Digitalism - Back To Haus [Running Back]

Format: 12" in printed sleeve.
CAT: RB116

D stands for Digitalism. The return of the prolific and spellbinding Hamburg production duo has two sides. Back To Haus is their second outing for Running Back after 2020’s Reality 2. And it does exactly what it says on the tin. Based on the roots of house — the sound with which Ismail Tuefekci and Jens Moelle began their careers as DJs — their current interpretation is far from nostalgic, boring, or conservative.

Take the lead track, for example. Now a firm track ID favorite, it was originally conceived as a sound check. Its recipe is as simple as it is infectious: mix Roland drum machines with some piano chords and arrange the rest masterfully, with a marathon intro and a matching breakdown. Voilà. Patience can be bitter, but its fruits are sweet.

Chicagostrasse is not only a real street in the warehouse district of Hamburg's harbor but also a nod to all-time heroes like Johnny D and Nicky P of Henry Street Music and their sampler-and-beats approach. Hypnotic and hard-hitting house.

4TH Floor sees the duo sampling themselves (again) for an airy, fast, party-ready track that references one of their favorite NYC labels when they first met at Hamburg's Underground Solution house record store at the turn of this millennium. Happiness is only a state of mind.

Closing everything out, but without letting up on the intensity, is Warehaus alongside its accompanying rhythmic tool Empty Warehaus. As if Todd Terry visited a UK Summer of Love rave. Descriptive and positively destructive. Altogether, a more than worthy double-hitter, a delight for DJs and the dancefloor.