Deniro
Endless
ESHU
Is dub techno bigger now than it’s ever been? That’s debatable, but it’s certainly hard to remember another point in dance music history when Basic Channel references were being tossed around so liberally. We’re living in boom times for fuzzy textures and underwater rhythms, but what’s funny is that even with all of these new dub techno records hitting the shelves and racking up critical acclaim (including from outlets like First Floor), a large number of those releases show only a passing interest in the “techno” portion of the genre.
Endless, however, does not have that problem. The latest EP from Deniro, it finds the Dutch producer—whose extensive catalog includes contributions to labels like Clone, Trip, Sungate, Token and his own TAPE imprint—downshifting away from his punchier output and trying his hand at dub a techno, a sound that’s “close to his heart.” All the genre’s usual signifiers are here—plush reverb, gently rippling textures, a tangible sense of patience and calm—yet even in his most pensive moments, Deniro never ventures far from the dancefloor.
“Relics” glimmers like the surface of a Mediterranean pool on a blazing summer day, and exudes the blissed-out vibe of someone who’s gliding across that pool on a giant inflatable chair, but its underlying pulse insistently reminds everyone in earshot that dozing off is not an option. The beat is even chunkier on “Ensoniq,” Deniro’s collaboration with UK techno veteran Steve O’Sullivan, but rather that evoking late-night debauchery, it conjures visions of sweaty sunrises—and makes the experience sound downright elegant. Yet it’s the EP’s title track that proves most immersive. Clocking in at more than 11 minutes, “Endless” doesn’t quite live up to its title, but with its hypnotic groove and ethereal melodic chords, it’s absolutely the sort of thing that will leave listeners wishing that it really did go on forever.