Disconnected

by

Funkstörung

Edit

The sporadic, digital sound of FUNKSTORUNG uploads you through the computer, like Tron, and converts your DNA into crunchy binary code. The beautiful thing about DISCONNECTED is that at this go, the German dynamic duo of Michael Fakesch and Chris De Luca have incorporated and highlighted an even stronger organic, melodic element to their trademark sci-fi sound. Piano, guitar, rich vocals, and traditional song structures are presented, then repackaged with twisted metal accents and effects for extra character and texture. DISCONNECTED is an eclectic album of modern folk, hip-hop, jazz, & chill-out blended and pushed through the time/space-continuum; so that the musical imbalance and juxtaposition is funky, sophisticated, at times jarring, but always inspiring. Random glitches and digital grating, like in that `Max Headroom' way, add crazy urgency to the hip-hop tracks `Chopping Heads' & `Fat Camp Feva', both featuring Tes, and `Mr. Important', featuring Rob Sonic from Sonicsum. While mellow tunes, like the slow jazz drag of `Dirt Empire' with Nils Petter Molvaer, `Sleeping Beauty' with the lovely Lou Rhodes, & `Captured Intones' sung by Sarah Jay, are all handled a bit more delicately so that the raw talent and instrumentation may shine. FUNKSTORUNG have rightly given the opportunity for Enik to be spotlighted on DISCONNECTED. Enik is featured in four tracks on the album and his colorful & sincere voice and singing style effectively reflects the distinctive tone and vibe of DISCONNECTED, as well as the abstract art design chosen for the album's cover and artwork within. Upgrade your collection and check out FUNKSTORUNG's DISCONNECTED. -- Raves.com review by ursula williams

Take Autechre + Prefuse73 + Ming and Fs + Groove Armada and add a dash of Massive attack and you get Funkstorung. This is a sonically interesting album, highlighted by "chopping Heads" w/ Tes and the "stirring captured in tones" w/ Sarah Jay. So, why only 3 stars? One word. Enik. His vocals lyrics completely drag this album down--and unfortunately he's on the majority of the songs.

Take "like a Poet" a likable, melodic song, but with lyrics such as, "like a poet, 'cause you're a poet, you just don't know it" ruin it...way to rhyme "poet" with "poet" and then "it", spent hours pouring over your thesaurus did you, Enik?

Remove the vocals on all Enik songs and this album gets another star. Seriously, he's terrible.