Chasing Kurt – From The Inside

Ever since French house robots DAFT PUNK and their comeback record Random Access Memories took an organic and ‘real’ twist on electronic dance music there seems to be a discussion rising on what defines good dance music. And it looks like the shallow over-the-top productions of the past years took a wrong turn – at least that’s what the robots claim. It’s not all about big beats and bass drops, there is a lack of soul and emotion within dance music. And to find people who are willing to change that you don’t need to follow DAFT PUNK on their spaceship, having a closer look on Berlin might be enough. Giving electronic music a substantial undertone could be seen as the main credo of label Suol. CHASING KURT are the latest band to join the family-esque company around label founders CHOPSTICK & JOHNJON.

Suol and its acts – most famously FRITZ KALKBRENNER and his joyful 2012 record Sick Travellin’ – tend to bridge various musical territories. Minimalistic electronica meets r’n’b meets disco meets soul music. All artists share that interest to give house music certain twists and turns on the usual structure – including real instruments and real voices too. Lukas Poloczek has such a voice. When he met producers Pascal Blanché and Wojtek Kutschke in their hometown Gießen they shortly found something very special and CHASING KURT were born. After several single releases, their debut album From The Inside – out June 14 via Suol – is the next big step for these three lads. The result is a debut which sounds more than solid, very grown-up and very focussed – something a lot of newcomers are lacking from.

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Family Guys opens the longplayer very laid back with Poloczek premiering his tender voice. He states: “Music brings me back to my soul” and the following Lose Myself brings the beat into the game, the journey is about to start. Quite soon you’ll get the impression why CHOPSTICK & JOHNJON (who are also featured in the track Money) wanted the three musicians for their roster – deep and grooving house beats, tender piano play, soft synthesizer patterns and Poloczek’s longing voice define the music of Suol and the idea behind it. 21st century soul music if you’d like to call it this way. Heavenly is really floating through the air while the title track From The Inside unveils itself as tender little pop song.

Quite often Poloczek’s vocals merge with the electronic elements making them some sort of instrument too. CHASING KURT‘s longplayer is clearly designed as a dance record – although quieter moments like the tender ballad Take Me Home show the group’s profounding songwriter skills. But it’s not designed for the dancefloor only. It got this melancholic form of euphoria that could also touch you beyond all the hip clubs and bars of the German capital, making it work on a quite intimate level. This Is My Religion sings Poloczek in the closing track of the record. Suol’s motto is “This is us and we do what we do” – take it or leave it. If you choose the second option you’ll miss something quite unique and addictive. CHASING KURT‘s From The Inside is a really nice idea of how to give dance music its soul back – and these guys clearly don’t need robot masks for this, just ten really solid songs.

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CHASING KURT