- The latest release from Wania (a Sex Tags offshoot run by DJ Sotofett) taps into the family of Berlin-based, acronym-titled producers typically associated with SUED and Acido. We know SVN from his many releases on both of those labels, on his own and with Acido boss Dynamo Dreesen as Dresvn. AU is a duo made up of SVN and DNL, whose last record came out on General Elektro, a precursor to SUED and Acido that went silent in 2012. Here the pair take turns teaming up with Paleo, a vocalist who's popped up once or twice before with this crew. The results, as usual, are varied, understated and weirdly addictive.
From the off, SVN's "On Tempo" is pure anxiety, with hectic arpeggios, strobing hi-hats and a slithering bassline. Paleo's deadpan voice occasionally cues a change in the chords or the drum patterns, until the track finally dissolves in a glitchy coda. AU's "It Takes Time" has a much lighter touch. This one is dark and subdued, made up of little more than a modest kick, muffled chords and a cryptic spoken-word bit from Paleo: "It's gonna take time/ we're gonna take the time/ because the time is right" and so on. As one Discogs user so astutely put it, "best Tags-related record in a long time, which I guess is about a month or two."
TracklistA1 SVN - On Tempo feat. Paleo
B1 AU - It Takes Time feat. Paleo