- You needn't be intimate with the separate discographies of Jay Ahern and Stefan Schneider—as respectable as they are—to enjoy Hauntologists. In fact, it's probably best if you're not, so you can approach this studio-based partnership on its own terms.
That's likely what the pair were angling for when they self-released their first set of recordings together in 2008, incognito, with no titles or track names to speak of. Coupled with Ahern's Hard Wax affiliation, you had a bit of a furore on your hands—albeit in cloistered, Berlin techno terms. They eked out a further two EPs (they seemed to be—and still are—in no rush) before Hauntologists went on hiatus, when Ahern abruptly moved back to the States.
Fast-forward to 2015 and the partnership is revived in force. Two years ago, the first transatlantic Hauntologists record, mixed from recovered tapes from the duo's last session in Berlin, was released on Ahern's label, Modular Cowboy. Hannett soon followed, treading that subtle line between thinking man's dance music and something more clubby, working over dub, acid, house and minimal nodes with a distinctly machinist signature. Now, seven years from when they began, Hauntologists have emerged with a debut full-length for the eponymous label that started it all.
If you've been charting Hauntologists' shadowy movements so far, then you'll be familiar with most material here, as Hauntologists is mostly a retrospective affair. With that in mind, it's a perfect introduction for the uninitiated, while less interesting for fans in want of something new. Yet the full spread is present, and it's a delicate feast of idiosyncratic electronics. The album begins, for example, with one of the B-sides from the first Hauntologists EP, now called "Howl" and, despite the passage of time, sounding just as cooly seductive and enchanting as it did back in 2008. There are also a number of fresh Hauntologists works here.
But for all the skulking, witchy moments, it's the melodies that really stick, like in "Howl," "Brooklyn" (a rework of "Brooklyn Haunts" from the 2013 Modular Cowboy EP) and "Hush" in particular. The sense of song structure acts as a reminder that these aren't just jam sessions made coherent—each one has been thoroughly edited. Saying that, the residue of their loose and improvised origins are everywhere, in the weird and utterly unique soundbites that make tracks like "Wistful," "Turned" and "Shakes" stand out. You can almost feel the geek-out moments, when Ahern or Schneider made that sound, stumbled across that sweet spot and just ran with it.
There's life in all 11 of these tracks, strangeness buried within the layers, but it's far from alien dance music—most of it would work in a club, on a dark night deep into a long and druggy afterhour. Hauntologists remains versatile, just as long as you're ready for things to get a little warped.
Tracklist01. Howl
02. Point
03. Brooklyn
04. Wistful
05. Hush
06. Suspend
07. Hannett
08. Turned
09. Sustain
10. Shakes
11. Rain