Zurich-based Golden Boy is at the forefront of the European synth-electro renaissance. Stefan Altenburger is his given name, but he reserves that for his visual arts endeavors, which have earned him considerable acclaim in his native Switzerland. Altenburger first ventured into the realm of electronic music under the pseudonym Klettermax, releasing an album of sleek techno for Source Records in ‘98. Sometime after that Altenburger wandered into a Berlin party where French-born, Geneva-based electro chanteuse Miss Kittin was working the decks. When Miss Kittin mixe... (+) expand

Zurich-based Golden Boy is at the forefront of the European synth-electro renaissance. Stefan Altenburger is his given name, but he reserves that for his visual arts endeavors, which have earned him considerable acclaim in his native Switzerland. Altenburger first ventured into the realm of electronic music under the pseudonym Klettermax, releasing an album of sleek techno for Source Records in ‘98. Sometime after that Altenburger wandered into a Berlin party where French-born, Geneva-based electro chanteuse Miss Kittin was working the decks. When Miss Kittin mixed one of his Klettermax tunes together with a New Order classic, his heart skipped a beat and he knew he had to collaborate with the neo-disco diva.

Golden Boy constructed the frameworks for the tracks on the duo’s debut, Or, which generally consist of nonstop thumping house beats and layers of glossy synthesizers. This elegant dance music provides the perfect musical bed for Miss Kittin’s detached, silky, often rather silly Vocoded musings. Or first appeared on the German label Ladomat, before Los Angeles-based Emperor Norton gave it a U.S. release with several additional tracks. Its hour-plus of playful, quirky Eurodisco transports you into the alternately glamorous and goofy world of Northern European nightlife. As Miss Kittin breathily intones at the album’s outset: “Relax, and enjoy with us this wonderful journey into the Swiss way of life.” (-) collapse