Since its inception back in 2014 by Mark van de Maat in Amsterdam, Knekelhuis zeroed in on the contemporary effigies of knurled industrial, noise and other off-patent pieces of mind-altering electronics, notably sheltering a host of high-rated side projects including Cliff Lothar & Danny ‘Legowelt’ Wolfers as Pagan Sector, Tim Fairplay & Alessandro Parisi as Dynamite Winter Palace or Pascal ‘Dollkraut’ Pinkert as De Ambassade.
On 19th June the Dutch label will return with their eighth record and debut reissue, ‘M Appeal‘ EP, courtesy of seminal big-beat and proto-techno production duo Smersh – aka Mike Mangino and Shepard, former members of Pop-Tarts. Featuring a remix from on-the-rise experimentalist Parrish Smith, the record features an exclusive, unreleased gem from 1989 – ‘Kiss Me Stupid‘ plus one of the pair’s most excellent number – ‘M Appeal‘, initially released on their highly sought-after tape from 1984, ‘Make Way For The Rumbler‘.
Our pick, Parrish Smith’s remix of the lead-track is a high-octane take on the original. Breathing in a healthy dose of tension and electric impact, it doesn’t lack originality either. Overhauling Smersh’s title-cut from here on in, Smith appends a pinch of finely modulated auto-tune to the track’s scattered rhythm, stepping up the contrast between its sustained melodic imprint and biting abrasiveness in parallel. Knekelhuis continue steering their faultless course.
M Appeal EP is released via Knekelhuis on 19th June, pre-order a vinyl copy from Juno.
TRACKLIST
1. M Appeal
2. Kiss Me Stupid
3. M Appeal (Parrish Smith Remix)
Discover more about Smersh and Knekelhuis on Inverted Audio.