- Luke Standing has come a long way since his earliest records as Furesshu, and not only geographically. (He's moved to Berlin from Bristol, where he rubbed shoulders with artists like Asusu and Kidkut.) Reemerging as Blue Hour in 2013, he set about stripping away the more cartoonish aspects of his techno sound, leaving behind a '90s-indebted style with big room applicability. His music appeared on Function's Berghain 07 mix and has been remixed by Answer Code Request. In its combination of muscle, restraint and retro-reverence, his sound is a natural fit for the Ostgut camp. Miramar marks the furthest point in its journey onto the peaktime Berghain dance floor.
It's also Standing's most intimidating record to date. The euphoric melodies that often guide his work are absent, causing the focus to shift onto the drums—dense, monolithic gridworks whose intensity rarely lets up. "Taranis" is the more striking of the two, thanks to the chords that rise like geyser spumes out of the craggy landscape. On "Miramar," similar synth work is buried deep beneath a scree of hi-hats, leaving you gasping for the tiny wafts of reverb floating across its surface.
TracklistA Taranis
B Miramar