When we think of Dub Techno, the names Deepchord, Basic Channel, and Andy Stott come to mind. Over the past several years, Zzzzra has been releasing great Dub Techno albums one after another, and in my opinion, he belongs on that list.
Vive la Lenteur is a double-disc set of tracks released on Brian Grainger’s Recycled Plastics label, and it’s another great set. There’s a single-disc edition of this release, but it’s a combined group of tracks from both parts of the double; I’ll be writing about the double.
Last.FM (I’m almo2001 there) tells me that as I listen to the opening track, “Il N’y A Pas De Fin”, that I have heard it at least 34 times. I’m hearing things I have not heard before. This means that while the music is fairly minimalist as Dub Techno usually is, that it has a lot of layers and subtlety to it. It has a warm and calming sound, but there’s subtle distortion on some parts of it that give it an edge. On a personal note, I find that there is gentle music that I find lacks impact because it’s too gentle or sweet (common among New Age recordings); this is not a fault I find with the softer tracks in this collection.
As an aside, I discovered Zzzzra through Marco Supernak’s Art Zero – 02 LP. I picked this up because there was an Ohrwert track on it (another “new” master of Dub Techno). I had it playing on the stereo while I was cooking, and “A Few Days of Infinite Sadness” came on (SoundCloud link). It stopped me in my tracks, as it immediately struck me as a beautiful recording. “Il N’y A Pas De Fin” immediately struck me in the same way. One of the nicest things about Zzzzra’s catalog is that he consistently turns out great music.
In the interest of brevity, I won’t be covering every one of the 17 tracks in the set; but each one does have something interesting to say.
“Sept Anneaux Gastriques” is one of three tracks I consider my favorites, along with “Il N’y A Pas De Fin” and “Zongo [Zombie Mix]”. It’s long (almost eleven minutes), deep, heavy, and seductive. At 2:20, a little hi-hat thing starts, and takes just over 2 minutes to develop into its full state, feeling through that time like it’s trying to break out. It continues to modulate over the rest of the track; it’s subtle changing things like this that make Dub Techno so challenging and ultimately rewarding to listen to.
“Invendable” and “Cavalcade” have vaguely Deepchord-like elements in them, yet come out sounding like their own thing. La Danse Hanta also shows some external influence, like The Orb to my ear. These are not negatives, I just like to see threads of artistic influence.
“Zongo [Zombie Mix]” finishes out the first disc in classic electronic album form: the final tracks are often some of the best. Without a kick-drum, this one is a dark and brooding meditation on… I don’t know what. But I love it.
The second disc contains three remixes of Nouvel Ordre Intestinal, by Zwei Kreise, Christonia5 and Coppice Halifax (Brian Grainger). These are interspersed through the playlist, and give this disc the feeling of being a collection of separate tracks rather than a cohesive whole. This is again not a criticism, but an observation. The remixes themselves are different enough from the original track to remain interesting.
The Zwei Kreise remix has a interesting mix of styles; it’s sort of what you might get if you mixed Depeche Mode with Acid Techno. Christiona5’s remix has an interesting subterranian tone to it, while the Coppice Halifax one is dark and bewildering.
Mon Amie Galactique (I love his titles, this means My Galactic Friend in French), is a strange odyssey with shades of Dark Ambient music. Venlafaxine [75mg] is a really enjoyable bouncy tune. The second disc also finishes with a brooding meditation on some unknown darkness. I hope you get the idea that the second is a widely-varying set of styles the remains an enjoyable listen.
I highly recommend anyone unfamiliar with Dub Techno check out Zzzzra’s work as a good starting point, starting with Obehixa. I find it more accessible than some works in the genre; for example, it took me many more listens to come to understand the Basic Channel releases. However, this is not to say it lacks depth. I keep coming back for many repeat listens, because it’s just that good. Good Dub Techno has tons of depth, lurking beneath what appears to be a sparse and repetitive surface. Zzzzra’s music fits that bill wonderfully.
Vive la Lenteur is a double-disc set of tracks released on Brian Grainger’s Recycled Plastics label, and it’s another great set. There’s a single-disc edition of this release, but it’s a combined group of tracks from both parts of the double; I’ll be writing about the double.
Last.FM (I’m almo2001 there) tells me that as I listen to the opening track, “Il N’y A Pas De Fin”, that I have heard it at least 34 times. I’m hearing things I have not heard before. This means that while the music is fairly minimalist as Dub Techno usually is, that it has a lot of layers and subtlety to it. It has a warm and calming sound, but there’s subtle distortion on some parts of it that give it an edge. On a personal note, I find that there is gentle music that I find lacks impact because it’s too gentle or sweet (common among New Age recordings); this is not a fault I find with the softer tracks in this collection.
As an aside, I discovered Zzzzra through Marco Supernak’s Art Zero – 02 LP. I picked this up because there was an Ohrwert track on it (another “new” master of Dub Techno). I had it playing on the stereo while I was cooking, and “A Few Days of Infinite Sadness” came on (SoundCloud link). It stopped me in my tracks, as it immediately struck me as a beautiful recording. “Il N’y A Pas De Fin” immediately struck me in the same way. One of the nicest things about Zzzzra’s catalog is that he consistently turns out great music.
In the interest of brevity, I won’t be covering every one of the 17 tracks in the set; but each one does have something interesting to say.
“Sept Anneaux Gastriques” is one of three tracks I consider my favorites, along with “Il N’y A Pas De Fin” and “Zongo [Zombie Mix]”. It’s long (almost eleven minutes), deep, heavy, and seductive. At 2:20, a little hi-hat thing starts, and takes just over 2 minutes to develop into its full state, feeling through that time like it’s trying to break out. It continues to modulate over the rest of the track; it’s subtle changing things like this that make Dub Techno so challenging and ultimately rewarding to listen to.
“Invendable” and “Cavalcade” have vaguely Deepchord-like elements in them, yet come out sounding like their own thing. La Danse Hanta also shows some external influence, like The Orb to my ear. These are not negatives, I just like to see threads of artistic influence.
“Zongo [Zombie Mix]” finishes out the first disc in classic electronic album form: the final tracks are often some of the best. Without a kick-drum, this one is a dark and brooding meditation on… I don’t know what. But I love it.
The second disc contains three remixes of Nouvel Ordre Intestinal, by Zwei Kreise, Christonia5 and Coppice Halifax (Brian Grainger). These are interspersed through the playlist, and give this disc the feeling of being a collection of separate tracks rather than a cohesive whole. This is again not a criticism, but an observation. The remixes themselves are different enough from the original track to remain interesting.
The Zwei Kreise remix has a interesting mix of styles; it’s sort of what you might get if you mixed Depeche Mode with Acid Techno. Christiona5’s remix has an interesting subterranian tone to it, while the Coppice Halifax one is dark and bewildering.
Mon Amie Galactique (I love his titles, this means My Galactic Friend in French), is a strange odyssey with shades of Dark Ambient music. Venlafaxine [75mg] is a really enjoyable bouncy tune. The second disc also finishes with a brooding meditation on some unknown darkness. I hope you get the idea that the second is a widely-varying set of styles the remains an enjoyable listen.
I highly recommend anyone unfamiliar with Dub Techno check out Zzzzra’s work as a good starting point, starting with Obehixa. I find it more accessible than some works in the genre; for example, it took me many more listens to come to understand the Basic Channel releases. However, this is not to say it lacks depth. I keep coming back for many repeat listens, because it’s just that good. Good Dub Techno has tons of depth, lurking beneath what appears to be a sparse and repetitive surface. Zzzzra’s music fits that bill wonderfully.
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