Deepchord | “Sheremetyevo Airport (Moscow)”
Dub techno pioneer and the man behind Deepchord, Rod Modell, gives a rare interview with Inverted Audio, and where he discusses his musical development, how growing up in Detroit has informed his compositions, his studio setup, and the evolution of his Deepchord project. In addition, he shares an exclusive track (above), in which the primary element a field recording made at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow, and which merges the aesthetic of Music for Airports into actual airport noise quite neatly.
Skudge | ‘First Observation’ EP
Stockholm-based Skudge bring it hard this week, with some some dark, danceable dub techno on their First Observation EP, out now on Echocord Colour. Following the 2010 inception of their own imprint, Skudge Records, the duo has built up quite the cadre of devoted followers, and seeing their work on some a more widely-recognized imprint (following their dropping some outright quality on their own) is well deserved acknowledgement, indeed. Both the A and B-sides of this one are bang on for Echocord Color’s aesthetic, with the reigning themes of hard and dark—but still with a skank—very much in the right place. The added remix by Conforce of the B-side “Void” is to some degree an out of place element, but only in that it belongs more in the headphones or after hours than on the dancefloor. You can give all three tracks a listen below—these ones are highly recommended for the crate. (Physical copies are available here and here, with digital here and here.)
Mix of the Moment: Slash Dot Dash Podcast 006: Kenneth Christiansen
Over the weekend, Slash Dot Dash released the sixth installment of their podcast series, featuring a three hour dub techno mix from Echocord and Pattern Repeat label boss Kenneth Christiansen. If you’ve been convinced at this point that dub techno is boring, this is a mix you need to hear, because it is quite seriously faith-restoringly good (and how it’s done, to be honest—ed). Rather than a mix that drives on forever toward nowhere, here you’ll hear all the things the more boring contributors to the genre left us to believe were verboten: creamy synths, warm soundscapes, catchy hooks, and danceable beats, even. Christiansen goes out of his way to keep things interesting by doing what every DJ ought: he takes his banner genre and forces it to its very edge in every direction possible. This is an excellent introduction, a brilliant refresher, and for those of us who drank the kool-aid and never looked back, a whole lot of told ya so.
Slash Dot Dash Podcast 006: Kenneth Christiansen by Slash Dot Dash
Today’s Music Buy.
It seems like it’s recently become a tradition for me to buy new music every Friday, so I’m going to start sharing my buy lists when I can. Typically I look for stuff on Bleep, though I definitely do hunt at Boomkat, Clone, and various other distributors. If I go for vinyl, I buy it locally—shipping that stuff gets expensive, quick.
Today’s cache:
Various Artists | Back and 4th | Hotflush
Hatchback | Zeus & Apollo | Lo Recordings
Om Unit | The Corridor EP | Terrorrhythm Recordings
Julio Bashmore | Batty Knee Dance EP | 3024
Dolphins Into The Future | …On Sea-Faring Isolation | Not Not Fun
Dorian Concept | Her Tears Taste Like Pears | Ninja Tune
Oh and by the way. If you’re interested in knowing more about what I’m listening to lately, find me on last.fm and Twitter.
Onmutu Mechanicks | Nocturne
Based in the brooding warehouse aesthetic, the recent full-length album from Onmutu Mechanicks, titled Nocturne, is one of the best releases to come out on Echocord to date. However, in holding true to the overall dub techno leanings of his label, Onmutu, or Arne Weinberg, creates compositions that are equally capable of falling in the roots-based category as they do in driving techno. Basslines throughout are made from the same mold of riddims on the backs of which dub was made, while delayed-out synths dance over the hardest quiet skank there ever was. Further sweetening the pot are the few ambient tracks Weinberg has quite cautiously placed between his more driving pieces, creating an overall listening experience that both compels one to dance as well as to listen with intent.
Hear the track “Constant X” below, and you can preview and buy the album at Bleep.
If you’re a fan of dub techno (namely Echocord and Basic Channel releases) but tiring of the sleepy overtones, a look back at last year’s sleeper release by Fluxion, Perfused, may be in order. Surprisingly, it turns out there’s quite a lot of bang to bring to a genre normally slated for dawn sets and comedowns (and without losing space in composition). The above track, “Inductance” isn’t necessarily a stand-out piece, but it’s hardly for lack of being amazing. In other words, the whole album is this good, straight through—a rarity especially in electronic music, and one that deserves notice with frequency.
I’m completely in love with this whole album. Get it. You won’t regret it.
Deepchord Presents Echospace | BCN Dub (via casmirandrei)
It hasn’t been too difficult to dig until I have my mind blown, even by those I expect to wow me. This is pretty much a finest moment right here.
