Stereotyp: My Sound | Recommended
Stereotyp, civilian name Stefan Moerth, is part of the Viennese Circle of artists that achieved international prominence when Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister drew all ears to the Austrian capital. What K&D™ initiated was continued with the Vienna Scientists Series. The first two compilations were excellent, the third a waste of time at the least.
Stereotyp I first heard on Vienna Scientists II, where he is represented with the track Port Blue. My next encounter was on another sampler, Dub Club Compilation, where he sets the mood with the opener ... 'Welcome to the exclusive Dub Club selection ... Cette chanson a ete cree pour le Dub Club'. I'm certain that he is featured on a number of other compilations and samplers, but I stopped buying that type of CD when my eyes first stung, at Saturn in Moenckebergstrasse, at the likes of 'After Work Chill-Out' and 'Business Lounge' (or whatever the actual titles are).
Now his first proper album has been released by G-Stone (who else), the label founded by K&D™ (www.g-stoned.com) (there is an album titled 'Unbemerkt' by a band named Stereotyp, but they are into rather mediocre eighties-influenced pop. Don't bother with them. Incidentally, for those who don't speak German, 'Unbemerkt' means unnoticed. Talk about the Ironies of Life. And- one last parenthetical remark- please be advised that deeeeep inhalation will enhance your auditory pleasure on this and all other music I recommend!).
Dub is the word, dark, phat Dub. The opener, 'My Sound', featuring Tikkiman, sets the tone and is followed by 'Jahman', which, like the third piece, 'Fling Style' also has Tikkiman on vocals. Tikkiman is featured on the fifth track of the Dub Club Compilation, titled 'Millenium' which, to me, is- for want of a better adjective- one of the loveliest Dub pieces I know.
I find that 'My Sound' consists of two parts. The first comprises the first two tracks- almost experimental sounds, intricate percussion and very heavy, but very subtle bass (as opposed to a bassline). The second part starts with 'Fling Style' and ends with 'Last Song', aptly titled. This, and also the fifth, track ('Don't Funk with Me') feature the intensely emotional vocals of Cesar Sampson. In the right mood, 'Dont Funk ...' will break your heart. 'All Di Gal Come', which is one of my favourite pieces, has elements of House. Executed the way it is, it's an exiting and interesting combination. The seventh track, 'Trigger Culture', featuring MC Trigger, is the only song that I don't like. Haunting keyboards, reminiscent of the wind howling around a bleak, deserted house on a hilltop, fractured beats and MC Trigger's monotonous and unemotional (almost inhuman) voice blend to result in music that sounds (at least to me) like the soundtrack to depression and nightmare.
There has been a formula, developed (or at least made popular) by Massive Attack on 'Blue Lines' (or by Goldie on 'Inner City Life'), which pairs phat basslines and beats with a sweet female voice, as if to apologize for the music or to make it more palatable. Today you have to look hard to find deviations from this rule. Morcheeba and Waldeck, to name two examples, all adhere to it and the list is endless. To Sterotyp's credit, he avoids this. Of the eleven songs, only two feature female vocals, 'Silence' with Colee Royce and 'Time' with Greenwood, and these are refreshing departures from the familiar.
(G-STONE CD 017, distributed by Soul Seduction Vienna, office@soulseduction.com)
Stereotyp I first heard on Vienna Scientists II, where he is represented with the track Port Blue. My next encounter was on another sampler, Dub Club Compilation, where he sets the mood with the opener ... 'Welcome to the exclusive Dub Club selection ... Cette chanson a ete cree pour le Dub Club'. I'm certain that he is featured on a number of other compilations and samplers, but I stopped buying that type of CD when my eyes first stung, at Saturn in Moenckebergstrasse, at the likes of 'After Work Chill-Out' and 'Business Lounge' (or whatever the actual titles are).
Now his first proper album has been released by G-Stone (who else), the label founded by K&D™ (www.g-stoned.com) (there is an album titled 'Unbemerkt' by a band named Stereotyp, but they are into rather mediocre eighties-influenced pop. Don't bother with them. Incidentally, for those who don't speak German, 'Unbemerkt' means unnoticed. Talk about the Ironies of Life. And- one last parenthetical remark- please be advised that deeeeep inhalation will enhance your auditory pleasure on this and all other music I recommend!).
Dub is the word, dark, phat Dub. The opener, 'My Sound', featuring Tikkiman, sets the tone and is followed by 'Jahman', which, like the third piece, 'Fling Style' also has Tikkiman on vocals. Tikkiman is featured on the fifth track of the Dub Club Compilation, titled 'Millenium' which, to me, is- for want of a better adjective- one of the loveliest Dub pieces I know.
I find that 'My Sound' consists of two parts. The first comprises the first two tracks- almost experimental sounds, intricate percussion and very heavy, but very subtle bass (as opposed to a bassline). The second part starts with 'Fling Style' and ends with 'Last Song', aptly titled. This, and also the fifth, track ('Don't Funk with Me') feature the intensely emotional vocals of Cesar Sampson. In the right mood, 'Dont Funk ...' will break your heart. 'All Di Gal Come', which is one of my favourite pieces, has elements of House. Executed the way it is, it's an exiting and interesting combination. The seventh track, 'Trigger Culture', featuring MC Trigger, is the only song that I don't like. Haunting keyboards, reminiscent of the wind howling around a bleak, deserted house on a hilltop, fractured beats and MC Trigger's monotonous and unemotional (almost inhuman) voice blend to result in music that sounds (at least to me) like the soundtrack to depression and nightmare.
There has been a formula, developed (or at least made popular) by Massive Attack on 'Blue Lines' (or by Goldie on 'Inner City Life'), which pairs phat basslines and beats with a sweet female voice, as if to apologize for the music or to make it more palatable. Today you have to look hard to find deviations from this rule. Morcheeba and Waldeck, to name two examples, all adhere to it and the list is endless. To Sterotyp's credit, he avoids this. Of the eleven songs, only two feature female vocals, 'Silence' with Colee Royce and 'Time' with Greenwood, and these are refreshing departures from the familiar.
(G-STONE CD 017, distributed by Soul Seduction Vienna, office@soulseduction.com)
posted by Arta Buneta at 2:20 AM
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