Session Victim continue their Sidequests journey with Chapter Two, arriving October 3rd on Delusions Of Grandeur.
Nearly two decades deep into their career, the Berlin–Hamburg duo Session Victim aka Hauke Freer and Matthias Reiling once again deliver a collection that balances deep musicality with a crate-digging spirit, affirming why they remain such vital voices in modern house and beyond.
The EP opens with Jimpster’s reimagining of Behind The Glass. The Delusions co-founder takes the downtempo original and guides it toward a hypnotic, late-night space. Crisp drums, understated pads and Rhodes chords build steadily into a version that feels refined yet atmospheric, drawing you deeper with each listen.
From there, Make It Happen, a collaboration with Nebraska, unfolds with languid energy. Dusty house drums, delicate keys and soaring strings conjure an intimate sense of nostalgia while still feeling perfectly suited to the club. It is the kind of cut that rewards patient listening and captures Session Victim’s flair for subtle drama.
On the flip, Too Soft To Be Loud, made with Viken Arman, shifts gears with jazzy percussion, samba-like swing and layers of swirling detail. Guitars, Rhodes stabs and dubby touches bring a loose, live feel reminiscent of the duo’s See You When You Get There period, showing just how naturally they can blur the lines between house, jazz and funk.
Hubcap Candy digs deeper into funk territory with Nebraska back in the fold. A driving boogie bassline anchors a haze of synths and crunchy drums, delivering one of the record’s most hypnotic and groove-heavy moments.
The original of Behind The Glass closes the EP with a nod to trip hop and turntable culture. Its brass-like bassline and delicate guitar textures slowly unfold into a heady beatdown piece, hazy and immersive in all the right ways.
With Sidequests Chapter Two, Session Victim once again show how effortlessly they move between genres while keeping warmth and groove at the center of their sound. It is a release that feels both timeless and forward-looking, and a reminder of their enduring chemistry with Delusions Of Grandeur.
We caught up with Session Victim for a quick chat around their career and the Sidequests project, read below.
KOTT: This is Chapter Two of the Sidequests trilogy. What is the “sidequest” idea all about?
M: Hey, thanks for having us. The term sidequest has been a familiar expression for us for a long time, as we both grew up playing RPG video games like Legend Of Ferghail or Eye Of The Beholder. The name came up, because we worked with different friends in different places on music and realized at some point that there is a story here that could make great sense if put together correctly. It came out differently then if we would have, say, just did an album by ourselves for example – and that’s how the name came about. Funny enough, we only found out that the term somehow made its way into hipster/ club language, which we never saw coming when naming the project.
KOTT: You have been with Delusions Of Grandeur for a long time now. What keeps bringing you back to the label?
M: Easy answer: The team, the crew. Jamie and Tom have been dear friends for a long time, and so are Matt, Sharon, Conrad and Scott by now. Besides feeling great around them, we value everyone’s expertise and musicianship big time and we trust everyone blindly.
KOTT: How did the Jimpster remix of Behind The Glass come about, and what was your reaction when you first heard it?
M: Haha well, I’d say it was about time the Jimpster stepped in the ring with some of our stems. But seriously, we gave him the sounds of Behind The Glass and he sent back the first draft of his remix just a few days later – already spot on. Lucky us, really.
KOTT: You collaborated with Nebraska and Viken Arman on this release. Can you tell us how those sessions came together and what each collaborator brought to the music?
H: Very spontaneously. Just met in the studios and turned on the machines and listened to records. Viken is a great key player and really knows how to work is array of synthesizers, I was really impressed how we was able to use with modular stuff to come up with very musical ideas. Nebraska is probably the most knowledgeable sample digger I know, with similar taste for groovy and organic bits and chops, but then he be played the killer boogie bassline on “hubcap Candy”. What both have in common is that the are fun people you can comfortably bounce ideas back and forth with the mutual respect.
KOTT: ‘Make It Happen’ and ‘Hubcap Candy’ with Nebraska both have a warm, dusty feel. How do you approach creating that kind of texture in your tracks? ‘Too Soft To Be Loud’ with Viken Arman has a live, almost freeform feel. Was that intentional from the start, or did it evolve naturally during the session?
M: Viken is a total musician, a very capable instrumentalist through and through. When we make music together, the “jamming” component is strong every time. For this particular tune, I believe he was on the keys while I was noodling around on my bass and Hauke tried to make sense of it all with the sequencer, so the whole session had a good bit of band vibes to begin with.
KOTT: The original version of Behind The Glass closes the EP with a hazy, trip-hop mood. What inspired that direction?
M: Hazy Trip Hop has always been one of our strong suits in my opinion, as it is something we feel drawn to as listeners a lot. Behind The Glass was probably the tune thet took the shortest time to come together, like just a few hours it total. We had this tuba like synth sound on a keyboard, played the bassline and the rest pretty much followed right away.
KOTT: How does Sidequests fit into your wider creative process compared to your full-length albums
H: Our process was no different than on the other works. No concept until we had a certain amount of songs. Trying to keep an open mind and be guided by institution. We always worked with other musicians to some degree and on this one it happened to be more collaborative.
KOTT: After almost two decades together, what continues to inspire you both creatively?
H: A major inspiration is still to find new music thru digging the record stores. Jamming with other musicians or simply go and see a band. Either fooling around in the studio or challenging ourselves with a task, like write a cover of a song we love. But honestly inspiration always hits unexpectedly, you have have hardly any control over it. The only thing you can do is to spend the hours in the lab and when it strikes hit record.
KOTT: Can you share any hints about what to expect in Chapter Three of the Sidequests trilogy?
M: With pleasure. There will be more music with the amazing Viken, also one track that I’m especially proud of with our friend Eo from San Francisco and then one, excuse me, banging remix by one of our biggest inspirations regarding house music.
You can pre order the release on Bandcamp here.
