Dig It [CD+DVD]

Track by track

Death Of An Analogue - an understated piece which rolls along at a slow tempo with a background bass drum overlaid with a synthesised string effect, a surprisingly effective vocoder highlight, percussion (synthesised ?) and other keyboard fills add to the effect. Very understated but hypnotic in it's insistent progress.

Weird Caravan - a bass and drum loop provide the foundation for KS to overlay various keyboard melodies creating an almost tango dance feeling. A nice sound and very catchy.

The Looper Isn't A Hooker - opening brooding bass synthesiser with a percussion overlay gives way to one of KS's signature sequencer creations (using percussion sounds in this instance). Several melodies are weaved in and out and there is so much going on, but in a precisely orchestrated manner that you need to listen on headphones to get a complete grasp of how good this piece is. One of my all time favourite electronic music pieces.

Synthasy - a longer piece that starts in a slow atmospheric mood. After about 9 minutes there is a change of tempo and we begin another almost hypnotic sequencer piece that captures you in its spell. As is often the case with KS, while the sequence gently mutates he adds various embellishments that keep you alert. Another good piece.

Esoteric Goody - this is the first bonus of this re-issue. KS's manager, Klaus Dieter Mueller admits in the accompanying booklet that assigning an appropriate title to this piece was difficult. To be honest, many people who don't have a wide experience of electronic music may not consider this to be music at all. This isn't background music, you need to focus on it and let yourself relax in the atmosphere it creates. I found it stimulated images of storms on a moon of one of the outer planets or a blizzard in the Antarctic. This track could have been named after one of Saturn's moons and I think it would have fitted very well, but perhaps Klaus wanted you to find your own images ? The sound reproduction, as with all of this disc, is crystal clear.

Linzer Stahlsinfonie DVD - the second bonus is 62 minutes of the ORF (Austrian TV) recording of KS live in Linz. KS fans will be aware of this special concert that KS performed in 1980, some may even have heard a fan tape of the Austrian radio broadcast and enjoyed the performance, but to see it beautifully reproduced with the computer generated art from the show and see KS and Tommy Betzler (percussion) performing the piece is a very enjoyable experience. Some people have indicated that there is a sound/video synchronization problem but I was unable to detect any trace - Tommy's percussion beat seemed to be spot on. In my opinion, this is a very special bonus and I'm grateful to KS and KDM for releasing it for the fans to enjoy.

Even in it's original form, I believe 'Dig It' was one of KS's best albums - in this revised format with the booklet and bonus recordings it is an excellent package at a fair price. KS fans would be foolish not to upgrade and electronic music fans would almost certainly enjoy the music captured here even if they're not KS devotees.