Excerpt: “If Europa isn’t quite a whirlwind tour around the world in eighty days, it’s at the very least a journey through Europe in forty-five minutes—and very much a scenic one at that… An attempt to distill personal memories of eleven European locations into an ambient electronica suite, the concept driving the new release is an inspired one that affords a marvelous opportunity for dramatic sound exploration. Each piece is like a mini-portrait that more evokes the locale indirectly than tries to literally represent it, and the project as a whole imprints itself surrpetitiously on the listener’s mind… The album’s most memorable track is “Edinburgh,” on account of a simple yet memorable set of piano chords and especially a luminous vocal performance by Chloë March. The song stands out so much, in fact, it suggests Dürbeck would be wise to consider featuring a greater number of vocal performances on future Jumpel recordings. Broached as a whole, Europa plays less like the experience of a first-time sightseer excited by the prospect of seeing the usual tourist sights and more like a long-time visitor who regards the journey as a time for reflection and melancholic rumination.”

Textura