The wait is over; Kollektiv Turmstrasse's highly anticipated album, "Unity of Opposites," is finally dropping in November 2023! The 12-track long-player is a true masterpiece that radiates boundless diversity. At its very core, "Unity of Opposites" remains deeply rooted in the essence of house music – a carefully woven tapestry of warmth, groove, and soulfulness. But Turmstrasse refuses to be limited by one style, taking the listener on a genre-hopping adventure, drawing inspiration from breakbeat to hip-hop, all the way to indie-dance with a wonderful array of vocals. What you might get if a scientific lab spliced TSHA with Floating Points, Travis Scott, and DJ Boring. "Unity of Opposites" is not a club album made for the dancefloor but a gift to everybody who wants to experience Turmstrasse's world in a whole new light: A heartfelt personal listening journey.

As one of the most successful German live acts in electronic music, Kollektiv Turmstrasse, also known by his real name Nico Plagemann, is an influential presence on the global techno and house sound. With regular shifts in his musical direction and stylistic development, he is living proof that change means progress. As an artist who is focused on the liberated space between breakbeat, driving house tracks and anthems for the dancefloor, he is unique and equipped with a compelling discography. “Unity of Opposites” marks his first album since the much-lauded “Rebellion Der Träumer” in 2010.

Of course, Nico has evolved somewhat since that last album, and Kollektiv Turmstrasse is now a solo project. So, in many respects, “Unity of Opposites” is a debut album, representing Turmstrasse 13 years after the last album. Embracing his creativity as a solo artist, expressing himself in the fullness of his being and inviting the listener into his eclectic and emotionally driven audio world. The feeling across all twelve tracks on this wonderfully diverse, yet cohesive, album is soulful, nourishing, emotive and warm - music made to move the body, mind and spirit in equal measure.

The album is peppered with additional “intro” compositions, titled ‘Betwixt 1 - 7”, each of which features poems from renowned Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke. They punctuate the flow of the album, giving it a natural flow and narrative. Truly, this is a body of work that asks to be listened to from start to end.

Turmstrasse takes musical departures into exciting and winding avenues, leading us past breakbeat, indie dance, and techno to influences from hip hop and the catchy, but always high quality, elements of pop music. “My sound is a crossover of everything I listen to – and that ranges from soul to techno.” Something that is evident on this new album.

The spectrum of inspiration ranges from the wistful breakbeats of the nineties on ‘Wait for Me’, which has a very contemporary sheen. Vocal manipulation and piano keys add emotionally charged layers, while a powerful breakdown emphasises the beauty of this stunning cut.
Accompanied by productions like ‘Night Wire’, a high-energy dance track with a rousing riff and a jubilant atmosphere throughout.
‘Fools In Love’ features Joel Stewart, who also appears on ‘When The Lights Go Lower’ and ‘Never Enough’. Joel’s soulful voice glides effortlessly over the spinetingling instrumental, with strings, keys, skipping beats and a melancholy bassline. ‘Nothing Hold Me Back’ goes down a completely different avenue, with an ominous, growling low end and the uber-smooth vocals of Tien Viet Nguyen. This is a skilfully produced sombre alt-pop cut with an inspiring narrative and beautifully arranged beats, strings, and keys. Destined for radio play worldwide, ‘Nothing Hold Me Back’ demonstrates Kollektiv Turmstrasse’s diverse sonic palette and incredible ability to shift between genres with panache. Title track ‘Unity of Opposites’ also features Tien on vocals, this time with a melodramatic intro that’s almost cinematic in its epic tension-building. This cut encapsulates Nico’s musicianship, weaving together orchestral instrumentation, potent songwriting, and unique electronic sounds to really drive home his diverse sonic identity… And just a few of the stunning productions on what is a very personal release for Kollektiv Turmstrasse.

Almost twenty years since he first started making music, Nico Plagemann alias Kollektiv Turmstrasse has reached a point in his career where he can experiment freely and fearlessly. With “Unity of Opposites”, he channels his broad experience and tastes into a collection of music that stands alone as a testament to his artistry. Full of soul and touching on a variety of emotions within the spectrum of human experience, this is a creative endeavour that embraces the album format fully and is destined to be career-defining…

© 2023 Marcus Barnes / Laura Ewert