Aparde will release his new album, Alliance, on Christian Löffler‘s Ki Records.

Alliance is the German musician’s fourth album, following 2019’s Hands Rest, also on Ki Records. It sees him retreating from his recent experimentations with avant-garde pop back into the world of deep, and often dark, electronica.

For his previous album, Aparde, real name Paul Schröder, ventured outside Berlin’s club scene through the use of his voice, which gave his music a softer and more intimate edge. Alliance is no less intimate, we’re told, except this time “the musician’s vulnerability seeps through the cracks rather than taking center stage.”

“This album was about focusing on something that calmed me down and brought me away from reality,” says Aparde. When he says “away from reality,” he doesn’t mean into dreamy, ethereal soundscapes, but rather a deep dive into dystopian atmospheres of drone sounds and chewed-up drum machines.

With Alliance, Aparde “brings listeners deep into his soul, a soul that is at times conflicted and agitated and at times low-key and solemn,” the label says. “And as he does so, the listener’s own mood is muted and lifted in a journey of quest, dance, and healing.”

Aparde signed to Ki Records with 2017’s Glass. You can read more about him in his XLR8R feature here. Meanwhile, check out Christian Löffler’s XLR8R podcast here.

Tracklisting

01. Locked
02. Allies
03. Unfamiliar
04. Lined
05. The Shift
06. Hole
07. Know You
08. End

Alliance LP is scheduled for May 28 release. You can pre-order it here, and stream “Know You” in full below.