S-Max Dropping Acid On Your Astro Turf EP
Berlin's Manfred Koridass unleashes three cuts of his trademark freaky funk.
Berlin-based minimal hero Manfred Koridass (a.k.a. S-Max) has kept quiet for the past few years. For much of the noughties, he sat at the helm of the revered Boogizm imprint alongside his counterpart Manutchehr Ghassemlou (a.k.a. Fym), carving out a unique niche in the scene which was set apart by its commitment to a total lack of seriousness. The colorful collage-based artwork, the nonsensical poetry of the titles, and most importantly the irregularity of the music, with its trademark freaky funk, held a special appeal for many. Now, the LowMoneyMusicLove imprint (a young team of musicians with one foot in Amsterdam, and another in Frankfurt) have tapped back into that quirky sound for their fifth release, with Dropping Acid On Your Astro Turf.
The EP sees S-Max up to his old tricks, with three tracks as whimsical as ever. Opener “Occupying Orange (We Deal With The Spirit)” bounces along, seamlessly blending weird electro-esque samples with shimmying percussion, creating magic in its most intricate details. Frequent chops and breaks punctuate its low-slung, growling bass and give it an infectious energy, rendering it the most dancefloor-ready of the cuts. “It’s More Than Black!” drops a few levels deeper: Distant jingles and moans pierce its erratic hats, with a strung-out sound that is more suited to the wee hours of the night. There is no letting up in quality as the rich textures of “Divine.Geometry.Forms.Yuri” round things off, a cut based around celestial keys that sound as if they are drifting away from the swells of its rounded bassline.