- Matthias Reiling and Hauke Freer have put out records together for years. XK02's good-time disco-house sound can't escape comparison to their partnership as Session Victim, which will suit most fans just fine. Freer and Reiling mine a particular house sound: generous with samples, festooned in funk and soul, a little worn-in. "Hand Of Hope," one of two Reiling tracks here, plants earthy double bass, scrapyard percussion and tart synth chords onto a cut-and-paste house track. Reiling's solo work—some of which features on Giegling—edges into sombre moods, and there's an echo of that on "Hand Of Hope."
Freer's contribution, "Reach Out," loops elastic guitar funk and a deep bassline into a taut disco-house bomb, exactly the sort of thing Session Victim excel at. It doesn't have the gently anthemic feel of, say, 2014's "Never Forget," but its understated charisma is typical of the duo's catalogue. Reiling's "Melodioso" is the standout, a track that sounds like a treasure found after a day of digging in second-hand record bins. Stratocaster guitar, whistles and a cabaret-ish vocal put the music somewhere between Dick Dale's surf rock and 99 Records' offbeat disco.
TracklistA1 Matthias Reiling - Hand Of Hope
A2 Matthias Reiling - Melodioso
B1 Hauke Freer - Reach Out