Wuzzelbud KK EP

Album review

Gabor Schablitzki has been very productive since the late '90s under a number of guises. In 2002, he began releasing tracks as Robag Wruhme for Germany's Musik Krause label -- the title of his first 12", Backkatalog, being just as backward as "Robag." The first Wruhme album follows a quartet of uniformly excellent singles (three for Musik Krause, one for Milnor Modern), and it lands as the profile continues to rise for another one of the producer's outlets, the Wighnomy Brothers (a partnership with Sören Bodner). Wuzzelbud "KK" is all new and is as consistent as the preceding singles. Schablitzki also thankfully treats it as an album in the pure sense, sequencing nine tracks that benefit from one another sequentially and allowing them to do their job in a grand total of 45 minutes. He isn't quite a minimalist, but he's able to do more with a couple elements than most of his peers. The refusal to rely on a simple 4/4 thump, the continual addition of new sounds, and the buoyant (if moody) drive all contribute to the effectiveness of the five straight-up dance tracks. When Schablitzki's in this mode, he thrives on grooves that click, roil, and wobble with as much restless vigor as the best Perlon releases. Of the four remaining cuts, two are in the Morr Music/City Centre Offices vein of melody-laced IDM; another is an unfortunate indie-rap slip; and the fourth is a placid ambient number that closes the album out in fine style. While tightly bundled, easily digestible albums are too few and far between in dance music, it's unfortunate that the true Wruhme back catalog remains available to vinyl buyers only. (Speaking of vinyl buyers, there are two releases titled Wuzzelbud "KK". One is the nine-track album on two pieces of vinyl, and the other includes the title track and a pair of non-album cuts.)

© Andy Kellman /TiVo