10 years after their second album, Moderat release ‘II (10th Anniversary Sped Up Version)’

Today marks the 10th anniversary of Moderat‘s second album II, a landmark project in the band’s discography, reveling in freewheeling rhythmic manoeuvres that circle a broad spectrum of emotions while pushing towards expansive sonic horizons hitherto unexplored. To celebrate the first decade of their classic, Moderat now unveil II (10th Anniversary Sped-up Edition) – a version that has picked up speed to quickly administer the pleasure of experiencing a formative moment in electronic music again for the first time.

On the day of the release of II on 2 August 2013, Moderat had this to say: “After spending six quite intense months in the studio, we just finished our 2nd album. It‘s simply called “Moderat II“ and we aged about ten years while making it but we think it was worth the trouble”. Sascha Ring, Sebastian Szary and Gernot Bronsert avoided a dreaded 4D rift that would have manifested itself today if they’d really taken ten years, but instead they embraced an era in which they  had deep roots and in which, with artistic temerity and musical innovation, they decisively paved the way for an entire trend in electronic music towards the advent of what we would today call IDM-atmospheric, with its resolute synthesizers structured around tempered ambient notes. The album has a protean, physical sound, the result of Moderat’s playful experiments with speed superimposed over softer notes that can accelerate, decelerate or stop the dynamic at any moment. 

Consequently, the critical success of II largely stemmed from the Berlin trio’s temporal blends, between suspended melancholy snares (“Bad Kingdom”, “Damage Done”, “Let in the Light”) and ever-changing kinetic patterns (“Milk”, “Versions”, “Gita”), establishing a permanent swinging pendulum between diurnal agitation and its introspective nocturnal equivalent – like the soundtrack to a timelapse that begins in a trail of dust after tearing off into the Californian desert and ends with a solitary drive through the over the winding arcs of the Pregerson Interchange.

Ten years on, now that time has become an erosive commodity, with attention spans and song lengths constantly shrinking, there’s no time to lose: Moderat pulls out the gearbox again and tightens up the electrocardiogram of II‘s tracks to increase the pulse, an adrenaline shot to be (re)experienced on a protracted basis.

Experience high-speed on MTR035SP here, and revisit Moderat’s second album here.