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Wai Pi Wai
"Wai Pi Wai"
Format:
CD/Album
Online date:
24/5 2005
Label:
Hands Productions
Genre:
electronica
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Wai Pi Wai is another collaboration effort by Herman Klapholz, better known for his main project Ah Cama-Sotz. This time he has teamed up with French musician Jérôme Soudan of Mimetic, Von Magnet, etc. I was in two minds about this when I first heard of it. I am a huge fan of Ah Cama-Sotz, both the dark ambient side of the project and the rhythmic ditto. I am also quite fond of the Mimetic stuff I’ve heard. On the other hand, though, Klapholz previous collaborations, Pow[d]er Pussy with Mika Goedrijk from This Morn’ Omina, for instance, left me a bit disappointed. Together with Jérôme, however, Herman has struck gold, at least in my opinion.
Wai Pi Wai sounds pretty much like a well-balanced mix of Ah Cama-Sotz most electro-sounding tracks and Mimetic’s dense beats when you think carefully about it, but at the same time it doesn’t sound like any of the two acts on their own. The result is an appealing and tasteful blend of electro, techno and industrial-tinged electronica. The music combines the contagious groove of more club-orientated electronica with some of the darker atmospheres of Ah Cama-Sotz, although it never gets quite as oppressive. There’s also a quite playful and light-hearted side to the music that creates a nice contrast in the music. For instance, in the title track “Wai Pi Wai” a female synthetic voice provides stiff, but strangely groovy vocals to a quite intense beat, resulting in something that resembles electroclash.
The material on “Wai Pi Wai” is diverse in many ways, thus resulting in an album that is highly rewarding to listen to. There are no truly weak tracks and there are quite a few tracks that are suitable for the dance floor. Still, the album is detailed and complex enough to be excellent for personal listening, as well. There are some extremely beautiful down-tempo tracks that tie the more danceable ones together to a solid album. “White Sand” is one of these calmer moments, which also happens to be my personal favourite of the entire album. It is a flowing, poetic track with an oriental sounding female voice sample as the most prominent element. This side of Wai Pi Wai reminds me of some French acts, such as Ab Ovo or Haïku or, come to think of it, some Mimetic material.
Herman and Jérôme aimed with Wai Pi Wai to create a unique electronic sound and, though perhaps not groundbreaking, I’d say they did a fairly good job of it. “Wai Pi Wai” has its own sound and even though you can find similarities with many other acts, it sounds fresh. The production is of course impeccable and the talent of the two collaborators is obvious. Modern, beautiful, accessible and much recommended!
/Anders Eklund
Check CDDB tracklists for this record:
Wai Pi Wai"Wai Pi Wai"
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