haujobb
ninetynine
Metropolis
A sole android (for fun let’s name it “Autechre”) stalks about our lovely futurist landscape. The garbled transmissions of broken radios mingle with the rhythmic churn of the factory next door. Acrid smoke fills the eyes of our dear android. Suddenly, the haze parts, and a bright white light flashes upon our friend. Our comrade staggers backward and falls to the ground. It arises and gazes upon its limbs. Skin (or at least something that looks vaguely like it) has replaced the former cold steel! Our friend rushes out, and declares itself a new being, and it gives itself the name of “haujobb.”
Haujobb has always been on the cutting edge of the electro-industrial crew (the aftermath of Skinny Puppy), and have finally separated themselves from the pack with a lovely piece of…well. electronica, I suppose they’d call it these days – intelligent techno, for those in the know. Crispy, off-kilter drums loops stroll along hand-in-hand with minimal, glitchy electronics and often the barest hints of a melody. There are moments of genuine beauty on this album, provided mostly by a female singer while shrouded by gossamer layers of melody. The vocals are very restrained and used sparingly. To prove what generous fellows they are, haujobb have appended the album with a 10 minute track of samples, ripe for the aspiring musician. Overall, an excellent disc, one that warrants repeated listenings with and without headphones.
Metropolis Records, P.O. Box 54307, Philadelphia, PA, 19105
