I have been bumping some awesome dub techno recently, the kind of ambient 4/4 music that’s not quite intended for the dance floor, but rather some sort of ultra chill lounge or just to have playing in the background.  The specific type of dub techno I’ve been getting into is a bit more dynamic than the dronier ambient tunes, yet murkier and lower in temperature than techno or house, sort of right in between.  Dub actually refers to a genre, which as you might know originated from reggae, initially involving re-working exising tunes.  The use of delay, filters, and emphasis on drums and bass began to evolve into an approach that could be applied to almost any genre (almost), giving light to genres like dub techno and dubstep.

Bvdub – A Moment’s Peace

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One of my absolute favorite mixes of all time came from an elusive duo known as , part of the UK-based imprint Meanwhile.  In their , they played this awesome 13-minute chiller, by San Francisco-based .  This might just be my favorite dub techno track ever, the ambient and deep kicks go together perfectly.  The somewhat disjointed rhythm lumbers along, still maintaining a groove that gets straightened out once the highs kick in.

Yagya – Rigning Tvö

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makes some really good tunes for the dead of winter, for those nights where you can hear the freezing rain tapping on your windows.  Chilled out to a slightly cooler temperature, some of his tracks sort of idle in the haze before dropping the beat.

Thomas Fehlmann – Andrea Is Delighted

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You might not know the name off the top of your head, but perhaps you know the project he was in…, now a part of electronic music history.  I was surprised to hear this track, which sounds really futuristic and upbeat, yet almost through a frame of the past– like the future as perceived and expressed through music back in 2000.

Deepchord presents Echospace – Celestialis

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I haven’t yet gotten a chance to check out in detail, but this track from him and ‘s Echospace (billed in some spots as ) definitely got me interested.  This track has a super dubby beat, you can barely tell if the kick is just echoing or if there is actually a kick.  Definitely need to check deeper into both of these artists’ catalogues.

Posted in Music Posted by on Sep 29 2009 12:00 pm

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