Krüger & Coyle - Randy Expander

Krüger & Coyle is the progressive house project that unites Sebastien Krüger (Tarsis, SBK) and Greg Coyle (Lunar, A&R for Transient Records). Following a series of successful 12″ singles, DJ Anti’s “high voltage house music” label ACDC released their debut album Randy Expander in 2004. The style is considered to be “progressive” house precisely because there is a strong trance influence in these works. Krüger & Coyle have managed a real hybrid of the two genres, exploring the fat and funky rhythms of house music while maintaining a deeply hypnotic feel across the album. Each and every track is well produced, relying on a tasteful arrangement of simple sounds and funky beats to generate a dependable dance floor response. Butz & Slutz cruises along at 126 BPM, but the rest maintain a steady rate of 130 BPM. As you may have noticed, most of the track titles make sly reference to salacious acts or human anatomy. There is a distinctly sexy theme at work here!

Butz & Slutz properly introduces the style of Randy Expander. Dirty beats, funky bass lines, and clattering tribal percussion set the scene. Those orgasmic samples bring new meaning to the term “climax.” Shake your tail!

Fit Bint Valley is a great example of how deceptively clever Krüger & Coyle can get. The composition is so basic, featuring little more than a jumpy bass line, steady house beat, a number of tribal drum flourishes, and a powerful two note melody with a few minor atmospheric embellishments. An early breakdown sets the tone for the remainder of the song, as that simple melody rises from the depths. The vocal samples are perfect in context: “on a hot summer night…” Fit Bint Valley is a stunning example of intelligent simplicity.

Krüger & Coyle scored a massive hit with the release of The Witness. This intensely tribal piece of progressive house was charted by numerous big name DJs in and out of the psytrance and progressive trance worlds. Best known for the bold “Ah Shiva!” vocal hook that permeates the song, it rapidly reached anthemic status as it tore up dance floors worldwide in the summer of 2004. I was never a huge fan of this track, possibly because it was overplayed, but must admit that it is quite effective.

Prock Rock feels slick and sophisticated, with rich classy atmospheres layered over precise rhythms. Refined hints of melody cruise along to the bobbing beats. This one is full of swanky upscale charm!

Rubbalove sounds similar to the previous track in many ways. The producers decant slightly more funk into the bass strata, douse the groove in tripped out vocal manipulations, and fortify the rhythm with a stronger tribal presence. This constitutes the mid-album lull.

Hatz Are Turning is a catchy number that relies on a sampled passage from an old eighties classic of a similar name, originally by Midnight Oil. The funky rhythms feature an infectious bass line wriggling beneath smart and snappy beats. Clever slapdash transitions make the most of the original source material. This is good cheeky fun; not to be taken seriously.

The fun quotient increases with Jungle Muff, another humorous romp through funky bass and tribal beats that should bring up smiles all around. Female vocals provide a pleasant counterpoint to the bellowing call of an elephant throughout the track. A small melody creeps in near the end, which is just the icing on the cake. Tasty stuff!

Kiwi Rider twists the mood and flow of the album into darker realms; this is the most serious piece on the album. “Feel the beat” the sample implores. And you will. As on Fit Bint Valley, the composition and arrangement are very basic, but extremely powerful. Various vocal samples, some of which are sourced from The Fifth Element, undergo extreme manipulations, spiralling off into the distance. A hellish saw-like riff comes ripping up from the depths of the key breakdown, and it slices through the atmosphere for the tripped out remainder of the song. Dark tribal progressive seldom gets any better than this!

Saiko Booty is actually Krüger & Coyle’s previously released remix of Saiko-Pod – Magnetic Force, but I fault no one for including it here. The track begins with a funky house beat and a repetitive sample from Easy Rider saying “Go ahead George, light it up light it up!” Gradually, intricately, with great care, it grows. Once the monkeys make their mischievous entrance, the hypnotic lead melody really begins to unfold. This is a powerful piece of music for the daylight hours; a real beauty!

Beachspliff smoothly rounds out the album with a relaxing atmospheric groove. Warm bass slides languidly back and forth while sultry tribal rhythms beat out the final message. This lazy comedown piece is ideally situated at the tail end of the album.

Krüger & Coyle have put together a great hybrid album, blending house and trance into an original fusion that is unmistakeably their own. In terms of track ordering, Randy Expander couldn’t be better. An introductory lesson is followed by a pair of anthems, some of the more anonymous tunes, cheeky crowd-pleasing material, the two strongest songs, and then one last encore. The production quality is reasonable enough to keep playing these tracks years after their genesis. In short, this album is a lot of fun to listen to. Anyone with a taste for house music, funky beats, sexy sounds, and tribal drums should check this one out!

Purchase Options

Saikosounds // Physical mail order shop based in Hong Kong.
Wirikuta // Physical mail order shop based in Austria.

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