Rating:
Genre:
Electronica
Release Date: 11/08/2005
Jena, Germany's
Freude-am-Tanzen began modestly in 1998 and reached liftoff four years later, when
Wighnomy Brothers -- the label's flagship producers -- hit their stride and became buy-on-sight, with red carpets eventually rolled out by
Luciano,
Triple R,
Michael Mayer,
Adam Beyer,
Jeremy P. Caulfield,
Dominik Eulberg,
Superpitcher,
Tobi Neumann, and
Richie Hawtin. (That list only accounts for some of the DJs who included
Wighnomy-related tracks on officially released mixes.)
The Wighnomys'
Gabor Schablitzki (aka
Robag Wruhme) and
Sören Bodner developed a style of pared-down
house that pairs the rigidities of straightforward Germanic
techno with abstractly funky effects and samples learned, and then contorted, from
hip-hop. Rest assured, though, that they are far away from the land of funky breaks. While not as juicy as the average
Perlon track, the
Wighnomy sound tends to be just as playful, albeit in a fashion that can be menacing and unsettling without reaching the grayscale shades and pitch-black torrents favored by the likes of
Lawrence and
Anders Ilar. Once
the Wighnomys raised their flag, the
Freude-am-Tanzen roster began to accumulate releases by likeminded producers and producers who temporarily adopted a sound closer to that of their hosts.
Hemmann & Kaden's
"Vaganza" has a steady four-four foundation that's practically subliminal, covered with restlessly clattering and phasing percussion, and its title seems like a fitting term for the downcast synth-goo that streaks across its seven minutes.
DJ Koze's characteristically offbeat
"Lighta Spuba" is the most desiccated track, but it's also one of the highlights, with each ingredient of its nervous skip reduced to slivers.
Soulphiction's
"Black Woman," with its righteous pro-black
poetry over the top, handclaps floating in and out, abbreviated synth-bass riffing, electric piano licks, and relaxed gait, is an effectively thinned-out
Moodymann rip. For a laugh, check
Koze's odd
ambient chop-up of
Shirley Murdock's
"As We Lay" (!), which fittingly closes out the sequence. Consisting entirely of tracks that appeared previously on vinyl, this track-in-whole disc is an excellent way to be introduced to one of Germany's best -- if not most prolific -- dance labels. It could've stretched out to a second disc without tailing off in quality, so there's plenty more for beginners to seek out and delight in.
Koze's
"Madame Zinfandl," Wighnomy Brothers'
"Freiekksemplar," and
Onur Özer's
"Doppelgänger" are just three of the tracks that thrill as thoroughly as anything contained here.
~Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
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