Berlin duo The/Das are to release their sophomore album, Exit Strategies, on Life And Death in September 2017, with the first EP from it, Drug Dilling, having already landed this month.

The absorbing 12-tracker is the result of a period of “searching” that finds Fabian Fenk and Philipp Koller “combine multiple ideas, layers, fragments and sounds and refine their distinct idea of techno tenderness,” the label explains. It is described as a “perfect blend of the pair’s Berlin techno roots with a devotion to organic sounds and cinematic details that make it a real trip for the head, heart, and heel from start to finish.” We’re also told that it is more “house influenced” than their previous works on labels like Sinnbus, Krakatau, and Life And Death.

The album itself was an unhurried affair made from various sketched starting points collected over three years of research. Influenced from their travels, a decade of DJ gigs and shared musical experiences, they then headed into the studio for three intense months to arrange, rework, jam out new material, edit and collate all their sounds and ideas. Finally, they spent three weeks behind the mixing desk, shaping the whole lot into one complete form. Made using an array of drum machines and with a new focus on sampling, the album has experimental loops, sounds and rhythms imbued within, and lyrics that act as textural and emotive interventions, adding to the overall flow.

All this plays out from the start. Most important to the process was making the whole album feel like one continuous piece with nuances that take you up and down and really move the listener from start to finish. There is a distinction between electronic songwriting, tracks for the dance floor, bridging tunes and hybrids of all of the above. Importantly, when these are all stitched together the seams are invisible, the overall narrative shines through and the poise of their succulent grooves, the mindfulness of their atmospheres and the richness of their sonic palette really resonates.

Tracklisting

01 Put Castle
02 Divine Voices
03 Loveboat
04 Moon
05 Ischias
06 Fool You
07 Brace For Landing
08 Dog Sled
09 Eso 3
10 Nano Spinacio
11 Group Meditation, Late Reflections
12 Drug Dilling

Exit Strategies LP is scheduled for September 8 release, with “Ischias” streamable in full below.