Swedish sound artist Ralph Steinbruchel seems incapable of releasing a less than interesting piece of music, ably demonstrated even during the short 18 minute duration of this new EP. Saying that he simply trucks in the minimalist/reductionist area of experimental digital electronics known as microsound is to belittle Steinbr�chel's work in a field generally marginalized by dearth of its own technological fealty. Wrapping one's head around a few choice plug-ins, toying about with the latest Ableton or Cakewalk upgrade, or doing some hasty bit of kindergarten sequencer programming is little reason to take anyone seriously: Steinbruchel's co-opting of whatever digital regalia he can get his hands on, paralyzing its parameters, zapping their prams, composing where others casually improvise, reveals differences between someone of his adroit skill level and Sunday afternoon dabblers praying for inspiration to strike between watching their weekly televised sporting events.

This is all to say that in this recording's economy of time and means, Steinbr�chel's excavation of his laptop's innards has birthed another exemplary piece of work. Beginning with a few pillowy tones that he reverberates about his hard-drive's crawlspace, he then gradually massages into this silicon matrix a series of digital star twinkles, chopped-up hums, and fragile popping sounds that mimic such freaks of nature as atomized bubbles or drizzling acid rain melting glass. As these delicate noises evaporate, what re-emerges from half-silences are those wafting hums and subtly shifting drones, under which Steinbr�chel daubs more tensile pinpricks and feral noises tickling his solid states. This all eventually gives way to isolated digital hiccups and yet more arcs of shimmering, backlit hum. A wholly engaging, aleatory piece of sound art, Mit Ohne roughly translates to "also without"; ambiguous the titling may be, but for anyone with the slightest interest in micro-bent/illusionary circuitry, specifically of the type Steinbr�chel makes his very own, there's little reason not to acquire the taste.