[Hartchef Discos]

Much of the attention Boris Steffen (aka Jichael Mackson) earned in 2007 was focused on his “…Wasn’t Me” EP on Musique Risquée, and for good reason. Its “The Grass Is Always Greener…” precariously balanced eccentric samples and dubbed out arrangements such that they elicited smiles of comprehension and shaking hips rather than guffaws or upturned noses — his tactic didn’t seem like a gimmick. Jichael Mackson’s follow up release, “Baff,” which quietly arrived on the like-minded and increasingly hip Hartchef Discos, takes the strategy for another spin with fortuitously enjoyable results.

“Schnurz” sounds as if it’s creeping from a subterranean studio, its motley percussion steeped in swampy effects (excepting the piercing hi-hats) without much else to soak them up. What little melodic color Steffen injects is warped and indistinct, as if heard through the speaker of an archaic answering machine. A female vocal hisses, “C’mon, Charlie,” adding to the ominous atmosphere. Taken together it’s a haunting and bumpy ride for the darkest of clubs.

Its B-side companion is more upbeat and daring. “Piepe” finds Steffen melding the drive of buoyant, babbling rhythms with sweeping string swells, euphoric pads and manipulated samples to a compelling, not histrionic, effect. Of particularly interest are the samples: manipulated beyond easy comprehension, they ring out like the metallic upstroke groove fostered by the Rhythm & Sound/Basic Channel family, occasionally borrowing the string swells’ melody for added impact. Clocking in at just under 14 minutes, “Piepe” is an immense track ready to swallow club-goers in its many layers. Don’t be surprised if artists from the Diynamic roster start slotting this one between their own signature slabs. If this is how Jichael Mackson closes out his year, I can hardly wait to see how he opens 2008.