Founding member and key figure of the Vienna-based electronic-dub-collective Sofa Surfers, Markus Kienzl brings us his second solo album, merging electronics, dub, rock, hip hop and soul, melted together into Kienzl’ special blend of urban paranoia, and a further development from the intrinsically dub roots of past Sofa Surfers productions.
Musically, Density has a dirtier, harder edge, full to the brim with live drums, bass, guitar and the usual studio wizardry we’ve come to expect from Klein releases. Rock riffs sit comfortably next to dub effects and vocals from a variety of vocalists and MC’. The electronics are the glue in the project, subtly underpinning the live sound of the instrumentation, and that is its major strength, enabling a traditional song structure to incorporate originality and inventiveness.
Supported by a vast array of talent, Cutty Ranks, Oddateee, DJ Collage, Jack Hirschmann, Tania Saedie and Dolli Melaine, Kienzl paints a picture of a sounding and shining dark monolith, pulsating with enigmatic forces in a chimerical urban soundscape. There is a bleakness to Density, but it works as a gripping journey through disturbed urban environments.
“For Real†is the perfect track for Oddateee to spit over, its not a Dalek production, but it’s the next best thing, while “Infrared Dot†lays down a similar hard beat for Oddateee, sampled most probably from the same source as the last EP from Jamie Vex’d. The electro-clash of “Scream†leaves me somewhat cold, and seems out of place here. Kienzl switches things around for “The Kung Fu Divas†and “Sniper, Sniper (A Cutty Ranks Tale)â€, bringing us back to a dancehall sound that artists from Vienna always seem to be drawn to, and Cutty Ranks toasts like no other. Rounding out the album with “One Of 33 Millionâ€, kind of a cross between Hood and Glen Porter, Density is an album full of inventiveness, this may be downtempo, but it has a harder edge. Worth seeking out.
Wayne Stronell
