Bluetrain aka Steve O'Sullivan - Steady Pulse (Lempuyang)

 

Title: Steady Pulse

Artist: Bluetrain aka Steve O’Sullivan

Label: Lempuyang

Cat Number: LPY07

Genre: Dub Techno

1: Downtown

2: Timeshifter

3: Cherry Dub

4: Chant Down (Special Edition Dub)

5: Perfect Circle

6: Bare Grills

7: Headspace

8: Ramstrad Vibing

9: Step It Up

I begin by playing ‘Downtown’ at 45 instead of 33. A schoolboy error, the impact of which I only discover when the beats of ‘Timeshifter’ start hammering out too quickly while I’m stuck on the bog. Once the situation has been remedied, I’m ready to slide into the sensory deprivation chamber that is, surprisingly, Steve O’Sullivan’s first album as Bluetrain, a name he has been using since the late nineties, and one that has become a byword not just for quality dub techno but also has kudos as one of the originators of the genre. Bluetrain’s strength, for me at least, is in maintaining a balance between headspace and the dance floor. The ambience of this collection is balanced by an instinct to keep feet moving, which is no better illustrated than on ‘Chant Down (Special Edition Dub)’, a track that could have remained at Rhythm And Sound tempo, but is much better at its chosen speed. Mosaic artists Hidden Sequence are enlisted on co-production duties on ‘Cherry Dub’ and ‘Perfect Circle’, two tracks in which the percussion is seismically funky. Another co-production, ‘Step It Up’, this time with Another Channel, goes in the opposite direction tempo-wise, relying on a sparse kick to close proceedings, something that ‘Ramstrad Vibing’ sets the stage for. The album, is, on the whole, and exercise in tone and texture like all the best techno, and also one that whose uncomplicated marriage of disparate elements combines to produce a level of detail unparalleled in the competition. ‘Bare Grills’ is maybe the heaviest track here, (it feels like it is on my system anyway), and played in order, it contrasts nicely with the ever-so-slightly lighter ‘Headspace’. And the flexing of the dub biceps is something that characterises this collection when played in order of appearance; a respiratory approach that feels in tune with the listener’s similar instincts.