- Jens Kuhn's last record, Workshop 20, was defined by its slowness and its sultriness. Not that the Workshop co-founder has ever been averse to such qualities. But given that his latest is equally languid, he seems to be defaulting to this mood more and more. A producer of Kuhn's pedigree has nothing further to prove, and his music these days is sounding extremely comfortable in its own skin.
Man On Wire's title track slopes along below 100 BPM, its twinkly Rhodes chords and denatured percussion never quite mustering a solid groove. The title is presumably a reference to the film, but there's little sense of daredevil ambition here—just a gorgeous downtempo doodle, growing ever more charming as it goes. A "Reconstruction" of the same track finds its house feet, but Kuhn leaves acres of space in the arrangement, as if the pitter-patter drums and twilit synth chords are only meeting in passing. Initially, "Hidden Track" offers more direct thrills: its opening groove hints at the clipped funk of Kuhn's most floor-pleasing productions. But before long a melancholic chord progression, almost identical to that on Workshop 20's A2, sends us in another direction. It's hardly a flashy moment, but it's a deeply satisfying one all the same.
TracklistA1 Man On Wire
A2 Man On Wire (Reconstruction)
B1 Hidden Track