Einmusik – Half Moon Tiger

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  • ’Techno boy band’ Einmusik have been away far too long. Last time they really wowed us was with the mutant trance of ‘Kleine Nachtmusik’ in September 2005. Like their patron design label ‘Wasted German Youth’ they inject a much-needed sense of fun into techno, without sacrificing a single gram of musicality. Their trademark is a pop artist’s sense of melody combined with a level of sonic trickery that would impress any techno otaku, and it’s a trademark that is in full effect here. The jaunty stabbing riff of ‘Half Moon Tiger’ combines perfectly with its addictive three-note bassline and hits that perfect techno resonant frequency of the ‘groove that won’t stop’. It doesn’t stop for ten glorious minutes, and despite the fact that even a straight two-bar loop of this could probably maintain interest over this length of time, they manage to flip it, twist it and break it down without ever losing that glorious repetitiveness. Everyone wants to make the next ‘Mouth to Mouth’ and Einmusik might just have managed it here. ‘Pion’ is techno with Germanic reggae stylings. Before you run screaming from the room, this is actually okay because it doesn’t take itself too seriously. The off-beat stabs are corny in the extreme but the heavy dub bassline carries the day and it’ll probably make you smile rather than wince. Finally, ‘Saw and Backings’ sees Einmusik’s take on the cultural juggernaut of retro-rave with a self-consciously anthemic and stomping track. Their knack for a catchy riff is intact and the drums bash home harder at the end of each eight bars, until that is they throw in a very retro breakbeat breakdown with churning old-skool bass. It lacks the ironic distance of most rave revivalism and consequently feels infinitely fresher. This whole release solidly demonstrates that ‘fun’ isn’t the sole preserve of novelty samples and Ed Banger artists. Hopefully it’s going to be a kick up the arse of all the overly serious techno out there just now.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Half Moon Tiger B1 Saw & Backings B2 Pion
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