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30 March 2015

DJ Deep & Roman Poncet Present Adventice: Extraction / Hydraulic Pressure (Tresor)

These two EPs deliver a fantastic one-two punch of deep, haunting techno, some of the best stuff I’ve heard to come out of the Tresor camp in a while. I’m not very familiar with either of the personalities involved, and I suppose that allows me to just go with my gut impression completely — and from the very opening patterns of “Extracapsular Extraction,” I was sold. It’s a dense, tense cloud of sound, threatening to thrown down a massive beat at any time but never delivering on it. When a beat does come in with more heft, it’s syncopated and erratic, complementing the swirl of sound overhead. It’s pure tension from start to finish, and it sounds especially good on headphones.

“Data Retrieval” is a tightly wound minimal workout that pretty much starts as it ends, with a repetitious, menacing, stabby lead pattern and a deep, thudding kick. It recalls the deeper waters of Luke Slater’s Planetary Assault Systems project in recent years, not concerned with pummeling their audience so much as using slowly evolving minimalism to compel movement and ramp up tension. “Extraction Force” feels the most steady and spacious of the bunch, with some drier sounds and more space between; it doesn’t share the same claustrophobia of the first two cuts, but it’s no less pointed with its sharp zaps of noise and percolating delays. For all of the gritty depth of the Extraction EP, perhaps my preference of the two is the relentless Hydraulic Pressure EP. “Hydraulic Jack” has all of the punch of classic Jeff Mills or Joey Beltram but with a synthy elasticity that feels distinctly Berlin. “Hydraulic Pump” ups the ante from there, though, with its deeper, thicker groove and nervous hi-hats. It shares the Berlin tautness of the opening track, syncopated but efficient.

“Artesian Well” is a brilliant comedown, a beatless treatment that otherwise shares much in common with the preceding tracks, similar synth stabs, slowly morphing effects, looping samples and synth patterns, but with the bottom completely dropped out. After the visceral tracks before it, it’s a handsome respite that shows off their production chops without the added brute force. Fans of straightforward techno will no doubt love these as much as I do — excellent from start to finish, both halves are highly recommended.

Buy Extraction: Boomkat | Bleep | iTunes | Amazon
Buy Hydraulic Pressure: Boomkat | Bleep | iTunes | Amazon

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