Âme 'A Strollology' | Dream House, reimagined
Âme have reawakened their ‘Dream House’ LP into a new reality with a downloadable mix available from today - Friday 22nd January.
But this is not the album as we know it: ‘Dream House - A Strollology’ is a brand new interpretation, in collaboration with Highsnobiety for their digital ‘BERLIN, BERLIN’ exhibition this weekend in celebration of the city and its fashion week. Over 47 continuous minutes, we are made familiar with a selection of the album’s tracks, but instead they have been reimagined and blended together, providing you the perfect soundtrack as you become lost walking around your city.
Inspired by friends who had mentioned to Frank Wiedemann, one half of Âme, that they had discovered Dream House during their lockdown, this is a mix which refreshes the 2018 album with the relevant feelings of yesteryear. Expect to hear Dream House in a brand new light, as it’s blended with real-life street recordings from Berlin taken in 2020. An album which was originally created to listen off the dancefloor, in times when we were on the dancefloor, has now found itself playing perfectly in place with its original concept.
The mix: A Stroll through Berlin
The day is young, and as we wake up in an almost Dream-like state, we soon venture ourselves out the House. Berlin’s streets are packed slightly with the city’s souls gravitating around our own. The metal spin of a bike slows in distilled motion past us, the air between the buildings bounce back and forth against the brickwork. We catch glimpses of conversations - some in German, and some in English. “Missing my friends” is heard clearly - don’t we all?
We press play on ‘Dream House’.
The beginning of ‘Helliconia’ has always arched into an eerie atmosphere. Nothing touched, but left like it is: the soft, spiralling echoes perpetuate us still. The tender tugs of strings begin to wake us up from our morning daze and pursue ourselves into action. The wooden dabbles are like the motion of our feet pottering down the street and pacing faster as our strides themselves become more confident. A deep two-beat rhythm lies underneath like our heart pumping at the core of our body: both carrying us forward simultaneously. ‘Helliconia’ mirrors where we are now, where minute elements are filled all around us, drifting by as the world spins by. Eight minutes after leaving the house, and our feet dramatically change pace. ‘Queen Of Toys’ with the thrusting beltches push themselves away like we’re running out of breath, and as we glance to the side we catch glimpse of water pelting down in its fountain, taking all our attention for that split second. Strokes of crystal lullabies gloss forwards and our walking is smooth and perfectly flawless.
‘Blind Eye’ is reprised with a beatless approach, blending itself in smoother as it’s layered on the ‘Queen Of Toys’, which smoulders in the backdrop delicately. The instant singing of Planningtorock pops up and takes over like the voice in our head. Another fountain passed, and the flowing of the water cannot distract us from the belching this time. Beginning to break itself down, the sullen guitar strums shudder further for suspense; the added atmosphere is built once more: sounds reminiscent of traffic whizzing past in the misty and vaporous atmosphere. Jam Rostron’s over-pitched voice fleshes up the suspense and ramps up the tensions as we’ve found ourselves in a packed area with too much going on. Sirens glazing, vehicles speeding by and a flurry of people bumping past us. Big stomps, like our heartbeat from ‘Deadlocked’ now place themselves into the main frame. Floating themselves deliciously through the cleaner atmosphere, we come into a calmer state of mind. At 18 minutes in, we have become more settled within our minds. Again, faint voices bring a gentle reminder people are present, but our escape from the bustling streets and towards open greenery points to our secludedness. Big drum kicks paired with the plush-coated guitar riffs make us take notice of the beauty of nature around us as we walk: there’s the occasional clip of wind on our ears, and the silky-smooth instrumental amplifies itself like the sun illuminating vividly on our skin for its last few hours of life
We soon find ourselves lost in in the harmonics of it all as ‘Deadlocked’ plays out and floats powerfully through the atmosphere of our thoughts. Flushed out with transparent twinkles, we’re out from nature’s landscape and find ourselves passing a station. ‘Positivland’ comes into our earphones. The sound of a train in slow motion smudges itself slowly along the top, whilst the halt of the carriage screeches ever-so-gently. There’s echoes of an announcement which works in harmony with the twisting chords of the track. As the melody swishes through, we hear another train depart. The beat kicks in and everything begins to piece together, rumbling and crusading into life’s motion once more. ‘Positivland’ is a burst of brightness, and even though day has now faded to evening, the splattered glass drops twinkle like the bright lights of the station in the night.
Our spirits, high and bright as we feel, work themselves into the whipped snare of ‘Futuro Antico’. The sharp beat is like the cool and crisp air of the night - fresh, youthful and with plenty more to offer. Cascading swooshes gain more fluctuation, and the air cuts sharp again. Slithering gently along gently for a short while, we find ourselves back amongst the business of Berlin’s streets, but this time the dynamic has become deeper and more intense as we’ve found ourselves in the darkness of the night. ‘No War’ puts all its cards on the table, holding dear to its signature composed tension. The meticulously orchestrated bell shakes with the angelic harmony and dabbling drum conveys the mixture of night surrounding us from every corner. A track which needs no extra drama is given exactly that, with those swishes of air delicately placed into the background again; madness from every angle possible. But yet, with no core beat as found in the original, it begins to strike us how it resembles the absence of clubbing and nightlife in Berlin, that the beating soul to the city when it’s dark, is currently not present.
We stop, and pause. All the turbo-charged chaos grinds to a halt - nothing but the sounds of the cars and footsteps. Crafting slight tension from the bare bones of ‘No War’ as we soak in everything around us slowly, here the bronzed chimes and wretched vocals sing in a dream-like state as we’re stuck in the moment. We step back, just as Matthew Herbert sings in ‘The Line’, and stand alone in the darkness of the Berlin we can currently see. It’s left to close the mix in the beauty of its original creation (one which is noticeably slower-tempoed now), which places a greater monumental focus on the lyrics for you to bask in the environment which you may have never taken in around you before.
words by joanne philpott
‘Dream House: A Strollology’ ft. Planningtorock & Matthew Herbert is also available via Highsnobiety’s website and can also be streamed and downloaded here. If you live in Berlin, you can also access it through QR codes throughout the city for the event’s AR experience.
BERLIN, BERLIN is running between January 22nd-24th, and is also joined by the likes of Keinemusik, Little Sun (Olafur Eliasson), Jonas Lindstroem and United We Stream. You can find out more here.
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