Brinkmanship by Heimstatt Yipotash

Heimstatt Yipotash return in 2020, as genre-bending as always, conveying profound messages on the go, not intentionally focused on the dance floor but surely yielding enough tunes for the clubs. This time around, they take it easier on the samples and increasingly use actual vocals.
“Brinkmanship” is a serious political issue, and accordingly the general mood is rather bleak: Soundtrack-like sections and disquieting melody lines are dissipated by broken and/or distorted rhythms; some tracks are interwoven musically and thematically, creating a coherent flow - despite of the stylistic range presented.

Heimstatt Yipotash pick up the thread for their sixth album, and the 6-year-gap since “Mecanismos De Control” seems like just a flash. And yet, one sees why they took some run-up to this endeavour, as it is a most complex and eclectic one: Rhythm and noise, industrial and techno, synth melodies and guitar riffs, dubstep, hip hop and EBM quotes, shuffle beats, straight beats, breakbeats – an ambiguous affair for the adventurous traveller.

The storyline is men’s tendency of self-destruction, a dystopian outlook at civilization as a whole. In the downbeat opener “Artificial Ego” and it’s breakbeat-driven twin track “Confirmation Bias” the subjects are obvious, in the distorted “Fix, find, finish” and the technoid “Recoil” it’s the scourge of humanity – war. Specific subjects like factory farming (“Belt to blender”) are addressed, as well as high politics – the rise of the macho politician (“Jingo”) and of course the title track – with its vocal samples of Kim-Jong-Un and Donald Trump placed right in the furious rhythmic build-up. “Progress” is a raw take at hip hop, screaming with anger and disappointment, and just as pessimistic as “At the edge of words” with its pithy vocal performance. “Step into the void“ , “Separation“ and “Trigger“ make the grand finale, a sci-fi style fantasy of leaving earth on board of a spaceship - and three surprisingly catchy tunes.

An artistic account of the state of the world as it is, a bold statement with nothing more to add – for now.