Finnaly an album from Extrawelt (Arne Schaffhausen and Wayan Raabe), appears on the stores. I must blame Extrawelt for my actual criteria to define what’s good from what’s reasonable since that f*cking (sorry!) Soopertrack! That track still put my skin like a chicken every time I hear it. It’s undoubtedly a classic, a message, and very ahead for that time. Since that magnificent release on Border Community and Electrochoc I must confess it’s really difficult to have a similar feeling with a new track. Some of them are really good, but to reach the level of Soopertrack they must be a magnificent production.
Appart this nostalgic feelings, the fact is that this is the first cd from the duo, their debut cd. You can realize this is strange, but if you understand their career, you can understand why this happens. Their debut track was “Soopertrack” on Electrochoc in 2005 (curiosly, that Ep had Soopertrack and The Sky Was Pink from Nathan Fake, for me, the two best tracks from 2005), and the Ep “Soopertrack” on Border Community sort or less on the same time. Then in 2006 they travelled to Traum Schallplaten releasing “Doch Doch” and “Schmedding 8000″ with “Fernweh/Drehfeller” trough Kompass Music and a few Ep’s in between. In the same year they put a step to Cocoon Recordings, label run by Sven Väth to release “Titelheld”.
Sven’s way in techno world dictates a little bit in what’s happening with Cocoon orientated releases. Who doesn’t remember Villalobos’s “Taka Taka” , artists as minilogue or… I don’t what else to say! And, as I was saying, Extrawelt always sounded almost perfect for me, for what this combination seems very intuitive and brainstormed vibrant. Soopertrack had a magnetic vibrant in every aspects situated in communication and emotional contexts, delivering soft growing progressive structure trough the air.. and this release by Extrawelt, “Schöne Neue Extrawelt” is magnetizing.
“Schöne Neu Extrawelt” is Magnetizing cause all the tracks seem so different and yet so inter-connected. So vibrants, but still detailed like a perfect tapestry. So simple from far, so enhanced closely. All of them have their own voice, that thing that I usually describe as “connection identity”, or whatever that you feel when you feel a music that connects to you so directly with a strong ID.
Deserves the right approuch, listening to it from start to end to understand this progressive construction in every aspects.
First track, One Tree Hill, its an opening for what is going to happen, the start of this movie and the role playing on the screen. A melody start and progressively things are replaced in a harmony. Second track, Dark side of My Room its the start credits, with the producers and main actors, so now, you’re enjoying more the movie, Extrawelt’s association!
Third track, Wippsteert, is minimalistic beginning with a delaying bass that starts working to a detailed construction with some mysterious sounds and well filled details combining together all the way around. All this is now going more intensively and gaining emotions.
Fourth track Messy Machinery, goes with a lot of simple “old” chords and gaining life, and everything going as planned with details reminding that. Some break details move the track ahead till a constructed hypnotic drive trough the machinery… why not?! From an older way of doing techno, they bring us Must Attack, with a acid rapid basslines and grooves to a very mental sound that works till your last neuron and then the acid, destructive sound, enters again into a point where it breaks to powerful magnetized connections. At the end of this music you can hear the rain falling, as the renewing force of the nature.
Trummer, the eight track, starts with the rain, powerful, going from a beggining to an end defined. This happens in all tracks, almost nothing repeats, I’ve forgotten to say! At this point you’re really enjoying it, always with reverbed bass’s, worked structures and weirdly defined patterns. Then comes Wolkenbruch, again a look in the roots with melodies and tinkly sounds going on and the sequential minimalist sound again, followed by Added Planet, a techno orientated basses and distorced voices going hand-by-hand with distorted sounds to a mental way.
Kurt Curtain (Skit), without 4/4 drum construction, is a little good thing, probably to be used as a dj tool or in the Breakbeat area, that appears interesting.
Daten Raten flows on the traveling bass and the electronic sounds that predict it, always in construction as everything so far. A interesting pack of sound samples and even patterns are merged together in this production.
Exactly the textures and the technic is enhanced in Lost In Willaura. Everything work together and melts together to a hipnotic thing. Starts innusual and then makes its course and now the end is appearing, where things start becoming clear as in a good script.
Finally, Homing, ends it, because everything haves an end, with all the emotions and sensations that we passed trough our journey, beautifully expressed and connected to a final peek of emotions that finish it with kindness.
Perhaps the first thing you feel about Schöne Neue Extrawelt is its remarkable cohesion and inter-connection , that despite its myriad tempo-changes and electronic outfits, makes extraordinary use of tempo without ever really getting down or slow. Is a magnificent production, rich, full and progressive with all the emotions added for the trip you’ll make with it. It’s definitely a must have, wherever you have it. Found hard too see an album that satisfies so much different electronic people as I believe this will do with so accuracy and perfection.
Here, different nowadays labeled tendencies and trendy schemes of doing electronic music seem to not exist, in a clear message that the fusions between good things with study, feeling and dedication normally create outstanding things that put a step ahead some conceptions.
Extrawelt transmit their vision and merge concepts to mess up a little bit more some people’s definitions and join us all together in this flow. It’s Extra… It’s well!
Schöne Neue Extrawelt Press Release (HTML)
Tracklist (Samples)
01 – One Tree Hill
02 – Darkside Of My Room
03 – Wippsteert
04 – Messy Machinery
05 – Must Attack
06 – Trümmerfeld
07 – Wolkenbruch
08 – Added Planet
09 – Kurt Curtain (skit)
10 – Daten Raten
11 – Lost In Willaura
12 – Homing
Extrawelt Website
Release Date:14 October 2008 | Catalog:#COR CD 09
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It’s with great excitement that we continue to follow Extrawelt’s career. All their pieces are pure gold and today I’m here to talk about their latest EP “Neuland”, released by Darkroom Dubs. When I started to listen this release I instantly though about Schone Neue Extrawelt, their brightest peace till this days. The feeling of the album is all in this tiny EP, the only thing that changes are the stories that they tell us. In “Arples” they lead off with a deep scenario of pumpy beats and nice melodies, emerging us into a rather peaceful journey. This is a typical Extrawelt track with all the ingredients that we are used to, when we’re listening their music. Next comes “Tonladen” with a magnificent step by step construction, where a rough beat and some reverbed samples seem to engage perfectly, creating a great feeling that will surely meltdown nigh and day crowds. “Neeladen” ends the instalment, bringing the continuity that you expect to listen in a Extrawelt release. Perfect to a sunny afternoon, or even a rainy one, their music easily adapts to every kind of circumstances and that’s why they are some of the greatest musicians that ever appeared in the electronic world. Quality release, heart breaking music.
