- Two sides of sci-fi reggaeton and dancehall (with a touch of metal) on TJ Hertz's latest white label.
- Part of the Objekt appeal is that his music is clever enough for the chin-scratchers yet indulgent enough for the ravers. His sound design is meticulous and instantly recognizable, whether we're talking the sci-fi rainforest explorations of Cocoon Crush or the machine chatter in the background of the blockbuster "Theme From Q." His signature arsenal of robotic clinks and bloops sounds like no one else's. But those fastidious flourishes aren't the only thing that keeps punters coming back. It's also all about letting loose, or whatever that idea means to Objekt, anyway. Objekt #5 is the first release in the eponymous (and now legendary) EP series in five years. He continues to perfect the balance between the silly and the scientific as he works with reggaeton and dancehall tropes on two of his most fun—and funniest—club tracks.
"Ballast" is closer to a straight dancehall track, taking the whipping, sinewy synths of Hertz's techno and laying them over a chuggy, dembow rhythm. "Bad Apples," on the other hand, is the wild card. There are a few of his old tricks—those trills that sound like intergalactic wind passing through chimes—but then things get a bit, well, metal. What sounds like Hertz strumming away on a fretboard sets off sheer chaos: subbass pulses, mosquito-like synths buzz for blood, an occasional chord undulates, hell, even a slapped bassline makes a cameo. Rather than dark and brooding, the whole thing is like watching an '80s hair metal music video, but with Lenny Dee and DJ Python providing the soundtrack. In other words, business as usual in the Objekt 12-inch universe. You'll have to wait a bit longer for the vinyl, but it'll be worth it.
Tracklist01. Bad Apples
02. Ballast