Panzer1984

Hi there KMA-people! My name is Robert and I like to write reviews about strange, unappreciated and forgotten music. I've been writing for some local newspapers here in Sweden but recently decided to go online. And so I googled "music forum" and KMA popped up. Kudos, guys! Luckily, I've also found a rather remarkable artist this week which I'm sure none of you have heard of before. So here goes, hope you like it!

Earlier in the week a new artist suddenly popped up on YouTube. Granted, this happens a lot - but in this specific case I was checking out a musicvideo for Rihannas "We Found Love" when suddenly a strange videoresponse popped up in the comments. It said it was a cover of Rihannas song, but in EBM-style! For those unfamiliar with EBM, it stands for Electronic Body Music and is considered a very alternative and darkish genre by most people. The thought of a EBM-song even remotely connected to Rihanna is quite absurd, and so I was immediately curious.

As I'm always searching for new talents, especially in the more obscure genres, I navigated to the artist called Der Schlacckis (spelling!) channel and clicked the link for the Rihanna cover. I must admit I just didn't know what to think. I've listened to a great deal of dark, twisted and distorted music in my years but this was something else. It was cheesy, pretty stupid and most of all weird. But there was something else there too, some kind of intelligent thought that kind of tied the song together. In a sort of hypnotic state I listened to it over and over again to find what it was I liked about it. I never did find what it was - I just found that I really, really like it. And I have no idea why.

I went on to listen to the other songs and became more and more fascinated. Although I knew it didn't really sound any good I just kept listening. The strange videos bundled with the songs just added to the confusion, along with pseudo-russian english descriptions speaking of some kind of "revolution against culture". Everything about Der Schlaccki just seemed too much, and I began to wonder if it was all just a joke or perhaps a mockery of EBM.

When I discovered Der Schlacckis Facebook-page I became certain that it was a joke of some kind. It was filled with strange status updates about something called "Indiepiendient" (spelling again!) and ramblings about "bringing the system down". The only intelligible information I could gain from the page was that Der Schlacckis upcoming album is to have the astounding name "American Pimpboy". It is also noteworthy to observe that everything on Der Schlacckis page was added over only two days...

I don't know who or what Der Schlaccki is, I really don't know what kind of genre it should belong to, and I don't know if I should recommend it or not. I just like it a lot. Most probably it's just a joke, or perhaps a big middle finger to the whole EBM scene. But maybe, just maybe, there's a russian guy sitting somewhere trying to express himself through Der Schlaccki. If that's true then perhaps that's what I like about it - it has some kind of genuineness to it that I think a lot of music is missing today.

 

meanceprimeaux

I will check it out, when I get home.

Nice review. Thanks!

Panzer1984

Thank you for reading! I will be posting a few more reviews if you liked this one.

If you get an opportunity please return with some feedback on Der Schlaccki. I am anxious to hear what other people think of this very strange artist... I'm still undecided whether it's really "good" or not. It's interesting though!

meanceprimeaux

Definitely solid EBM.

Possibly one of the best I've heard, as far as originality and catchiness.

I checked out all 4 tunes I could find, and will listen to more as I find them.

Thanks for sharing a very comprehensive review!!!