Thursday, November 18, 2021

Stalk, Leaf & Bloom - Deadbeat & OM Unit (Midnight Shift)

 


Title: Stalk, Leaf & Bloom

Artist: Deadbeat & Om Unit

Label: Midnight Shift

Cat Number: MNSXLP002

Genre: Dub Techno


A: Root

B: Stalk

C: Leaf

D: Bloom


It’s dub techno Jim, but not quite as we know it. With an emphasis very much on the dub, which is distinguished by its technological engagement, this double pack plumbs the depths in a methodical and forensic way. There is a pervasive roots ambience to the release. However, it becomes more interesting when it ventures outside this zone into more a more synthetic environment. The use of the 303 on ‘Stalk’ is restrained and profound which even the abstracted flute warbling over the top can’t displace. ‘Leaf’ is very much the same. A meditative journey which locks your brain into a journey along the lateral line of your subconscious. ‘Root’ and ‘Bloom’ play with more conventional roots and dub tropes, the former being more conventional in that respect than the latter. What the brain is compelled to do when listening to these compositions is to scrutinise every detail and imagine new meaning in them. Something that isn’t easy to achieve, but because of the way disparate elements amalgamate, feels natural and a pleasure.

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