Some warm and especially funky treats on Johannes Paluka aka Iron Curtis’ longplayer-debut on the Hamburg-imprint Mirau Musik. ‘Soft Wide Waist Band’ is Curtis’ entrance into the world of long players and the first of its kind for the Hamburg imprint. Of course, the man has earned his four-to-the-floor stripes navigation between deep house and soulful techno leanings, but he has also managed to steer clear of genre silt. Thus the task of creating a coherent, yet amusing album without blinkers is passed with distinction here. It streaks all the places and spaces in the past, present and future: the basic knowledge of engineering skills hones in New York, Chicago and Detroit left its traces here as much as a touch of British freewheeling mixed with the flow and indie poetry of a German country boy who has heard of electronic pop music before.

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