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Detroit native Rod “Deepchord” Modell—he and Chicagoan Steven “Soultek” Hitchell are partners in Echospace, also a label—has been operating as a shadowy entity for some time now, unleashing limited-run singles over the years that fetch crazy sums on eBay. As the collaborative venture between DeepChord’s Rod Modell and Soultek, Echospace approximates an aesthetic amalgamation of three of dance music's epicenters: Modell’s Detroit, Hitchell’s Chicago and Berlin, the home of the Basic Channel collective, their most obvious reference point..
The Coldest Season, earned its classic status among techno heads quickly. In a way, its appeal is genre-specific: it solidifies some of dub techno’s claims, particularly the promise of consciousness-altering deepness and repetition that Basic Channel embodies. The album collects and re-frames four otherworldly 12"s that Rod Modell (DeepChord) and Steven Hitchell (Soultek) put out on the Modern Love label in 2007. Using vintage analog equipment exclusively, including the unparalleled sonic capabilities of the Roland Space Echo, Korg tape delay and Sequential 8 bit samplers, the duo have pulled an undulating mass of viscous ambience and driving beats from the machinery. The tracks have a strange retro-futuristic appeal, which, on the surface, has little to do with either producer’s previous work. Echoing streams of static languidly pan across the stereo field, giving way momentarily to faintly discerned beats backed by subliminal basslines, before collapsing into the void again.
The Coldest Season was recorded primarily in the winter months so the mood of the music reflected the environment in which they were recorded. With track names like First Point of Aries, Celestials, Ocean of Emptiness and Sunset, you can only imagine the blistering cold outdoors somewhere remote and looking up at the stars in an unpolluted, clear sky only to see the sunrise a few hours later as you gasp in awe of the sheer beauty, bitterness and brutality of such a climate. Emotional, atmospheric ambient, soundscapes entwined with dubby techno beats and echoes.
Deepchord presents Echospace - The Coldest Season (189mb)
1. First Point of Aries 6:38
2. Abraxas 5:04
3. Ocean of Emptiness 11:39
4. Aequinoxium 13:31
5. Celestialis 8:12
6. Sunset 10:45
7. Elysian 12:31
8. Winter in Seney 6:02
9. Empyrean 5:25
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The third installment of Deutsche Grammophon‘s Recomposed series comes from techno godfathers Carl Craig and Moritz von Oswald (Basic Channel, Rhythm & Sound). At their most pure and powerful, the Detroit and Berlin techno styles can share an almost classical aesthetic and with a cool and futuristic execution. Carl Craig and Moritz von Oswald have been at the vanguard of efforts to extend techno into collaborations – with other artists, in other styles and genres – that go much deeper than just adding beats and filters to pre-existing approaches. Thus, their collaborative move to “recompose“ by deconstructing, rebuilding and expanding upon the original orchestrations. Maurice Ravel and Modest Mussorgsky wrote two of classical music's most famous pieces "Boléro" and "Pictures from an Exhibition" respectively, and it was Ravel’s own orchestration of "Pictures" in 1922 that has become the standard version of the piece. Craig and von Oswald use this piece, taken from a Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra performance from 1987, as well as the lesser known orchestral work "Spanish Rhapsody" from 1907 and of course "Boléro” as the basis of this reworking.
Recomposed Vol. 3 begins with a long, languid section of slowly shifting blocks and washes of orchestral and analog synth chords and melodies that take on the shadowy shapes of vintage Eno ambient music. Eventually, the insistent – and undeniable – snare drum rhythmic motif of “Bolero” fades in and increases steadily in volume. Next, a sampled/looped cell of trumpet melody leads by way of repetition to a pulsing excursion into Riley/Reich/Glass minimalism.
It is from here that the album truly seems to get going. The "Boléro" riff returns here and there, but the highlight is a beautifully painted ambient zone embellished with Mussorgsky's strings and deep brass dramatics around the half-hour mark that runs over the interlude into the fifth movement. Those looking for a little more Ravel and Mussorgsky, though, will have to listen closely. Their presence is subtle, and perhaps more subtle than regular Deutsche Grammophon fans would like. It could serve as the soundtrack to the climactic scenes of some visionary post-apocalyptic movie, the dark and romantic dense harmonies pushing at the seams of the organic and cyclic percussion and melodies.
Carl Craig & Moritz Von Oswald - Recomposed (156mb)
01 Intro (6:23)
02 Movement 1 ((2:26)
03 Movement 2 (7:30)
04 Movement 3 (8:34)
05 Movement 4 (8:06)
06 Interlude (4:09)
07 Movement 5 (12:56)
08 Movement 6 (14:12)
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