ECO - Entfesselt
Songs: 10  Time:  48:27
Most of you may know that in early 1997 Heiko Daniel (Eco) joined forces with Sevren Niarb (X Marks the Pedwalk) for a project entitled Pax.  Well it seems that some of Sevren’s programming preferences and sound choices may have rubbed off on Heiko.  Eco’s latest CD, Entfesselt, falls into the same musical category as XMTP’s latest, Drawback.  Shared female / male vocals, techno influenced beats and sequences and driving rhythms are present in nearly every Entfesselt piece.  After the short, almost beatless intro piece (Omega) Eco kicks it up a few notches with the standout track, Ich Will Dich.  Ich Will Dich begins as a slow, dark piece but once the percussion begins it propels itself into the nearly limitless boundaries of tech-electro.  German sung male vocals are complemented in the chorus by luxurious female vocals, upbeat sequences, and a wet rhythm line.  The title track is next.  Entfesselt is a more laid back piece with horn styled sequences, a murky rhythm, and standard, techno beats.  In various places throughout this piece there are deep, swooshing sequences that add a certain somber feeling to the overall track.  Grossenwahn begins with feminine vocals, tripped-out beats, and hollow sequences.  As the track progresses the sequences become more solid and the beats become more stable, and the female vocals are joined by a male counterpart throughout the choruses.  Spacey sequences drift back and forth through Out There, a instrumental piece with many familiar vocal samples and a cavernous beat.  The next piece, Rosarot, picks up the tempo with its pounding, yet flat sounding beat and combination rising / falling sequences.  This track, like many other on this CD, contains a very catchy chorus which you will be bound to be singing even if you don’t know a lick of German.  Chirpy sequences and retro / techno beat are the driving forces behind My World.  My only problem with this piece is the lyrics (‘can you show me the world in my eyes’) which sound as if they were ripped from the latest Depeche Mode CD.  Aside from this one complaint I think this CD is the best thing I’ve heard so far this year.  Definitely recommended!
        
OFF BEAT RECORDS             Eco is:
Horster Strasse 27                     Heiko Daniel
45897 Gelsenkirchen-Buer
Germany
e-mail: offbeat@t-online.de
OFF BEAT homepage:
http://www.offbeatassault.com