I've been made aware that I have been talking about the bitter Winter here in Helsinki a little too much. What can I say? It's tough for an Aussie guy to be
living over here in this kind of cold. The good news is that the sun is finally out and Summer is well and truly in the pipeline. Other good pipeline related news is that there is some excellent dub techno in it. Alrighty..
Detroit's Rod Modell (aka DeepChord) is one of the finest dub techno players in the game. Complex, atmospheric and with wonderfully driving undertones, his beats have a sheen to them that is exciting and rather unique.
Like with most things, I have to say that I was a bit behind the times in regards to both of DeepChord's excellent releases of mid last year - his movie soundtrack 'Silent World' (which he produced under the 'Echospace' guise with Souldubsound's boss Steve Hitchell), and his own LP 'Sommer'. Both were wonderfully deep, and intricately composed excursions which I would solidly recommend you check out in case you haven't already done so.
But what I wanted to get at today was his most recent solo EP 'Tonalities of Night'. As you would expect, this release is all quality - full of cinematic vibes, tasty reverb and subtle beats. But out of the two tracks on here, my clear stand out was 'Spiral 2'. Reminiscent of Burial & Four Tet's 'Moth', this feels to me like a straight classic.. Drenched with wistfully emotive vibes, strong melody and gently insistent percussion, this is a subtle burner of the highest level.
Grab DeepChord's superb 'Tonalities of Night' here. Check out his other recent work here and here.
I have to admit that I've taken some time to warm to Deadbeat's most recent LP 'Eight'. After the superbly restrained, dub focused 'Drawn & Quartered' from '11, the heavier techno vibes have seemed a little jarring to me initially.
While I warm to it though, it's pleasing that he has served up Volume One of his 'Infinity Dubs'. Comprised of a couple of simply titled tracks - 'i.d. 1 & 2' - 'Infinity Dubs Vol. 1' sits in an extremely happy, fuzzy place between his two most recent LPs - dubby, wonderfully paced & composed whilst also catering for those pesky dancefloors.
'i.d. 1' is perhaps the busier and more direct of the two with it's bustling, rumbling snares and filtered jazz keys. Really into the vintage Maurizio-esque vibe floating around as well.. Have a listen:
Check out Deadbeat's 'Infinity Dubs Vol. One' here.
It is becoming apparent that I have been a bit of an asshole.. It has taken me some time, but I've come to the realisation that I have slowly been leaking the entirety of the 'Main Street Records 1993-1999' compilation over the past few years. Sorry about that - I assure you that it has been entirely unintentional.
But anyway, here is the latest installment of the leak - 1999's sublime 'Na Fe Throw It' featuring vocals by regular Main Street contributor Tikiman (aka Paul St Hilaire).
This is such an incredible Sunday song - relaxed vocals, lush landscapes of synth and reverb and a wonderfully paced dub foundation. Out of all the straight classics on that album, this could be the dubbiest - and my new favourite:
'Na Fe Throw It' was another Blouse feature from Main Street Records' '1993-1999 Collection'. If you don't have it yet, get the f over here and secure yourself a copy.
3 comments:
I love 'moth', and indeed 'spiral 2' was very nice! Regarding the weather, Stockholm's +5 degrees now, I can smell the spring... the nights are worse though
Glad you like it! It may have a lighter vibe than 'Moth', but I think the composition gives it a similar feeling. Both amazing tracks in my book.
Spring is definitely in the air! We have had weeks of straight blue sky, but the sun is finally actually feeling warm. The nights are definitely freezing, but last night I was walking around and could feel even that starting to warm up.
Love Spiral 2, great find!
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