Den Haan
Den Haan are a live synthesised dance act - the conceptual disco duo of Matthew Aldworth and Andy Gardiner. Previous releases have brought the group critical acclaim, and firm dj support from the likes of Optimo, Cosmo Vitelli, Headman, Ivan Smagghe and Mylo and. Their debut album “Gods from Outerspace” will be released on their own label – Courier Of Death – on Feb 28th 2011.
Den Haan are built for the rhythms of the night. Their releases are the spirit of seedy 70’s basement dives, a deco-greco roman blur of glistening bodies and dazzling lights, Criso on the wrists, spunk in the dark corners and sweat condensed on every surface. Den Haan GET the serious high-camp aesthetic built into italo and especially hi-NRG;- a sound that is at once knowing-humour and hand-on-the-cock sexual swagger. And there ain’t no Diva’s in the Den Haan sound – save maybe for a terrifying 26 stone dog-shit eating drag colossal know as Divine. Their rhythms are dark, electronic, tribal; the rock-god vocals more akin to Anvil or Van Halen, popper-soaked macho guys barking out tales of stalking the night cruising for kicks, all backed by a chorus of booming sado-cybernetic vocoders.
Den Haan study their favourite productions and producers in forensic detail: Celso Valli from Azoto and Tantra, Franco Rago & Gigi Farina (behind the ‘Lectric Workers releases), the experimental excursions of Vangelis, the homo-disco cybernetics of Patrick Cowley and the atonal alienation programmed into the soundtracks of Claudio Simonetti and John Carpenter. Sourcing original synths and samplers the group sweat it out in the studio, striving to re-create as close to a version of the original approach to sound creation as possible. The only contemporary indulgence being a bang up-to-date studio mastering (conducted by Austrian based producer Patrick Pulsinger behind electronic label Cheap Recordings). This commitment to process brings not only an authenticity to the productions but also to their explosive live performances. As Optimo’s JG Twitch commented after seeing them live “fuck, the sound is way better than an actual club”!
Their music may seem to have a parodic quality, an in-built “cheese” factor. But that is resolutely not its intention. Den Haan are deadly serious in celebrating their musical influences. Its camp undoubtedly, but HIGH camp. An aesthetic hip enough to appreciate trashy genius, a roughly-shod throw-away production but simultaneously in awe of the craft and imagination that was employed to create it. This isn’t a just a game, it’s a ridiculous reality. But if Den Haan were a game, they would definitely be “how many beer cans can you shove up your ass”! They’re not afraid to get crazy and let their balls hang right out there. That’s what Den Haan are about.
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