Electronic Sound July 2015 (Regular Edition) | Page 37

around idly twiddling their thumbs in
between times, of course. Both have had
various solo projects (DJing, remixing,
soundtracks, etc) on the go. And after
years apart, they finally reconvened to
work on last year’s Mouse On Mars’ ‘21
Again’ album and properly reconnected
– so much so that they apparently ended
up playing each other their favourite
tracks from the “lost” decade.

FUNKSTÖRUNG
Funkstörung

MONKEYTOWN

Back with their first new release
in 10 years, the German duo aren’t
messing around
Crack German outfit Funkstörung don’t
do things by halves. Theirs was the
pioneering electronic template that
would eventually be termed “glitch hop”.
And after a glut of releases on various
labels, they provided killer remixes for
pop glitterati such as Björk, Jean-Michel
Jarre and the Wu-Tang Clan. But after
disbanding in 2006, they’ve been off
the radar – as a duo, at least. Now, after
nearly 10 years of silence, the IDM-toting
twosome are back.
Chris De Luca and Michael Fakesch
have always been big on brash visual
statements. After all, their lavishly
packaged 2004 design book/DVD,
‘Isolated. Funkstörung. Triple Media’,
featured the work of 40 graphic
designers. So, true to form, the sleeve
for their comeback record – depicting a
sort of bright, phallic spaceship hovering
over a mountainous landscape, designed
by lauded graphic artists Zeitguised and
Sebastian Onufszak – announces their
long overdue return in colourful terms.
Not that the pair have been sitting

Ironically, the hiatus seems to have
imbued Funkstörung with fresh impetus;
their new material sounds significantly
richer and more resonant than the back
catalogue, groundbreaking though that
was. They describe this latest work as
“evolution not revolution”, so while funky
distortions, glitches, clicks and breaks
still pervade the mix, the sound – sleek,
well-defined and soulful – feels more
streamlined than ever.
Picking up where 2004’s ‘Disconnected’
left off, De Luca and Fakesch have
cleverly tempered their complex,
Autechre-lite rhythms with honeyed
pop, ornate melodies, and a guestlist
of illustrious singers (vocals feature on
almost every track). ‘Funkstörung’ is no
elementary redux, though. The pair are
clearly sticklers for detail. Thick with
atmosphere and replete with fat, bassy

textures, the production here veritably
glistens, with seemingly every bit of the
album’s electronic ebb and flow honed to
perfection.
It all hangs together beautifully, from
the sensuous, sinewy opener ‘Fall Into
You’, featuring Australian electronic duo
Audego, to the clattering synth rumble
of ‘Laid Out’ and the lustrous, hip hoppy
‘So Simple’, tailor-made for Jamie Lidell’s
heartfelt croon. Scintillating instrumental
interludes add further richness, but the
doozy vocal tracks just keep on coming.
On ‘Killers’, for example, a heightened
groove and an edgy mood creates the
song’s requisite tension, while Swedish
troubadour Jay-Jay Johanson adds his
alluring, deep-toned brand of melancholy
to ‘I Love Him So’.
A great big immersive blanket of a
record, ‘Funkstörung’ feels complete
in every sense. It demands to be fully
experienced and absorbed. It’s a glorious
return that finds De Luca and Fakesch
on glittering form, so much sharper and
more expansive than we could ever have
hoped for. Funkstörung, we’ve missed
you. Just don’t leave it so long next
time, eh?
VELIMIR ILIC