In the week of Eurovision is this the first truly European group? I say that not just because Austrian Electronics is based in Malmö in Sweden. For all I know there is a Swedish Electronics in Klagenfurt playing the same music, in a parallel universe.
No, what attracts me more is the sheer breadth of their influences, which range over (film) soundtrack music, Italian disco, French pop and industrial music (which is predominately German), and you’ll find most of them here in their single ‘Power & Excitement’, which should go down a storm in the Berlaymont nightclub.
I almost described it as a debut single but that would be a little inaccurate. They previously traded as Creutzfeldt Jakobs and have appeared in NMC before under that name, which I took a dislike to but I couldn’t argue with the song we featured.
‘Davos Man’ was a convincing, smooth sultry Roxy Music-like sound complete with subtle, outstanding sax over synths. In fact the Roxy Music ethos of ‘romantic sounds and stories dressed in an electronic shroud’ has manifested itself in their persona as well as their Facebook page description.
They actually changed the name because “we felt that we needed a name that represents the sound better and we are moving away from the gloomy East European cold wave that we were interested in on our first cassette release.”
Well praise the Lord for that, lads!
In contrast, this one “expresses a longing for freedom and romance that we feel has gone missing in the cultural climate of today.”
So many different vibes coming out of this song I don’t know quite where to begin
Caribbean beats, 80s synth-pop, Krautrock, ambient electronic, Talking Heads, Holly Herndon…and Roxy again, yes, by way of a couple of unexpected but winning sax breaks.
What’s more it does exactly what it says on the tin – it generates ‘Power & Excitement’. You can’t ask for more.
Find them on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/austrian.electronics
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/austrianelectronics/
