Songs: 8  Time:  47:35

Cleen is the second project featuring Daniel Myer (Haujobb) to be released in the past month. Unlike his Newt project, Cleen leans away from the strict techno stylings and manages to weave together the sounds of both Matrix and Homes and Gardens. The best way to describe the sound of Cleen is ‘watery electro’, meaning that the electronics wash out of the speakers, entrancing the listener, rather than assaulting them with a tidal wave of aggressiveness. Rounding out the project is musician Thorsten Meier and mixer Guido LeFric (La Floa Maldita.) Fishing from the Haujobb pool, Daniel reels in beats similar to what you might find on Solutions For a Small Planet. This is most apparent on Freezeout; a piece that features an array of wet 303 sounds, a crisp rhythm, and vocal snippets from The Simpsons. The vocals on this piece, as well as the others, lean toward the synth-pop genre and are delivered in a semi-whispered tone. For All of Us is a brilliant piece that melds old school break beat percussion and a steady, pounding beat together with thick sequences and subdued vocals. The lengthiest piece on Designed Memories, Smoking Enemy? (Ext. Instrumental), begins with a smattering of staticy, muffled electronics. A kicking beat, comprised of galloping bass hits and recycled break beats, comes in shortly after. Heavily modulated sequences pulsate in the background. Although this track is 10 minutes in length, it flies by due to its ability to constantly change styles and sounds. The edit of Believe isn’t much different than the original. It is a bit shorter, but contains many of the same elements (breathy vocals, mild / screechy electronics and aquatic beats) of the original. The Dubventure ’96 mix of For All of Us takes the original and subjects it to the heavier elements of dub, making it sound as if it had been reworked by Mick Harris (Scorn.) I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the vocals were not omitted, as they often are in dub styled tracks. A bombastic, yet flattened beat, begins Did You Forget (Demoversion.) Added into the mix are upbeat sequences, hushed vocals, and a fast paced rhythm If this is the demo version, I can’t wait to hear the original. I have to admit that I was not really impressed with this release upon the initial listens, but after a few more (through headphones) I’d have to say that this is my favorite release from Daniel since Solutions For a Small Planet. Word has it that this is simply the beginning and we should see a full length Cleen CD, tentatively entitled Gold, before 1998 is over.

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Cleen is:
Daniel Myer / Thorsten Meier