Touted by the German music press as the “German Portishead”, Sankt Otten cover a far broader ground than their English trip hop brethren. Traversing the realm of noirish cinematic pop, Sankt Otten draw inspiration from such musical inventors as - Morricone, John Barry, Talk Talk - and the modern adaptors - Portishead, Bohren und der Club of Gore, David Holmes.

Their first single through Hidden Shoal Recordings, “Fremdenzimmer”, is taken from the forthcoming Sankt Otten album, “Wir können ja Freunde bleiben” (Let’s Remain Friends) due for releases in January 2007. The album an intensely orchestrated, creamily thick bed of electronic soundscapes, slow-motion drums and the twanging noir guitars of Oliver Klemm (of “Pendikel” fame), winding through the recordings like a thin red line. If Morricone collaborated with Talk Talk, the result would sound something like this.

“Fremdenzimmer” (Room for Strangers) as its translated title suggests, rides a thin line between invitation and caution. At once it grabs your hand and draws you into its brooding, hypnotic atmosphere. Musically the track treads the wonderful exploratory territories of such luminaries as Talk Talk’s latter day output and Radiohead’s instrumental excursions yet adds another thread of cinematic atmosphere and tension. This is immediately engaging instrumental music that defies simple pigeonholing.