Various Artists

Disc: Very Good Plus

Cover: Near Mint

From day one, the pursuit of dub’s influence on contemporary electronic music has been one of ~scape’s guiding principles. ‘ROUND BLACK GHOSTS’ continues this tradition and, at the same time, adds a new facet to the mix. This CD, compiled by label owners STEFAN BETKE (Pole) and BARBARA PREISINGER together with TIM TETZNER (the heart and mind behind Berlin’s DENSE Records shop), throws a spotlight on dubstep – a relatively recent genre, oscillating within and beyond its own fluid boundaries. Here, dubstep’s ongoing process of redefinition and renegotiation finds itself further enriched and expanded by ‘ROUND BALCK GHOSTS’. Originally a London phenomenon, dubstep pursues a different path from Berlin’s trademark dub techno, a genre that has always played an important role in ~scape’s varied sound research. Where dub techno borrows from the more traditional forms of dub and the corresponding mix techniques, dubstep not only lays claim to the – strongly dub and reggae-influenced – legacy of British rave culture, but also draws on various other styles without missing a step. Right now, it approaches one if its most exciting developments: a techno crossover. An entire generation of young dubstep producers have started to explore the genre, inventing some new, previously unheard sounds on the way. And this is where ‘ROUND BLACK GHOSTS’ comes into its own – with a concise overview of the latest developments, ready to take these new sounds to a wider, genre-encompassing audience. The title of the CD reflects the mysterious joy of fathoming the unknown. In these experiments, the artists on the compilation debug and recylce the aesthetics of techno. The playful merge of dubstep basslines that shake your bowels with the feedbacks of the echo chambers and elements of techno creates astonishing results. Nearly everything becomes acceptable and the black vinyl turns out once again to be the patron saint of these fusions. One might argue that each of the tracks is one of the 'ROUND BLACK GHOSTS'. Each having a new, self-contained aesthetics, it is at the same time coined by the "ghosts" of its musical predecessors. The results of this meeting of minds and styles are surprisingly varied. While MARTYN takes a detour to Detroit with his warm synth chords on ‘Velvet’, SYNCOM DATA’s quietly pulsating ‘Beyond The Stars’ proudly pursues the paths of Berlin’s dub techno legacy. ELEMENTAL, on the other hand, takes inspiration from the harsh sounds of IDM and Acid House. Yet despite their different approaches, the overall mix sounds impressively coherent. Beyond the genre’s unifying and characteristic bass lines, all tracks leave plenty of room for deep delves into their own, private soundscapes. A quality that is cherished by all lovers and makers of dub, dubstep and techno. martyn: velvet 2562: channel two untold: test signal pole: alles klar syncom data: beyond the stars (sd mix) ramadanman: response pinch: 136 trek peverelist: the gris elemental: raw material pangaea: coiled