DeWalta - Wander (haunt007)

Meander. Wander. Such are the starry eyed adjectives that Berlin’s David Koch, alias DeWalta, has chosen to ascribe to his label and debut album respectively. Both terms conjure images of the solitary medieval bard, enthralling townsfolk with rapturous music, tales of derring-do, and breaking the heart of a young damsel or two before heading on his merry way with a few new tales to tell. Our young David’s wandering ways have taken him from conservatory jazz studies at the Hans Eissler Music College to the beating heart of Berlin’s underground techno and house scene in only a few short years. And as anyone who has had the privilege of being on the dance floor during one of his smooth and sexy DJ sets can attest, hearts have most definitely been broken. Having received consistent praise from tastemakers both at home and abroad for his jazz infused single productions over the last several years, he now brings the full breadth of his experiences to bear on this his first long player for Haunt Music.
Album opener The Eagle was composed during a trip to the west coast of Canada, and it’s wide floating synth filigrees and bedrock drums and bass conjure the area’s splendid geographical landscape deftly. Keep On, originally released on his own Meander label makes a welcome return appearance with its dusty grooves and sultry vocals from Judith Ahrends. The aptly named Waltfunk turns down the tempo and cranks up the funk with a monster Moog bassline and deft nods to Prince and the Zapp Band. The Peregrine meanwhile sees a big band recording David received as a gift mulched and mangled into a righteous half time swing before kicking into high gear alongside mind bending analog modular squiggle. Right Here sees David teaming up with former classmate and longtime friend Achim Hilgert on bass for a thicker than pea soup jazz work out before an epic Rhodes solo sends things heavenward in the song’s final moments. Pace sets its sights far away from Berlin’s metronomic pulse to a dusty vinyl filled basement somewhere in Los Angeles, a weeded out slice of darkest funk perfect for the head knod set. Barksdale (Movin On) meanwhile takes the night train to NYC, with Canadian MC Joga taking a page straight out of the Native Tongues playbook to create what is perhaps the album’s most surprising and celebratory moments. Our train comes to a stop deep in the heart of Detroit for album closers The Hawk and Machine Soul, 2 slices of filthier than dirt jazzy house psychedelia sure to appeal to fans of the motor city’s favored sons.
An astonishingly diverse debut, and a great sign of things to come from DeWalta and Haunt Music.