Deepchord - Hash-Bar Loops

The title leaves little to the imagination to what this guy gets up to on stag nights over in Amsterdam. This is of course the work of Rod Modell who has been creating some mighty fine dub techno for some years now and is considered by many to be one of the best producers in the current scene. Things begin gently here with Spirits, an evocative tune which slowly emerges from clouds of dust and crackle. You can almost imagine it coming from the reels of William Basinski. Each track flows and melts seamlessly into the next making for a continuous and deeply immersing listen as layers of loops gently build and reveal themselves through lots of nuances in the arrangement. Really there is nothing particularly new here in terms of what these Detroit producers get up to. Their sound does relay heavily on a strict framework, but within that there are no limitations. At various points you wonder if things are changing or whether the repetition has become so hypnotic you just think it is, like an audio illusion. Loops get gently filtered and tweaked giving them a metallic sheen while other sounds rise like plumes of gas blowing in the breeze hovering over muted occasionally shuffling, stoned rhythms. Certainly fans of Basic Channel, Maurizio, Gas, Chain Reaction, etc. will find much to get stuck into here as it's the perfect soundtrack to that early morning after-club session.