18 June 2009

Abe Duque 'Don't Be So Mean' - album review

Abe Duque, Don't Be So Mean, Process Recordings, review
Perfectly described on the first line of the media release as being one of techno's most inspiring and often unsung heroes Abe Duque is the sort of producer talent who doesn’t come by very often.

After dozens of quality singles over the past decade Duque has forged a reputation as being an artist who is part Octave One, part Moodymann and with a few added twists thrown in.

His 2005 album, ‘So Underground It Hurts’, was fantastic and his new LP keeps the bar just as high. ‘Don’t Be So Mean’ is a collection of subtly brilliant tracks mixed with straight up dance floor rockers.

Early on you get the goods with the lead single, ‘Tonight Is Your Answer’, classic deep, dubby house full of slow burning atmospheric sounds which lead into a hypnotic groove which hooks you before you even notice what’s happened. ‘Trash Acid House’, another of the standout tracks, has an almost Blade Runner sound-track vibe to it with ethereal pads, acid tweaks and moody effects.

To cap it off is the almost 80s sounding ‘Salute The Dawn’ features the vocals of Tijana T – who's featured before on Duque releases – alongside a classic piano which is nothing short of one of the coolest blending of diverse elements you’ll hear in dance music.

‘Don’t Be So Mean’ is a solid session of infectious downbeat grooves and killer club tracks (well, not if your thing is poppy house). If this album doesn’t do it for you, I don’t know what will.

Out now on Process Recordings. File under: deep, dubby, techy, housey.

If it weren’t for Mark O’Sullivan's 'Fragments from a Long Country' album this would be the tech album of the 2009 for me. As it stands, to me, they’re on-par with each other, each showing a different take on modern techno.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

looks good rob. ill check it out on BP. Matty