Quicksand / Getaway

Dettmann is king of Berghain, the Berlin club for which said producer has honed his sound. Home to primarily Ostgut Ton, Dettmann's production style is skeletal minimal. Creeping, bare-bones tracks that, while buoyed by a danceable, solid rhythm section, writhe and twist with an almost tortured, subdued agony. Dettmann's minimal in one of ghostly synths and abrasive, atonal stabs of white noise and seemingly emotionless pads and synths. His production is in full force on this, his first solo 12" for Ostgut Ton.

QUICKSAND: Immediately, this is a Dettmann production. A solid kick underpins a wriggling, skeletal synth line that pans from one side to the other, with occasional washes of sound and upward or downward pitches in sound. A heavy, grainy snare is brought in every four bars before a wonderfully placed hi-hat establishes the commonplace rhythm that will support this track. The wavering, drunken synth line spirals, dives, caves, and rolls along over a completely unpredictable path through the nearly nine minutes of this track. There is no climax, either. A squealing buzzsaw synth brings in a minor melodic element, but it falls flat since this track doesn't need it at all. The topography of the sound is stunning alone, and this synth line only dents the overall feel of the track. But overall, a solid cut for the head and a little bit less so for the floor. Minimal techno at its most spastic and skeletal. Only Dettmann...

(4/5)



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GETAWAY: On the flip, Getaway begins with a wicked eerie ambient wash of rings, keys, and "oohs". A deep kick enters next, beginning to establish rhythm. A churning, low-end gravitating tom follows suit, further shaping the rhythm and thickening the already deep low-end to something equivalent to the consistency of frozen chunky chicken noodle soup. A pulsating, bleeping synth comes next, giving the track its first melodic element. As things grow and chug along, another spacey synth enters, further adding to the tracks deep, mysterious tone. The drums churn along to the point of almost tribal, warmed up a bit as is not usual for Dettmann. This extra synth line doesn't really add to the track that much, and it wavers too much between ambient and minimal. Dettmann is a great producer, but I can't even easily tell you what this track was aimed to do. It first plays to a more ambient tone, but the drums and rhythm section speak a different tone. Not a bad cut, but not classic Dettmann.

(3/5)

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QUICKSAND / GETAWAY = (3.5/5)


A wonderful A-side and a mediocre B-side are what you'll find here. The A-side is classic Dettmann, I might add, and future releases find him further honing this style of minimal that, while lacking melodically, makes up with powerfully catchy and minimalistic drums, and an effects-laden synth/pad workout that moves through too many dynamics to name, yet always keeping attention. A great start for Dettmann.

-NL