Product Description

Electro-pop and techno album from French duo on DJ Hell's German label. Miss Kittin and The Hacker aka Caroline Herve and Michel Amato, create a Eurodisco sound with a wry sense of humour. The duo have previously collaborated with artists such as Felix Da Housecat and Kiko.

Track Listing

1. Life On MTV
2. Frank Sinatra
3. Walk On By
4. 1982
5. Stock Exchange
6. You And Us
7. Flexibility
8. L'homme Dans L'ombre
9. Slow Track
10. Nurse
11. Stripper
12. DJ Song
13. Walking In The Sunshine
14. Frank Sinatra

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #58515 in Music
• Released on: 2001-11-12
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Kittin & Hacker, a former French pole dancer and a one-time hardcore headbanger respectively, fit into a decidedly sleazy niche, but it makes for disarmingly catchy music on their First Album. With its simple New Wave synth beats and Kittin's (aka Caroline Herve) deadpan delivery, it's easy to imagine lounging in a Eurotrash strip joint circa 1977 as scantily clad dominatrixes torture willing customers. The 1997 single "Frank Sinatra" is more shocking for its spot-on electro atmospherics than its lyrics, proving that Hacker's punk years were a valuable tutorial for 2002 success. Throughout, Hacker spins weird little theramin squirms, horror halo tones and chunky beatbox handclaps while Kittin discourses about trading sex for cash ("Stock Exchange"), ambitious disco queens ("Nurse") and of course, the burlesque life ("Stripper"). First Album is really a one-song affair, but its alluring message is so kitschy, kinked and campy, the song never sounds the same.--Ken Micallef

Customer Reviews

the kit sat on the mat
Miss Kiitin and the hacker have combined forces on this album to produce a sublime, erotic and unashamedly hedonistic piece of electronica. Drawing form fetishistic images, Miss Kittins' nihilistic drawl drapes itself over and around The Hackers minimalistic programming. This is more than post-punk or futuristic electro; this is Neuromancer music - plug in and unwind while walking down neon illuminated streets in Chiba or The Sprawl. The future is now.

CYBER PUNK POP
As good a moniker as any for Miss Kittin & The Hacker's latest entry in to the modern electronic scene. The sound of the beachboys after too long in the sun and a lot of white cocktails, this latest european patnership have a truly sleazy, funky take on synth pop that pumps along on bouncy synth bass lines and hard 4/4 drums. Miss Kittin's vocals are somewhat harder than The Hacker's production to initially absorb. Her post-punk bored european model vocals can sound almost tacky when you first hear them. What you come to realise after a few tracks is that is how they are supposed to sound... they twist your preception of The Hacker's production in such a way as to a whole new identity, a unique brand of electronica that has major roots in the 80's charts (soft cell, duran duran) as well as having a club sound, with more than a hint of modern house & sometimes techno beats. Kittin's vocals can actually make The Hacker's music stand out, such the story of Kittin's girlfriend on the funky 'Stripper' - one of The Hacker's best productions & also Kittin's best vocals on the album.
If you like the sound of this: uptempo, sylised, complex, futuristic, playful (with a melancholy edge) & highly electronic, then you'd should take a look at this lp.

-=Lazarus=-
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pablothundabar@hotmail.com

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One of the best in the genre
I first became aware of the 80s electro revival through the superb 'Kittenz and thee Glitz' CD by Felix Da Housecat. Which in itself was an album taking various influences from 80s electronic music and pop, and making it seem incredibly fresh. There isn't the same freshness about this CD, as there is a far darker European influence (particularly Kraftwerk), but there is still a huge amount of ideas that aren't simply retreads of 20 year old songs. What is more telling is that it seems positively vibrant in comparison with the majority of dance music that reached the charts (blippy bit, female vocals, blippy bit, you know the ones).

The CD starts off relatively low key with 'Life on MTV', but from then onwards you hit a steady stream of quality electro songs. Anyone familiar with the Felix Da Housecat CD will know the score with regards to Miss Kittin's spoken vocals. On the whole pretty monotone (which compliments this type of music superbly), only occasionally veering in to Euro breathiness on tracks like 'Flexibility'. The lyrics are pretty basic, but it's really not what Miss Kittin says, it's how she says it, and the vocal effects applied on some of the tracks.

It really is hard to pick out favourite songs (there's not a duff one on here), though I particularly like the swirling synths on 'Stock Exchange', the Euro sexiness of 'Flexibility', the harder 'L'homme dans L'ombre' and the almost darkwave equivalent to 'Popcorn', '1982'.

Darker than Felix Da Housecat, but equally as good. The biggest compliment I can give the Hacker is that he knows his way round a synth as much as any of the pioneers 20-25 years ago. Quality stuff.