Coming on like a lush, hypnotic hybrid of DAF, Kraftwerk and Mouse on Mars, with just a dash of contemporary wit and invention, Eine Kleine Nacht Musik is a sharp swerve away from the propulsive electro house Henry Smithson conceives in his day job as Riton, and all the more thrilling for it. A concept record in the very best sense of the word, his eponymous album, due for release on 14 July, pays affectionate tribute to the hugely seminal genre that is Krautrock. With its dreamy, free-floating atmospherics, gently pounding Motorik rhythms and sublime, minimal arrangements, it is that rare release that somehow manages to sound like a crackling transmission from the past and a broadcast from a sleekly glittering future.
Prior to its release however, is a 2-track single featuring songs not included on the album, to be only be available on a magnificent Fergadelic designed 12†vinyl or less lovingly packed digital download. La Serenissima is a coolly ingenious rework of the classical Reverberi Gian Piero Giordano Laura piece, updated for our modern times and given a deliciously Teutonic twist, while Phantasie is a headlong rush into a whirlwind of gleaming, driving beats, shiny keyboard lines and strings swirling out of control. Conclusive proof, if indeed any was needed, that we have only just begun to scrape the tip of Smithson’s genius.
The ‘Eine Kleine Nacht Musik’ long player is realised through Modular recordings on 14th July and will be accompanied by a 10 minute, 3 track film in keeping with the spirit of record’s traveling, epic quest-like vibez. Directed by “The Phantom†and starring Henry himself, the film will follow our humble hero on a cross-dimensional journey, soundtracked by the first 3 tracks on record.