Dario & Marco Zenker - '92/Think Twice

Artist: Dario & Marco Zenker

Title: ‘92/Think Twice

Label: Harry Klein Records

Catalog #: HKR001

Release Date: January 16, 2010

Rating: 6

Never go into business with your brother. He may like good music, and he may be getting better behind the console, but what happens when he can’t keep up on your big single? Dario Zenker tries to lift his brother up to his own level, but Marco bombs, and they can’t prove that blood is thicker than bass.

Dario’s track pits a stubborn, diminished lead against a limber bass, and the result is jumpy and mixable and masculine. The key instrument is halfway between a snare and a handclap, and it comes in for support every time Zenker thinks you might not be dancing hard enough. The track is mature and nonchalant, and if you asked what it was up to, it would rev its motorcycle, say, “You’ll understand when you’re older,” and speed off. Most of all, it sounds huge. And all those muscles are intimidating.

Young DJs think drums will solve all their problems. It’s techno, right? It’s about the beat. But layering too many syncopations on top of one another takes out all the space you need to feel an off-beat, and Marco’s “Think Twice” doesn’t know when to stop. There’s just too goddamn much percussion. It’s like the rhythmic equivalent of white noise. It’s like he wanted to take a screenshot of all the patches on his desktop. It’s like he just put in the bass because sometimes people put bass in songs.

Some of the layers, by themselves, could make a good groove. The breaks are highlights, but that still isn’t really a compliment because of how badly the listener needs a break after the louder sections. I hope Marco chills out a little bit, because he’s clearly a promising sound-designer. But only then will Dario be able to justify putting his name on another family affair.

-Travis Korte

Tracks:

A) Dario Zenker - '92

B) Marco Zenker - Think Twice