- Proper bass science from an under-the-radar label, complete with a Toumba remix.
- From Sheffield bleep to the Birmingham sound, from Ben Sims to Rebekah, "UK techno" is too amorphous to be a genre yet too relevant to not be. For the past decade, it's become shorthand to describe the post-post-dubstep vacuum, a style of techno that fuses bass music aesthetics and sensibilities with muscular, broken drum patterns. Although it's usually associated with Bristol and London labels—Timedance, Livity Sound, Hessle Audio, etc.—the Scottish outfit Redstone Press has been quietly putting out some of the best bottom-heavy techno out there. From dark industrial steppers courtesy of Liam Robertson (half of the duo Clouds) to label founder Ethan Harfield's breakbeat science as Pseudopolis, if you're in the market for complex percussion with plenty of bass weight, the label is a safe bet. Their newest 12-inch is their first to venture outside of the British Isles, tapping Puerto Rico-via-New York producer Tano for their best release yet.
"10-11" is primed for a drum circle in the ninth circle of hell, as loose hand drums orbit under menacing razor toothed synths and building sub pressure. One of 2023's most in-demand producers, Toumba, is tasked with remix duties. Slowed to a staggering 90 BPM, the original becomes even tenser thanks to Toumba's snare rolls, and the bass even heavier. Tano's other original, "Blend of Poetry," keeps the pagan ritualism of "10-11" via live drums and whispered vocals, but the speed garage-ish bassline and occasional melodic breakdown add a bit of funk. Delay Grounds remixes this one, rounding the record off on a lighter note: trance chords and a fluffy arpeggio.
While "Blend of Poetry" is certainly a beast, both the original "10-11" and Toumba's remix are the paragon of how low-end alchemy can reshape conventional techno tunes. This is, in essence, the crux of what "UK techno" has come to stand for. The fact that neither of the producers here are British goes to show how global this sound has gone.
Tracklist01. 10-11
02. 10-11 (Toumba Remix)
03. Blend Of Poetry
04. Blend Of Poetry (Delay Grounds Remix)