Apparat: Holdon
Shitkatapult

Let's hope Holdon, the first 12-inch single from Apparat's upcoming Walls, is indicative of the album's quality because Sascha Ring's music has never sounded as good as it does here. Admittedly, he gets help from some top-drawer remixing talents but his poppy original definitely holds its own against the others.

First up is Chris De Luca (former Funkstörung member) and Phon.O (Carsten Aermes) who give the song a huge ‘Miami Bitch' electro treatment that weds a soulfully funky vocal by Raz Ohara with tribal hip-hop beats that exude more than a hint of Timbaland. Strong too, Modeselektor gives the tune a skanking club mix driven by a beautiful bass rumble, a primitive vocal croak, and arcade-styled synth stabs. With its lurching rhythms and wobbly bass, the “Holdon” original suggests Ring's been listening to his share of dubstep though Ohara's vocal pushes it in an electro-funk direction. The sole instrumental, Ring's ‘rave' version of “Fractales” revisits the aerodynamic style of his Ellen Allien collaboration Orchestra of Bubbles. Panoramic beauty is the result, with guitar streams, bubbly keys, and surging rhythms coalescing into five minutes of blissed-out euphoria.

June 2007