Session Victim - See You When You Get There (2014)

Hamburg duo Hauke Freer and Matthias Relling aka Session Victim return to Delusions of Grandeur with their second long player, 'See You When You Get There'. Right from the start it's clear Session Victim's way with a groove hasn't diminished in the two years since their debut album, 2012's 'The Haunted House of House'. ‘Do It Now’ and ‘Hey Stranger’ open the record with the duo's trademark blend of subtle sampling, gloriously swinging beats and the same off-kilter sensibility that consistently raises them above their modern disco peers. The new album marks a conscious progression in Freer & Relling's approach, evolving the sample-based production style that's won them plenty of fans since their emergence in 2008. Whereas their debut album was recorded in the duo's bedrooms, the new LP instead sees them embracing a full studio set-up, split between their own Hamburg-based studio and the fully-kitted out Room G studio in San Francisco. Despite being situated in one of the USA's most beautiful locations, the duo found little time for anything outside the work at hand. Time not spent in the studio saw them raiding the two-dollar bins of Amoeba Music for interesting records to sample. "Having access to a fully-equipped studio was like hitting the jackpot. It was a bit intimidating too - we thought 'if we cannot write the LP here, it’s not in us'. A few days later we already forgot about this and were immersed in jamming and exploring," says Hauke. "We had access to all sorts of 80s drum machines, synths and fender rhodes of course that added another layer to the whole thing." The resulting LP is as expected one that suits a variety of moods within SV's idosyncratic range - from the dancefloor thrills of the piano-led Never Forget, the classic disco percussion & filtered guitar licks of Stick Together and the heads down groove of The Most Beautiful Divorce Ever to the more laid back jazz tempos of Hyuwee and Crystal Maze, while the record also has a place for the more oddball moments of Under Your Spell and Eos Place. ‘See You When You Get There' finds Session Victim at their best yet, with an accomplished album that will likely emerge as one of 2014's strongest in its field.