- Noah's Day is Binh's most substantial solo release to date. It's also among his most unassuming. Like the productions on Dreifach, these tracks are focused, linear and don't make structural twists or turns. But that's because they don't really need to—Binh has a knack for writing dexterous basslines that easily sustain momentum for long periods. They have an air-moving roundness to them, yet they're articulate and melodic, shaping and reinforcing the general mood of each track. You can hear this especially on the title cut, "Vonnbo" and "Vega." On the former, the syncopated bass follows a major scale that locks in with the wistful, almost lullaby-esque serenity established by quiet pads and a wooing, beatific melody. The bass and drums go in and out, an acid line briefly makes an appearance and that's about it. Yet nowhere along its seven-plus minutes does the groove falter or wear out its welcome.
Where "Noah's Day" is serene, "Vermo 80" shows Binh's gleefully demented side. You might recognise some production traits from Onur Özer's Frequent Forrest Turn EP, a natural fact given their Treatment collaboration. The claps have the low-bit crunch and primitive aliasing reminiscent of a SP-1200, while a host of miniature synth lines combine into the oddly pitched figures. "Bado" almost sounds like it was tracked in the same session as Dreifach's "Zweifach," sharing the filtered, slap-back hi-hats and swelling synth that land on the down beat of every second bar. A broken kick pattern and major-key synth give this one a comparatively upbeat feel. Again, the quality of the elements allows the structure to simply follow the intensity of the drum programming with little other variation.
If one track embodies Noah's Day, it's "Vonnbo." Calling it "tracky" would be an understatement, as nothing emphatic happens. But, for the umpteenth time, the bassline is a knockout, steadily ascending beneath dry, spartan hats and claps. It occasionally jumps up an octave, which in this reduced context reads as a major change. After an extended workout, a chirruping synth slides its way into the mix. There's little else to speak of, but the aggressively reduced instrumentation and bassline combine to turn this drum track into something distinctive. "Vega" has a similarly effective bassline, wandering its way down a scale with notes complementary to the low-passed pad in the background. "Urfa" is action-packed in comparison, and tugs softly at the heartstrings. The pad melody is affecting, especially when a sustained bass figure dips into the mix. Like the rest of this package, it's a bit faster than your average house or techno production (the BPMs are at least 130), which makes it somewhat more compatible with electro and other pacy sub-genres.
Like the recent Spacetravel double-pack, the consistency of Noah's Day is both its greatest strength and weakness. It's the sort of thing a casual listener might scan through and wonder what the fuss is about. But hearing these productions creep into the mix on a dance floor reveals that the internal simplicity of their construction is deeper and more nuanced. Binh seems to know what he wants from his tracks and he's clearly dedicated to following that specific goal.
TracklistA1 Noah's Day
B1 Vermo 80
B2 Vonnbo
C1 Urfa
D1 Vega
D2 Bado