Captagon

Under his given name, Deepchord and Echospace mastermind Rod Modell has released a slew of low-key ambient albums that have been largely overshadowed by his work in those hugely popular dub techno projects. Perhaps driven by a desire to create something entirely different, he has, in this, his debut for Tresor, recorded the most high-energy and dancefloor-focused album of his career. It is titled after a trade name of the potent amphetamine derivative Fenethylline, the most widely used narcotic in the Middle East, whose trafficking generated a large part of the income of the Islamic State. Fittingly, this sounds like Modells Deepchord material cranked up to twice the speed, retaining the structure and sounds of dub techno but with an average bpm of around 150 throughout. Reiki sounds like its slowly surfacing from the depths of the ocean, with muffled, bubbling, aquatic synths and beats becoming gradually clearer as it progresses. The trance-inducing Riga spills over with kinetic energy, a snaking backbone of percussion powering the track forward while a stabbing synth motif evokes a dayglo basement rave in the titular city. Tracer is more of the same, thudding percussion to the fore, squelches and clicks of percussion bursting out of the sound field, and a looped, bleeping melody buried in the mix. Jade has snippets of whispering vocals that haunt the edges of your subconscious; its DAL Remix, one of three bonus tracks on the CD, dispenses with these for reverberating whooshes and shivering bursts of synth radiation. On many tracks, theres a near-constant syncopated off-beat that gives the whole thing a kind of tribal feel. Theres a ton of thick sub-bass on this record that you really need a pair of big subs to properly appreciate -- theres no doubt these tracks would sound massive in the club. But what really makes the album is the intensely detailed sound design, which has always been a standout feature of Modells work; he incorporates manipulated field recordings into nearly every track, creating mysterious, irreproducible textures. Theres little variation on initial listen, but more is revealed with every repeat spin, making this a great headphone album, too; just dont expect to drift off. ~ John D. Buchanan