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10"
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KLANG 133EP
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Alter Ego's "Gary" is a massive tune with a menacing drone-bass and some winking wavepunk. Remixer Tiga takes "Gary" back to the early '90s, slows it down to 120 bpm, and adds a sweet and moody atmosphere of smooth Italo-disco. "Gary" goes POP for the B-side with Product 01's catchy electro-pop mash-up. Vocalist Rochelle Vincente Von K asks "Gary" to visit her private "Boys Club" where both tracks were put together into one new wave/new rave hit.
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12"
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KLANG 135EP
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Nerk and Dirk Leyers, Modeselektor, Deepgroove and Jamie Anderson remix tracks off Alter Ego's Why Not?!. Nerk and Dirk give the sub-bass inferno "Fuckingham Palace" even MORE bass, while Modeselektor carry the principle of "comic techno" to the absolute extreme. Deepgroove and Jamie Anderson turn down the stomping beat of the original "Queen Anne's Revenge" a little bit, but it's still incredibly edgy.
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12"
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KLANG 127EP
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DJ Koze and Supermayer remix Alter Ego's hit, "Jolly Joker." DJ Koze switches the track completely and tames the wild-galloping original with something you could call an Afrobeat bridle. Supermayer are a lot more careful, saving the essential sounds and the spirit of the original. And instead of using striking effects, Supermayer prefer to push the track in their discobeat mix slowly and subtly to the limit.
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CD
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KLANG 017CD
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2007's Why Not?! saw Alter Ego sky-rocket and chart into the stratosphere, and now Why Next?! features some of the most prominent names in techno tackling some of their favorite songs off the album. On Why Not?!, Jörn-Elling Wuttke and Roman Flügel confronted the nervous turmoil of the dancefloor in this era of NuRave and squiggly sounds with a treatment of techno that is humorous and extreme, with rave-reeling, sound exploration and roaring laughter. On this remix album, we see Why Not?! through the eyes of outstanding producers, ranging from Joakim to Deepgroove & Jamie Anderson, from Carl Craig to Supermayer. These are tracks that no one would have expected -- with corny jokes and sound research, grotesque gags and mind-expanding wobble merging closely. Carl Craig feeds his sampler with glittering glamrock chunk, unsettling his usual elegant sound cosmos. Tim Deluxe's ultra-tight groove elaborates on the exuberance of "Why Not?!" with even less restraint. Nerk & Dirk Leyers make short work of the original "Fuckingham Palace," smartly rendering the bass line into swarms of bass lines. Deepgroove & Jamie Anderson's remix lulls the listener into an illusion of security before it is hoovercrafted away. DJ Koze delivers an Afrobeat version of "Jolly Joker," Joakim makes the groove and bass stabs of "Why Not?!" sound more mechanic and angular and cartoon-like. Modeselektor changes "Fuckingham Palace" into a dubstep track, adding the pot-bellied humor of ragga (or is it gabba?) to this otherwise gloomy genre. Supermayer extract a very special left-field moment, Adam Sky transforms pure mania into pure pop music, Alter Ego themselves expose more glam-rock moments with a "Boys Club" version of "Gary," with vocals from Product 01 and the bonus track turns emo timbres into bleep.
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12"
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KLANG 132EP
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First there is a jolty-beat, which is pretty unusual for an Alter Ego track, but then the whole room trembles under the evil-grumbling bass. When the synths raise up and the fire of "Gary" builds to its peak, Alter Ego have won. When played loud, "Gary" is pure rock n' roll! Carl Craig owns the remix, and the synths dominate. Sweat, spilled beer, arms raised... this is what rock n' roll looks like on the dancefloor.
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12"
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KLANG 130EP
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This is the Alter Ego hit mix Part II. Tim Deluxe remixes "Why Not?!" into a phat, crowd-pleasing peak time slam. The B-side is a little more subtle with slowly rising hysteria rather than insanity on every frequency. In between this one breathes the spirit of the old Decoding The Hacker Myth days, before a killer bass line reminds you that this is a dance record.
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CD
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KLANG 015CD
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It's been three years since Alter Ego's last album, Transphormer, so Roman Flügel and Jörn Elling Wuttke unleash more of their madness upon the world. Why Not?! may not be the Alter Ego album you've been expecting. Picking up where Transphormer left off, it's frontloaded with all the ballsy Alter Ego hallmarks you've come to expect: buzzing squalls of synthesizer, leads that cut like a blowtorch, and rhythms that pack a rock 'n' roll punch to house and techno's jacking package. It's raw, dirty and just barely restrained. But Why Not?! is something else: it's funny. Maybe even a little bit goofy. This is techno, but it's not of the stonefaced, screwfaced variety. It's good, clean fun -- well, except when it's dirty, which is most of the time, given Alter Ego's affection for ragged waveforms and distortion-crusted drums. Most of all, it's dizzying, which might have something to do with the fact that virtually every track is slathered in grand, sweeping sounds with their portamento settings tuned to Roller Coaster. Listening to the album feels a little like racing down a playground slide that's been hooked up to a moderate electric current, and landing in a pile of mud. It's safe to say that NEVER before has classic house, techno and ragga/dubstep been combined in such a way. This record is destined to cause a stir amongst the current wave of French party crashers. Alter Ego have never been the most reverent of acts -- just consider the name of their early incarnation, Acid Jesus -- and on Why Not?!, from the titles to their tunes, their irreverence hits a restless new high, without ever sacrificing the all-powerful groove.
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2LP
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KLANG 124LP
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Double LP version. Deluxe gatefold jacket.
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12"
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KLANG 123EP
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The title track to Alter Ego's full-length is stomping and playful at the same time, and surprises with sudden changes in the arrangement and sound, which really breathes life into it and makes you smile. It's more or less due to those highly amusing breaks -- retro-futuristic on the one hand, and very modern on the other -- that really make this tune work. This is the new style: get ready. This is the full-release two-sided version with cover art and Joakim (!K7, Versatile) remix added.
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12"
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KLANG 123LTD-EP
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Alter Ego are back! And Why Not?! This strictly limited one-sided 12" is a foretaste of their upcoming album. The track, stomping and playful at the same time, surprises with sudden changes in the arrangement and sound, which really breathes life into it and makes you smile. It's more or less due to those highly amusing breaks -- retro-futuristic on the one hand, and very modern on the other -- that really make this tune work. This is the new style: get ready.
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