Press:

"Milestone [...] The two most beautiful and complete EPs composed by Alexander up to now. [...] Every single track contains the aura of what was previously produced, but enhancing its effectiveness. Songs that indelibly mark the style of Vlimmer." - Ver Sacrum (ITA)

"The latest double release has become a quantum leap in songwriting and arrangement complexity. [...] There is a lot of pop appeal and - I can hardly believe it: commercial potential." - RRRsoundZ (GER)

"Alexander [...] is the most interesting and transversal songwriter of the derivational darkwave scene. [Not only for his] high and constant quality [he] deserves the utmost attention. [...] Easily overcomes the boundaries of dark music [...] Undoubtedly one of the most interesting dark sounds of the past three years." - DarkRoom Magazine (ITA)

"Future wave [...] The way that Vlimmer manages to balance the old with the new is why you should be listening to this." - Raised By Cassettes (USA)

"XI and XII reflect the priceless and eccentric musical creativity that surrounds Alexander Leonard Donat's environment, increasingly affirming him as one of the most multifaceted artists of the current musical landscape." - Threshold Magazine (POR)

"One of the most rewarding discoveries we made this year." - I Die: You Die (CAN)

"An inventive pair of EPs that seamlessly combine a variety of genres into a cohesive and evocative whole." - Bliss Aquamarine (UK)

"The rapid stream of consciousness turns out to be a concatenation of desire and delusion, fantasy and fear, being and make-believe. A trepidation that defies any rationality and breaks free." - Lie in the Sound (GER)

"Future wave [...] The way that Vlimmer manages to balance the old with the new is why you should be listening to this." - Raised By Gypsies (USA)

"XI and XII show the versatility of one man alone. Light and dark, black and white, Vlimmer gets away with everything." - Dark Entries (BEL)

"A very disturbing atmosphere." - VISIONS Magazin (GER)

"A glimmer of hope [as] bait" - Artnoir - Musik Magazin (SWI)

"Disturbing and at the same time fascinating blend of post-punk, electronica and shoegaze: Should inspire fans of The Cure, A Place To Bury Strangers and Kraftwerk equally." - Tonspion (GER)

"Remains an interesting formation in this music genre with an extra and personal touch on top. [...] It has something refreshing and still old-school driven like the fusion between past and present."" - Side-Line Magazine (BEL)

Best darkgaze release in November 2018 - Shoegazer Alive (BRA)

"The entrance fee alone is well compensated for with ‘Farblosigkeit’" - The Sunday Experience (UK)

"Enraptured, dense, melodic. A fascinating album" - Void Music Magazine (SPA)

"Keeps surprising, provides a complete listening experience. Typical Vlimmer, but still different. Makes for an extremely interesting series." - De Subjectivisten (NL)

"Gorgeous coldwave" - Songs From Under The Floorboard (CAN)



ENGLISH:
A look on the tracklists of Vlimmer’s new album unmistakably makes it clear: The more airy “XI” comes up with titles like “Wärme” (warmth), “Leben” (life), “Lösung” (solution) and “Licht” (light), which stands in contrast with the more aggressive “XII” with “Farblosigkeit” (colorlessness), “Krakenkombat” (octopus combat), “Zerschmetterung” (wrecking) or “Atemnot” (breathlessness).
Vlimmer is in the midst of his 18-chapter narrative and, on “XI” loses his lost, impotent protagonist to a dream world which could hardly appear more relaxed: lying under a colourful parasol on the beach of a lake in the midst of a dark green pine forest - in the sky a few harmless white clouds, no notion of time: "Half-closed eyelids. A true wave of colours. Barefoot across the hot beach. With sand in your hair life’s good " In the state of sedation, however, the menace of what actually exists increasingly affects the refuge, until the horror of reality returns with" XII "and the principal character finds himself in a stolen car driving into a midnight hell of thunderstorms, menacing trees, octopus arms and a wildlife accident. The driving rhythms support the paranoia, finally merging reality and delusion.
With songs like "Leben", "Lösung", "Farblosigkeit" and "Asphaltdecke", Vlimmer consistently continues his passion for the darkpop of the predecessor, "X". This may remind many of the synthwave of the '80s, but it is sprinkled with acid, and while the obscured components are used to build collapsing brothels for copulating music genres, you can hear Vlimmer creating his own unique atmospheric wall of sound. Too broken for shoegaze, too alive for darkwave.


DEUTSCH:
Ein Blick auf die Tracklists des neuen Vlimmer-Albums macht bereits unmissverständlich klar: Wenn das luftigere „XI“ mit „Wärme“, „Leben“, „Lösung“ und „Licht“ aufwartet, steht das im krassen Gegensatz zu „Farblosigkeit“, „Krakenkombat“, „Zerschmetterung“ und „Atemnot“ auf dem aggressiveren „XII“.
Vlimmer steckt mitten in seiner 18-teiligen Erzählung und verliert seinen irrlichternden, ohnmächtigen Protagonisten zunächst an eine Traumwelt, wie sie entspannter kaum wirken könnte: zeitlos, unter einem Sonnenschirm am Strand eines Sees inmitten eines dunkelgrünen Tannenwaldes - am Himmel ein paar harmlose weiße Wolken: „Halb geschlossene Lider. Eine wahre Welle aus Farben. Barfuß über den heißen Boden. Mit Sand in den Haaren lässt es sich leben.“ Im Zustand der Sedierung wirkt die Bedrohlichkeit des tatsächlich Existierenden jedoch zunehmend auf das Refugium ein, bis sich der Horror der Realität auf „XII“ zurückmeldet und die Zentralfigur in gestohlenem Auto in eine mitternächtliche Hölle aus Gewitter, bedrohlichen Bäumen, Krakenarmen und Wildunfall schickt. Das treibende Tempo unterstützt dabei die Paranoia, lässt Realität und Wahn endgültig miteinander verschmelzen.
Mit Songs wie „Leben“, „Lösung“, „Farblosigkeit“ und „Asphaltdecke“ führt Vlimmer die Lust am Darkpop des Vorgängers „X“ konsequent fort. Das mag hie und da an den Synthwave der 80er erinnern, wird jedoch mit Säure überträufelt, um die dann entstellten Bestandteile mit atmosphärischen Sounds zu umspülen, die Vlimmers einsturzgefährdeten Sound prägen. Für Shoegaze zu kaputt, für Darkwave zu lebendig. Vlimmer braut sein eigenes Süppchen.