Dub Techno is a funny beast.
I love Dub, Lee Perry is one of my all time heroes and people like the brilliant Blood & Fire and On-U Sound labels have released some totally mind-blowing stuff over the years. There's so much good stuff out there from the last fifty years or so that any self-respecting music fan should hunt some of it down. Bob Marley this is not!
I love Techno too. Invented almost single-handedly by Juan Atkins in Detroit back in 1982, it's constantly mutated and moved on, taking in cues from everything it touched like an audio virus. Of course, some of it was inevitably shit but you can't deny the influence Techno has had on modern music.
And then came Dub Techno. I'm not entirely how it all started to be honest. I know it came out of Detroit (that city again) and that labels such as Echospace were it's principle purveyor. Major players were Rod Modell, Quantec and a whole host of people dropping incredible 12"s. In recent years there have been many other folks picking up the sound and doing great things with it - another mutation.
So what the hell is it all about? Lots of ambient washes, found sounds, field recordings, static and vinyl noise. Those classic 4/4 Techno pads, kicked down a few notches away from the 'aggressive' setting and lots of dub-like effects. It sounds very otherworldly. Immersive, widescreen and almost sub-aquatic.
Ok, so now it comes down to this album. Originally released in 1996 it has just been given a new lease of life by the Type label with new artwork. I've spent the last week falling asleep to this which I always think is praise indeed for any album. It's also great to drive to but best of all, it seeps into you and takes over your concentration like a fever.
This is a fantastic album and should be heard by a hell of a lot more people than it probably ever will be.
You know what you have to do here.
Check out all the above clues too, I promise you won't be disappointed.
This had the honour of the TYPE100 catalogue number too, I believe? I've been meaning to check it out, but dragging my feet. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThat's spot on Nick - extra points for that rather splendid observation. Hope you enjoy it anyway, let me know what you think. Your comments are always appreciated. I feel some noise coming on tomorrow if you're up for that?
DeleteTake it easy.