Bob Data – States Of No Matter (EP – Sturm)

Genre/Influences: IDM, Experimental, Electro.
Format: Digital.
Background/Info: Bob Data is a side-project of Aleksandrs Oļģerts Bērziņš of Irklis. Last year he released the debut album “The Stars are Fire” and now strikes back with four new songs.
Content: The titles of the EP are somewhat confusing as each title features the same words, but in a different order. The music is quite similar, each track featuring a few differences or different accentuations. Sound-wise Bob Data invites the listener to explore a Minimal-Electro universe carried by slow rhythms. You will now hear a bass line in the forefront while other passages are darker, even a bit Klinik-al right at the end or simply supported with a string creating an Ambient universe.
+ + + : Irklis is a project I’ve always supported for its originality and Bob Data has my support as well, although somewhat different in the creative process. The German musician has a nose for creativity, which he also reveals with his creative –and funny approach in the titles of the songs. I like this work for its Minimalism, which comes close to IDM, but it also has something Cinematographic. The last piece “No Things Matter” is a cool apotheosis, but I also have to mention “Things No Matter” for its irresistible bass line.
– – – : With a little bit more diversity, this work would be a true masterpiece.
Conclusion: Bob Data brings an interesting mix of influences, which will be appreciated by lovers of intelligent and creative Electro underground music.
Best songs: “No Things Matter”, “Things No Matter”, “No Matter Things”.
Rate: 7½.
Artist: www.facebook.com/bob.data.sound
Label: www.sturm.lv / www.facebook.com/sturm.lv
About Bob Data
Bob Data is a side-project of Aleksandrs Oļġerts Bērziņš, who also records as Irklis. Both projects appear on Sturm, which Discogs describes as a Latvian industrial music label and promoter of underground concerts.
Sturm released the album “The Stars Are Fire” and the four-track EP “States Of No Matter”, both in digital form, and the mini-album “Idle Moved” in 2023. Discogs dates both the album and the EP to 2020, while this review, published in December 2021, presents the EP as that year’s follow-up to the debut.
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I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

