Turning their gaze to the buoyant culture of wyrd, modernist German folk music, Quindi welcome a spectacularly idiosyncratic offering from Johannes Schebler, aka Baldruin. Bewildering narrative twists, high drama and intricate delicacy make Mosaike der Imagination an engrossing listen from the outset, as baroque atmospheres and tumbledown drums intertwine with tactile string plucks and needlepoint synthesis in an authoritative bridging of ancient and hypermodern sonic sensibilities. Schebler's catalogue as Baldruin is extensive, reaching back to the late '00s and covering a lot of ground through cassette albums on respected underground labels like SicSic, A Giant Fern, and Lullabies For Insomniacs. Meanwhile, his work has been recognized as part of a broader movement of experimental electronic music in Germany taking inspiration from folk traditions, as documented on Gespensterland. Beyond his solo work, Schebler also works with Jani Hirvonen as Grykë Pyje (mappa), and both collaborate with Paul Wilson as Yayoba (Not Not Fun). Christian Schoppik of leading dark folk project Brannten Schnüre joins him as Freundliche Kreisel (STROOM). It's a tangled, fascinating and evocative sound world which Mosaike der Imagination offers a compelling window into. No two tracks on the album follow the same pattern or palette, whether gliding through the Giallo synth undulations and post rock tonal arcs of "Stimme des Wegelagerers" or spelling out miasmic incantations through flickering flames on "Aus dem Feuer, aus dem Licht." "Hinein, hinaus, hinüber" revolves around meditative drum mantras and cascading melodic phrasing, densely layered and evolving with purpose. "Gemeinsam hindurch" flicks between swooping strings and pizzicato plucks in a purely romantic expression of orchestration, "Mit verbundenen Augen" is a bewildering choral voice study and "Im Sternstrom" revels in ecstatic synth arpeggios. Nothing can be predicted except the vibrancy and clarity of Schebler's vision. It's a vision which extends to the front cover artwork for Mosaike der Imagination -- a glorious tapestry created by Finnish artist Jan Anderzén, with a responding design and layout from Schebler adorning the rear sleeve.

01. Zwischen Planeten
02. Stimme des Wegelagerers
03. Aus dem Feuer, aus dem Licht
04. Immer wieder im Kreis
05. In den Tiefen
06. Hinein, hinaus, hinüber
07. Fantasiegebilde
08. Der verwunschene Hain
09. Blick nach Drüben
10. Innerlich außerhalb
11. Schimmernde Chimäre
12. Gemeinsam hindurch
13. Mit verbundenen Augen
14. Purpur-Trank
15. Im Sternstrom
16. Schlingerling
17. Endstation Sehnsucht