HAUNTOLOGISTS
EP 1 & EP 2 - (2008,2009)
The Hauntologists’ EP 1 began life as an anonymous slab of vinyl, one of many such releases floating around Berlin, only this came in a gorgeous handmade sleeve adorned with silkscreened images of African exotica, and the loopy analogue rhythms struck a chord with the likes of Marcel Dettmann and Ryan Elliot. No doubt Villalobos and the Cadenza crowd too, as there’s a similarly stringy aesthetic at work, kind of a tribal-minimal meets Krautrock linearity, with a limber, live feel. Originally thought to be the work of Omar S or Sleeparchive – they’re that idiosynchratic – they were soon owned up to by veteran techno periphary haunters Jay Ahern (Add Noise) and Stefan Schneider (Kreidler, To Rococo Rot, Mapstation).
Schneider’s hand seems obvious, the rustic bleeps and shakers of myriad To Rococo Rot and Mapstation tracks all over these eight tools, but with clearly defined techno rhythms and more prominent basslines. Drums and bass remain steady, unwavering even, throughout, with mere handfuls of decorative elements gradually added for development. EP 1 is the more monochromatic, basic rhythms and basslines peppered with claves, warm pings and gently buzzing pads, all of which combine to create a bouncy, joyously awkward funk. The Hard Wax-supported EP 2 is rhythmically tighter, and more varied – there’s a jittery, glitchy nervousness to the drums on ‘A1′, and the subterranean dankness of ‘B1′ could almost be on Sahko. Hauntologists demonstrate that in the right, rickety hands less can still be more. (cyclicdefrost.com)
EP 1
EP 2
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