A sonic hybrid of sub vibrating dub, hypnotic technoid rhythms and modular tweaking.
Berlin based duo Andreas Gerth (Tied & Tickled Trio) and Florian Zimmer (Saroos) front up the latest release from Umor Rex with a sonic hybrid of sub vibrating dub, hypnotic technoid rhythms and modular tweaking as Driftmachine. Before you stretch, yawn and pass on Nocturnes as another dubby right off then let me halt you in your tracks right there and insist you sit down and absorb this one.
Let me begin by mentioning it’s mastered by John Tejada—a dab hand at the technicalities of sound and a man pretty unlikely to take on any old mastering job. Dub is certainly a central theme to this release with Gerth and Zimmer really nailing a combination of deliciously weighted bass skanks and clinical electronic accompaniment whilst avoiding any of the cliches typical of ‘digital dub’.
Rather than making you turn a wry ear on a sound too familiar, tracks such as “Sternenmeer” and “To Nowhere PT. 1” may well have you on your feet pumping fists in delight at the sheer bass pressure versus subtle melody. If not that then at very least some serious head nodding. “Drift” sits in similar vein—a kind of deep slow motion Modeselektor meets Max Cooper and Senking in tense standoff of sub hum against atmospheric effects.
The press release hypes Nocturnes as ‘redefining the lines between insomnia and slumber‘ and, indeed, there are elements of a liminal world lurking here but mostly I just want to hear this loud on a huge Funktion-One rig. Take a listen and I guarantee you will do too. Solid, meaty stuff.
Nocturnes is available on Umor Rex.
