Modeselektor – Happy Birthday!

The Dark Side Of The Sun is the CUt on this LP. Masterpiece

Entertainment, Variety, with great features and sounds. Cut and mastering is really impressive. Instant Classic.

Hey, don't judge a book by its cover! Unless it's this towering pile of dung, in which case please carry on with your prejudices intact. If you ever need a fairly recent* exemplar of dance music's short shelf life, chuck this at them.

*note this comment has its own shelf life too

Modeselektor's second album, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, kicks off with the jaunty, electro-reggae title track, which slides into the consciousness as easily as a warm knife through butter. But that's the start of what they've got in store here. "Godspeed," for instance, is more meditative, even as it keep up the beats, a mode that'll be reprised later with the cat-centric "Edgar," while TTC reappears on the stripped-down "2000007." They vary their moods widely, from the ambient "EM Ocean" to the dark electro of "Sucker Pin" and "The Black Block" or the tongue-in-cheek quasi-ridiculous hardcore of "Hyper Hyper" (originally a Scooter track!). Thom Yorke swings by to lend his vocals to "The White Flash," an IDM-inspired track with plenty of atmospherics percussion to match Yorke's moody, layered vocals, while Maximo Park brings in a slight bit of rock attitude with "(I Can't Sleep) Without Music." But, in my view, it's their collaboration with Apparat on "Let Your Love Flow" that really stands out, a combination of thick beats, dub vocals, and emotive synths that build to a satisfying climax. A great track on a great album.

I love those good tunes in my head phones :)

Anyone know who produced the art work for the cover?

Rated 5/5
All in all the same concept as Hello Mom brought to us but someway better.
It kicks more ass I´d say...Hyper Hyper with Otto von Schirach is such a stunner
and there are a lot more mind blowing tracks on here.
Excellent album in a commercialised music world...

Some good tunes on here... but no way as good as Hello Mom!

Mixing up everything from IDM to dub, electro and hip-hop, Modeselektor puts out a truly fun album that keeps me bopping up and down. There is evident humor in some of the tracks and that's exactly that attitude that forces me to spin Happy Birthday! on for a fun ride. Not to mention an excellent array of featured artists. We've got French hip-hop from Paris, TTC; some Dominican style fun vocals from Paul St. Hilaire; throw-your-hands-up party rap from Puppetmastaz; and an absolutely excellent track featuring Thom Yorke, titled The White Flash. [Side note: the 2008 12" Happy Birthday! Remixed #1, features The White Flash remixed by Trentemøller - it's worth picking up just for the B side]. Modeselektor returned the favor and remixed Thom Yorke's Skip Divided from The Eraser (XL, 2008). Modeselektor is a Berlin based duo of Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary. When Bronsert and Szary initially met in 1992, they were producing music under alias Fundamental Knowledge. In 1995 they renamed themselves to Modeselektor, after a function on Roland RE-201's effects module. Another interesting side project is called Moderat - a collaboration between Modeselektor and Apparat which only saw a single 12" on BPitch Control back in 2003 and now returned with a track on Happy Birthday! titled Let Your Love Grow. This is Modeselektor's sophomore release, named in anticipation of the unplanned accidentally synchronized births of the duo's children. Modeselektor is not afraid to whip any stylistic trend back into its cage. From four-to-the-floor acid infused electro beats, to heavy grime, this is already a favorite party album. In the middle of the album, after a heavy beat from The Black Block, my ear pricks up to a familiar melody. The track's name is The First Rebirth, and I immediately recognize the classic trance anthem from 1993 under the same name, written by Jones & Stephenson for Bonzai Records (and I still have my copy - actually just dug up Commander Tom's '94 Remix on Prolekult). The album finishes up with an excellent up-beat glitchy hard breaks featuring Maxïmo Park. Pick up this album and treat yourself to one of my 2007 favorites! Recommended if you enjoy Boxcutter, Pole, Plaid, Funkstörung and Mouse on Mars. Be sure to grab Modeselektor's 2005 debut, Hello Mom! Excellent popping music!

Incredible CD. This is probably one of the best EDM albums of 2007. Modeselektor is going the opposite way most of the music producers are going these days: they are bringing maximized tracks. With a lot of organic, trashy sounds, great vocals, humour, and some of the best featured artists one could wish for. The various rhythms and drum patterns make every single track a track worth listening to. A must have for every EDM lover out there!