- Keeping it simple while sounding fresh is one of the biggest challenges for techno producers. On one hand, using just a few components poses the risk that a track can sound under-produced and without direction, especially if the key elements are lacking in depth and resonance. On the other hand, as the glut of sub-standard mnml demonstrates, using too many effects, filters and delays nearly always fails to compensate for poor basic arrangements.
Clearly, Tresor resident Mike Dehnert understands these concerns. In his approach to sound design, arranging and understanding the dynamics required for techno dance floors, the Berlin producer is an advocate of simple yet deadly effective arrangements. Umluft takes inspiration from the clubby end of the Basic Channel/Chain Reaction, but Dehnert isn't some lazy copycat: "One" features dubby, textured chords but also tough, grainy kicks and occasional, perfectly timed bursts of metallic, visceral hi-hats that guarantee the track's powerful effect on the dance floor. "Two," meanwhile, revolves around a swaggering, chugging groove and a building chord sequence, but once again the devil's in the details as Dehnert's arrangement features a high-pitched, tone-shifting bleep that insinuates itself into the foreground. Umluft shows that with some creativity, it's still possible to stand out in an overpopulated landscape.