If you know how an Ackermann track starts you can never feel 100% sure how it’ll finish. “Off-kilter” is the word that would come to mind if it hadn’t already been used to describe a hundred other things that don’t fall into the ever-expanding circle of dull and predictable dance music tracks that are on the verge of smothering us all. Ackermann’s tracks seem to reach out of the groove and grab you and drag you along no matter how bumpy the ride gets.
There’s nothing here that would cause even a beginning DJ to white-knuckle a blend, but they use common elements in unusual ways. The luscious screaming diva vocal on the title track for Ackermann’s I Know What To Do is begging for a fat bassline and big keys and doesn’t get it: instead you ride this deep vocal over precision-driven percussion pitched a little faster than you’d expect, space lasers and muted bass, which all drop out entirely at one point. Plot it on paper and it’s madness. Wash it through the bassbins and it’s electric. Robert Hood worked tracks like this in some of his Floorplan material (see “Never Grow Old”); I’m not sure who else comes to mind working tracks that break the grid and still land on their feet.
You can likewise hear some Floorplan in the floating, disconnected riffs on “Can’t Give You Up,” which takes a vocal that sounds like it might come from a Club Nouveau record through a churning techno tumbler. “Bangin'” is my favorite track on the EP — an insane throwback to Dance Mania’s raw’az’hell metal machine jams.
SEVEN (the record label) tacks on a pair of remixes of the title track from Deetron and Cinthie, and it’s interesting that these are more interpretive and creative than you usually see on an EP like this. Deetron brings “I Know What To Do” to an airplane hanger full of pumping fists and writhing bodies. Cinthie relents and adds those ’90s big chords and strings to the mix over slamming percussion.
Do you remember those records you bought and loved and wore out and the entire time you had no idea of its name, the label or anyone behind it? You just loved it because it spoke to you. This is one of those.
⚪️ I Know What To Do Tracklisting
Ackermann: I Know What To Do (SEVEN / 12" Vinyl + Digital)
1. I know what to do 05:50
2. Can't give you up 05:41
3. I know what to do (Deetron Remix) 06:25
4. I know what to do (Cinthie Remix) 05:28
5. Bangin' 04:58
⚪️ Disclosure Statement
This record was submitted as a promo.
5 Mag Issue 225
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elevate: First published in 5 Mag Issue #225 featuring Nico Lahs, Dam Swindle cover mix, 100 releases on Heist, Point Winona Sound Labs and more. Become a member for $2/month and get every issue in your inbox right now…
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