DJ Hell - The Angst

  • Share
  • The last thing you'd expect to hear on a DJ Hell single is a guitar, let alone a smooth one—but that's exactly what you get with "The Angst," the DJ/producer's first salvo from his upcoming double disc album, Teufelswerk. The 13-and-a-half minute tune is the centerpiece of the second disc, entitled "Day," which reportedly serves as Hell's love letter to the German kosmische sound of yore propagated by groups like Can and NEU! Judging by the results, we should all be thankful that Hell has decided to finally go in a direction that has little to do with electro. (Don't worry, Gigolos, there's plenty of that on the first disc.) But while "The Angst" has little to do with dance music, the groove is an undeniable one, complete with delicate guitar lines, basslines that do little more than mark time and voices that amble in from the sidelines every so often to wordlessly offer up some atmosphere. The track eventually grows in intensity, but it's a slow burn of distortion and digital interference that lives up to Faust's ideal of kosmiche, in which random detritus was thrown into the mix to keep listeners on their toes. Just when we thought Hell had become rote, he pulls us back in. Hell brought in Peter Kruder to help out with "Day" and his A&R eye is equally as laser-sharp in asking Henrik Schwarz to provide the remix. Schwarz's take is just as intense as the original, pitting melody and harmony against one another as a mournful voice moans over top. Schwarz's usual bouncy beat works wonders in providing the needed propulsion and while it never really goes anywhere, it's endless simmer is enough to keep you interested.
  • Tracklist
      A The Angst & The Angst (Part 2) B The Angst (Henrik Schwarz Remix)
RA