Germany's inimitable magazine for music, media, culture and self discipline, De:Bug, presents one selected album for a special price each month.

Cristian Vogel likes it up close when it comes to his fan base. It might not be the largest under the rave-sun, but what it lacks in size it makes up in enthusiasm and commitment. For the past 12 years Vogel and his followers have been using the Erutufon forum to discuss music and audiotech nerd topics, with occasional get-togethers outside the web. In 2008 he surprised us with a volume of poetry plus included EP, strictly limited for his devotees. Together with them Cristian has now released his first crowd-funded album. His intention: "Bring back the direct buzz!"

'The Inertials' was made completely from fan contributions, which the former idol of Brighton techno collected last winter on pledgemusic.com. In good company by the way - Gang Of Four, Archive and the Libertines all successfully tapped their fans for funds there. Crowdfunding is nothing new anymore, and yet, in the light of current discussions about gratis culture and music as a means of subsistence, it is still a noteworthy alternative to the traditional music biz. A business Cristian Vogel has largely withdrawn from anyway in recent years: The studied composer preferred to create experimental pieces for theatre and dance and committed himself to researching circuitry and audio synthesis. On 'The Inertials' this can be heard transpiring through every rustling hi-hat, every granular background layer and all its meticulously detailed sound metamorphoses.