A little over a year ago Max Graef’s ‘Rivers of the Red Planet‘ LP from Tartelet Records stunned us all with its breadth and genre spanning quality, not to mention his numerous consistent prior releases. Amidst all the Graef based hype, some may have made the mistake in allowing his buddy Glenn Astro’s work to bypass them.
Hailing from the heart of industrial Germany, Glenn Astro has been a busy bee over the past year with a string of ear-reeling productions. Only last month did his Hologram EP drop on WotNot Music, and those who didn’t overlook it will surely be gagging for this expansion to the album form.
Standing at just over 50 minutes, Throwback is an album on the lengthier side. Thankfully in this instance you truly get your money’s worth as the album is generously brimming with gems, evenly spread across the platter. Some say quality not quantity but if you can achieve both then why the hell not?
As hoped for, Astro hones the production skills he’s been exhibiting over the last few years. Traits and tricks from Hip-Hop, House, Disco, Jazz have always been present, and on this album he blends them with the greatest degree of success in his career so far. On the title track we get a shuffling yet sharply edged housebeat, velvety synths, lethargic hip-hop vocal-samples all leading to a silence gap, then broken by an appeggiator. Somehow it works perfectly.
On side B we have what feels like a little homage’s to 90s Hip-Hop of the Illmatic Ilk spliced with some good old-fashioned composition. (Forgotten Intro) 4 My Peeps starts with a rasping synth that eases into its beat then topped with a lush weeping melody from the fender rhodes. With You Can’t Groove we have a track to summons some smiles. Numerous melodic nuggets from different keys and synths all sing together to firmly deliver the challenge the title puts forth. To The Beat Interloot then tucks off the segment. Astro in fact uses a skit to end each side, a smart touch to makes each side seem like a mini EP in their own right.
Throwback must also be commended for its versatility. Computer Killer, Kilometer Disco (ft Max Graef) and A Bit Warmer are amongst the several club friendly tunes on the album that will bode equally well as listening material for a lazy sunny Saturday. Evidently Graef’s multi-instrumentalist talents have been deployed for the former. The pair team up to create a gloriously roughed-up disco jam that boasts an unpolished charm not unlike the recent Numero Group discovery; The Universal Togetherness Band.
So for the second year running Tartelet have stumped up an exceptional debut LP for the springtime, and may this be a tradition to follow in years to come. Glenn Astro was coy in our interview last week on what was to come next in his career, but with such a strong body of work under his belt now he needn’t be losing too much sleep.
Glenn Astro’s Throwback LP is released on 25th May 2015 via Tartelet Records, order a copy from Juno.
TRACKLIST
A1. Gonville (Featuring – Max Graef)
A2. Computerkiller.
A3. Throwback (Album Cut).
A4. Shit Iz Real.
B1. Forgotten Intro (4 My Peeps).
B2. Bochum (Featuring – IMYRMiND)
B3. You Can’t Groove.
B4. To The Beat Interloot.
C1. Still Shining.
C2. Kilometer Disco (Featuring – Max Graef)
C3. Odland.
D1. One For Viktor.
D2. Long Live Human (One For Sveta).
D3. A Bit Warmer.
D4. Brother T (Greetings To Rasho)
> STREAM ‘THROWBACK’ LP ON SOUNDCLOUD
Discover more about Glenn Astro and Tartelet Records on Inverted Audio.