It's hard to believe that Grace is Conforce's debut release for Delsin. Like that label's output, Boris Bunnik's work typifies an open-ended approach to music-making, which integrates techniques from the first wave of Dutch techno producers mixed with other influences. While Steve Rachmad's strings are audible, so too are the lopsided rhythms of Stefan Robbers and the analogue touches of Shiver, along with the ice sculpted ambience and the seductive electronic groove of Holland's West Coast Italo new school.
The title track features a growling, menacing bass, but rather than bludgeoning the listener into submission with a straight dance floor arrangement, Bunnik opts for a circuitous route that journeys through the melodic peaks and troughs that Sterac once ventured to with the heavenly "Asphyx." "Insecure" follows a totally different path, with trippy effects and larger-than-life hooks heralding Bunnik's diversification into spine-shivering, irresistible electronic disco rhythms. "Shade," on the other hand, is a serene, beatless affair, its pristine synth lines reminiscent of pre-Ginger Speedy J. Wildly diverse yet united by Bunnik's seemingly contradictory "raw but polished" approach to production, Grace has the quality its title suggests in spades.
The title track features a growling, menacing bass, but rather than bludgeoning the listener into submission with a straight dance floor arrangement, Bunnik opts for a circuitous route that journeys through the melodic peaks and troughs that Sterac once ventured to with the heavenly "Asphyx." "Insecure" follows a totally different path, with trippy effects and larger-than-life hooks heralding Bunnik's diversification into spine-shivering, irresistible electronic disco rhythms. "Shade," on the other hand, is a serene, beatless affair, its pristine synth lines reminiscent of pre-Ginger Speedy J. Wildly diverse yet united by Bunnik's seemingly contradictory "raw but polished" approach to production, Grace has the quality its title suggests in spades.
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Published /
Fri / 20 Aug 2010 -
Words /
Richard Brophy -
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Tracklist /
A1 Shade
A2 Grace
B1 Insecure
London
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