TuneLab
Ben Böhmer - Breathing
We’ve all been the person lying on the floor at 4am, letting Ben Böhmer’s piano lines soundtrack an existential crisis that feels oddly beautiful. This continuous mix for his 'Breathing' album is that feeling bottled, a proper headphone journey designed for emotional decompression. The vibe is one of vast, cinematic introspection, like watching a storm roll in over a tranquil sea.
Technically, this is melodic house at its most polished, cruising at a steady 125.4 BPM and weaving through emotional key centres like 7A and 10A with the grace of a veteran storyteller. The mix is all about texture and swell, with lush, evolving pads and melancholic melodies taking precedence over rhythmic aggression, creating a deeply immersive low-to-mid energy arc. As a crate digger’s dream, the standouts are all heartstring-pullers: the achingly beautiful 'In Memoriam' sets the tone, while the title track 'Breathing' with Nils Hoffmann and Malou is pure, anthemic solace.
'Black Hole' with Monolink brings a folk-tinged darkness, and 'Wall of Strings' is a masterclass in orchestral electronica. Even the inclusion of Blagoj Rambabov's 'Right to Be Wrong' and Sidekick's 'Deep Fear' shows a keen ear for complementary, deep-cut emotion. The narrative arc is clear: it opens with the somber beauty of 'In Memoriam', builds to the soaring peak of 'Breathing', and gently ushers us out with the distant, hopeful tones of Mattheis's '1001'.