It would seem, as the year unfolds, that Kompakt, always a watershed label to turn to when American, French, French-Canadian, French-American, and British attempts at making a genuinely good 12” for both hearts and dancefloors utterly fail (as they often do, and have this year), really will, as fall sets in, save us all. From nuclear (pronounced “new-cue-luhr”) terrorists? Sure. From certain armageddon-nay, a world-shattering apocalyptic vision (perhaps that verysame post apocalyptic dawn that Derrick Carter once prophisized)? Why not.
From rote techno? Absolutely.
Enter, stage right, Michael Mayer.
The man, the myth, the legend-the German Tech producer who has, since before time began, sat at the right hand of Kompakt, and whose “Immer” mix made shuffletech a dancefloor pop buzz word, and whose follow-up mix for Fabric basically imprinted the “less-is-more” aesthetic into the hearts and minds of kids seeking shelter in darkened rooms with high levels of bass around the world.
Then, from stage left, comes Superpitcher.
From in the shadows he crawls, and in the shadows he finds a way-to cobble together skittering, shuffling Berlin cold closed highs with impassioned, whisperingly emotive vocals. The crowned prince of GothTech, whose “Today” mix saved minimal by dousing the whole damn genre some much-needed mascara and silver cheek-glitter a few years back.
They touch hands. A subtle embrace. Maybe an exchange of power-crystals (think Power Rangers here)?
Suddenly, the two mild-mannered German Tech superstars, each having caused slow, droning tidal waves in their own regard, combine forces…and things change, never to be the same.
Presenting the worst-named collaboration of (not)arguably the two most recognizable male Tech stars to have done a damn thing worth discussing in the past half-decade: Superpitcher. Michael Mayer. With their powers combined, they are Supermayer. And yes, they are going to save this whole damn planet.
(No, I’m not kidding)
“Two Of Us”, the first single from Supermayer Save The World is a rapid, rattling stomp-and-click of a track, the sort of thing that burns in a way that the resulting fire is one only the most skilled DJs have the ability to contain. The big, bombastic bass line that immediately threatens to overwhelm does, in fact, do just that-and it’s welcome. When the glockenspiel comes in, though, it’s hard not to smile with discomfort: this is a barn burner-barn builder of a forward-thinking Tech slamjam, sounding more like Mayer’s recent ventures into drone-as-catharsis than anything else-but even that use of a touchstone gets thrown out the window around 6 minutes in, when something akin to a lazer starts blowing the whole thing up from the inside out. It’s a glorious, gorgeous dismantling that takes the glockenspiel, isolates it in such a way that they become skeleton-headed teddybears; namely, frightening and comforting all at once. The drone, in the end, wins out-it’s like giving over to the dark side. Supermayer’s special dark? Luscious and lovely, all at once.
How’s the rest of the album? Different-meaning-interesting-meaning-good. Swinging from gooey funk the likes of which neither Super nor Mayer have previously attempted to the sort of minimalistic noise listening excersises they both cut their teeth on, it’s an album, front-to-back, that works. It’s a sound, a combination of ideas and ideals, and, above all else, the sound of two total genius prettymensch making ridiculously beautiful (and at times beautiful;ridiculous) music together.
Supermayer: Two Of Us Glockapella
The Glock-A-Pella leaves nothing but the droning low end and the gorgeous glockenspiel. Creative folk will find a use for this on its own-it’s too good, too hypnotic to waste otherwise.
Your bonus:
Phantom Ghost: Perfect Lovers (Unperfect Love mix)
: The Unperfect Love mix of Perfect Lovers that Superpitcher and Tobias Thomas did for Mayer’s original Immer. Proof that, from the very beginning, these two have been out to save, and beautify, the tech world.
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