Blutengel + Hocico – Obscured (Single – Out Of Line)
Genre/Influences: Dark-electro, dark-pop.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: Two of the Out Of Line flag holders were supposed touring together and surprise their fans with a common single. The tour has been postponed, but the single “Obscured” has been released as a collaboration between both artists.
Content: “Obscured” is a surprising song, which has been clearly composed to hit the dancefloors. It’s also crazy to hear a perfect mix between the harshness of Hocico and the refinement of Blutengel. Both bands appear to be fully complementary and even for the vocals. Chris Pohl and Erk Aicrag both have different styles of singing, but a kind of chemistry happened while backing vocals by Ulrike Goldmann just inject an elevating sensation during the chorus.
The song has been transformed by Hocico and then by Blutengel while the last cut of the CD is a remix by Dulce Liquido (side-project of Rasco Agroyam). The digital version features an extra remix by [:SITD:].
+ + + : “Obscured” simply sounds like a real great hit; it also is a great mix between the harshness and power of Hocico on one side and the melodic, wave-pop refinement of Blutengel on the other. I like the duo between both vocalists while the female backing brings something heavenly on top. All the remixes are worthy of examination, but I here have a preference for the Blutengel version. It seems that this song has been composed in two days so I can only say it’s a lucky shot, but a damned good single/EP.
– – – : It would have been cool to get another remix by one of the artist’s side-projects instead of the [:SITD:] remix.
Conclusion: I didn’t know what to expect, but this work is absolutely great. This is a truly sonic symbiosis between dark-electro and dark wave-pop music.
Best songs: “Obscured”, “Obscured – Into The Void Version by Blutengel”, “Obscured – Dark Dance Version by Dulce Liquido”.
Rate: (9).
Artists: www.blutengel.de / www.facebook.com/BlutengelOfficial / www.facebook.com/hocicoofficial
Label: www.outofline.de / www.facebook.com/outoflinelabel
About Blutengel and Hocico
Blutengel is a German electronic band from Berlin, founded in 1998 by Chris Pohl, who had earlier led Terminal Choice as well as Miss Construction and Tumor. Pohl built Blutengel out of an earlier project called Seelenkrank, and the band has released one album after another for more than 25 years on Out Of Line, mixing dark-pop, electro-wave and cinematic elements; Ulrike Goldmann has long contributed backing vocals to the project.
Hocico is a Mexican duo officially formed in 1993 by Racso Agroyam (synthesizer, programming) and Erk Aicrag (lyrics, vocals), stage names formed from anagrams of their real names, Erik Garcia and Oscar Mayorga. The pair had experimented with electronic music mixing industrial and EBM since their early teens, and played their first live show on February 18, 1994. Agroyam also records as Dulce Liquido, while Aicrag’s side-project is Rabia Sorda. “Obscured” paired the two Out Of Line acts on a single planned around a joint tour.
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