- Fritz Kalkbrenner is best known as a vocalist, having sung for everyone from Sascha Funke to Alexander Kowalski to his brother Paul ("Sky and Sand," a hit from the Berlin Calling soundtrack) to Chopstick & Johnjon. But Here Today Gone Tomorrow isn't a vocal showcase at all. Fritz does sing, but sporadically. Rather, this album is an introduction to him as a producer—one whose transparency seems a bit ordinary at first, only for his tracks to deepen with time and repetition.
"Intro" and "Outro," for example, cut up old funk (Marvin Gaye, in the latter's case) in ways reminiscent of something you'd find on a Mush Records compilation—not groundbreaking, but with a certain, simple joie de vivre. "Right in the Dark," one of a handful of tracks Kalkbrenner sings on, features acoustic guitar flourishes that give it an almost radio-ready cast, though it fits seamlessly with the dance-oriented instrumental material.
Which, as it turns out, Kalkbrenner makes pretty well. "Arms of Mine" suggests trance without quite falling all the way into its pocket. He deploys effects modestly—a highlight of "Collage" occurs in the middle when piano note clusters are treated to seem like ice crystals, and the self-descriptive miniature "Simple Sample Action" daubs together brief hits from a single source—but mostly he relies on a rather spry melodic sense. "Collage" gets a surprising amount of mileage out of a couple of charming keyboard flourishes, and on "Grove" he lays out a simple (almost early '90s) synth pad pattern that he provides few real tweaks to—just changes in mood and layering that all build on that curious feel. Many of the dance tracks' strongest elements are their flickering funk guitar licks (see "Grove" and "Amy Was a Player").
Kalkbrenner is a bit regimented vocally—he doesn't work the corners the way an American R&B singer might, to cite one of his models—but he's felt, and he writes thoughtfully. "Was Right Been Wrong" has a good chant-along hook that'll likely resonate with at least a few dancers: "I've been right as I ever was / I'm as wrong as I've ever been / I keep quiet about my love / But I won't repent my sin." And the way the songs with words sit alongside the ones that don't is instructive—Fritz's straightforwardness at every level gives each element a common stamp.
Tracklist 01. Intro
02. Kings in Exile
03. Right in the Dark
04. Amy Was a Player
05. Collage
06. Was Right Been Wrong
07. Grove
08. Facing the Sun
09. Simple Sample Action
10. Arms of Mine
11. Wichita Lineman
12. Sideways & Avenues
13. Out of the Box Office
14. Outro