine example of how Eulberg brings nature into his tracks.

Teddy Tausendtod

One of the most extraordinary creatures on the album! The miniscule "Waterbears" resemble the look of a deformed silly Teddybear. The creatures can only be seen under a strong microscope. They can survive temperatures and environments (even space) that no other mammal could. The most weird feature of the creature, is that when they dry out they would die. But one single drop of water can completely restore them to life, numerous times.

Again, this track has techno written all of it. The melody toff "cute" like a teddybear would be described. But if you get further into the track, the melody starts to sound way more darker and sinister, desribing the dark secret of immortality the creatures possesses. It does not quite embodies it though. Less accurate than the earlier tracks we described.

Islandmuschel 400

The Icelandic Cyperine, dubbed "Islandmuschel", is so extraordinary because you can find always find a shell here and there when visiting the beach. But a alive one is very rare, although it's lifespan is one of nature's longest: 400 years!

The track embodies something ancient, something majestic. A mussel isn't the most majestic wandering the earth, but IS the one of the oldest (some reach 400, so the track has again captured a wondrous creature perfectly. The clap in the track is also very nifty, since it origins from clapping a mussel shell. The first real track where you can hear an actual piece of nature clearly into the track, what is Eulbergs trademark. One of the most moving tracks of the album.

Die 3 Millionen Musketiere

The ant is one of the most common known creatures on the planet. Still, not many comprehend the amazing united unity of it. A sole ant can't survive, it needs his colony to remain existing. The track is called the three million musketeers, because the motto of the three musketeers embodies the idea behind the track: One for all, and all of one! Together, the ants are a pulsing heartbeat. They leave know one behind and build together, to an amazing civilization. Most underrated creature of the planet.

The track breaks the chain of dark techno tracks, and has a joyful spirit. The track actually gave me a feeling of unity, as I was on my bicycle, going to a destination in the city (with many other cyclist). The dreamy "Breaks" beat and melody, accompanied by the cut off vocals will be pleasant to anyone! One of my favorite tracks of the album.

H2O

Water is the biggest wonder of them all. Without water, nature wouldn't exist. This element of life has been give the central position in the album since it's presence is of uttermost necessary importance.

The track's sounds are quite light, referring to the beauty of the element. But the underlying heavy distortion and bass line give it a majestic feel. That's exactly the feeling Eulberg wanted to give to this track: Beautiful yet of vital importance.

I'm starting to notice Eulberg's his stunning skill of producing by now.

Der Tanz Der Glühwürmchen

The track that has lead me to this album and Dominik Eulberg. A very important track of the album actually, and my personal favourite.



The female fireflies don't have wings and are worm-like. The can emit a green light from their back that they use to find partners with. They're often dubbed as glowworms due to their larvae-like exterior. The dance of the glowworms point out their "dancing" deceiveness, because they're actually quite slow. The dancing is actually the flicking of their "tail". Since they're always with great numbers, it appears for them to be dancing with each other...

This track is one of the most beautiful ones of the album. The progressive waves it brings accompanied by a solid but gentle bass line, give it a dark but magical vibe. The magic nature possesses is often neglected, but luckily, people like Eulberg know how to bring it back to attention. I myself would love to see these glowworms due to this track. Extraordinary production!

Aeronaut

Probably one of Eulberg's own favourites, been given his birds obsession. The swift is one of the fastest flying creatures on the planet. The reason it's called "Aeronaut" is because the bird is almost constantly in the air. It breeds on the ground, but eats, cleans and even sleeps while airborne.

"Aeronaut" is one of the most experimental tracks on the album. The fast (due to the bird's speed) yet slow elements in the track make it very hard to listen to, but pleasant, like a good book. Breaks is a genre I'm fairly new to, but I can hear Eulberg has set an example for other producers here. Note: he recorded actual tjirping of the bird into the track!

Wenn Es Perlen Regnet

"When it's raining pearls", refers to the drips that come of plants in the shape of a solid pearl. The reason that water is able to drip of like that is of the plant's unique and complex structure.

Because the track starts off with recorded rain, the setting of a drippy forest is immediately made. The track has a joyful spirit, and is one of the "happiest" tracks of the album. It's quite special that Eulberg can take a simple obvious thing, like water dripping of a plant after a rain, and form it into this amazing uplifting piece of nature with just his production skills.

Metamorphose

We're all familiar with the amazing thing that is the transformation from Caterpillar to Butterfly. But the actual process is beyond anyone's grasp of imagination. Every organ is replaced by an entirely new one. After crawling half it's life, the Caterpillar starts to think like a flying insect out of nowhere, just by being in a cocoon. Truly mind blowing.

The last track of the album, actually feels like a last track. Eulburg shows he's also very gifted with the piano. This track feels, due to its instrumental elements, like a homage to nature itself. The beauty and mystery it holds and how we should cherish it. Most beautiful track on the album. Goosebumps will surely befall on your body. Dominik Eulberg goes out with a bang of beauty. The power of piano...

The final verdict

This album is truly one of the most moving albums I've heard. It's not emotional or a tearjerker, but it messes with your inner feelings about something that is consistently essential in human being's life: Nature. The way he portraits certain elements of gaia with his studio is almost impossible. Not only does Eulberg take you on a journey through the wonders of nature, but he also does something way more important with this album: He makes you fall in love with nature again, like when you were a kid. Nowadays, citylife is getting almost essential to a successive life. We're forgetting the beauty and importance of nature over the years. Eulberg has shown us how beautiful life outside the cities can actually be. Even I, a big fan of the ecological world, am moved by this piece of art.

I admit, this album is quite hard to listen to, especially if you don't listen to techno or electronic music on a daily basis. But I believe that if everyone give this album a chance, we can all feel human again.

From time to time, I'm posting a CD Review on Tuesday