Rechenkönig / Rechenkonig

Very strange album, this one: somewhere between hard techno, experimental electronics, and sound art, but never really settling down in one category. This almost continuous hour-long journey is segmented in 26 untitled tracks. A small number of more ambient segments bring a sense of relief to the listener who, in lack of them, could end up banging his or her head on the wall trying to make some sense of this maelstrom. A beat can be found in every corner, sometimes obvious but more likely deconstructed though still providing a backbone to the tracks. Yet, this is nothing to dance to. Tracks like number eight are very humoresque, including voice samples or old video games sounds. Track 11 is built over a disembodied blues guitar. Some turntable work can be quite impressive, like on track 18, a merry-go-round soundtrack pasted from different sources. Indescribable, Rechenkönig is a potpourri of techno- and avant-electronics-derived ideas rolled into one compact package waiting to explode. Definitely not for the faint at heart. ~ François Couture, Rovi