PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
German electro-industrial mainstays Haujobb have today released a new single entitled ‘Mass [Tribute]’ as part of an EP that also includes two other remixes. The track is included on the limited artbook edition of their forthcoming new album, ‘The Machine In The Ghost’, from which ‘In The Headlights’ STREAM | BANDCAMP and ‘Opposition’ VIDEO | BANDCAMP have previously been issued. The latter featured an additional guest vocal by Emese Árvais-Illés of Black Nail Cabaret, who are also signed to the Dependent label.
“There was no other song that presented us with more difficulties than ‘Mass’ when we produced the new album,” reveals Haujobb programmer Dejan Samardzic. “It underwent about twenty metamorphoses until reaching its final shape for the album version. We wanted a more simple solution for the remix and I had a certain band and their sound on my mind, which is the reason why we titled it ‘Mass (Tribute)’.”
‘The Machine In The Ghost’ is released on 20th September and will be available as a 36-page artbook with 2xCDs including a bonus CD with twelve remixes, on black vinyl LP, and on limited edition clear vinyl. It is the 10th full length record by the Prague-based group, which formed in 1992 and has existed as the duo of Daniel Myer (vocals/programming) and Dejan Samardzic (programming) since the mid-’90s.
Maintaining an impressive penchant for refusing to do the same thing twice on each studio album, ‘The Machine In The Ghost’ deploys field recordings to create some of its most prominent sounds. In order to achieve the desired effect, the duo used a mix of software and hardware in the shape of everyday items. This deliberate nod to a previous era with more analogue shifting of the dials complements the retro theme of ‘The Machine In The Ghost’ (albeit without indulging in nostalgia for its own sake), the album revolving around the highly charged relationship between mind and matter, analogue and digital.
Despite their constant artistic evolution, a unique musical handwriting is present throughout the Haujobb catalogue. Originally founded as a trio in the West German city of Bielefeld, they were initially influenced by the ‘Vancouver school’ of industrial electronics (the likes of Skinny Puppy and Front Line Assembly), but it did not take long for them to be recognised as figureheads of a more modern take on this sound that incorporated elements of IDM (intelligent dance music) that helped catapult them onto the wider international scene.
Co-founding member Björn Jünemann left the band after their second album, with Myer and Samardzic subsequently releasing the acclaimed ‘Solutions For A Small Planet’ (1996) and thereafter maintaining a strong strike-rate that has included ‘New World March’ (2011), their 7th record and regarded as another milestone effort.
‘The Machine in the Ghost’ has seen Haujobb begin another exciting chapter in their career. As we enter the next industrial and creative revolution that has been ignited by the rise of AI, it shows that they still have their musical fingers on the pulse.
new single
out 05.09.24
(Dependent)
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HAUJOBB | 2024 photography by Chris Ruiz
Daniel Myer – vocals, programming
Dejan Samardzic – programming
guest musicians
Emese Árvai-Illés (BLACK NAIL CABARET) – vocals
Hannes Rief (DIE SELEKTION) – trumpet
Aleta Welling – lyrics
Felix Gerlach – cello
