2014 #munich again Top Albums
Bandcamp – In Gute Hände – Facebook – Spotify
At long last! Let me tell you about the amazingness that is Das Hobos. Das Hobos is Rhytm Police misters LeRoy and mycrotom’s side project. For full enjoyment of This is the place, I fully recommend to listen to Rhytm Police first. It helps to understand the depth of the Das Hobos sound. It’s a stark contrast from total earworms/pelvis-moovers like Ghost Train or Cecilia, but with the same intelligence and wisdom about rhythm construction and sampling and honestly, once you begin to pump up the volume of Das Hobos, a MYRIAD of ear candies pop out and suddenly it’s not so mellow anymore.
I also recommend watching this sweet video recorded last month at the PULS live session (when Das Hobos was Band of the Week and they totally deserved it).
Let’s talk about the record. The physical release itself is a masterpiece. Check it out (sorry google translate again):
To 150 pieces strictly limited vinyl-unique. This was created in collaboration with their friend, artist James “Sus” Sutherland in a painting and music performance. Musicians and painters react to each other thereby reflect the genre, overlap, contradict and complement each other. How does it work? With an electroacoustic painter’s spatula Sutherland has stuck to his arm. He leaves behind not only color on his painting surface, but at the same time he influenced by his movements the live improvisation of the musicians. In this way develop 150 artistic and Custom album cover for the vinyl edition of the new DAS HOBOS LP. The Munich trio lived for their recordings in the midst of abandoned railway trackage old barracks and to create their own sound in one take and capture sessions. The result was a mixture of digital and analog, chance and plan, improvisation and structure, with handmade music, Remix and DJ culture. The musicians improvise with various instruments and everything that brings this forgotten area of strange things, sounds and encounters with them. For example Hobo originals (a homeless man who always appears out of nowhere and tells cigarettes and beer one way or another story), or the ever-present vibration of passing trains, especially at night when the freight is rolling.
I mean, wow. All of it.
Like with Rhytm Police, I feel that the poetry of the lyrics is not about the subject but about an hymn to the musicality of language and how it touches us. Words flow from Mister LeRoy’s mouth in soft melodies while mycrotom’s beats and recorded sounds construct a mosaic of delicate veils and sharp lines. It’s a beautiful finite product, made with great savoir-faire.
The train ride begins with an appetizer. John Merrick (trivia here!!) is a short-lived track that puts you right in the Das Hobos mood. It blends almost imperceptibly with the totally addictive rhythm construction of Fog and it’s an instant favourite. I love Fog of an unconditional love. If it’s not your first time on this blog, let me repeat myself : layers, layers, always moving forward, layers, kraut-ish repetitions of magic. I love Fog.
White Lines is, of course, the “big” song. It features the most perfect two minutes solo of “other sounds” ever. That solo is not an intermission or a bridge. It’s a symphony of brain waves (the blogger just went “Yoooo White Lines going thru my mind ayyyy”) and it needs to be appreciated as such.
The dreamy trip continues with the finely crafted folklore of Night Train. Images succeed each other rapidly behind closed eyelids, from a train station to the next. It’s one of these songs that make time stop.
Is Danzig ambiant? NEIN. Danzig is like contemporary dance. Don’t try to understand the story. Make up your own. You’ll see things emerge from it and it’s going to be a revelation. 7:47 minutes of new stories every time. Try it.
Automatic shouldn’t be a closing track. It’s a disgrace to part ways with such beauty and elevation. I’m mourning every time the album ends. At least there’s more tracks on Soundcloud. But This is the place is always going to be coming back home.