説明
オランダのエレクトロ・ミュージック・プロデューサーLegoweltがベルギーの人気レーベルAltered Circuitsから『Ruins Of Cracktopolis』をリリース！インテンスな展開とシンセ/機械音がダイレクトに感じることができるテクノ～エレクトロ好盤！
オランダのエレクトロ・ミュージック・
Danny WolfersがLegowelt名義で2年ぶりにAltered Circuitsから届ける『Ruins Of Cracktopolis』。アーティスト自身が「今日のテクノシーンというディストピアンなサーカスを生き抜くための賛美歌」と表現するこの作品は、クラブとホームリスニングの両方で楽しめる多彩なトラックが揃う。
オープニングの「Do You Know Who You Never Be」は、短いスタッカートのリードと暗いコードが重厚なキックドラムの上で回転し、ミステリアスなヴォコーダーや激しくねじれるレーザーシーケンスが加わり、緻密なリズムを作り出す。続く「In A Trance Dance All Night」は、弾けるような303ラインと力強いドラムが絡み合い、80年代を感じさせるシンセジャムが展開。リバーブたっぷりのパッドとヴォーカルが、霧が立ち昇るように漂い、幻想的な世界を描き出す。
アルバム全体に漂うDutch West Coastのヴィンテージ感や、4/4とブロークンビートが交錯するリズムは、テンポに変化を与えつつも、Wolfers特有のメロディアスな要素で一貫性を保つ。シンセ愛好家として知られる彼だが、この作品では機材が彼を支配するのではなく、むしろ彼が機材に彼自身のエレクトロニックミュージック観を教え込んでいるかのような感覚がある。
クラブでも自宅でも楽しめる4トラックが詰まったこのアルバムは、彼の音楽的個性を堪能できる逸品だ。
A1. Do You Know Who You Never Be
A2. In A Trance Dance All Night
B1. Ruins Of Cracktropolis
B2. Like Twin Peaks
Two years after the release of the Polarius EP Inner Voices Of A Clown, Danny Wolfers returns to Altered Circuits, this time under his best-known alias Legowelt, for Ruins Of Cracktopolis: a collection of "hymns to survive the dystopian circus of today's techno scene" in the artist's own words. On Do You Know Who You Never Be, a short staccato lead and dark chords revolve around a monolithic kick drum pattern that takes care of the cadence and bass. A mysterious vocoder and a laser sequence that gets torn and twisted to the max join, but the track never loses its steady pace - it gets help from shakers so much mixed to the front they could be lifted from a B'more track. Amidst the effervescing 303 lines and bold drum sequences of In A Trance Dance All Night" Wolfers finds a canvas for a stretched synthesizer jam with eighties breaking allure. This melody, together with the pads and vocal, are drenched in reverb - they float like mist ascending from the The Hague dunes. Throughout Ruins Of Cracktopolis, more vintage Dutch West Coast, the hiss-laden broken beat that guides the bass sequences and ominous blippy synth patterns switches to a 4/4 structure and back. These make for captivating shifts in pace while the minor progressions continue unfolding. Like Twin Peaks targets prime energy once the arpeggiator sequence present from the start lowers an octave. The track runs smooth like a pomade slick-back; it's only tempered slightly when the crunchy kick and tom change place for a moody chord sequence break. Even if these four tracks target the club, they are equally suited for - quoting Wolfers again - "leisurely home listening". Their greatest strengths are, as so often, their melodic aspects. The artist is known to be a synthesizer aficionado, but his unique personal touch immediately shines through no matter which gear he works with. The machines never seem to dominate the composing process; quite the opposite: it's as if he isn't programming or registering as much as trying to teach them his take on electronic music.
