Yello – Touch Yello

Eccentric connoisseurs of impeccable sound, this unique duo of stylish, multi-faceted personalities, Dieter Meier and Boris Blank are, to lend a quote from the opening track, Experts in the game.

Theirs has always been a world of its own, leaving little space for imitation or wider musical following. Where some acts opened doors to an entirely new space in electronic music ready to be filled in and developed by others, Yello has always stood alone, on top of their own mountain with no space for others. Just as it is impossible to copy vintage wine, their world shares similar rare qualities that feel uniquely rewarding.

Touch Yello is no different. Saying Boris Blank's instrumentation and music production are flawless would be stating the obvious. His tracks range in mood from mysteriously playful, to nocturnal and cool, from razor sharp to soothing and moving. On the whole the album has a more loungey feel.

The guest singers bring extra colour and warmth, especially Heidi Happy, whose penetrating and soothing voice in tracks 2 and 12 weaves through the tracks beautifully and has the capacity to seamlessly move.

It's incredible to consider the range of styles Boris Blank can pull off and still sound unmistakably Yello.

Some tracks manage to by, creating great background accompaniment, but others hit directly home with their sheer beauty and elegance.

Tracks of note would be 1. The Expert - elegant and suave, perfectly sums up the duo.

2. You Better Hide (with Heidi Happy) - a surprisingly beautiful and heartbreaking plead. Masters at work here.

3. Out Of Dawn - Dieter Meier's trademark voice on top of nocturnal latin rhythms.

5. Till Tomorrow - an echoey, jazzy instrumental, with muffled trumpet warming up the room.

10. Vertical Vision - another, slightly more sinister instrumental, which could make great stage music.

11. Trackless Deep - catchy memories of a great summer holiday in tones and lyrics, tropical rhythms, blue ocean, breezy beaches and coconuts, surprisingly keeping the overall mood undisturbed.

12. Stay (with Heidi Happy) - in my opinion an absolute jewel in the crown of this album. Touchingly open lyrics, beautifully produced with minimal sparks and light touches, unassuming and almost hidden among the other tracks. Heidi Happy's voice penetrates right into the heart, and her plead touches the sensitive side, it's all done in 3:03 minutes. Rarely can such little time create so much response these days. This track alone would carry the album far enough for me.

14. Takla Makan (with Dorothee Oberlinger) - the closing track is an exotic instrumental, evokative of the night in the desert [edit: excuse my ignorance, Takla Makan is a desert in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, thanks for correcting], cinematic in its feel, enhancing the night mood.

Despite the few unnecessary "ing by" tracks, its a 5/5.

no vinyl release ? :(