Track of the Day: Waldeck, 'Moon' (1999, Spray Records, from the LP Balance of the Force)

He goes by the artist name Waldeck.
Klaus Waldeck is an Austrian who made his mark as a producer for the Viennese Spray Records label in the 1990s (home at that time to the more well-known Austrian duo Kruder and Dorfmeister), after he quit his day job as a copyright lawyer.

He has released 3 full length albums and 1 EP since 1996. Not a huge output considering that 17 years have passed since his debut, but one that has certainly made an impact in the electronica world.

Without getting too bogged down in the semantics of the sub-genre of electronic music Waldeck makes (musicoholics like me could literally spend hours meticulously defining and hotly contesting electronica sub-genre after sub-genre), let's eliminate confusion by qualifying it as Trip-Hop and Downtempo. Often used interchangeably, both are characterized by hypnotic grooves, somewhat languid rhythms, heavy drum and bass, and a BPM (Beats Per Minute) that typically hovers in the 80s and 90s, though the BPM's do vary widely.

Waldeck has utilized many sound pastiches throughout his career, with diverse thematic threads defining each of his LPs, ranging from somewhat bright mood 1920s Jazz (2007's 'Ballroom Stories') to more brooding, dark, spacey, almost mystical sounds in his previous work (2001's 'The Night Garden' and 1999's 'Balance of the Force').

Today's Track of the Day comes from the 1999 LP Balance of the Force.
'Moon' is the last track on the LP, a thoroughly spacey tune that literally evokes space travel, and then some.

Waldeck, like his contemporary trip-hoppers Massive Attack and others, tends to employ the relatively common practice of employing sultry chanteuses and crooners in many of his songs. In fact, it's a constant theme throughout all of his LPs, irrespective of sound changes. This track is no exception, as former Incognito frontwoman Joy Malcolm takes on the task of cooing minimalist, breathy, sensual lyrics throughout, backed by a cinematic, noirish, pulsating groove.

I must confess that the well-worn motif of female (and occassionally, male) vocalists warbling unintelligible soaring wails and sparse, oft-repeated trite lyrics makes Trip-Hop/Downtempo an easy target of haters.

Thankfully, THIS song, and most of the vocal excursions that Waldeck takes us on, are NOT of that low caliber.

'Moon' is instead juiced with such tasty morsels as:

'The Spaceship's Waiting for You
Come On Babe, Right to the Moon
Visit the Stars...Do it on Mars.'

'Space 1999' in 2013. Enticing. Perfect for a night in with that Sultry Special Someone. Unless of course, you actually plan on traveling on an actual SpaceX or VirginGalactic cosmic journey anytime soon.

In which case, 'Moon' would be brilliant soundtrack accompaniment for your Multi-Million Mile High Club...