Subspec is proud to announce the release of ‘Substantia Nigra’ by Berlin-based Techno artist Bosh. They say tracks should tell a story. This EP represents a fine collection of stories. ’Substantia Nigra’ features three original works of dub-influenced, abstract Techno. Bosh’s original version of the title track kicks the EP off with a deep, lo-fi rumbler of a groove… a filtered kick drum provides the basis for a 2-beat FM synth line with a direct tie to 2nd generation Detroit Techno at the core of its DNA. Grinding synths and bit crushed percussion bring the overall sound right up to today. In the first of the remixes on the release Brendon Moeller extends the loops out and explores the space between the drums in ‘Substantia Nigra (Brendon Moeller Dub)’ where the dub elements come to the front in his masterful style. The interplay of solid percussion and bass give a platform for skittering snares and hats too pool and recombine amid clanking echoes of the original track. The name of the game is deep in the night, dark business calculated to do your head in. Brendon Moeller turns to his Echologist guise for the second remix on the EP ‘Substantia Nigra (Echologist Dub)’ dropping the straight ahead approach from the previous remix for a decidedly oblique and off kilter approach that is all about gathering tension to coil and release. Foregoing a standard 4 to the floor pattern for something a bit more broken and shuffling it tells a sinister story from beneath the surface of Bosh’s original.

Up next is the second original track on the EP ‘The Hypocrisy of Consciousness’ — something like a thick field of sound… a held curtain of sound with a nuanced, shifting note progression weaving through it… all held in place by a rolled off 909 thump. ‘The Hypocrisy of Consciousness’ manages to build a beautiful ambience while also delivering a command to move to the dance floor. The first remix of this track is ‘The Hypocrisy of Consciousness (The DJ ESP Woody McBride Irony of Consciousness Remix)’ in which Midwest Acid Legend Woody McBride kicks off with a dialed back version of the original wound around a 3/4 Acid line and which slowly brings up the tension and intensity of the track then letting it expand and slacking until snapping it back into tight focus to reach a PA-blistering peak before settling the listener into a soft landing. ‘The Hypocrisy of Consciousness (JGarrett Dub)’ is up next from Subspec’s own JGarrett. The JGarrett Dub version zeroes in on the rhythm of the chords and lets the funky dub ride as modulating filters and delays fly over a bedrock of solid beats and sub bass culminating in arms-in-the-air release by the end of the track.

Closing out the EP is Bosh’s original ‘Believing in a Contradiction’ guaranteed to shake the foundation with a heavy, insistent sub underpinning staccato synths that swirl in the stereo field as details slowly emerge. The groove coalesces around a simple, commanding beat and highly repetitive tones, all held within a grand halo of sound and reverberation.