Conny Frischauf - Die Drift

With the events of the last year and the national lockdowns I have been waiting to listen to the results and feedback from it musically. Now, I can’t vouch for you guys and gals out there but I have to admit that so far I’ve been a little disappointed. That was until the debut album from Viennese artist Conny Frischauf, entitled ‘Die Drift’ slid through my letterbox. My initial quick listen, however, turned into the whole album. Sitting back in my chair with a satisfied grin, I whispered quietly to myself, “Blimey, that is good.” And it is... Having released two previous EPs, ‘Effekt & Emotion’ and ‘Affekt & Tradition’, this is Frischauf’s first full outing. Whilst adopting what some might describe as an experimental approach. ‘Die Drift’ is actually very accomplished. A synth-pop sound shines through all the way but it’s tinged with some wonderful samples and loop tinkering. In different proportions think Tears For Fears, China Crisis, OMD, Bill Nelson and a healthy chunk of Kraftwerk, and you are somewhere near. You may be thinking “Oh, another 80’s based artist”, which could be true but there is a large injection of today’s sounds hidden in here too. You might think listening to the start of ‘Paripiri’ or ‘Auf Weidersein’ that these were early OMD offerings with their sparse intros but they soon open out into funky mid-tempo affairs. Looping its way in like a Bill Nelson tribute, ‘Fenster’ soon morphs into a Neil Arthur driven mover. ‘Zeit Verdrehen’ is a track cut straight from OMD’s ‘Crush’ era. The China Crisis like ‘Eingaben’ comes afterwards, and the whole affair is finished with what can only be described as a Conny special ‘Freundschaft’. It’s early days in 2021 but this one is top of my list so far. Sung in German, its unadulterated synth-pop and it’s bloody marvellous!

Track Listing:-

1 Rauf
2 Parapiri
3 Fenster zur Straße
4 Sonntag
5 Auf Wiedersehn
6 Zeit Verdrehen
7 Roulette
8 Eingaben und Ausnahmen
9 Private Geheimsache
10 Freundschaft