AQSTIK – XORBITANT

This review is a change of pace and topic for me. I usually don´t really get into much German Hip Hop. The themes most of the time seem one-sided and while in terms of sonic diversity there might be much going on, the expressive quality for the most part doesn’t exceed superficiality. But, and this is the one thing I admire the German side for, there is a certain kind of introspection and critical outlook on the world, that is unique to this locality. There are many imitators and imposter's of the American expression: the turn-up idiocy, the gangster and hard-ass narrative, but moving beyond that, most central to a unique expression in German hip hop seems to be a deeper struggle with the sense of self and achievement in life and society. 

Most prominently, I´d put Casper’s 2011 album XOXO: A multifaceted expression of aggression, melancholy and frustration that lives from Casper channeling his generation and its perspective on live through songs dealing with suicide, the wish of escaping and the manic flux between excess and depression. While one can find relatability in the likes of Drake´s self-centered speaking of mind, the German expression evokes a deeper sense of the rapper being a part of a whole – expressing himself and pointing towards a general deficit in the structure of society. 

Having established this, Aqstik narrative is of personal interest to me as he stems from my hometown located in the middle of nowhere of the black forest region in Germany. For those who lack a feel for the place: Approximately 6000 citizens spread between little villages divided by forest and wide open fields, Swabian narrowness, long, mind-numbing winters and awe inspiring sunsets in summer packed neatly into one local. Growing up, I knew early on, that the only way to live a happy life, is to part way with this place as soon as possible. Not that this is a completely negative place. The evocative feel of nature and the space given to a child when growing up give a sense of freedom unachievable in an urban setting. But returning now, to this place called home, fills the mind with as much dread as it does with nostalgia. Long story short, this town is poison for a young and willing mind, setting off to find a sense of self that goes beyond a job and a roof to sleep under. A local of displacement for creativity.

And yet, there is XORBITANT by Aqstik. As someone who stayed, we have a one man project channeling this certain kind of loss in the world and creatively expressing something in a language that exceeds the vocabulary of his hometown (which would be being good at soccer and being the meaningless hero of the local soccer club).While he starts off the EP by being overtly braggadocios and adhering to standard rap clichés of "destroying the competition", the process of composing and writing music remains of the forefront and this shines through in metanarrative moments referencing the music and letting the instrumental carve its own space before or after the words. 

In "Down" we find Aqstik being crushed be the haunting question of purpose in life and meaninglessness found when looking out on a seemingly unforgiving and cold world. The beat here is fittingly centered on cold synth drops and a moonlit key arrangement. Aqustiks sound often times revolves around sparsely plucked acoustic strings, giving the whole EP a very distanced and introspective feel. The samples range from Sting´s "Shape Of My Heart" (prominetly used in Léon - The Professional) on "Allein" (Alone), a vocal sample from Into The Wild in "Down" and even portions from the game Metro – Last Light. The choice of samples seems telling as they all draw from various media and point towards creative inspiration found in the expression of others. While this might apply to everyone, regardless of background, the outside world in a small town is mostly derived and experienced through sitting in front of a screen. Drawing inspiration from these outlets here gives a multimodality to the music that speaks of the above mentioned big picture. Still, at worst, this musical perspective can lead to the instrumentals sounding like bleeping 16-bit music, reminiscent of the evocative simplicity of Final Fantasy like on "XO", the only instrumental of the EP, or even failing to fusion thoroughly with the lyrics as on "Weg" (Away).

Nonetheless, Aqstik expresses the constant flux of being downbeat and finding solace in creative expression, which draws from the problem of self that might be considered first-world in nature, but remains the crux of being a young person in contemporary times. Reminding himself and the listener of this in "Monolog", on closing tracks "Weg" and "Outro" the rapper plays with expectations of suicide in a sullen and beat attitude only to reprise a certain positivity in not being able to leave his sorrow behind but taking resolve in his situation. He concludes "Weg" in the knowledge of having to die alone and loading a gun in "Outro", eventually pulling the trigger. Yet, he ironically asks the listener if they really thought that he´d end in melancholy and closes out by humbly thanking for listening and going out to have a drink. Eventhough one cannot escape his home and everything this place encloses, it is possible to rise and create. Throw a sliver of self into the vast majority of “unheard voices”, as Aqstik himself puts it. While this EP might not stand greatly above others in terms of lyrical refinement and sonic scope, you´ll get a fresh mind nonetheless and furthermore, a mind that is ascending from the dreary place of nothingness found in many small villages. It will be a pleasure to see in which direction Aqstik will push his sound and expression on further iterations. 

Download the EP for free here.

7/10