There's something to be said for a sultry, disaffected German vocal electronic tune. The first time they won me over was back in 1983 when Nena's 99Luftballoons filled my ears with it's soft yearning incoherence. One year earlier Falco did the same thing when he cooed cool warnings about cocaine excess with Der Kommissar but I later found out he was Austrian so I'm not sure if that counts. In more recent years the Kompakt Pop series have catered to this penchant of mine for Kraut pop and steely synth tracks.
Upon hearing Andre Kraml and Heiko Voss' new Unreachable Girl EP on the Firm label I knew that little bell had been rung inside of me again. The Frankfurt native enlists the help of the honey-toned Heiko Voss to help him out on two of the tracks while Voss produces and sings on one himself. Uh, You've Got To Fall In Love Again sees Kraml strap on his Superpitcher boots and go for a camp old march around the club while Heiko strums away on his guitar, delivering a smooth rhetoric on the importance of trusting in love over, say, watching the TV or going partying every weekend. It's the type of techno pop-tronic gem that has been done more than a few times in the past but when it's done this well you don't mind hearing another example. Heiko Voss' Call Me Now on the flip side gets remixed by Kraml and it's a more subtle affair, Voss' vocals a little harder and more frosty. Kraml's interpretation sounds very much like Codec & Flexor's incredible Time Has Changed which can be no bad thing. The delayed chords are racked with feeling, which the lyrics only amplify further with their droll European languidness. The title track of the EP takes a similarly moody approach with sparse, organic percussion, whispers of Heiko Voss' guitar creeping in and some seriously gorgeous melodies teasing out in the background. The three tracks seem to hold places in the progress of a night, from the upbeat groove of the first track to the slightly mournful 4AM thrall of Call Me Now and finally the sunrise bliss of Unreachable Girl.
Not really fitting in to the thread of sultry, disaffected German vocal electronics but keeping it German at least, Loco Dice's brilliant 7 Dunham Place, which showed up in all manner of best lists last year has received its first set of remixes. Cassy applies her minimal house touch to How Do I Know, working with the vocal scraps of the original but making the basis of the remix much more artificial sounding. The key of a remix should always be to compliment the original, if not actually improve on it and I'm not sure Cassy has done either here, but it's not without a certain charm. I'll be the first to admit I haven't been following DJ Sneak's career very closely for the past ten years or so, so was surprised to see him called up to the plate for a bat at Pimp Jackson Is Talkin' Now. He attempts an old school Relief Records style track that sounds completely dated and makes you reach for the original version to block out any potential damage done to what is one of the freshest cuts on the album. Luciano rights any wrongs committed by remixing the same track but using the inimitable colours and styles from his truly unique sound palette. Wedding bells peel off in the background, before Luciano launches into an epic ten minute mix of squealing feedback, working a tireless bass line into the ground. Mike Huckaby takes Black Truffles In The Snow and transforms it from the eyes-closed blissed out deep sea groover that it is on the album to a straight up Detroit synth house track. There is perceptibly so little of the original used in the remix that it's pointless to compare the two, but if you like you've got the mixing capabilities of DJ Bone then you'll hear this and picture just how you'll fit it into a set. Otherwise it's ultra minimalist house vibes could be a little too unforgiving.
Andre Kraml & Heiko Voss – Unreachable Girl EP
****
German mastery of the techno pop vocal strikes a chord.
Silverbeat's Top 5
Andre Kraml & Heiko Voss – Call Me Now
Various Productions – Lost (Actress Remix)
John Roberts – Bodywork
Spatial - 70707
Moodyman – Heaven
Classic Listening
Phoenix Foundation – Horse Power
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