Richard Hinge
Munich Manhattan
Shadow
New Jersey’s own Richard Hinge wears many hats and has racks on two continents. Not only does he produce for Dietrich Schoenmann’s Hidden Agenda label and Disko B and DJs in NYC, but he also owns his own label, Conrail. For this continuation of the Shadow Mix Series, Hinge puts on his DJ/Producer hat to deliver a continuous mix of Disko B tracks. If truly representative of the German label and Hinge’s best stuff, this is a little disappointing. The disc starts off with an atmospheric “Vanity Of Vanities” by Kirlian with Bambaata-like effects that kicks off a back-down-memory-lane ’80s electro-pop meander. It’s a typical climb that peaks with a humorous remake of Joan Jett’s “I Wanna Be Your Dog” by Dakar and Grinser and then drones on like an episode of The Paper Chase. An eternity seems to pass until Dakar and Grinser reappear with “Stay With Me,” which takes us to the present day. Then, we get the techno-pop section of the mix, which lasts for 13 songs and finally concludes the disc. The entire time one feels like they’re trudging through a very unremarkable desert awaiting some good sounds to no avail. While all the tracks are good, nothing is truly outstanding, and the disc disappoints. There must be a good reason that a label as good as Shadow shone the spotlight on Richard Hinge, but, listening to Munich Manhattan, I can’t see it.
Shadow Records: http://www.shadowrecords.com • Disko B: http://www.diskob.com
