Various - A Fiction Universe

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  • Taped Artifact is a promising Dutch label focused on the "artification of deep, atmospheric music." So far, that's meant reverb-heavy dance music polished to the point that it almost sounds slippery, exemplified by the glossy dub techno of label founder Kevin Arnemann. The shiny sounds are easy to like, but they can just as easily go in one ear and out the other. The label's best moments, like Arnemann's "Exposed" or Natan H's "Erklingen Dub," take a straight-ahead approach bolstered with little details and idiosyncrasies. Arnemann's contribution to the label's first compilation EP, A Fiction Universe, is his finest work yet with this formula. "Plexus" is a charging dub techno tune, like Chain Reaction with a 2016 makeover. The steamrolling drums give it a muscle that dub techno often lacks, especially once they double up halfway through. Percussion is the secret weapon on A Fiction Universe. With its surging but woozy melodies, Physical Therapy's "Emotional Dub" initially sounds like a melancholy, Life And Death-style number, but the piled-on drum programming makes it unpredictable, slipping in and out of lively rolls and broken tom patterns. Hiver go with drum breaks on "Intersect," and they add dramatic string melodies that make it feel like a house version of LTJ Bukem's atmospheric drum & bass. Belgian duo Elmer don't make the same impact with "Simple Models," where an undulating brass lead thrashes around while the rest of the tune motors along. It's a serviceable track, but it lacks the personality of its counterparts.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Physical Therapy - Emotional Dub A2 Elmer - Simple Models B1 Kevin Arnemann - Plexus B2 Hiver - Intersect
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