From its opening beats this is an album that wears its deep minimal techno and dub roots like a badge of honour. The album debuts with a Basic Channel style composition, Dub By The River, which gently and gradually introduces the listener into the captivating journey that is Pulshar’s Brotherhood.
The nods to artists like Basic Channel and Chain Reaction that are kick off the album can sound derivative and uninspiring unless listened to in the wider context of the album, which takes those well worn themes into a new and different directions. Clearly Spanish duo Pablo Bolivar and graphic designer and vocalist Aphro Sainz are heavily influenced by Berlin style minimal techno and dub, particularly by acts such as Rhythm and Sound but that doesn’t detract from the overall achievement of this album. While at first listening Brotherhood’s similarity with such artists did distract me from the nuances of the album, on subsequent listening more of the nuances of the album start to shine through.
Golden Brown, a cover of the Stranglers, is one of the standout tracks on this release, a dubby minimal techno fusion with ethereal vocals from Sainz and a mellow tempo that ably reinvents this classic. It’s through tracks like this that you can hear the influences of acts like Scientist and Paul St Hilarie, artists that Pulshar claim as influences.
The album moves from its deeply minimal dubby opening onto a more digital tip as it evolves and explores a diverse musical landscape as we travel through the album. Streets Calling Me is a tasty reminder of mid nineties Mo Wax trip hop while Ashmatic is a trip to the orient which features Asian style string samples. As the album moves into deeper territory it makes inroads towards more classical digital synth territory as the album evolves, with big digital chords playing off against the minimal beats.
Released through Barcelona’s PhonoBox records, Brotherhood is an exciting debut album from a new electronic duo that provides new and interesting insights into a familiar and well explored genre, it’s an album well worth a listen and an act well worth listening out for in the future.
There is a limited edition double disc version which adds a full disc of remixes including a fabulously gaseous dub by Detroit’s CV313, with Sven Weissman, Novel 23, and Soultourist delivering fantastic reworkings of the album.
Gordon Finlayson
