- Is there such a thing as "obscurity through mass production"? That's what Macro label head Stefan Goldmann called the effect of Pete Namlook's enormous catalogue on most listeners. I have to agree. Credit is due to Goldmann, then, for bothering to wade through the ambient maestro's deep body of work and pluck out this dusky gem.
'Subharmonic Atoms' is Namlook at a rigid tempo with slowly ambulating synthesizers. The track opens with a repeated loop, with spacey whooshes lending the proceedings a Namlookian vibe. The loop soon gives way to an extended breakdown, with Namlook eventually combining the two parts into a grand finale of sorts. Simple stuff. But like Desolat's recent reissue of Sebbo's 'Watamu Beach', the secret lies in the fact that the track sounds as if it were composed yesterday. Compare any of Innervisions' forthcoming Muting the Noise compilation to 'Subharmonic Atoms' and you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference.
French deep house auteur Pépé Bradock beefs up the original, adding a hulking bass and accentuating the underlying funkiness of Namlook's first loop. For a while at least. Bradock's past two 12-inches have been concerned with S&M themes and bird calls, respectively. While he doesn't quite get that far out, the "Bug Remix" turns into a shuddering mass at around the three-minute mark as if it's about to rip apart from the seams. It comes back together—just barely—and then floats along its merry way to a completely normal conclusion. Because the beat is jettisoned for more than half its length, I can't imagine many DJs playing this mix out, so for skittish selectors there's always "Bonus Bug", which offers up more than three minutes of the Pépé's mix—beat included. Either way, both are excellent examples of why Bradock is simultaneously one of the most underrated producers around and why he may remain that way for years to come.
TracklistA Subharmonic Atoms
B1 Subharmonic Atoms (Pépé Bradock Bug Remix)
B2 Subharmonic Atoms (Pépé Bradock Bonus Bug)