Damiano Von Erckert - Also Known As Good

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  • Those who follow Damiano Von Erckert more or less know what they're going to get on a new record: fun, soulful house music with touches of disco, funk and hip-hop. It should come as no surprise, then, that Also Known As Good, Von Erckert's second solo LP for his own ava. label, once again finds the Cologne resident in familiar form. At 11 tracks, Von Erckert's latest is his longest statement yet, and while it makes little effort to push beyond the producer's time-tested style, that's largely because it doesn't need to. His work with classic and hip-hop-informed house variations still results in quality—sometimes even downright charming—music. A few small tweaks show up throughout Also Known As Good. As Von Erckhert continues to make heavy use of soulful samples, shuffling percussion, and loosely swung hi-hats, there's also a substantial amount of live instrumentation at work. Hand-strummed basslines often hold down the LP's low-end, while billowing keys and organ solos make regular appearances. "Marcos, Jean, Ralf," for example, is driven almost entirely by the interplay between drifting guitar and an aimless electric piano. Three guest vocalists bring some variety to the proceedings, with Miles Bonny adding layers of casual soul—à la Seven Davis Jr.—to album opener "Love Love Love." Singer May delivers breathy lines over the record's dreamiest effort, "Infinity." The album's best vocal track is "We Flow," which sets Amalia's soft, seductive performance against a bed of gentle organ chords. This is where Also Known As Good hits its stride, with sample-flipping sluggers "Jai Alai" and "BUBBLES" coming directly afterwards. These are the record's brightest moments, and also make a solid case that Von Erckert is at his best when focused on stoking a dance floor. Also Known As Good is mostly a smooth ride, but a few bumps appear along the way. "Infinity" feels a touch out of place in the tracklist, and "New Ehrenfeld Swing" makes a clumsy attempt at flipping Keith Sweat's "Make It Last Forever" into snappy G-funk. Fortunately, the pitfalls are short-lived and do little to detract from the record's charismatic flow. Because even when Von Erckert misses his mark, he still sounds like he's having a lot of fun, and it's almost impossible to not want to join in.
  • Tracklist
      01. LOVE LOVE LOVE feat. Miles Bonny 02. Hustle With The Big Boys feat. Hodini & Am Kinem 03. First Day Of A Dollar 04. We Flow feat. Amalia 05. Jai Alai 06. BUBBLES 07. Infinity feat. May 08. New Ehrenfeld Swing 09. Marcos, Jean, Ralf feat. Tyler Pope 10. There‘s No Wrong feat. Retrogott 11. Work for Love feat. Tito Wun
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