- Sound the klaxon 'coz Klakson is back! Steffi and Dexter's cult electro imprint has been pulled from hypersleep with four tearaway cuts from Mr. "I Don't Care" himself. In the five years since the pair put the label to bed, Steffi has risen through the ranks at Ostgut Ton while also tending to her Dolly label. Left to his own devices, Dexter would leisurely pop up on labels like Clone and Rush Hour. But that's the thing about Remy Verheijen, made clear from that very first Klakson release: he really doesn't care. Klakson has never been about fitting in, and that sentiment has stuck.
The label's comeback could have easily gone any which way, especially with a directive based on brains meeting brains, as Steffi recently described it. But if you're hoping for classic Klakson, you're in luck. If you're hoping for something new, there's some of that, too. The title track is typical "cheeky" Dexter, with unmistakable riffs off his definitive "I Don't Care" hit, only it's more of a squidgy, percolating electro-bass number that sounds like it was paid a visit from Flat Eric. It's definitely the most playful track on Troubles, which seems to get a bit more straight-faced (just a bit) and retro-sounding from there on in.
"Flashback" and "Twilight Life" are all dreamy, suffused with lush pads and chords, while "Patternmaster" is closer to Dexter's vintage dirty aesthetic. Here he's spliced it with sci-fi synths just to amplify that time-capsule feel. It's more foreboding than the rest, but with all that zithering and melodrama going on, we're reminded not to take it too seriously. That wouldn't be the Klakson way.
TracklistA1 Trouble
A2 Flashback
B1 Twilight Life
B2 Patternmaster