- Like "Oasis," his previous taster from his forthcoming Escapements full-length, Petar Dundov's "Waterfall" works a series of short, melodic riffs—minimalist in the classical sense—over a simple, but perpetually expanding rhythm track, washed over with some big, soaring, week-long chords. The results are akin to vintage Detroit techno not only compositionally, but in timbre and sound sources. Despite this, it's just alien enough to mark itself as clearly European; think Black Dog or B12 rather than Rhythim Is Rhythim or Model 500. In any case, this is classy, if fairly typical techno from the veteran Croatian producer, hearkening back to the days when the melodies did more work than the rhythms. The track likely works well in the context of an album release, but it simply isn't strong enough to stand alone as a single.
While Dundov recruited European dub techno superstars Substance & Vainqueur to remix "Oasis," this time out he hands the flipside honors to American dub techno duo Echospace to remix "Rain," another album track. While it's difficult to judge a remix of a track that hasn't been heard yet, Echospace are in reliable form nonetheless, running analog synths into any number of phased, echoed and generally spaced-out modes over a deep, punishing kick. The intensity and complexity grows as the track moves forward, and by the time the five-minute mark passes, Hitchell and Modell have woven quite the sonic tapestry, the kind with a pattern that makes you forget what day it is if you stare at it for too long. Smart money says that the B-side will see the top of your turntable far more often than the A.
TracklistA1 Waterfall
B1 Rain (Echospace Reduction)