Customer Reviews

Hello Mom

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LUCA MAINI's igloomag.com REVIEW ::

(01.13.06) I don't know very well the output of Bpitch Control, but I constantly followed the releases of two artsits that I found fresh and amusing, namely DJ Feadz and Modeselektor. While I am still waiting for a CD full of raw breaks and blunted hip-hop by the French mad scratcher Feadz, the Modeselektor duo recently put out this Hello Mom!, which sometimes fulfills my expectations with party grooves, but in some places gets a bit anonymous. The start is very good though, "Dancingbox" is a jumping hip-hop number, made irresistible by the hiccuping lyrics of TTC, "Die Clubnumber" is a massive technoid breakbeat piece and "Tetrispack" is a slow paced, minimal and bleepy stomper that represents perfectly the weird attitude of Modeselektor. Shortly after there's "The Rapanthem," that uses the beat from O.D.B.'s (R.I.P.) "Got Your Money," but I can't decide if it's a tribute, a cover, a bootleg or whatsoever. It doesn't matter, because the track just after will get immediately your attention and you'll feel the urge to crank the volume up: "Kill Bill vol.4" it's a four-to-the-floor techno hammer, fuelled up with electrified synths and bass, the perfect tune to turn upside down the audience on a dance floor or you own car, blasting it in your stereo and terrorizing the neighborhood. "Ziq Zaq" calms down the atmosphere with a smooth Detroit beat and mellow synths, and while not so aggressive as "Kill Bill," it's either very danceable and enjoyable.

When the tunes are bouncy and sparkling, Modeselktor's music is lovely, but when they go too IDM I begin to lose attention. It's the case of "Vote Or Die" and "Earth," two placid tracks in the vein of Plaid, they're indeed nice but they break the funky flow I was enjoying before. "Fake Emotion" instead, while being dubby, has those crunchy beats inside that keep the head-nodding going on. Obviously, the addition of the mighty Paul St. Hilaire is a wicked bonus. Unfortunately the following tracks are not much special to me apart from "Silikon," another explosive tune with a heavy ragga beat and some grimey lyrics courtesy of Sasha Perera. It's out of my control, really, after the first freaky tracks my mood is set to partytime and I would want more and more... it's not a bad album, on the contrary, I would recommend it without hesitation, I just think that Modeselektor should stick on what they do best, because they're very good at it. Keep your eyes peeled for the remix EP of this album; it features an unbelievably smashing rework of "Dancing Box" by Sleeparchive.

Modeselektor has a lot in common with Monty Python. Both are nonsensical and silly. Both are as baffling as they are funny. Both seem to be the product of diseased minds on drugs.

And that's their charm. For those of you who first met Modeselektor through their free single on iTunes, I warn you that the rest of the album bears little resemblance to the hard-edged grime of "Silikon" (good song, BTW). Those reponsible for Modeselektor seem like the kind of people who are much more interested in whoopie cushions and bongs than angst or politics.

And thank goodness for it, too. "Hello Mom!" is a breath of fresh air in our age of pretention and cynicism. This album is pure, unadulterated fun, the musical equivalent to Duchamp's urinal. It may grate on your nerves (as it sometimes grates on mine), but for those times when you want a laugh, there's no better soundtrack than Modeselektor.

This album surprise me from the beginning and for the most part pulled me through. I don't know all the in's and out's of the electronica scene so I'll just describe what I liked and heard.

Dancingbox sounds like a French hip-hop song on a broken CD -- and it's my favorite song! The clipping adds a energy the is fascinating. (And I love the supposed bleeping of the French naughty words!)

Most of the album is what I would call IDM, electronic music with a beat, but quirky, interesting, weird, funny, and enjoyable.

This album is not for everyone. If you don't like blips and beeps it's going to be hard to listen to it. But if this genre is your cup of tea, Hello Mom! is a great addition to your collection.

The opening cut from "Hello Mom!", Dancing Box takes vocals from France's TTC and cuts, splices, dices, and pastes them all back together in a track that is contradictorily choppy and yet oh-so-smooth. If you took Daft Punk and threw them in a blender, they might come out sounding like this.

Silikon gives Sasha Perera the same cut-and-paste treatment, and Tetrispack is reminiscent of a youth spent playing way too many video games. The rest of the album is also worthwhile, ranging from the catchy electro of Die Clubnummer to the dark glitchiness of Earth. All in all, it's solid from first to last, but Dancing Box is the track you'll keep coming back to.

The anticipated full album by the German group Modeselektor reveals their humorous side in the beginning tracks but moves into a deeper electronic/trance/IDM feel. Being a popper and a bboy, I got the album looking for an alternative to the break beat. Some tracks have a very industrial feel similar to Autechre, while others are more ambient like something off a Boards of Canada album. Definitely worth the purchase if you're into Autechre, Boards of Canada, Kraftwerk, Aphex Twin, Mr. Oizo, etc. This album will ease you into a funky-ish groove and hold you in there----

Modeselektor is one of the greater electronic groups out there. I used to live in Berlin, Germany (where they're from) and really got into the club scene before graduating from high school and moving to the states. Modeselektor is on a berlin based label called BPitch Control (...) that not only signs great artists but throws the best parties in Berlin, if not Germany. I've been waiting for this album to come out for a couple years now, and have most of the tracks they've made in the past. They are unbelievable. This album did not let me down at all. YOU WON'T REGRET IT!