It’s a love story: Stil vor Talent have long been mad about Niconé and Sascha Braemer so that the recent past has seen some very memorable releases by the two producers. Now it’s about time they join forces to release a whole album together. While Sascha Braemer only recently caused waves with his über-track “People", Niconé is a long-established pillar of top-class electronic music. And when he plays out, people realise which celebrated DJ and producer hides behind the alias. Known for their often very musical techno and house productions, “Romantic Thrills” encapsulates this style while adding an extra element of sex and pop appeal, to put it frankly. All their production experience and DJ expertise seem to have streamed into an album that manages, in all its eclecticism, to be conceived as a complete whole. The tracks work like songs, unfolding their pure magic only when listened to in full: often adding new, but decisive elements later in the track, they are clear about when to drop the beat back in a seemingly subconscious fashion. Think what you want about electronic albums, this one is so much more than a mere collection of unreleased singles. Let’s begin where things start off gently with the slow-moving, piano-driven “Dreamer", which, halfway through, is more reminiscent of Radiohead than the sound of Berlin’s club scene. Simply a pretty epic pop track with a great falsetto vocal line, then. “Little Love” progresses slowly towards deeper techno terrain with great sounding synth leads and basslines. Keeping the vocal elements central to the arrangement, it makes for a wonderfully deep and soulful tech anthem. “Liar” best represents the eclecticism at the album’s heart. Over a Skaaeske groove, a chunky bass and considerably slower BPM, a male speaker humorously ponders over his relationship to drugs. This is bound to be a favourite at the afterhour.