We’ll Never Stop Living This Way

Well I wonder, just how does an ageing Berlin Eurohouse pioneer live?...

Well I wonder, just how does an ageing Berlin Eurohouse pioneer live? In his own chromium Bundesbubble high above Checkpoint Charlie? One sincerely hopes so. But we may never find out from the academic sleeve notes explaining the philosophy behind this new release, only the second album in 16 years from a man regarded as a prime mover in the early acid house scene.

He explains why it’s still all about the funk, why it’s not about ‘DJ purism’ and how he spent a night with Indians recently in Canada. Like you do.

For all his chin-stroking theory, though, this record works because it has some good beats and some nice hooks. Nothing too complicated, especially when he samples splendidly rocking old-school electro and hip-hop, steals their beats and adds some synthtastic tunefulness of his own (cf, ‘Die Dunkelsequenz’ and the title track).

Electrofied groovers like ‘Beatbox Rocker’ and ‘Agharta, The City Of Shamballa’ sound like Kraftwerk and Afrika Bambaataa having a cyber-scrap in a dentist’s waiting room. Not least because His Bambaataaness is singing on them. But if that’s all a bit 1998 for you, well a) you’re a twat and b) minimalist techno-funk like ‘Terminator’, ‘Crash Course’ and (Ja! Das ist richtig!) ‘Elektronische Tanzmusik’ would’ve worked as well in 1968 as they do now.

West Bam – Danke schvn, ma’am!

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