Supermayer - "Save the World"

Supermayer - Please Sunshine (Kompakt 2007)

Supermayer(?) - Save the World / Kompakt

It would be easy to set this review up as the collaboration between two of electro's most nimble minds in two of Kompakt's brightest talents, Aksel Schaufler aka Superpitcher and Michael Mayer, brought together under the umbrella of, um, saving the world. But from what? The Field for one proved earlier this year that it certainly wasn't bad techno we were being saved from as there's already a healthy crop of good stuff already out there. No, Supermayer is more the collaboration between two of electro's most nimble minds brought together under the umbrella of a loose aural narrative better explained by the remarkable booklet that accompanies the gatefold vinyl as well as the plastic.

The big story here, then, is not that Schaufler and Mayer have brought more amazing electronic music into this world, but that these two masters have been one-upped by the visual accompaniment. The duo emblazoned on the cover is given a plot to follow by this dudette Kat Menschik. Menschik's stunning work here is the fruit of years of cultivating her art.

My German is pretty rusty (It's been several years since I've used it), but here's her background as best I can read: Though she was always fond of the visual aspects of books, East Berlin didn't really have any creative outlets for her as a child. It wasn't until the mid-90s that she really plugged in with her talent. As a design and communications student studying "abroad" in Paris in 1995 (In those days, they still used francs and marks), she got hooked on this fanzine called Spunk; it is unclear if that is the same Australian-based Spunk that has now blossomed into a record label, but I can't find evidence of a Paris-based Spunk so I'm guessing it is. A year later she was working in a comic publishing house called Millions, and since 2000 has been freelancing out of Berlin. Her work has been seen in Germany through Daily Kat and "Frankfurter Allgemeine."

The technique starts with a frame that is drawn with a feather spring and india ink on paper, then scanned. There, the white spaces are filled in with color electronically. This comicbook style is incredibly effective when it comes to narrating a plot where Supermayer try to save the world. With its execution, it's hard to imagine anything else going together.

And the songs. It's almost a foregone conclusion to say that Schaufler and Mayer bring their best to the table, but for the sake of saying so, these two are on form here. "Hey!" leaves you a little leery as it functions solely as an intro (As Soul Seduction said, "Who needs a techno Tommy?"), but "The Art of Letting Go" is more in tune with the rest of the album. "Let's get to it / Relax / Let me go" they sing over handclaps, strummed bass and plucked guitar. And there, about midway through, Schaufler and Mayer hear the audience's cries for "more cowbell." Yes, they have a cowbell.

Horns also dot the landscape of Supermayer's Save the World. Daintily at first, then more so as trumpet intrudes. There's saxophone prominently in the mix of some places ("The Lonesome King"). There's melodica. There's flute. There's the minimalist bangers you're expecting ("Saturndays" in particular is worth checking out). And "Please Sunshine," featured here, is a swank astrological burner, piano-driven for that extra touch of humanity.

In fact, that's one of the greatest bits about Save the World. It's not afraid to brashly mix the organic with the electronic and, in keeping with other great records this year that were willing to do the same thing (Matthew Dear's Asa Breed is probably the closest contemporary I can think of), Schaufler and Mayer have delivered the goods in a record that wasn't necessarily one of the most highly anticipated of the year, but which certainly delivers tenfold on the hype. If Kompakt is your kind of label, you won't be disappointed. If electronic isn't your thing, maybe this can go some way toward keeping you interested.