[Die Orakel]

There are lots of ways a label can distinguish itself. In the case of Live At Robert Johnson, hitting just slightly left-of-center has been enough. Maximillion Dunbar’s Polo, Roman Flügel’s Cookie Dust, Benedikt Frey’s Running in Circles — they all fall more or less within the boundaries of house, while doing things a tad differently. It might be a strange track layout, an unusual lead sound, or even just a quirky approach to melody, but LARJ records simply seem to pop. Apart from praising the artists themselves (duh), it’s also worth recognizing Oliver Hafenbauer, the man who finds and signs the label’s music. And now it’s time to get excited, because he has a new imprint of his own. And if this first 12″ is anything to go by, the German’s left-of-center tendency will continue to be felt on Die Orakel (“The Oracle”).

TCB, excerpts from Monogamie

Of late, Hafenbauer’s friend and sometime-collaborator, Christian Beißwenger, has been playing this game well too. Though he’s done projects like Arto Mwambe (with Phillip Lauer) and CB Funk, the music released under his youngest moniker, The Citizen’s Band (TCB), is particularly weird and attention-grabbing. Often lopsided, it hobbles along in fits and starts, with new sounds barging in unexpectedly. Importantly though, it’s never so incoherent as to scare listeners away. This newest record is no exception: “Monogamie” has the feel of a low-speed centrifuge, liquid chords sloshing about a core of chunky toms. There’s a definite pattern to it; it’s just hard to discern, especially when a shrill trance lead unexpectedly soars overhead. But figuring it all out is part of what makes the cut so appealing. “Unchained” is much more abstract, sounding like some musical equivalent of those pictures where all the colors have been reversed. As its speckled melody unfolds on a canvas of sweeping chords, though, it manages to keep it all together nicely. In a canny move, the record’s sole remix comes from MM/KM (aka Mix Mup & Kassem Mosse), two names with a history of wringing meaning from mere skerricks of melody. True to form, their remix of “Unchained” is ready for dancing, yet retains the original’s wonderfully disjointed feel. In all, a strong start for Die Orakel.