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Swayzak | Dirty Dancing

The ghost of Patrick Swayze lives on in techno.
CD, !K7

Tekst: Omar Muñoz-Cremers

Publicatiedatum: 27 augustus 2002

Swayzak is another duo that has been very prolific this year. After delivering the rather tasty minimal techno primer/mix-cd Groovetechnology earlier this year they now present a new album with original material on their new label !K7. The pre-release buzz on this album has been very positive, it being presented as an important contribution to the advancement of minimal techno by, surprise, including vocals! I won’t go into another analysis on the problematic relationship between dance music and the human voice, suffice to say that by using different vocalists Dirty Dancing can be something of a hit and miss affair. Musically Swayzak are on top of their game, the album is another collection of luscious techno with an occasional dose of electro, dub and acid sounds, their method shines uninhibited on the excellent instrumental tracks Celsius and The Punk Era.

The opening song (these are songs not tracks) proves Swayzak right in following the vocal strategy, Clair Dietrich having just the right voice and melancholic bent for this tale of unfaithfulness between party people. Other successful songs are the delicate Halfway To Yesterday, a drowning click 'n cuts sound painting, and the second appearance of Dietrich on Sob 1, a sad song which works because she knows how to cloak meaning, weaving a bit of mystery with her voice. On the negative side there are songs, which are too obvious, too flashy with a cliché. Buffalo Seven is a sort of Elvis through Suicide tale of Americana that fails to really connect. Other songs are marred by including overused themes like the Ballard/Warhol fascination with car crashes (In The Car Crash, echoes of The Normal’s Warm Leatherette), the loneliness of the dancer (I Dance Alone, a duet between Adult and Carl Finlow) or the pressure of city life (Take My Hand). In conclusion the overall feel of the album is one of ambivalence. Dirty Dancing is indeed a valiant, though hardly revolutionary, try to do something different with the conventions of minimal techno but the success of the project in the end depends on the acceptance of the different voices by the listener.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/swayzak/dirty-dancing-1805/1805/
Meer Swayzak op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/swayzak