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HausHetaere - Syndicate


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Have you ever wondered, what would happened, if Chris Pohl became interested in celtic music few years ago? Or if Eminem had a collaboration with musicians from Combichrist? HAUSHETAERE’s debut proves the effect of that work would not be, possibly, a meaningless cacophony.

HausHetaere is a project, formed by Pedro Engel and Nadine "Cooraz" Engel, both known of their harsh genre Acylum, their strong and original position on the dark electro scene. Released in November 2010 by the Alfa Matrix "Syndicate" is a diverse album, and certainly radically different from previous recordings of that pair of artists.
Composition that is opening the material - "Hetaere" – is a peculiar combination of music presented by Blutengel from the beginning of their activities with the components of... celtic fusion. And although there appears for a moment Pedro’s vocal, whole is based on the soft voice of Nadine (incidentally, her manner brings there to mind the vocal of Kati Roloff and Gini Martin).
However, artists remind in "The Game", where they come from. Rhythmical, catchy song undoubtedly destined to the club, recalls the most previous works of the duo. That spirit will rise up in "Girls" still, but it is probably the most inconsistent, when it comes to consequence in building an atmosphere, composition included on the album, and that is why I consider it as its weakest point. "Girls", by combining electro with a more dynamic pop, tries to imitate the music of Jennifer Parkin, and even though the singer herself attempts to be both sweet, and sensual as the leader of Ayria project, it results in a poorly effect. But before we get to that point, "Syndicate" will surprise us more than once.
"Believe" (featuring rapper Joe Rilla), "Rauschgift" and "Milieu" handfully derive from the hip-hop aesthetic. Characteristic rhythm combines with an industrial flair, and what not to say, aggressive rap from Nadine stands out from the monotonous intonation of Rill’s recitation. Noise elements and pure, dreamy vocal of Mrs. Engel diversifies the compositions, and makes them definitely strong points of the record.
"East & West" is one of my favorites, a delicate song, varied with oniric sounds of a synthesizer and piano, and also with ear-catching, but simple rhythm, changing almost to a trip-hop atmosphere. While "Sunshine is my Destroyer" is a manifestation of juicy noise, it has no counterpart on the disc.
And then there's "Blutspiel". By far the brightest point of the program. It is also the most distinctive track (appearing here and there on dark music compilations), not because, the lead vocal is male part of the project, but because of the contrasts there used. Shouted phrases by Pedro intersperse with stylized on children issues, samples, orchestral arrangement supported by a heavy industrial beat creating an amazing atmosphere comparable to that Heimataerde can boast of.
The last track, "Dream", is like a dialogue with "Hetaere", its arrangement is richer than the others, through darkwave, seasoned with grim vocals from Pedro (voice of Nadine appears only as a modest vocal in the background). If any of the track can be called gothic, that is the one.
In the lyrical layer predominate, characteristic to the so-called dark pop, themes related to love, eroticism (although the lyrics are not as pretentious as ones from the aforementioned Blutengel), but there is also a lot of other themes.
"Syndicate" is a bundle of several patents, that combine to create an unique and intriguing whole. For fans of Acylum, however, it can be a big surprise, that musicians present their romantic, gentle faces, and there is little connecting to the harsh origin, only two or three songs and the individual elements in the other ones.
Some will probably consider as a minus the sound, that at a large extent is similar to the tones characteristic to electro/industrial scene from the very beginning of the century, but, personally, I think it's a big advantage. With all my sympathy to the album, I have to admit, that all sounds good and only good. No fireworks, but with a great views to the future.

Tracklist:


01. Hetaere
02. The Game
03. Believe (feat. Joe Rilla)
04. Rotes Sofa
05. East & West
06. Rauschgift
07. Sunshine Is My Destroyer (Album Version)
08. Cold Feel
09. Blutspiel
10. Sky
11. Girls
12. Milieu
13. Dream
Author:
Translator: hellium
Add date: 2013-04-06 / Music reviews




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