Following two top quality releases by newcomer Allison Chanic and Japanese producer Imugem Orihasam, the young Bedouin Records outlet returns with a third delivery signed by techno-savvy Dez Williams. An interesting pick for the Emirates-based imprint definitely, Williams first made a name for himself on the IDM scene with an excellent debut LP titled ‘Elektronik Religion‘ before progressively devoting himself to a sturdier kind of sound, exploring various horizons with the same propensity to stretch-out his music to very opposite ends in a jiffy. The kind of hardened, versatile profile you’d like to hear of a bit more these days.
‘Strength in Numbers‘ certainly counts amongst Williams’ most accomplished pieces of work in terms of sound architecture. The fast-paced opener ‘Acid Bath‘ debuts the EP under the best auspices, unleashing ferociously acid-driven basslines – what a surprise – that directly teleport you to a Wipeout-like ride over a desert map. The track becomes somewhat more fascinating when the basslines actually debouch on a subtly distilled melody combined with a well-accentuated break. A gorgon’s gaze. With ‘Silvaphish‘, things even get a bit more spacey. As on the first track, Williams drops another inspired melody in pure oriental taste that shares the foreground with a bouncing string of wobbly bass waves held back until they clash in full effect. The track shifts forms, finely orchestrated from beginning to end and achieves convincing that Williams is one of today’s most underrated producers.
On the flip side, Ekman and Bintus are on remix duty. On his side, the Dutch producer opts for a total contrapuntal approach of ‘Acid Bath‘, giving up on the acid part of the bath to build a gargling engine in pure Ekman style. The syncopated groove gets plunged into a greasy sauce of distortions and saturated fatty fried marmite of faded nuts and bolts. You won’t recognize any of the original traits behind that melting mask. For his part, Bintus bones ‘Silvaphish‘ from top to bottom to revamp it industrial-style. The result is an absolute stomper, hitting hard in the guts, implacably advancing straight down its obscure fate. That tune may not be the key component it’s not the weak link either, not particularly dazzling but doing the job pretty well. Both the remixes offer very distinct perspectives and that’s the most pleasant aspect of this slope.
If you’re on the lookout for some intelligent and well-tried acid techno then ‘Strength in Numbers’ is for you. With that record, Dez Williams delivers a wonder of a two track mind-melter with solid supports from two boys in the wind. No doubt that the UK producer is one of the most unfairly forgotten techno acts of today so if you don’t care about the hype but rather look for a really good sound architect that’s got plenty of tricks down his sleeve, then just put your paws on that platter. You won’t regret it.
Strength In Numbers is out now on Bedouin Records, order a vinyl copy from Juno.
Discover more about Dez Williams and Bedouin Records on Inverted Audio.