THE MALAG EP by HARMONIOUS THELONIOUS

Stefan Schwander has been releasing his heavily processed and sequenced take on African music and American minimalism under his Harmonious Thelonious moniker since 2008. His new EP on Meakusma is only the second one on a non-German label.On two tracks, Schwander takes his trademark rhythmically and melodically repetitive sound into straightforward Techno territory, although some heavy phasing gives the raw power and stoic repetition of these tracks an ambientish, post-club feel. Two other tracks further develop his typically eclectic and informed sound, playing live organ on one of them, displaying a jittery and jumpy rhythmic style that looks for a groove that until now did not exist. Jesse Hackett, a.k.a. Elmore Judd, delivers a remix that takes the original firmly into 'My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts' territory, giving melody and rhythm a more open sense of space, and layering it with vocal samples to further add to a sense of Funk alienation.