Riton - Hammer of Thor

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  • London boy Riton has come a long way since his 2004 debut LP, comically titled 'Homies & Homos'. That year was a good year for discovering the shenanigans of electro-pop, soon after everyone witnessed electroclash's last whimpering moments, and the album presented to the world a skillful and ambitious young artist with a big imagination for effective dance music. Fast forward to 2006 and Riton offered 'Vejer' on Get Physical, in which he put hands together with his real life girlfriend and rising talent Heidi (aww, they made their own techno track together! How sweet is that). If Riton was serving me tea (ask Magda about that), I imagine he'd precisely know how much sugar I like, because that’s how he serves his music: tastefully sweet. 'Hammer of Thor', the A-side - and what an A-side at that - on his new 12", is a good old Lindstrom-esque workout. We've all heard these celestial saliva-inducing synths in other places recently, like in Huntemann and Bodzin's relick of Depeche Mode's 'Everything Counts' – apparently they're getting popular, and I predict 2007 to be full of them (or at least I gleefully hope so). ‘Hammer of Thor’ is beautifully constructed like a genuine post-Italo piece: 'I Feel Space' is an immediate reference point. Something about this nickname, 'Riton', which is the French slang for his first name Henry, encapsulates everything about this man and his masterful tea serving abilities. Say it - reeton. Now imagine it. It works. The intriguing thing about this track is how it has flown under almost everyone’s radar, although it was featured a while back on Freeform Five's Bisous Bisous II and the quite-old-now Tiefschwarz Fabric mix (a mix I find myself constantly going back to, as it seems like an underrated template of good things that were to come. Example #2: Claude Vonstroke's 'Who's Afraid of Detroit'). What's going on? Don't DJs listen to mixes or something? On the B, Roman Flugel's remix implements the same thumping-pumping ideas featured in 'Rocker', but at the same time still uses the main euphoric riff (which sounds like a pitched-up crying elephant. Poor baby) as its robust melodic base. ‘Hammer of Thor’ is released on Tiefschwarz's own new label, Souvenir, and the remixer of choice here is understandable - Tiefschwarz have a tendency for bleepy, less classic - I'm afraid - techno. Nevertheless, it will make the Ibiza summer special for some drugged-out clubbers. B2 'Cocks and Noodles' takes us into forgotten Chicken Lips territory. More bass-heavy, with a catchy disco-afflicted melody, it could really work quite well in a Rub'N'Tug DJ set, although it would be kindly rejected on cheesier dancefloors. Back to the tea metaphor, definitely for the last time I promise: the problem with making a cuppa the same way all the time is that you get too used to the taste – sometimes you need to vary the amount of sugar. The sweetness of this 12” is probably why I’ll get sick of it soon, but in the meantime, the instant gratification junkie in me just has to give it an eight.
  • Tracklist
      A Hammer of Thor B Hammer of Thor (Roman Flugel mix) B2 Cocks and Noodles
RA