Cool Hunting

Imagine an alternate universe where Jamie Lidell sits high on top of the Billboard charts, enjoying Justin Timberlake-sized superstardom, while Matthew Herbert gets paid seven figures to make beats for P. Diddy. It's in this bizarro world that you might hear the likes of Michael Fakesch's new solo album Dos on the radio.

What makes Dos work is the inclusion of vocalist Taprikk Sweezee, who is a guest on most of the album and injects a pop sensibility to dense rhythms blending an unlikely combination. Similar to Lidell's 2005 masterpiece Multiply, Sweezee's vocals make for a warm and accessible sound. However, when combined with Fakesch's unconventional breaks we get a musical gem combining the familiar and the experimental in rare form. Listen to the tension thick "Escalate," or the broken grooves of "Dot" for some shining examples.

Formerly of the now defunct electronic duo Funkstorung — well known for its remixes of the Wu-Tang Clan and Bjork — Fakesch continues to inject a heavy dose of otherworldly teched out sounds concocting a collection of grimy, feedback-laden beats of all tempos.

Dos will be released on 31 July 2007 on K7 Records and Musik Aus Strom. It is available to pre-order now on Soulseduction.

By Jesse Mann