The fledgling Elastic Dreams imprint is poised to announce themselves with an EP by A Sagittariun entitled The Circle Stops Somewhere. Not much can be gleaned from the press release except the promise to “bring out no-hype, no-bullshit, deep and dark electronics”. This intent is certainly made clear with the drafting of dub techno doyen and Fachwerk boss Mike Dehnert to remix the title track, contributing two very different but distinctly Dehnert-tinged interpretations.
The Circle Stops Somewhere straddles the space between light and dark by anchoring bright, lofty chords with a leaden, low-slung bass, leaving the percussion to skip and dance lithely in-between. The soaring melody occasionally runs the risk of getting too carried away and becoming corny, but the producers succeed in keeping things roped in and on course. The MD2 Hard mix, on the other hand, dispenses with any such restraint. Mike Dehnert gives his trademark dubby chords the elastic band treatment, rotating every reverberating snap over a rigid, stomping 4/4. The MD2 Mello mix is a far more relaxed outing by comparison, with an airy reworking of some of the original elements and some off-kilter noodling keeping things lighthearted while still maintaining the impetus to keep things moving forward and upward. A rare subdued effort from the Berliner, but one that reminds us that there is more to him than the brash, abrasive sound for which he is better known. Telepathic Heights rounds things off with its pleasantly chunky, analogue bassline laced over skipping snares and playful Latin tom-toms. Overall, a well-balanced and suitably varied release from the newcomers, and one that bodes well for the future of informed, refined, no-nonsense house and techno.
Words by Robin Would