Round Black Ghosts

From day one, the pursuit of dub's influence on contemporary electronic music has been one of scape's guiding principles. Round Black Ghosts continues this tradition and, at the same time, adds a new facet to the mix. This CD, compiled by label owners Stefan Betke (Pole) and Barbara Preisinger together with Tim Tetzner (the heart and mind behind Berlin's Dense Records shop), throws a spotlight on dubstep, a relatively recent genre, oscillating within and beyond it's own fluid boundaries. Originally a London phenomenon, dubstep pursues a different path from Berlin's trademark dub techno. Where dub techno borrows from the more traditional forms of dub and the corresponding mix techniques, dubstep not only lays claim to the strongly dub and reggae-influenced legacy of British rave culture, but also draws on various other styles without missing a step. Now, an entire generation of young dubstep producers have started to explore the genre, inventing some new, previously-unheard sounds. Round Black Ghosts presents a concise overview of the latest developments, ready to take these new sounds to a wider audience. The artists on the compilation debug and recycle the aesthetics of techno, playfully merging dubstep bass lines that shake your bowels with the feedbacks of the echo chamber. While Martyn takes a detour to Detroit with his warm synthesizer chords, Syncom Data's quietly pulsating track proudly pursues the paths of Berlin's dub techno legacy, and Elemental takes inspiration from the harsh sounds of IDM and acid house. Yet despite their different approaches, the overall mix sounds impressively coherent. Beyond the genre's unifying and characteristic bass lines, all tracks leave plenty of room for deep delves into their own, private soundscapes. Other artists include 2562, Untold, Pole, Ramadanman, Pinch, Peverelist and Pangaea.