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ARTIST
TITLE
Independent Dancer
FORMAT
CD

LABEL
CATALOG #
RUMP 002CD RUMP 002CD
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
5/28/2013

Sacha Winkler aka Kalabrese is a curious tastemaker and bold musical force that dares to tread the murky waters between indie and electronica, playfully emphasizing vocals on song-based productions and presenting an album that pushes the limits and portrays dance music in a peculiar and natural way. Inspired by blues, funk, and all those beautiful dancers and tragic heroes of the night, Independent Dancer is laced with curiosity and fever-inducing productions. Following his 2007 debut album Rumpelzirkus (STATT 002CD), a critically-acclaimed project that was followed by performances at infamous festivals like Sónar, Mutek in Montreal, and Transmediale in Berlin, as well as playing nearly every club basement in Europe with his live-project Rumpelorchester, Kalabrese returns with a masterpiece. Sounding like a soundtrack from James Murphy (in fact Kalabrese played back-to-back with the LCD Soundsystem lead man in 2012) and Nicolas Jaar, who featured his epic blues solo "Desperate Man" on his own Resident Advisor podcast, Independent Dancer commences with an almost euphoric and certainly unpretentious spirit. "Purple Rose" steps out downbeat with Sarah Palin, the newest Rumpel discovery, singing an astonishing duet with Kala, an almost country-like creation with ringing bells from the Alps and a hypnotic house beat crashing behind. Kalabrese recruits friend and mentor, A.C. Kupper (who also designed the cover) to sing "Let the Good Times Roll," taking his falsetto voice and overlaying chunky beats and a captivating synth-line, inspiring the urge to dance in only the most sincere way. Independent Dancer varies in tempo and rhythm throughout, from the wonderful airy ballad of "Stone On Your Back" with its cello parts played by Dominik Löhrer and light bossanova rhythm, juxtaposed with "Wanzka," an active, swinging Afro-groove gem with mind-blowing, lyrical brass parts courtesy of Michael Flury and Benjamin Danech. Guest singer Khan from Berlin can be heard on the hypnotic, Arabic-inspired bonus track "Feeling Me" and also on "Desperate Man," on which Rumpel-member Marton di Katz rocks a crazy groove with bass line sensations. Towards the conclusion, Kalabrese extols the Sihl Valley with "Sihltal," a punchy disco tune spiked with melancholy and expressing a soft wish of togetherness. At all times, Independent Dancer orbits the moment, encapsulating where the dancer unites with the music and forgets the rest of the world.