Modeselektor are known for their rave-indebted style of maximalist glitch techno, while Apparat is known for ambient-leaning electronica, but when they work together as Moderat, the separate elements of their work build into something new. ‘Reminder’ is the lead single from the collaboration’s third and final album III and for those familiar with their prior work, it offers similar rewards.
Moderat have always eschewed dance-floor sounds for something more akin to James Blake or Thom Yorke, and ‘Reminder’ is another moody, introspective burner. Starting with cracked falsetto vocals over a metallic cluttered beat, before droning bass and glass tones float in, ‘Reminder’ bursts into a melancholically euphoric chorus of glowing chords and pitched-down samples. There’s more than a scent of trip-hop around the way it recalls Massive Attack, but its anthemic structure feels more festival-ready than bedroom-listening. ‘Reminder’ is too morose to really work in the context of club music, but it borrows from dance music’s sense of surprise – it is the hedonistic pleasure of rave bliss, turned inside out into self-reflection.
