- If further evidence were needed of Europe's love affair with Stateside house, it's Fabric's continued run of CD releases given over to American DJs. Coming after Metro Area, John Tejada and Omar-S, and before 47's Jay Haze, you'd be hard pressed to find any common thread here aside geography, and VonStroke's jam-packed set is as jumbled as any—at least on paper. With 22 tracks, and many more doubling-up, there's a lot of activity here, but Crenshaw keeps a tight leash, creating a coherent, compelling narrative from what frequently threatens to bubble over into a frothy mess.
This jigsaw method is achieved digitally, Hawtin-style: "Everything is really tailored; the tracks aren't really the tracks, it is all cut up, chopped and twisted." It's the antithesis to Omar-S's seemingly on-the-fly all-vinyl session. But while VonStroke's layered, maximalist approach may not find favour with purists, the result is so cleverly crafted, so moving and groovy, that it's difficult not to enjoy. The emphasis here is on bumping tech-house ala VonStroke's labels, laden with hip-swinging lows and warped sweeping mids, Crenshaw's nudge-wink sense of fun(k) joining the dots.
This is clear from the off, a few chuckles breaking the ice before Ekkohaus barge in, a medley of "Cry Baby" and "The Healer" blending sax riff, vocal bites and bass bounce, a perfect lead-in to VonStroke’s own classy Bootsy rework "Yabadabadooza." The Playhouse cowbells of Holger Zilske's "Mes Yeux" fit beautifully, and a few bumps and kinks away so does Stimming, the tribal oompah "After Eight" effortlessly joyous, all two minutes of it. But VonStroke is careful, breaking up these hectic pile-ups, Voodeux's stunning "Just a Spoonful" bringing space and linearity when most needed. (Following with Italoboyz's gleeful gimmick "Bla Bla Bla" is equally just right.)
This delicate balance—between frenetic hyperactivity and measured depth, menacing gloom and jaunty skip—is gripping, particularly when VonStroke nearly blows it. By the time we reach Clara Moto's "Silently" the mood is frantic—vocalist Mimu madly babbling, Dinamoe's "Maceo" crashing away on top—and when all goes tilt, it's just the breather we need. The road home is similarly well-pitched: Studio Eins minimal from Donk Boys, Robag Wruhme's kitsch piano house and more Stimming before VonStroke's own curtain call, twinkling Detroit house cut "Aundy." It's an exhausting sugar-fuelled dodgem ride, but incredibly well-handled, and a delight from start to finish.
Tracklist 01. Ekkohaus feat. R. Wurz – Cry Baby / Ekkohaus feat. Mensa – The Healer
02. Claude VonStroke & Bootsy Collins - Yabadabadooza
03. Rob Van Valen – Trampen
04. Holger Zilske – Mes Yeux
05. Detroit Grand Puhbas - Big Onion (Joakim Remix) / Roman Salanger - Galaxius
06. DJ Deeon – Shake It / Isomer Transitions - Downtime in the Hangar
07. Stimming - After Eight
08. Peter Lauer - Free Entry for Girls (Robag Whrume's Drikkibass Remix)
09. Voodeux - Just A Spoonful
10. Italoboyz – Bla Bla Bla
11. Varoslav feat DOP. - Inside Ways (Boris Werner. Remix)
12. Kiki – Immortal (Instrumental Dub)
13. Xpansul & Daweed - Pilsnerd / Marc Houle – Dirty Dirty
14. Dinamoe – Maceo / Clara Moto feat. Mimu – Silently
15. James Braun - Symphonia
16. Donk Boys – One Tooth Missing
17. Robag Whrume - Guppipepitsche
18. ICS – Espagnol
19. Markus Schatz - Running / Catz N' Dogz – SF
20. Marc Miroir - Kraft
21. Stimming - One Weekend
22. Claude VonStroke – Aundy