aDepth are dismissing any of the stereotypes surrounding dutch techno, and techno in general. Both these releases are filled with depth and feeling, something often lost in the mechanization of modern techno.
In 2008 I moved back to Ireland from Canada. I got a job with a pretty crappy magazine. It was a stuffy office environment, like a lot of jobs I guess. Dublin was an okay place to be; weekends were regularly electronic fueled with a burgeoning club scene. A HR guy in the office would generally ask me what I was doing for the weekend. It soon became a running thing that I was off to see “some dutch electro guy.” This wasn’t always the case, but it’s as easy; like saying I’m from the Irish midlands rather than naming my obscure county. “Some dutch techno guy” was never the response to this weekly question for a couple of reasons. Firstly it was rarely a techno artist I was off to see. Secondly, and centrally, is the universal connotations surrounding dutch techno. This couplet generally throws up images of pounding nosebleed TECHNO. This stereotype still exists today. But that’s what it is, a stereotype. God knows some of the Djak material is pretty intense, but techno coming from artists and labels from The Netherlands is as varied as anywhere else. One label with a wonderful retrospective attitude is aDepth Audio which is continuing to grow with their fourth and fifth releases.
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Erell Ranson :: Everything Needs To Be Clear [Purchase at Juno]
Erell Ranson is a French electronic artist with an inclination for the sounds of Detroit with a smattering of UK. Ranson has released on imprints like AW-Recordings and Sula Muse before starting up Myself Recordings in 2008. His latest home is aDepth Audio. Everything Needs To Be Clear opens with the title piece. A wonderful lush techno sound rises from the 12”, deep layers of sound building on tight beats. “So Strange To Explain” is in a similar vein. The bass lines are subtle with a nice paddy backdrop. Sublime chords stretch out to create the structure with snares giving ballast. The record has something of Beaumont Hannant slant to it, but with just a slighter Detroit lean. The b-side sees Rennie Foster remaking “Everything Needs To Be Clear.” Foster stays true to the original, but lends a bit of extra oomph in the beats’ department. “Sandcastle” sees the four tracker to a close and is the most club orientated of the quartet. The sounds gain some bravado to run the record out nicely.
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Arne Weinberg :: Integrity Constant Part 2 [Purchase at Juno]
Fresh from the pressing plant is Arne Weinberg’s second installment on aDepth, Integrity Constant Part 2. Glasgow based Weinberg is proving as prolific as ever with this four tracker. To start things off is “Deep Red Skies.” It’s no secret that Arne takes his queue from Detroit and UK techno, and “Deep Red Skies” has a decent slice of the latter. Warm analogue chords are ribboned with vintage beats to create something of a Steve Pickton sound. A fellow resident of Scotland, Stephen Brown, offers up a remix of “Syial.” Edinburgh based Brown has been releasing techno on labels like Djak Up Beats, Subject Detroit and Heliocentric for some fifteen years now. For “Syrial” Brown has created a wonderful flowing track. Arpeggios swirl and corral across an expanse of bass and spartan beats. The track is quite minimal but works extremely well in its frugality. The A-Side has quite a British feel overall, but the flip moves across the pond. “Pathway to Syrinx” is a Michigan track, with a sinister underlying sound in its acidic tones and dark vocals. A touch of Model 500 in this one. “Solar Flare ” brings the record finishes the 12”. A nice laid back piece of techno with some solid beats and a nice bassy quality to it.
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A lot of contemporary techno is swamped in influences; the sound becomes quite claggy, either that or there is an opt out into absolute minimalism. aDepth is different to a lot of its contemporaries. It is a label that knows the sound it likes and releases it. Its artists have the confidence to produce soulful techno that has a retrospective side to it. aDepth are dismissing any of the stereotypes surrounding dutch techno, and techno in general. Both these releases are filled with depth and feeling, something often lost in the mechanization of modern techno.
Both releases are out now on aDepth Audio.
