Review for Nils Hoffman „A Radiant Sign“ (Album) – 2022
Album Facts
Artist: Nils Hoffmann
Country of Origin: Germany
Album: A Radiant Sign
Label: Anjunadeep
Release Date: 02. September 2022
Format: Album (digital, vinyl)
Genre: Deep House / Melodic House
13 Tracks | 46 min
At Apple Music available in
24-Bit / 44.1 kHz Hi-res Stereo
For the German translation of
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Infos about Nils Hoffmann
Berlin-based producer and live act Nils Hoffmann is part of the next wave of up-and-coming acts on London-based electronic label Anjunadeep, which has already produced electronic music stars such as Lane 8, Yotto and Ben Böhmer. As one of Europe’s most exciting emerging electronic artists, Nils aims to follow in the footsteps of some of his favorite musicians and lead the next generation of electronic producers and live acts.
To date, the 26-year-old producer from Berlin has reached over 75 million streams across all platforms, with tracks like „Breathing“ featuring Ben Boehmer on Anjunadeep surpassing 30 million streams. He has toured Europe extensively supporting acts such as Ben Boehmer, Gorgon City, Franky Wah, Stephan Bodzin and even Tiga.
The Album „A Radiant Sign“
His second album, „A Radiant Sign,“ was released Sept. 2, 2022 on Anjunadeep. The album marks the beginning of a new chapter for the new 26-year-old fixed star in dancefloor and electronica skies. In a transitional phase of his life, Nils uses the album to free himself and to give him hope in uncertain times. „This album is about new beginnings and how there can be a beautiful outcome when you deal with difficult circumstances.“
Inspired by artists such as Rüfüs Du Sol, Ólafur Arnalds and Stephan Bodzin, Nils presents his mesmerizing melodic house productions on the 13 tracks of his new album „A Radiant Sign“. Nils is extremely adept at weaving blissful multi-layered clouds of sound from intertwined synthesizers, hard drum beats to ambient offsets and organic sound structures that breathe freedom and buoyant lightness.
Almost standard fare for Nils Hoffmann, the album „A Radiant Sign“ features collaborations with talented singers and songwriters, including UK electronic duo Tender, South African singer Julia Church, singer-songwriter Panama, Australian singer Gordi, London artist Bailey, „Breathing“ singer Malou from Hamburg, British duo Hi Frisco, and Berlin composer and producer the accomplished sound artist Niklas Paschburg. The album will be available on vinyl from November 2022 on Anjunadeep.
The Bottom Line
With „A Radiant Sign“ Nils has produced an outrageously brilliant album. I did have some reservations at first when I read that Nils had signed on with Anjunadeep, but after a few intense continuous listens, he was able to dissolve my last doubts into thin air.
The album starts with the excellent „A Radiant Sign“, where Nils Hoffmann is collaborating with the fantastic Hamburg electronic and piano guru Niklas Paschburg. In the following, the album keeps the level and also stretches a clever arc of tension to the point where we get completely overwhelmed by the magically striking track „Silhouette“. The track is on the one hand a thematic reference to the opener „A Radiant Sign“ and on the other hand the intro to the next following track „Guiding Light“.
Both tracks should already be known to us as the intro to the fantastic video „Nils Hoffmann at Carpathians, Romania by TIME:CODE“ and should have electrified us (the landing helicopter will remain burned in my memory for eternal times). These two tracks as a unit are sensational, stunning and the best piece of electronic music I’ve heard in years. Nils impressively demonstrates his ability to enchant us with utterly mesmerizing arrangements here.
The album comes along in hi-res 24-bit / 44.1 kHz and sounds excellent across the entire frequency range. Together with the incredibly good dynamics and the deep reaching dry and perfectly structured basses, the whole thing becomes an extremely fascinating sound experience that I have heard only very rarely in the last three years.
Mein Testequipment:
Studio 1 (High End):
- 2 x System Audio SA Mantra 50 (front)
- 1x System Audio SA Mantra 10 AV (center)
- 2x System Audio SA Legend 5 (Rear)
- 1 x System Audio Saxo 10 (Subwoofer)
- 4 x Onkyo SKH-410 (B) (Dolby Atmos)
- Auralic Altair (Audio Streaming Client mit max. 32 Bit / 384 kHz)
- NVIDIA Shield Pro mit Plex, Kodi (max 192 kHz für Audio, Tidal (MQA Streaming Client)
- AppleTV 4K (Streaming Client) Dolby Atmos, HDR, Dolby Vision
- Amazon Cube 4K (Streaming Client) Dolby Atmos (restricted), HDR, Dolby Vision
- Panasonic DP-UB9004 (4K UHD Player) Dolby Atmos, HDR, Dolby Vision
- Oppo UDP-203 (4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Player) Dolby Atmos, HDR, Dolby Vision
- Yamaha CX-A5100 (Preamp) 4K, Dolby Atmos, Hi-res
- Yamaha MX -A5000 (Power Amp)
- Sony KD-55A1 (TV) 4K OLED, HDR, Dolby Vision