Search - Funkstorung :: Appetite for Disctruction

A point of departure for electronic music

Thomas Aikin | San Diego, CA | 05/27/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Funkstorung may never be able to escape the inevitable comparisons to Autechre. While most people (myself included) would never mean this disparagingly, its clear that Funkstorung will have to take fairly radical steps to escape Autechre's long shadow. With the release of "Appetite for Disctruction" (yes, it is a Guns 'N Roses tribute) they have set out on a path to carve a unique and influencial niche in the field of electronic music. The sonic palettes here are certainly still debted to Autechre but the melodies are cheerier songs are more rooted in their rhythmic underpinnings. However, the most exciting aspects of this album are Funkstorung's choice to work with a rapper (Triple H) and a singer (Carin). I have to admit to not being overly enamored with the electronic/hip-hop leanings of recent electronica but Funkstorung makes it work. Even more impressive are the tracks featuring Carin, who sounds alarmingly like Bjork. I think Funkstorung was probably inspired on these tracks by their excellent remix of Bjork's "All is Full of Love". On both the Triple H and Carin tracks Funkstorung seamlessly weave the vocals into their usual template of noisy beats and gorgeous melody. Considering the stagnation in the Warp realm of electronic music it appears likely many other acts will begin incorporating more and more vocalists into their albums. If this does happen "Appetite For Disctruction" will be looked at one of the first and most important examples of this collaberative IDM."

Angular beats, Isoteric sounds, hip-hop influences; oh my!

lavar davis | Southfield Michigan | 05/14/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yet another great album by these two! If you liked the sound of Additional Productions, have no fear, these guys are still making circles with squares. Notice how sounds are noticiably darker than their previous efforts and more controlled. Their texture is reminisint of Autechre as expected which is fine by me. The flavor of the album, however, it drenched in hip-hop. If only hip-hop here in the US were this creative... Anyway, if you search the web you'll find live and untitled stuff by them of equal calibur."

Paraphrasing Guns 'n' Roses, uh?

Simone Oltolina | Morbio Inferiore, TI Switzerland | 10/20/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Funkstörung supported Einstürzende Neubaten during their last tour. This alone should induce you to buy the record at once but given that you haven't probably heard of EN, I'll try to convince you in a different way. Basically they blend disturbing sounds and breaks to create an electronic texture that sounds tuneful (It's as if you managed to create great music by banging a steel pipe against the wall...only that the sounds here are synth-generated). Some track have hip-hop-like rythms while others are less catchy and more experimental but both have something in common: they steadily rock!"