Alter Ego - Why Not?

November 6, 2007 | Filed Under Artists, Labels, Releases |

Alter Ego - Why Not?It’s been three years since Alter Ego’s last album, “Transphormer”, which means it’s about time that Roman Flugel and Jorn Elling Wuttke unleash more of their madness upon the world. Not that they’ve been exactly quiet: in the intervening years the duo have released six singles from “Transphormer” (and actually far more, if you count that “Rocker” was licensed to at least five international labels and inspired a bootleg or two in the process), being remixed by, well, just about everyone, including: Tiefschwarz, Ewan Pearson, Riton, Reinhard Voigt, Rework, Solvent, Matt John, Isolee, LoSoul, Freeform Five, Erol Alkan, Earl Shilton, Black Strobe, Plasticman, Erik Prydz, Josh Wink, Johannes Heil and MyMy.


Last year, Klang reissued Alter Ego’s unclassifiable 1996 album for Harthouse, “Decoding The Hacker Myth”. In January of this year came their Blitz/Blank single for Klang, and Flugel has remained busy as well, challenging “Rocker’s” claim as the hit of 2004 with his own “Geht’s Noch?” as well as releasing the decidedly less banging Mutter EP. His Soylent Green album “La Forza Del Destino” was one of 2006’s standout electronic full-lengths; and with the percussionist Christopher Dell he even released “Superstructure”, the world’s first (and surely, only) acid-vibraphone record.

“Why Not?!” may not be the Alter Ego album you’ve been expecting. Picking up where “Transphormer” left off, it’s frontloaded with all the ballsy Alter Ego hallmarks you’ve come to expect: buzzing squalls of synthesizer, leads that cut like a blowtorch, and rhythms that pack a rock ‘n’ roll punch to house and techno’s jacking package. It’s raw, dirty, and barely restrained.

But “Why Not?!” is something else: it’s funny. Maybe even a little bit goofy. This is techno, but it’s not of the stoney-eyed, screw-faced variety. It’s good, clean fun; well, except when it’s dirty, which is most of the time, given Alter Ego’s affection for ragged waveforms and distortion-crusted drums. Most of all, it’s dizzying, which might have something to do with the fact that virtually every track is slathered in grand, sweeping sounds. Listening to the album feels a little like racing down a playground slide that’s been hooked up to a moderate electric current, and landing in a pile of mud.

Alter Ego have never been the most reverent of acts — just consider the name of their early incarnation Acid Jesus; and on “Why Not?!”, from the titles to their tunes, their irreverence hits a restless new high, without ever sacrificing the all-powerful groove.

Every track is a standout, including “Why Not?!”, the album’s eponymous single which is marked by unhinged bleeps and wobbly bass stabs, and which may be of particular interest to ravers who know their history, with a reference (unconscious, who knows?) to a famous anthem by a certain acid-house pioneer (nudge nudge, wink, wink). “Third World Food On Upper East Side” may be the closest to old-school Alter Ego you’ll find on “Why Not?!”, with a frustrating-sounding bassline and faintly melancholic keys consoling themselves on the shoulders of a housey, nonchalant groove, before coming totally undone. And ‘Pleasure Island’ must be some kind of sick joke, because it’s by far the record’s heaviest track. Is that blaring air-horn the call of the Club Med ferry arriving to take all the drunken tourists back to the mainland? It certainly sounds that messy!

Why Not? Tracklisting:

01. Why Not?
02. Gary
03. Fuckingham Palace
04. Jolly Joker
05. Queen Anne’s Revenge
06. Chicken Shag
07. Third World Foor on Upper East Street
08. Blank
09. Exile on Bleep Street
10. Pleasure Island
11. Welcome to Germany

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