Michael ‘Magnat’ Kohlbecker originally came to prominence during the early to mid-’90s with his Eternal Basement project, but it’s as Magnat that he’s achieved the most acclaim. Previous singles ‘The Saga’ and ‘Do You’ were lauded for their successful amalgamation of techno, progressive, trance and ambience, and, unsurprisingly, his debut album, Say Yes, follows the same pattern.

From the atmospheric, grandiose opener, ‘Wave’ into the deep, building techy epic of ‘Say Yes’, the emphasis here is on ‘compositions’ rather than mere tracks. It’s a direction especially noticeable on the grand finale, ‘Awakenizing’, where a down tempo arrangement shifts moods throughout, from atmospheric moodiness into sun kissed euphoria before finishing on a tense electro note. Say yes? Of course…