Straight up mechanized Ghettotech.
Janko Bartelink, aka Hadamard, has quite a sporadic releasing character. Over the years he has clocked up 12”s and albums for the likes of Bunker, Transient Force and Mighty Robot Recordings. But regularity has never been a strong point. Nevertheless, Hadamard has traversed a range of styles; from spaced out electronics for Last Known Trajectory to booty-bouncing Electro funk. It’s to the latter that Bartelink is turning, hooking up with Solar One Music to bring back to life some cuts from his Love Songs album of 2010.
“I’ve got titties and asses reflected in my glasses” could sum up the style that is being pursued. Electro sliced through Ghettotech. Misogyny drips from, well, every orifice. Pants, gasps and hopeful moans are cut through with warbling 101 keys and cold beats. Lust and carnal desire is the serving. Objectification of women and sex with a machine. Out of the four tracks only one was unreleased, and it is the stand out track. “My Cool” keeps the vocodered commentary but links it with a burning, almost murderous, unrequited need. The chords are measured and iced, contrasting with the hoarse hankering screams of the vocals. “A beat with no bass is like a bitch with no ass” introduces the ultimate installment. The derrière is the focal point of the lyrics, some nice analogue shredding bringing up the, er, rear.
Ass in the Bass is an extension of Studio Gangster. Whereas the Might Robot Recordings’ release took Electofunk as a theme, mixing the style with instrumentals and other sounds, Ass in the Bass is straight up mechanized Ghettotech. At times the vocals take away from the music, the juvenile lyrics being somewhat fun but also becoming tiresome. Hadamard is a definite talent, but this latest, despite “My Cool,” is a bit too limiting an exercise for a man with such electronic abilities.
Ass in Bass EP is available on Solar One Music.
