reviews / 2026

SHINICHI ATOBE - Silent Way

Name: SHINICHI ATOBE – Silent Way
Item: Silent Way
Rating: 6.5
Author: Alessandro Giustiniano

2026 (Plastic & Sounds)

deep house, dub techno

by Alessandro Giustiniano

6.5

The new work by Shinichi Atobe, a pivotal producer for the evolution of dub techno, opens amid kick-drum hits and tape hiss. “Silent Way” is his eighth album, the first on Plastic & Sounds, the label he built himself, which had already previewed the record with two 12″s in the preceding months. The rule stays the same: exploring the pinpoint balance between deep house and dub techno, taking in the subtle shifts of axis between the two genres. But compared to the previous “Discipline”, the novelty here is a more homogeneous, open sound, especially on the stereo side, with an enveloping acoustic presence.

“Phase 2” carries the usual melancholy over a stretched-out groove; “Blurred” opts for a sunnier bliss, while “Rain 1” spans almost twelve minutes in a meditative flow that never seeks resolution. The result is music made for nocturnal pilgrimages, where the sonic synthesis drifts between filters and echoes that, thanks to Rashad Becker's meticulous mastering, find a more precise placement than in his other works. The record, though, is an emotional see-saw: alongside “Fractal”, with its gentle lysergia, and the peak of the closing track “Defect”, there are picks that, had they been cut, wouldn't have taken much away. An undisputed talent that isn't always brought fully into focus here.

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01/05/2026

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This article is an English translation of the original Italian text by Alessandro Giustiniano, published on OndaRock.it. It was translated with the help of artificial intelligence, under the editorial responsibility of OndaRock's editor-in-chief, Claudio Fabretti.

Read the original in Italian · About the English edition