Thomas Bjerring: Stratus

Glimmering robotic bleep patterns, choral bits, and background ghost sirens color the A-side of Thomas Bjerring’s Traum Schallplatten debut, but this rookie tech house producer is exceedingly cautious in filling space. In an advanced display of restraint, “Stratus” captivates at first with an elaborate two-minute build-up, and even as it creeps in from all angles, the leadoff disorients in headphones. Copenhagen’s Bjerring offers a powerful percussive front, and teases mournful textures from string samples and quickly evaporating synth chords. Guest David Skog’s vocal aligns nicely with a somber and much shorter “2:45”, an accessible, Chromophobia-like electropop serving swimming in echo effects and packing a gorgeous, analog finish. It’s just as warm and docile as “Stratus”, with Skog never overreaching in his hushed efforts to tell us about the “roof, where the weather is calm”.