- Although it may have dropped at the start of summer, this 12-inch more than deserves a review now, not only for its all-out quality, but also as a timely reminder of the imminent release of Pulshar's double CD set Brotherhood. The three cuts here remix tracks from the two previous Pulshar releases, the Babylon Fall Collection mini-album and the enigmatic "Nospheratu," which has already seen an Echospace reduction.
Pulshar is a collaboration between Pablo Bolivar, dub techno veteran, and Sergio Aphro, a graphic designer and former vocalist with reggae groups Better Collie and Loud and Lone. Their unique take on dub techno is here lured over the threshold into three completely distinct territories with striking results.
Sven Weisemann opens the release with a side-long minimal percussive workout of "Nospheratu." It's some of his best work to date—almost magically, the little bongo runs and rim shots fill out the dark, cavernous dub spaces with a velvety opulence. Aphro's plaintive vocals weave in and out to form melodic shadows as the polyrhythms accumulate and break down in haunting waves over a forceful and driving bass pressure.
In stark contrast to Weisemann's more sublime offering is the more up-front deep house workout of "Dub by the River" by Zürich's Soultourist collective (this time attributed to Philippe Wüger, Ron Shiller and Tobi Schweizer). It's immediately more present, not just for the bigger sounds, but also for the sly working of snares and hi-hats that add infinite angles and possibilities to the sense of movement and make it not only a highly danceable track, but one for deep listening.
Madrid duo Above Smoke (Javier Álvarez) and Dubbyman (José Manuel Alvarez) round things off with a progressive interpretation of "Mr Money Man" that somehow encapsulates the whole set. Their Deep Explorer mix seems at first a nebulous dub techno soundscape until it fills out with hypnotic tribal house percussion and more of Aphro's vocal calls. Beautiful and danceable, it seems to be the perfect link between the other two mixes. Overall, unmissable.
Tracklist A Nospheratu (Sven's SphereDub)
B1 Dub by the River (Soultourist Re-Dub)
B2 Mr Money Man (Dubbyman & Above Smoke Deep Explorer Mix)