At 13:05 4/22/98 -0400, Sean McGonagle <smcgonag@abacus.bates.edu> wrote:
<snip various concerning haujobb>
The following is a post I made to rec.music.ambient and
rec.music.industrial some months ago and since there has been recent talk
of haujobb on this list, I thought I'd repost it if anyone is interested.
Also, bear in mind that my usage of the term "electro" is not the original
techno-ish definition, but rather the Front 242-Leæther Strip-Nitzer Ebb
EBM definition of the word.
The list of haujobb's material is from past to present, chronologically:
'Eye over you' cd single (High quality electro in the less
techno-ambient vein. It is more in the Skinny Puppy/Front
Line Assembly electro-industrial vein. Still top quality.)
<Side Note, this single, with all songs, is now found on the
'Frames' e.p. domestically available on Pendragon records.>
'Homes and Gardens' album (Very good electro that is in the same vein
as the 'Eye over you' cd single. In fact, said track
originates from this album. Great electro that is better than
90% of the electro out there.) <Side note, buy the domestic
album out on Pendragon records, as it has bonus tracks not
found on the import.>
'Freeze Frame Reality' album (Amazing electro meets techno-ambience
album. This is, in my opinion, the best haujobb album. It
has some truly spectacular electro, all the while having
ambience and more of a textured feel. This is where their
'techno-ish' material, indicative on 'Solutions F.A.S.P.'
originated. It melds the harsh, cold electro from the first
album with the texture of the latest work in a beautifully
masterful symphony of keyboards, samplers and soundscapes.)
<Side note, again, the domestic release of this album, on
Pendragon records has a bonus track.>
'Frames' e.p. (Amazing e.p. that features several tracks from 'Freeze
Frame Reality' in remixed form. cEvin kEy offers an amazingly
harsh remix on this e.p. It is another stunning release from
the, apparently, infinitely talented haujobb crew.)
<Side note, the domestic version on Pendragon records offers
the entire 'Eye over you' cd single on the same cd as
'Frames'.>
':wumpscut: vs. haujobb-The Remix Wars' cd single (This is an
interesting concept in remixes. Two artists duel each other,
sonic-wise, with their samplers, synthesizers, computers and
other such implements. Without choosing the victor, I must
say that I enjoy all remixes in question. It features 3 :w:
songs totally re-engineered and remixed by haujobb. Opposite,
it includes 3 haujobb songs totally raped by Rudy Ratzinger of
:wumpscut:. This is a good way to become aware of both
artists at a lower price than buying both separately. It's
been re-issued here domestically, I believe, but I don't know
for certain. I have the import version.)
'Cleaned Visions' cd single (Overall, my least favorite single by
haujobb. It is still very good and, as a sad testament to the
current state of industrial, is much better than a lot of
other electro artist's best effort. Which says a lot for
haujobb. It has some nice remixes but left me least
satisfied of all their collective releases. Still, it's
something to own, for sure.)
'Solutions for a Small Planet' album (This album is nothing
short of stunning. While unlike the previous haujobb, it
still maintains a definite 'haujobb' feel to it. It's a
perfect symbiosis of analog tweaking, electro-elegance and
sonic innovation. It is also probably the most 'abstract' of
the albums, thus far. It is simply unlike any other artist
doing electro today, barring the infinitely cool Lassigue
Bendthaus; whom many credit as a major haujobb influence.)
