2 X 12″ LP, Das Drehmoment, 2008
www.das-drehmoment.com
Literally translated into English, “Rückwärts Im Uhrzeigersinn” comes across as “backwards, clockwise.” Could this be a 1984-esque reduction of our unnecessary doublespeak for “widdershins”, that direction always associated with pagan ritual? If so, the esoteric connection has eluded me, leaving me, instead, to translate it in a far more flowery, figurative (and altogether less magical) manner: sixteen exciting, genre-bending, atom-splitting cuts of the juiciest contemporary electronica.
Ranging from pure instrumental electro (such as Kalson’s “Pulsar II”) to moody synthpop (the excellent – and that’s coming from an anti-synthpop supporter – “Double Deja-Vu” by Lesbian Mouseclicks), all the way through to the quasi-rock rhythms of Jacques Dubroix (on “All Over”) and EBM a la Datafreq or Polygamy Boys (shown on the heavily vocoded “The Only Place I Go” and “Man Against Man”, respectively), with a touch of disco funkiness thrown in by Replicant (on the question/answer/male/female “Forbidden”), this is an inspirational compilation. Das Drehmoment have, on “Rückwärts Im Uhrzeigersinn”, managed to collect the finest in unknown and up-and-coming electronic music being played today. Not one track feels out of place, despite the vast schism between styles represented.
It’s a fairly laidback release, overall – not much that’s going to have the industrial kids foaming at the mouth, although just about everyone else imaginable is catered for – but everything is just so damn listenable, you can easily forgive the artists for not kick-drum-blasting your eardrums out of the sides of your head. In fact, it’s a welcome change of pace for me, in particular, and one I’m pleased to have experienced. This recording shows intelligent, thoughtful, considered approaches to electronic music that dispel the misconceptions that generic four-to-the-floor house eurohits tend to encourage among the MTV generation.
[8/10]
— David vander Merwe