Kölsch & Tiga - HAL

June 22, 2018 - ISPO

We held off on reviewing the much-adored Kölsch & Tiga track ‘HAL’ last month because we were waiting for the bigger things alluded to on Kölsch’s SoundCloud page—a full EP of songs he built with Tiga that never arrived. It felt like waiting for Christmas after we stopped believing in Santa Clause. Then we broke down and decided to go ahead and review the  track because it was so good, it couldn’t be overlooked. Then the rest of the EP was announced for the end of August. Oh well.

‘HAL’ remains an intoxicating consolation present to get us through the summer. This track hurts good, like a headache in a beauty salon. It has a dreamy, peachy fuzziness that goes straight to the base of your neck, as sublime as midsummer mermaid music. 

There are two primary melodic elements in conversation with each other. The first is a synthesized human vocal chorus singing in round, a deconstruction of the word “Hallelujah,” where the consonants have been cut away from the vowels to create something heavenly without the religious baggage. The second is an instrumental synth belting simple 1st, 3rd, and 5th steps of a major chord, followed by the 6th step to build potential energy and turn our gaze upward. These two melodies sing back and forth in a lovely, call and response, perfectly balanced. 

But what truly transforms ‘HAL’ from a marriage of two melodies into a hit are the extras. The auditory details give support, add dissonance, and provide contrast at varying times and to variable degrees, saving the track from predictability and prettiness. The dull throbbing meaty bass is a hefty, danceable foundation. A human chorus is sprinkled in to provide sharp contrast to the synthetic “Hallelujahs,” reminding us that the synths are, indeed, a little weird. The placement of the hooting vocal sample is phantasmagorical like an owl flying overhead in the night to give its blessing. And the uniform vibrating effect applied to all melodic parts functions as its own percussive layer, throwing everything back onto a singular plane. 

Conceptually, Kölsch’s primary interest in his own work is transforming the human singing voice, a theme that is present in his entire oeuvre. He crafts a distinct optimistic energy that is rich with the timbre of its source material. Tiga’s work presents a less sentimental exploration of modern human existence, one that focuses more on heating up the absurdity of being self-aware. He is a percussive and lyrical mastermind. The work of both boys tastes like candy to the ears of megalomaniacs, candy that comes in two different flavors. Collaboration between the two of them is exciting. 

I hear more of Kölsch’s greens in ‘HAL’ than Tiga’s reds, though. The track is strongly shimmering in a haze of Kölsch. In fact, if I didn’t see Tiga’s name on the track, I would have fully believed that it was the work of Kölsch by himself and never looked back. That said, collaboration is not always a 50-50 split, especially in terms of how the final result manifests itself in the ears of us lowly listeners. The decisions Kölsch and Tiga made together are different than decisions Kölsch and Tiga each would have made on their own. With only one released track, we’ve only caught a brief peek of the union.

Get thee to church, Kölsch and Tiga. Or, at least back to the studio, because we want more. ☔