Benedikt Frey
1987 | R.I.O. (RIO09)

Prepare to embark on a captivating journey through time and sound with "1987" by Benedikt Frey, a mesmerising mini-album released on R.i.O. (RIO09). This sonic odyssey transports you back to the year that witnessed monumental events like the privatisation of British Airways, the debut of Starbucks in Canada, and the agreement to construct Disneyland Paris with the French Prime Minister.

In the skies above distant corners of the world, a hybrid solar eclipse briefly materialised, while Margaret Thatcher made a surprising appearance on Soviet television. The year 1987 also marked the debut of The Simpsons as a series of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, Diego Maradona's triumph in Italian soccer, and the audacious landing of a private plane on Red Square in Moscow by an eighteen-year-old West German pilot, Mathias Rust.

Amidst the world's first conference on artificial life at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the opening of the first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Mainland China, and the approval of Prozac as an antidepressant in the United States, "1987" emerges as Benedikt Frey's freshest mini-album. Released on R.i.O., a label he co-manages with friends in North Berlin, this release delivers a dub-infused melancholic conquest—a sonic journey that's both wistfully repetitive and hauntingly absorbing.

With six dark-ish tracks that traverse trance, melancholic dub, downbeat heaven, and depths of journey music, "1987" captivates with its light and yet dark aura. It's a futuristic drama interwoven with speculative pasts—a musical narrative that bridges the gap between dreams and reality.

Through crystal-clear melodies, sampled voices, veiled basslines, analogue scopes, and digital ropes, Benedikt Frey's music invites you to a time where deep listening expands the acoustics into infinity, and neon glows pierce the light smog. It's a sonic adventure that echoes tales of the past while propelling you into the future.