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Dusted Reviews
Artist: Funkstörung Album: Disconnected Label: !K7 Review date: Jun. 9, 2004 |
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"We are producers, not songwriters or instrumentalists and, in this sense, we are naturally 'disconnected'," states Michael Fakesch, one half of Munich's Funkstörung, about the band's studio time on their latest album.
Disconnected sums up not only Fakesch's own cognizance, but the beautifully disjointed music that pours from him and Chris de Luca. Not since the release of Appetite for Distruction in 2000 have Funkstörung directed their focus to their own material. This is not to suggest their efforts as remixers for influential artists such as Björk, The Notwist, Plaid and Wu-Tang Clan went unnoticed; it's just comforting to know that we don't have to go foraging for chunky beats elsewhere to find these producers' signature grinding glitch.
Admittedly bored by purely electronic music, Funkstörung collected an odd assortment of musicians for Disconnected. Munich crooner Enik appears on four tracks, lending his über-tortured, soulful vocals that at times manifest as the perfect lyrical counterpart to the music. "Like a Poet" isn't one of them; his lyrics turn a blues pop abyss into abysmal ("Like a poet / 'cuz you're a poet / just don't know it"). Lou Rhodes repays a favor to the fellas after they worked on a remix project for her band, Lamb, by guesting on "Sleeping Beauty." Another familiar voice, Sarah Jay, who recorded with Massive Attack, shows up toward the end of the album continuing to pull the project away from the glitch and towards electro-pop.
Spliced in the midst of all these melancholic lullabies is Tes, a NYC emcee that Fakesch and de Luca met while touring the States. A cross between Eminem and Cex, Tes' helium-pitched rhymes elicit the "fun" in Funkstörung that the aforementioned vocalists drown out. "Chopping Heads," a song reminiscent of an earlier work entitled "Grammy Winners," uses a martial arts video game sample that they affectionately called "kung-funk." Tes' other contribution, "Fat Camp Feva," continues to please the few hip hop fans Funkstörung have accrued since forgoing their cutting edge IDM. Also adding flavor is Mark Boombastic's brief beatbox display on a slamming cut called "Habitual Citizens," which sounds like a fast and furious game of industrial Pong.
With the goal of being both influenced and involved with various musicians on Disconnected, Fakesch and de Luca have introduced not only new vocalists to their listeners, but a new gentler Funkstörung, complete with acoustic guitars and love ballads, all the while keeping the heads nodding. Dispelling the assumption that German electronic music is a dish best served cold, they bring forth a warmth that should thaw the frostiest beat lovers.
By Emily Huffman
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