‘Male Tears’, a deliciously sleazy and wry take on the patriarchy from queer polymath, Kiosk Radio resident, visual artist, performer, producer and DJ Strapontin. “I wanted it to be funny, sassy, with a drama touch,” he tells us. “The track ‘Angry’ is about a frustrated and lonely angry man. ‘Male Tears’ is a sleazy club hit mocking a straight white male friend of mine who is unable to question himself and his privileges. ‘Divorce’ is a joke on marriage and its rules and ‘Teaching Drama’ is, well, about drama queens…”
Drama, hard truths and witty observations: Strapontin’s agent provocateur status is galvanised by the oily basslines, off-grid drums and loose, swathing grooves that prowl out of the speakers and flip devilishly into moments of pure euphoria… And moments of total chaos. Strap up, strap in… Strapontin is taking us higher. We couldn’t hope for more.
12" vinyl, wav, mp3
All tracks composed by Patrick Belmont
Mastered by The Wall
Visual art by Marie Maïté
Distributed by Crevette Records
« Give the kick drum room to breathe, let the bass be a little groovy! Strapontin, the Brussels disco ball, sparkles – in a sea of male tears. Yes, cis dudes, I’m talking to you: Check your straight privileges the next time you’re powering through the crowd in your sailing shoes or poking your nose into other people’s business! The club isn’t a hotel; crying only happens on XTC because toxic masculinity, you know!
Strapontin, the gentleman, reflects this on Male Tears, his EP for Higher Hopes. With four head-bobbing bombs that sound like you took three Valiums in the middle of the dance floor and washed them down with five glasses of red wine to transform into slow motion. Subjective perception and all. So it could be because the techno world around you has suddenly gotten faster. Kids are now getting 110 punches to the gut on TikTok to groove into. Attention spans are almost zero anyway. Maybe that’s why you want to spend all your time fiddling with the pitch control. 36 degrees and it’s getting hotter! Blast! Floorward! Those who still take their time—patience, you wonderful virtue—and put the things on at the right time not only smuggle great basslines into the club, but also slap the endless four-on-four twanging onto the patriarchal dung heap for six and a half minutes. »
Christoph Benkeser ( Groove.de)
