Filterwolf is the pseudonym of Adnan Duric who was born in Bosnia but grew up in Germany. Duric was active in Cologne's techno club scene before moving to Munich in 2006 where he has produced TV soundtracks for animations and short movies.
Despite the album's title, there is nothing particularly futuristic about the sound of Filterwolf . He draws upon a blend of house, techno, electro pop and disco music and seems primarily conceived to second guess those with short attention spans.
Terra Tech is good example of his style. This track begins like a speeded up video game soundtrack and then the buzzes and bleeps are interspersed with funky bass lines and the sampled groans of an unidentified soul singer.
In other tunes, the influence of 80s disco is obvious - the breathy sexed-up samples of Love Code are straight out of Donna Summer's repertoire and the supercharged Hedonistica lives up to its title with a speedy 'I feel love' rhythm.
Other tracks like Viva and Neo Aux are so specifically tailored for sweaty dance floor action that they offer zero value as home entertainment.
The first three tracks are more subtle and seductive and are the album's highlights. Sofia, Acrobat and Nocturne all use samples of female singers of Middle Eastern (or perhaps Indian) origin to intriguing effect and these voices serve to humanize the mechanised beats.
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Because of his use of 'haunted' vocals, Filterwolf has been compared to Dubstep in some quarters, but the absence of a consistent tone is a far cry from the rich atmospherics of that genre.
All in all this 12 track one hour collection comes across as a series of hit and miss individual experiments. The album does not sound as if it was intended to be listened it in its entirety and perhaps this is why I found its manic energy more overwhelming than inspiring.
Still, there are some interesting and original combinations here and, certainly, if thumping techno pitched alongside retro grooves gets your mirror ball spinning then this release is not one to pass up.
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