The Exaltics :: Das Heise Experiment 2 (Solar One)

I can imagine Mr. Witschakowski is heaving a sigh of relief with the release of Das Heise Experiment 2. From his social media correspondence, the album, and its production and manufacture, has been a true labour of love with a decent volume of blood, sweat and tears being needed. This supreme effort shows in the end product, in the depths that The Exaltics has plumbed alongside the cold and sinister chills created and managed to express another side of his multi-faceted sound.

After holidaying up around the UK and Ireland it seems that the Summer heatwave has made its way south to the Iberian peninsula. Temperatures are soaring with Madrid enjoying an oven like 41C at the moment. It’s not an easy thing to escape the sweltering heat, the thermostat in the house reads 29.4. Fans are on. Showers are cold. I’m also turning to frostier music, electro being the refrigeration agent of choice and this Summer there are some cracking releases.

At the top of the machine music list has to be the long awaited release of Rob Witsch’s album Das Heise Experiment 2. The success of The Prequel was followed by what can only be described as a curse. Delays were met with more delays. Pressing issues were met by more of the same. It seemed like this experiment was being haunted by some ghoul. Nevertheless, after months of setbacks the double 10” and CD release are finally here.

Track titles are a tricky affair as the numeric series of The Prequel has been continued. Elements of excellent The Girl And The Chameleon are present, especially the precise and pummeling rhythmic patterns that come to a head in “00022.000.8.” Interestingly the acid dominance of the original Das Heise Experiment is not present, the TB303 being sidelined to allow for a concentration on brooding movie scores, clinical cuts and doom-laden atmospherics. The third offering is a slow and sinister piece of bared mechanics. A terse drum incises before a skyline of soaring strings and astral awe is unfurled. Gerald Donald returns from The Prequel for an additional collaborative work. Maintaining his Rudolf Klorzeiger alias, a dark and unsettling haze hangs over “00044.00.1.5.” Breaking through the mist of bass and spider-like snares arrive cascading notes, keys that in one instant illuminate the way and in the next only extend the shadows. Interludes come in the shape of cinematic drone and white noise, brief fizzes and ghostlike ambience doing little to relieve the tension. For anyone hoping for a few well-placed dancefloor beasts you’re in luck. Although this is not an album made for the Dj there are some tracks, such as the psycho-terror of “0004500.7.0” or the parred back “00025.040.6,” that would definitely get a body moving. The worlds of ambient and electro collide in the stalking prowler known as “00067.58.2.4.” The last quartet of the album go even deeper into the night. Misty score and ominous rumbles abound with electronica echoes coming to the fore in the crackle and groan of “000458.00.9.”

I can imagine Mr. Witschakowski is heaving a sigh of relief with the release of Das Heise Experiment 2. From his social media correspondence, the album, and its production and manufacture, has been a true labour of love with a decent volume of blood, sweat and tears being needed. This supreme effort shows in the end product, in the depths that The Exaltics has plumbed alongside the cold and sinister chills created and managed to express another side of his multi-faceted sound.

Das Heise Experiment 2 is available on Solar One.