Drumcell – CLR069

Label: CLRRelease: 16/09/2013

Whisper it quietly as there are some people are inexplicably going to take umbrage with what I’m about to say but there are people in America making great techno who aren’t from Detroit and weren’t around at the scenes inception. Sure, many of the scenes legends are still dropping awesome tracks but that shouldn’t mean that we adopt a form of snobbery towards newer producer in the same way the house scene seems to have done after its mainstream revival. There are a merry band of producers from across the states dropping classic sounding efforts on us whilst retaining a contemporary edge and with that in mind we welcome L.A native Drumcell to serve up this weeks single of the week.

Long associated with the labels he set up in Droid Recordings and Droid Behavior in addition to a slew of releases on credible underground techno labels that hark back to the mid-90’s Drumcell’s latest release finds a home on Chris Liebing’s highly regarded CLR imprint following the release of his debut album ‘Sleep Complex’ on the imprint last month. 

The first single to make its way off of the album is the CLR069 EP featuring album track ‘Disturbance’ backed by three remixes including two from Pfirter and one from Tommy Four Seven who continues to build his reputation as a remix artist.

In the aptly named original you can really get a sense of Drumcell’s industrial and punk background with grating metallic overlaps from the noise movement permeating that classic techno drum beat to create an interestingly foreboding effort full of anticipation and dark overtures. The remixes from Pfirter have already become two weapons in label boss Chris Liebing’s arsenal over the summer whilst the work of Mr. Four Seven continues to showcase his abilities to mould beats to his own signature sound complete with unusual rhythms and deep haunting atmospheres.

If you like you techno slightly claustrophobic with a shadowy overtones, like a night spent in Berghain then this is for you. Accompanied by a perfectly fitting videoby The Automatic Message, gives you an even more intimate idea of the disturbing vibe that characterizes the release. Challenging but not without it’s rewards, it’s an unconventional choice for single of the week not for the faint of heart but an excellent single none the less.