(Hidden Shoal Recordings)

German pop noir meisters’ quietly influential debut reissued

Germany’s noir veterans Sankt Otten have built a considerable following in continental Europe during the past 7 years with their dark trip-hop aesthetic. The duo’s 2001 debut Eine Kleine Traurigkeit – newly remastered with an additional bonus track Stille Tage im Klischee – is full of brooding cinematic grooves, setting a murky, uneasy atmosphere akin to Teutonic male-voiced Portishead. The CD title translating as ‘one little tragedy’, the band hit the ball home on the darker-than-dark opener Elektronik Nein and Die Unteren Zehntausend. Singer/guitarist Carsten Sandkaemper’s sedate vocals recall fellow Germans Wolfsheim and Sneaker Pimps/IAMX linchpin Chris Corner on Valium (none more so on the title track), while drummer Stephan Otten’s tasty hi-hat and cavernous tom hits keep the pulse slowly ticking. Sublime Milch Und Zucker (Milk & Sugar) features a gorgeous harmonised E-bow solo – a gimmick not often heard prior to the haunting strains of Interpol’s Take You On A Cruise – while Massive Attack-referencing single Fernfahrer boasts a tune that is nothing short of hypnotic. Musically, Sankt Otten’s mix of menacing string and horn samples, minimal yet melodic guitars and downtempo beats has resonated in the now-defunct US doom-hoppers Vincent & Mr Green’s moody recordings, as well as casting an obvious influence on Never, Never Land-era U.N.K.L.E. To be played in near-total darkness with a glass of red.

DENIS SEMCHENKO

Be first to comment on this article

Write Comment
Comments are submitted for possible publication on the condition that they may be edited. Poster's IP addresses are logged.
Name:
Comment:
Code:*