MICROTHOL

Microthol are easily the most exciting project to emerge from the Austrian electronic music scene within recent times. Having secretly honed their skills for years, Philipp "Soulglo" Haffner and Constantin Zeileissen stepped into the limelight in 2003 with their debut collaboration with DJ Glow ("Wireheads") followed by their solo-effort ("Staub"). Recent releases for Electric Indigo's indigo:inc ("Sexy Lady"), Pomelo ("Black Stripe"; B.O.B - Microthol remix), on Keith Tuckers (aka K-1) imprint Puzzlebox ("Machine Soul e.p" - Microthol remix) and Trust (Heliosphere) further emphasize the duo's production abilities, stretching far beyond the narrow confines of traditional electro. Their live acts regularly energize the Viennese party crowd and as DJs they're a force to reckon with. Having been holed up behind their ever-growing collection of vintage analogue gear for the better part of 2005, the two have finally put the finishing touches to their debut album "Microkosmos". Doing the title justice, Microthol draw inspiration from a wealth of diverse styles - Electro, Acid House, Italo Disco or experimental Downbeat but fuse them in a fashion unique to them, usually employing a twitchy 303, catchy harmonies, fat analogue production and the occasional tongue firmly placed in cheek. The result is an album that will work as nicely on the dancefloor as it will in a home stereo, from the uplifting grooves of "Acid Bosons", the playful disco vibes of "Midnight Moroder" to the elegiac acid of "Late Shift at the Meson Factory".