Helena Hauff
Discreet Desires
Release Date: Sep 4, 2015
Genre(s): Electronic, Pop/Rock
Record label: Ninja Tune
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Album Review: Discreet Desires by Helena Hauff
Excellent, Based on 5 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
Since 2013, German producer Helena Hauff has been releasing dark acid techno-influenced slabs of music, that work as well for home consumption as they do on the dancefloor. Hauff’s output has always been as atmospheric as it is cinematic. This has set her apart from her peers, and has made her a welcome addition to any line up and record collection around the world.
Based on rating 8/10
Hamburg-based DJ and producer Helena Hauff began releasing records in 2013, making stripped-down, monochromatic techno and acid house tracks in line with releases on labels like L.I.E.S. (Long Island Electrical Systems) and The Trilogy Tapes. Her first full-length, and third release for Actress' Werkdiscs imprint, retains the one-take grittiness of her previous releases, but it has a much wider scope, sounding much fuller and more melodic while avoiding sounding polished or sterile.
Based on rating 8/10
Helena Hauff's tidy back catalogue is one that's full of raw intrigue and delightfully artless hardware-driven recordings. Simple loops, one-take and minimal editing — therein lies her charm. Since she first emerged in 2013 with the superb Actio Reactio EP, Hauff has used her unadorned techniques to great effect, immediately grabbing the attention of various labels around the globe, as well as being recruited by James Dean Brown for his legendary Hypnobeat outfit.Though varying in style, Hauff's releases have largely been operating in techno's more shadowy, acid-tinged peripheries.
Based on rating 8/10
Doesn't it sometimes feel like the endless cycles of reference points and retromania have turned in on themselves so many times that they've now become meaningless? And wouldn't that be excellent if it were true? It would mean that the best electronic producers, instead of worrying about what phase of fashion and revival they're in, could just focus on perfecting their craft instead; on finding those rhythms and timbres that belong to no time other than the untethered small hours on a dark dancefloor. Take the L. I.
Based on rating 3.7/5
Helena Hauff's appeal is obvious. She comes from Hamburg's Golden Pudel, a 200-capacity punk venue repurposed as a dance club, where perfect mixing seems beside the point. (For a while, the place only had one turntable.) Hauff channels that kind of slapdash personality into her DJ sets, which mix up industrial, EBM, post-punk and, primarily, the West Coast Hague sound.
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