'Matrix' cd single (Very, very good single. It is more and more
unlike their previous 'industrial' albums, but (like
'Solutions F.A.S.P.') still has that electro feel to it. This
single reminds me heavily of the 'Cloned' album by Lassigue
Bendthaus. Both are mind-blowing and breathtaking. This
release has a lot of 'techno' elements to it and is
experimental (hard to describe, it's not Merzbow for sure, but
it is experimental by virtue of what it's doing with the
synthesizers and samplers). Imagine elements of Download
meets Autechre meets Lassigue Bendthaus meets Front 242. This
is probably a bad indication of it's sound, but I'm at a loss
to explain the extremely diverse sound on it. Another nice
element of this release is that it comes with a second cd
featuring a full 73:18 minutes worth of samples. It features
most (if not all) of their samples utilized on the 'Matrix' cd
single, which you can sample at will and use for your own
electro means. This idea was also kind of 'borrowed' from
Lassigue Bendthaus, who apparently released 'Cloned: Binary'
that featured all the samples from 'Cloned'. It's come full
circle, in a way. Borrowing from an idea about borrowing.
Interesting analogy, but that's a tangent.)
<all albums/singles not listed as having side notes are domestically
available via Metropolis Records, haujobb's new domestic distributor,
and do *not* feature bonus tracks. Unlike the Pendragon releases
which all feature bonus tracks.>
In short, haujobb are one of the major forces shaping the future of
electro-industrial, as we know it. Undoubtedly, they are truly
amazing. Highly recommended!
Several other projects in the similar vein to seek out are:
Forma Tadre-'Navigator' album (label mate who has worked with haujobb on
several occasions, often times sounding quite similar to haujobb with a
slightly more symphonic feel)
Newt - '-273C' album (side project of haujobb and Forma Tadre that would
appeal greatly to many IDMers. Imagine elements of Black Lung merging with
'Matrix' era haujobb, minus vocals for a very sleek, minimal, textured,
techno-ambient excursion. Essential)
Lassigue Bendthaus-'Render' album (this album is absolutely perfect in
every way. This is where haujobb learned the tricks of the trade from.
'Render' ranges from extremely well crafted technology induced
electro-industrial to deep, trance inducing ambiance. No distorted vocals
for you people afraid of industrial's predominant use of distortion. Uwe
Schmidt <also known as +N, Atom Heart, Datacide> is one of the most
creative and innovative artists making music today)
Lassigue Bendthaus-'Cloned' album (Another simply amazing and influential
album by Uwe 'Atom Heart' Schmidt. This is more in the vein of Front
242-ish electro-industrial but still a million miles ahead of the pack.
Also one the most interesting concept albums around - centering on the idea
that digital and dna copying makes one an identical copy, or clone of the
original. And this was made in '92, years before the fairly recent cloning
debate. Realize that being copied means being alike... cloned. Same
information better through duplication)
Oh, and soon, if you like haujobb, you'll own every Lassigue Bendthaus
album/single (if you can find them all) like I do. Just wanted you to know
that... it's inevitable. So I'll abstain from mentioning the other
L.Bendthaus albums. Uwe's other projects are usually very odd, and are
more experimental/ambient/eclectic than the L.Bendthaus material. Listen
first.
Cleen-'Designed Memories' e.p. (This is one of the more recent releases by
the haujobb crew... or rather, one member of haujobb - Daniel Myer. This
is great 'Freeze Frame Reality' type electro-industrial that is quite
recommended, if you're a fan of haujobb)
There are also two d'n'b vinyl only releases that Daniel Myer of haujobb
has released - Dots and Dashes and Myer Style, but I have yet to find them
so I can't comment.
Lastly, there is a new haujobb album and single (possibly two) coming out
soon on Metropolis Records (scheduled for Aug./Sept.) and the eagerly
awaited new Lassigue Bendthaus album comes out around the same time, label
unknown (KK ?).
Since this is a re-post now to IDM, I would recommend any
potential *ambient* fans stay away from the early works ('Homes and
Gardens', 'Eye over you'). If you should try haujobb, pick up the
later works ('Matrix', 'Solutions for a Small Planet') and work
backwards. The earlier stuff is very *electro-industrial*. The later
stuff gets more abstract, and leans towards breakbeat, electronic
innovation. There you go! Hope this helps.
--
Mr. Tangent
"insert random quoted text here, for your reading pleasure"