DeepChord presents Echospace ‎– The Coldest Season

There was a reason this album was rated one of the top 100 best releases of the past decade in so many different respected magazines, to this day it's still one of my personal favorites. If you're just finding electronic music for the first time or a seasoned listener this is a trip worth taking.

For someone like me who's just starting to explore the depths of dub techno (of course I've been aware of it and other dub forms over the years, but I'd never experienced more than casual flirtations with the genre), this is an excellent entry point. I'd heard most of the early Echospace EPs by the time I heard this, so I knew what to expect, but it's amazing how the album transports you into its frozen sonic landscape. The static hiss that whirls around most tracks coats the lush, filtered chords, well-paced beats, and dub basslines like a gentle snowstorm, easing you through the 80-minute experience. This is definitely an album to experience as a whole, preferably on good-quality headphones, but it's also nice to put on your stereo as relaxing background music.

I bought this album after reading a review posted below from shopper on Amazon in the USA. I hadn't listened to this because of I've been so deeply absorbed by their new album "Liumin" which I also posted words about. After listening to "The Coldest Season" at length I wonder how these two albums relate or how the drastic change in their sound happened? This review couldn't be further from my thoughts or the truth of how I feel about it or this genre of Berlin-ism music. This album is something remarkable, I now understand how it became so popular in electronic music and why many magazines listed it as a one of the most influential albums of the decade.

At the end of 2010, this has yet to be equaled by anything related to ambient dub, dub techno or post-Berlin/basic channel. I've sampled, heard, or own a copy of as much of what has come before and since as anyone with this predilection. It's so subtly melodic that it transcends the genre of their deservedly acclaimed "forebearers" Rhythm & Sound. There's really nothing like it, including the 2010 follow-up "Liumin" which is nice, but does not massage the brain and calm the pulse like the ironically warmer "The Coldest Season". Innovation totally without pretense or forced eclecticism. A perfect electronic recording in my book.

The Coldest Season opens with an atmospheric storm of white noise; a field recording manipulated by Modell and Hitchell. After minutes of buildup a beat unexpectedly kicks in, panning and evolving constantly. Thus marks the beginning of Echospace's first album and a new direction for dub techno.

The storm is prevalent for the entire duration of the recording, a high frequency hissing offset by killer bass hooks. Just like the minimal cover art is grey and white, the contrast is obvious and delightful for anybody 'trained' in dub techno. Special mention goes to Aequinoxium with the most addictive bassline I have ever heard in a track - 13 minutes of relentless sub-marine exploration. Celestialis is also a favourite, with glacial bursts added in the first few minutes and the bass gearing up throughout the track. It's the most progressive track on the album - most of them are content on chugging hypnotically onwards.

The only disappointment for me is the closing Empyrean. This track sounds playful and more clubby - not a good way to end such an album as this; it's not a bad track in it's own right but it would be more appropriate somewhere else. An ambient exit, slowly peeling off the layers, would have been preferable.

This album sounds even better played during snowy days in the winter months, when the land outside your window looks like the cover art. At other times it reminds me of traversing the ocean floor due to the deep underwater sounds.

Production here is excellent, but doesn't reach the quality of the vinyl segments of the Coldest Season (CDs never will). Be sure to listen with awesome headphones for a massive experience.

Stunning! the cover design and music reminds me of some of the vast expanses you can see whilst travelling through Canada, mid winter. There arent many artists out there that are capable of producing music with this level of atmosphere (if any!). Track names like First Point of Aries, Celestials, Ocean of Emptiness and Sunset, you can only imagine the blistering cold outdoors somewhere remote and looking up at the stars in an unpolluted, clear sky only to see the sunrise a few hours later as you gasp in awe of the sheer beauty, bitterness and brutality of such a climate. Emotional, atmospheric ambient, soundscapes entwined with dubby techno beats
and echoes. The quality and composition of this release is exceptional. I would wholeheartedly recommend this cd to anyone who appreciates quality electronic music, perfect.

