- In 2007, DeepChord Presents Echospace made one of the most loved dub techno albums in the genre's recent history, The Coldest Season. Rod Modell and Stephen Hitchell struck a masterful balance of drone, heavy effects processing, rhythm, ambience and field recordings. As a live record from artists who obsess over detail, Live In Detroit [Ghost In The Sound] might seem like an oddity. But the album is actually the duo's best since The Coldest Season, highlighting a more club-ready sound that loses none of the project's sweeping scope.
Live In Detroit [Ghost In The Sound] isn't DeepChord Presents Echospace's first live record—seven years ago, Modell and Hitchell released [LIVE]. But that collection culled fragments from larger recordings and presented them as individual tracks. Live In Detroit [Ghost In The Sound] focuses instead on one performance, with all the peaks and valleys that entails. Live albums are uncommon in dance music—for the most part, the sets are tweaked versions of what already exists on a record. Not so here. This is a whirlwind performance with a unique story, delivered with the expert pacing that defined both of DeepChord Presents Echospace's studio albums.
You can hear the crowd's whoops on Live In Detroit [Ghost In The Sound], which gives the the duo's severe style a more joyful feeling. Hitchell and Modell let it rip here. They get funkier and more expressive than their studio recordings and also rework some career highlights. They pile on hand percussion and other rhythmic accents. There's a wider spectrum of moods than dub techno usually affords, enhancing a giddiness that could only come with the spark of improvisation.
The album's dance floor energy is one of its standout qualities. The duo seem to click especially well. There were a few factors in their favour that night: it was a hometown show right in the middle of Movement festival weekend, the largest electronic music event in Detroit and one of the biggest in the world. Whether it was the energy in the room or the dynamic between Modell and Hitchell, the duo's music thrives in this party context.
Tracklist01. [Ghost In The Sound] Live 1
02. [Ghost In The Sound] Live 2
03. [Ghost In The Sound] Live 3
04. [Ghost In The Sound] Live 4
05. [Ghost In The Sound] Live 5
06. [Ghost In The Sound] Live 6
07. [Ghost In The Sound] Live 7
08. [Ghost In The Sound] Live 8
09. [Ghost In The Sound] Live 9
10. [Ghost In The Sound] Live 10
11. [Ghost In The Sound] Live 11
12. [Ghost In The Sound] Live 12