Plankton vs. Defcon – Oh Babe

As a first follow up to his acclaimed 2012 J. R. Plankton release, Plankton teamed up with Robert Defcon and produced an astounding collage of european and afroamerican sounds, vocals and rhythms, both psychedelic and bass heavy. Licensed to groove, the 5 tracks on Oh Babe’ merge the sonically improbable – highlighted by the artificial landscape of Armin Linke’s cover photo and Max Dax’ artwork.

When Krauts Rausch’ (German for intoxication or noise) you know they’re onto a winner: The fresh new release opens with a sizzling drone ascending the throne of psychedelic sequencer rock. The title tune Oh Babe’ injects screwed, subtly lewd funk vocals into a slo-mo, yet ecstatic disco anthem, underscored by a pulsating filter funk bass, while Bass ‘n’ Hippies’ and Get Up’ fuse deep progrock killer grooves with raunchy vocoder rap and funky turntable scratching, which will have you on your feet for sure. After a night out dancing, the final track, Jealousy’, evokes a scenery of solitary paranoia, both chilled out and chilling.

Defcon and Plankton are connected by years of friendship and a dedication to minimalistic grooves and collage techniques in the tradition of Stockhausen and Can and the turntable and sampling culture of early hip hop.