Sebastian Hartmann tapped Sascha Ring, aka Apparat, to provide music for his theatrical adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace. For four weeks, Ring and a 30-piece group of instrumentalists, including close associates Christoph Hartmann and Philipp Timm, created the material and rehearsed in an abandoned factory building. Up to the conclusion of the production, there was no intent to release the music in any form, but Ring, Hartmann, and Timm opted to shape the performances into an Apparat album. It flows like one, beginning with a short intro of strings that morphs into threatening drones before switching between a succession of predominantly subdued instrumentals and more involved (i.e., musical) pieces with additional percussion. With the exception of "LightOn," Ring's prickly textures and crunchy beats are absent; most of the program certainly could be re-purposed as a film score. Even though the music apparently went through a significant studio process, it's diffi