Single: Kauf - 'A Ruin'

Photo credit: Daniel Trese

I’ve never really understood people’s issues with tracks over three-and-a-half minutes long. “Intro’s two minutes long… what?!” As well as getting more sound for your money, I’ve always felt that longer tracks give time for the music to grow and develop, unconcerned with fitting neatly into the short attention span apparently required for radio compatibility.

While Kauf’s ‘A Ruin’ is by no means a 28-minute sprawling epic, this 6-minute mix of 80’s dance and brooding synth is a nice example of music indifferent to the ploy of rapid-fire melodies to quickly engage the listener. Growing from minimal, abstract bass and synths, with drums slowly brought into focus, the solid groove is happy to escalate at its own pace. Indeed, as the nuanced electronics continue to build, it’s almost a surprise when the laid-back vocals enter the fold, adding another welcome layer. It’s not that the track doesn’t go anywhere, it merely continues to envelop the listener with its subtle variations, until you're once again in the middle of the song’s main simple, yet nagging, electro-hook. Happy to drift along, even the ending seems content to hang around, never threatening to outstay its welcome but helping to emphasis the track’s effective rhythm.

An enjoyable track to get lost in.

Words of DS_convertible