On the train I started reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy (author of No Country for Old Men). The Road is a dark, post-apocalyptic story about a nameless man traveling the cold, ash covered landscape, with his son. To drown away the commuters' chatter I read with my headphones on. Today I'm listening to The Coldest Season by Rod Modell (DeepChord) and Steven Hitchell (Soultek) together known as Echospace, releasing this first full length on Modern Love. I brought up The Road, because The Coldest Season couldn't have been a more appropriate soundtrack to the novel. The tracks are full of windy, ambient, white noise, dubbed out minor chords, and minimal techno beats. The only warmest aspect of the album is the sound of vintage analog equipment. The coldness doesn't let up from the fact that all of the tones, static, and field recordings were done in Chicago and Detroit. But the low temperature does not take away from the beautiful experience captured by this instant classic. I immediately listened again and again. Recommended for that Basic Channel sound, and if you like Pole, Vladislav Delay and Monolake. Favorite Track: the 13+ minute Aequinoxium.

On the train I started reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy (author of No Country for Old Men). The Road is a dark, post-apocalyptic story about a nameless man traveling the cold, ash covered landscape, with his son. To drown away the commuters' chatter I read with my headphones on. Today I'm listening to The Coldest Season by Rod Modell (DeepChord) and Steven Hitchell (Soultek) together known as Echospace, releasing this first full length on Modern Love. I brought up The Road, because The Coldest Season couldn't have been a more appropriate soundtrack to the novel. The tracks are full of windy, ambient, white noise, dubbed out minor chords, and minimal techno beats. The only warmest aspect of the album is the sound of vintage analog equipment. The coldness doesn't let up from the fact that all of the tones, static, and field recordings were done in Chicago and Detroit. But the low temperature does not take away from the beautiful experience captured by this instant classic. I immediately listened again and again. Recommended for that Basic Channel sound, and if you like Pole, Vladislav Delay and Monolake. Favorite Track: the 13+ minute Aequinoxium.

This release caught me completely off guard. I had read reviews saying how amazing it was, and I had experience with Modern Love before (Andy Stott) so I knew it was a quality label. I wasted no time ordering it and upon listening to it the first time I was completely taken over. What was 80 minutes of music seemed to go by in only 5! This is music my friends... Whether you're a fan of dub techno or not, this is something I believe everyone could enjoy. Bass, echoes, reverb and just an overall mood that really does feel like a cold season. Most of the tracks have a distant static noise in the background, this adds even more to the depth of music and you can almost feel the cold air while listening. I've never heard anything (save for DeepChord) quite like this before. Impossible to pick favorite tracks. This really is an album that needs to be listened to in one sitting. Treat yourself to this bad boy, you won't regret it.

Its been a long time since the height of the Basic Channel sound when Maurizio was producing was producing those timeless slices of dub-techno minimalism. As that sound evolved into modern dub Reggae it seemed for a while that this sub-genre was no more.

Of course, those with an ear to the underground would have known that the sound never went away. Rod Modell, under his Deepchord moniker has been producing minimal dub techno since the late nineties. Initially, he was often written off as a basic channel clone who added little to the sound and at times this may have been justified. Some the the earlier relases tended to lack a little identity and sound somewhat bland.

However, on this release along with Steve Hitchell, they have taken the sound and made it their own. The album begins with some highly minimal, static driven abstraction and becomes more and more complex as it goes on, making more use of cavernous bass, rhythmic beat constructions and effects that push this sound to its limits. Serious late night headphone business! An essential album...

The only question is where can they take the sound from here?

Loads of bass, lots of effects on the synth stabs, echo, reverb, check, check, and triple check. Music to drown yourself in? Check. Welcome to the "Coldest Season" and I'll tell you now, it's not cold. It's a serious dip into the world of deep tech, and it's warm and inviting. It's beautiful and gorgeous, full of tracks that really don't go anywhere and were never meant to. It's minimal techno. It's a gorgeous tapestry of sound, with waves hitting like the ocean in a hurricane while you sit in the eye of the storm. This side of technro is as expeimental as everything that :Zoviet*France" did, yet it doesn't beat you about with it. It just simply invites you in. And it's all there for you to ride those crests of... SOUND. It's just plain sound at this point. No songs, no, that doesn't matter, this is the soundtrack of your dreams. Beautiful soundscapes that will make your subwoofers shake and make your eardrums quiver. My God, this is music.