Soft Pack marks a bold move in Ruede Hagelstein’s career: dance beats are shunned almost completely to give way to a collection of songs touching on folk, jazz and indie electronica.
Until now, Watergate resident Ruede Hagelstein’s has released a steady stream of dance records (amongst others on Lebensfreude Records and Souvenir), a mix CD and a collection of loops and samples Sounds of Berlin.
His first long player Soft Pack ventures away from dance and enters the sonic realms of folk (Romance), indie electronica (Leaving the Center, No Reality) and jazz (A Priori, Private). The result is a breezy, intimate late night soundtrack with influences ranging from Simon & Garfunkel, Raz Ohara and the Odd Orchestra and Sufjan Stevens.
The music is mostly live instrumentation: Justin Evans (bass), Mieke Wenzl (various wind instruments). Some well-placed field recordings give tracks like Berlin and Good Night a nice cinematographic touch. The vocals, shared by Ruede and Aileen Phönix, are a slight weak point of the album. Ruede’s vocals are a bit too monotonous and Aileen Phonix could deliver her vocals little more subtle.
But the collective has potential which is proved by the Pink Floyd-esque instrumental Blue Straight and the beautiful Power. For a first effort, the album is a well-executed departure from dance music (apart from the inevitable remix 12” featuring remixes from Tiefschwarz, Noir and Guilaume & The Coutu Dumonts). And although there’s room for improvement, Soft
Pack also raises the expectations for its successor.
7/10
Patrice Knap
