Title: Dependent Club Anthems
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Electronic
Release Date: 25th February 2011
Label: Dependent Records
Album Review
In a few days, the past and the future meet on Dependent Records in the form of two compilation releases. ‘Dependent Club Anthems’ symbolizes the past in that equation here and reminisces the clubby highlights in the label’s catalogue, compiled on one little CD. That CD starts with one of ROTERSAND’s finest live anthems, referencing Dr.Who a little with ‘Exterminate, Annihilate, Destroy’, getting into your limbs with its pounding, distorted beats and letting you catch a breath when everything subsides to gentle string textures. COVENANT’s ‘Der Leiermann’ couldn’t be missed for the world in this comp and brings to my mind electronic nostalgia and makes my head nod while I’m writing this. While the next year of waiting for a new INTERLACE album has dawned with 2011, we’re getting reminded of one great anthem with ‘Under The Sky’, whose ‘Compact Mix’ was a part of ‘Septic IV’ in 2004. Less lengthy than the club edit and with a lot more punch it comes along and hasn’t lost a bit of its urgency over the years. Back in the day, the first thing we got to hear after Frank Spinath joined EDGE OF DAWN was ‘The Flight [Lux]’ and if you’re into more ambitious club fodder, there’s still no way getting around this track.
I think we’re all anticipating the release of the new FRACTURED ‘Beneath The Ashes’ by now, but let’s take a look back to 2005 with the glitch-laden dark electro pearl ‘Only Human Remains’. It was ahead of its time then and for most of the dark electro genre it still is plus it has a real kickass attitude. With that track coming up in a club or at a live show the blood still starts boiling: SUICIDE COMMANDO’s ‘Hellraiser’. The rhythm still orders you to dance and belongs to any DJ set. Personally, I favour the original of SEABOUND’s ‘Hooked’, but of course for filling a dance floor the ‘Radical Mix’ is the means of choice, overall straightened up and pounding. STROMKERN’s fusion of hip hop-like vocals and electro elements is not the most accessible and typical, but it’s electrifying as hell and if you’re not completely narrow-minded you’re beginning to rock right on start-up. Truly an anthem is what VNV NATION have released with ‘Further’ on ‘Burning Empires’ which is still available for horrible prices. You’re getting embraced by melancholy right away and incredibly dense textures unfold that I wish would be more apparent in many modern production in terms of really transporting emotions.
When Gary Zon put out ‘Standard Issue’ a few years back he must’ve been gloating over that record when thinking about the reactions it certainly would provoke, because people wouldn’t get the punch line of it all. ‘Anthem’ opened the album and it represents everything that the pop industry is standing for with a sarcastic wink. It’s simply straight, catchy, and repetitive, but undeniably DISMANTLED. What we have here with ‘Dependent Club Anthems’ is definite proof that also challenging music can work in a club environment in a concentrated form. Apart from that there’s one or the other sought-after mix included.
Tracklist
01. Rotersand / Exterminate Annihilate Destroy - 5:17
02. Covenant / Der Leiermann (Club Version) - 5:49
03. Pride And Fall / December (Below Zero Mix) - 5:36
04. Interlace / Under The Sky (Compact Mix) - 4:50
05. Edge Of Dawn / The Flight [Lux] - 5:23
06. Straftanz / Straftanz (West) - 4:53
07. Fractured / Only Human Remains - 5:43
08. Suicide Commando / Hellraiser (Psychopath 01-Version) - 4:59
09. Flesh Field / Inferior (Ivory Frequency Remix) - 5:43
10. Seabound / Hooked (Radical Mix) - 5:13
11. Autoaggression / 3,14 (Edit) - 4:54
12. Stromkern / Stand Up (Extended Mix) - 5:25
13. Mind.In.A.Box / Walking - 3:46
14. VNV Nation / Further - 5:25
15. Dismantled / Anthem (Edit) - 5:14
Website
http://www.dependent.de
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 9
Extras: -
Total: 8.5 / 10
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