'What's up with Mathias Schaffha?user?''
During recent weeks, several media outlets and nearly his entire fanbase scrutinized how close Mr. Schaffha?user was to the Abyss, wondering whether one should worry about him or if it was time to light the bonfire to celebrate his illumination. There's a big mystery about his long-awaited Abyss single release: is it a meaningful hymn of our times, or just a sentimental, melancholic mirror of Mathias' mental state?
Well, luckily things are different from how they may seem at first sight, and nobody should feel troubled for the Cologne-based artist. The lyrics of the song emerged spontaneously during one of his DJ sets, when he improvised and sang along - one of Schaffha?user's special skills - inspired by the 1989 sci-fi film of the same name, a fascinating deep water adventure. The stand-out message is a positive one woven into a dark fabric. ''Build me a bridge over the Abyss'': get your things done, be active, don't lose your hope - life goes on!
Abyss was originally released on Schaffha?user's acclaimed Diderot album on Biotop in 2016. During a preliminary listen, it was immediately the most touching track for label boss Patrick Zigon, and formed the basis of the idea to work on the album. Timo Maas and Ruede Hagelstein were additionally fascinated by this dark yet luminous masterpiece, so the idea of a strong remix single was born and quickly realized. Timo delivers a rough version with banging drums and trippy vocal effects, while Ruede Hagelstein adds beautiful harmonic synths to his reductionist hypnotic voyage. Patrick Zigon captures the '80s vibe and underlines it with classy electro breaks, while Mathias speeds up the original with his Accelerated Mix.
Abyss will be released in May, complete with sensitive mastering by Werner Niedermeier and a beautiful cover design by Ninash Noori. More information: www.biotop-label.net.?