DEEPCHORD - Hash-Bar Loops

Rod Modell flew to Amsterdam to record his first album without the help of collaborators in many years. New too is the label, the Scottish Soma, which this very season celebrates twenty years of activity. DeepChord's last two albums alongside Stephen Hitchell – “The Coldest Season” and “Liumin” – were hailed as masterpieces by the specialist press: works capable of redefining the boundaries of techno-dub. The anticipation that preceded the release of “Hash-Bar Loops” is therefore understandable.

The album opens with two enveloping tracks – “Spirits” and “Stars” – that tune the neurons to the Detroit producer's trademark darkness. Already by the third track on the list, “Sofitel”, dub's deep stasis is pushed into the background to let an hypnotic groove emerge, one that recalls old-school tech-house. “Merlot” shuffles the deck with metallic noises and dark loops that enrich its texture. Before updating the Basic Channel sound with his DeepChord masterpieces, Rod Modell released a handful of more experimental records on labels such as Silent, Hypnos and Amplexus/Silentes: experiences that also surface within the techno fabric of “Hash-Bar Loops”.

"Electromagnetic" sounds like a rave at six in the morning. Dazed and out of focus. The album's twelve tracks blend seamlessly into one another, creating a dense, viscous sonic flow that survives even the sporadic shafts of light that illuminate the atmosphere ("Balm", "City Centre"). On "Black Cavendish" the two sides Modell tries to make coexist in his universe emerge clearly: on one hand the reassuring rumble of ambient-dub; on the other the forceful echo of a techno earthquake. A grand finale with "Neon And Rain", amid the zero-gravity suspensions typical of DeepChord.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

21/07/2011