Kleinschmager Audio: Audiology

Rrygular is one to keep an eye on, and now you have another reason why you should. In 2007, the label delivered From Karaoke to Stardom’s Undo Redo Weirdo, one of the most absurd and intriguing electronic mixes of the year, and now they’ve brought us the striking debut full-length from Germany’s Kleinschmager Audio. The name represents the partnership of noted engineer and deejay Jörn Kleinschmager and producer Niklas Worgt, who joined forced for a series of EPs starting in 2007. The fruits of those efforts have now been collected, repackaged, and tweaked for Audiology. That’s fine by me, though. I long for Rrygular to release more albums, and this small piece of gold is only their third. I take what I can get, and this record is definitely worth taking.

The easy view would be to see Audiology as a collection of singles, which has been the detriment of many electronic releases, but the quality of these ten taut oddball minimal masterpieces will silence all doubts. The economy this Reich-ian duo gets from a limited number of sounds is already beyond impressive. They send surging waves of energy out in a radial blast with every beat, pulsing along at that kickin’ tempo, without resorting to the build-up/breakdown instant gratification cycles that exist in the mainstream electronic doldrums. Kleinschmager Audio have fantastic skill in uncouth aural manipulation that breathes new life into often familiar and dated, occasionally trite and amateurish, samples and sounds, as well as a keen sense of space and timing. I can’t wait to see what they do with a proper album in mind.