| Artist |
| Diskonnekted |
| Title |
| Hotel Existence |
| Format/Cat |
| CD |
| Label |
| Alfa Matrix |
| Style |
| Electronica |
| Date of review |
| 7th June 2012 |
| Reviewer |
| Carl Jenkinson |
| Rating |
| 9/10 |
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Diskonnekted, under the aegis of Jan DeWulf has, in the past, always seemed capable of producing a distinctive style that is accessible & yet, thanks to the addition of more varied styles that draw on a wider variety of electronic music genres, truly more adventurous &, indeed, each of his previous releases has done this to some extent but then always seemed to lose their nerve & opt instead for a more straightforward electro style that was enjoyable enough but never reached its full potential for those reasons. This, however, has all changed with this latest release which sees him finally fulfilling his more adventurous leanings with a set of tracks that mix good old-fashioned song writing with an inventive yet always accessible style that takes the poppier side of modern electronica to new levels of excellence while incorporating a whole range of musical influences & maintaining a more organic, human feel in the process. Witness the guitar work that adds a definite 80s gothic twist to the opening ‘Yesteryears’ & the slower ‘To Have And To Hold’ which builds into a pleasingly full-blooded number while ‘Razorsharpshhooter’ shouldfind favour with anyone who remembers with affection the days of rave from later that same decade with a lively mood that is hard to resist. Carrying on in this ‘anything could happen’ mindset, the excellent ‘Justify’ goes for a more dirty feel that harks back to the 90s with some choppy Prodigy-like breakbeat effects providing the propulsion for more fine guitar work & soaring synths on a quite superb track (although the shorter version, which initially seemed to be included with a view to getting played in more forward-thinking trad goth clubs is just a short interlude &, in the end, adds up to nothing much) while ‘Sunblind’ similarly mixes synthleads that have a flavour of Gary Numan about them with more modern rhythms. It’s mixtures like these that are the album’s strong point & this is proven again on what is another fine piece. Similarly, the voice effects that herald ‘Stuck In One Universe’ bring Fat Boy Slim to mind & the piece develops into a nicely funky number while the pounding rhythms & scything guitars that grace ‘Hotel Existence’ are the closest the album comes to metal but providing a startling contrast is the appropriately downbeat & lonely-sounding ‘Empty’ & is yet another facet of this varied album. For all the variety, though, they never go off the deep end or become too outlandish although it does come close during ‘Dark Place’ which features GNY & is an intriguing mix of moods as the initially bittersweet feel borne by the piano & strings is then transformed into a maelstrom of fucked-up, fractured beats & head-wringing effects that continue to crop up even once it settles into its more reflective but pacey electronica-lite mode; it’s certainly an unexpected turn of events which, in many ways is what the album is about &, while it might take some getting used to, it’s an intriguing, thought-provoking number that might be a ‘love it or hate it’ number, still, better that than a ‘ho hum’ reaction, wouldn’t you say?
This album is proof that when electronic music is freed of genre limitations some truly great things can happen, it’s full of twist & turns so that you’re never really sure what’s coming next but, whatever it is, it never fails to please & to excite, this is one must-have release
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