Dripping corrosive 90s venom from 303 knobs shaved into piercing points The Exaltics menace and ultimately attack. Electronic excellence.
Robert Witschakowski has enjoyed quite the rise. As The Exaltics this Germany based artist has been responsible for some of the best Electro released in recent years. His trademark raw sound has allowed Witschakowski to push some of the limits of electronics. The German has been picked up by labels like Bunker/Panzerkreuz, Crème Organization, TRUST and Last Known Trajectory, and has rightly found a firm following. It is to two of these labels that The Exaltics return for two 12”s with quite different sounds.
For Crème The Rise and Fall is delivered. The slow burner of “Drowner” opens, moody late night movie soundtrack action. Smog hangs in the air of this Blade Runner homage, a deserted and desolate soundscape that unsettles. “Thought Buzz” is an interlude before the tempos rise for “The Place To Be.” Meandering synthlines twists and turn between crisp beats and an overarching deepness. The Sci-Fi seam which runs through the 12” is accentuated in this track, a moody and otherworldly outing. The title piece closes. Black atmospherics, hollowed out harmonies and a listless beat rumble to the curtain fall. Sadly the flip is mute, a Godspill etching making up for the one-sided nature of the 12”.
Whereas the Crème release explores the electronic ether, for Panzerkreuz it is the unsightly underbelly. The Great Escape is frantic, sore lungs, throbbing temples, and next day pain-in-knees, Techno. “Escape 1” sees beats shot through with wild snares and angrily agitated Acid lines. Dirty decaying dancefloors being further eroded by 303cc power. Djax Up Beats, Plus8 and the early pioneering sounds of 90s Techno are on the table. The second “Escape” pours further scorn through the speakers. The flips allows for a brief respite, some gentle rasps and clanks from the third piece. But don’t be fooled, that is feeling is a false sense of security. The track is bludgeoned, besmirched and mutated into a fiendish Techno contortion. The final surge is afoot. Tortured lines are further humiliated by piercing snares and battering ram bass. A total throttling for the close.
These two 12”s are a cross section of Witschakowski’s talent. Northern winds are present on both, the arctic undercurrents being a feature in The Exaltics sound, but that clinical chill is explored through very different styles. Fall and Rise is a bit disappointing, but not on content. Just as the 12” feels like it is about to develop it ends, the eternal problem of one sided records. The Great Escape is an absolute beast. Dripping corrosive 90s venom from 303 knobs shaved into piercing points The Exaltics menace and ultimately attack. Electronic excellence. What next? Live sets?
Both The Rise and Fall and The Great Escape are available on Crème Organization / Panzerkreuz.
