[Rephlex]

As the surviving half of Drexciya and impresario of numerous celebrated solo projects and collaborations, Gerald Donald needs little introduction; his reputation for heady, icy funk truly precedes him. Zwischenwelt, a collaboration between Donald (as Heinrich Mueller), primary vocalist Beta Evers, Penelope Martin, and Susana Correia, is the latest entry in his oeuvre; and although it’s probably unfair of me to begin by bringing up his legacy, we have to start somewhere. Besides, their debut album, Paranormale Aktivitat isn’t far removed from that legacy, sonically and conceptually. Fans of Donald’s clinical arrangements (as well as Evers’, for that matter), wormy bass lines and knife-like highs will not be disappointed.

Mnml ssgs recently posted an amusingly tight-lipped interview with Evers, which, in its reticence, insinuates that Paranormale Aktivitat should be left somewhat open to interpretation. She mentions that the project (translation: “in-between world”) is an exploration of parapsychology, which “investigates paranormal psychic abilities using scientific methods.” The conceptual focus on scientific methodology falls in line with Donald’s past work, but it also furthers the deviation into softer textures witnessed on his releases with Victoria Lukas as Zerkalo. Parapsychology, in turn, seems to have an inherent dichotomy, as it attempts to encapsulate the ethereal in rigid analyses. This isn’t to suggest Paranormale Aktivitat is a divided album; on the contrary, it hangs together quite nicely. But by its insistent relishing of the cryptic, the listener is forced to consider the concept’s overall purpose.

If this sounds a bit dense, consider “Enigmata,” one of the album’s instrumentals. It’s a stuttering electro piece, with bass squelches, clusters of glassy arpeggios, and grim pads looming in the background. The track is evocative, certainly, but not immediately redolent of the paranormal on its own. However, buffered by the Zwischenwelt mythology, the abstruse vocal cuts and the online visual mystique, it comes alive. In issue 321 of The Wire, Derek Walmsley writes that, “…Drexciya’s waterworld is, essentially, inhospitable… Although Drexciya made concept albums, they depict a void rather than a utopia.” There is a similarly uninhabitable void at play here. Zwischenwelt describe the indescribable by simply hinting at it, by giving it a context.

The tracks on Paranormale Aktivitat range from more uptempo electro to sparse synthesizer ambience, but all seem to pit the rational human with the occult. On the steely, ultra-spare “Premonition,” an almost robotic, accented utterance of the title phrase clashes with pillowy background “ahhs.” “Clairvoyant” mingles the simplistic couplet, “scenes of time and space/in my mind’s eyes,” with the title, subtly panned above a stiff, persistent arpeggio. These tracks’ success is wholly in their power of suggestion, striving for clear interpretations of the paranormal without veering into fantasy. The album’s last track, “Telekinesis,” might also be its quintessential statement. Its central figure’s intense psychic focus (“she can burn you with her mind”) parallels the meticulous precision of the project’s sonics, as well as the overarching theme of the scientific approach. As clear as this analogy may seem, Paranormale Aktivitat remains a densely enigmatic listen, the young year’s most captivating riddle.