Surround by Renniac, released on Stadtgruenlabel, is an EP that softly treads through a landscape of over-saturated and melancholic ambience. There are elements that remind me of phonographic experiments, and the notes that accompany Surround and the name itself nod towards this direction. This is most obvious in Neuland, which one might assume features recordings of René’s garden. It starts and ends with birdsong, quite apt for spring.
Renniac isn’t afraid of expressing emotion, and the best moments in Surround are when this is prominent. Occasionally glitchy, noisy sounds mutate into melodies, which happens wonderfully in Still, and Around The World.
Surround is diverse, and I was surprised to hear vocals in Everything That Reminds Me. They’re very restrained, and sometimes seem a little underproduced, but the overall feeling works well, reminiscent of David Sylvian singing on Transit by Fennesz. In some ways I can’t help feel that René has tried to reduce the impact of the vocals by restraining them, since being the only vocals in the whole release they stand out a little bit. But that’s not to say I’d take them out, they demonstrate what Renniac may be capable of in the future.