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 key producer in the evolution of dub techno, opens amid kick drum hits and the hiss of magnetic tape. “Silent Way” is his eighth album, the first for Plastic & Sounds, the label he built himself, which had already previewed the record with two 12″s in the preceding months. The rule remains the same: exploring the millimetre-precise balance between deep house and dub techno, taking in the subtle shifts of axis between one genre and the other. But compared to the previous “Discipline”, what's new is a more homogeneous, open sound, especially in terms of stereo imaging, with an enveloping acoustic presence.

“Phase 2” carries the familiar melancholy over a stretched-out groove; “Blurred” opts for a sunnier bliss, while “Rain 1” extends for nearly twelve minutes in a meditative flow that never seeks resolution. The result is music built 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 closing track “Defect”, there are tracks that, had they been cut, wouldn't have taken much away. An undisputed talent here not always brought fully into focus.

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

01/05/2026

Share on

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