French label Zone is happy to announce that this year The Hacker will release a new artist album across the course of two EPs. The first, Love/Kraft Part 1, features five new tracks, whilst the second part will follow in a few months’ time.
The Hacker is a long established sonic experimenter who has released seminal albums with Miss Kittin as well as countless solo EPs on labels like Turbo, Tigersushi, Infine and Gigolo over the course of the last 15 years plus. He’s a dab hand at everything from house to techno, rave to acid, and was closely involved with the electroclash movement when it first reared its head a decade ago.
Opener, ‘A Thousand Time’ feat. Perspects is a terse bit of electro-tech that spits out percussive hits, is wired up with thick synth lines and bounces on a big bassline. A robotic voice sings the track’s title and makes for pure punk-funk listening.
Next up, ‘Clear’ plays with surfing electro percussion and supple basslines. It’s a chunky groove that breaks down with a classic bit of ravey old school piano before kicking again. ‘Driftin’ is a slower, acid licked workout that crawls through desolate urban spaces with a paranoid tension never far away.
Showing his many different sides, ‘Parallele Universe’ then slips into a slinky, deep down below the surface groove as industrial drones linger somewhere off in the distance. It’s edgy, tense music that sees this first EP concluded with ‘Pure Energy’. Piston pumps, white noise sweeps and teeth gnashing bass sounds get joined by whip snapping, metallic hooks and monstrous kicks to make for the most aggressive moment of the lot.
This EP is the sound of The Hacker at his moody best – it covers plenty of ground from main room wreckers to subtler back room mood pieces, and makes for a truly captivating listen.
