Raised in Miami and now based in Berlin, techno / tech-house producer David Gtronic has spent the last six years issuing a prolific number of 12” collaborations alongside other producers like Randall M and Santos, but this debut 12” ‘Kshama’ on Dubfire’s SCI & TEC label offers up his first solo EP. Rather than occupying the main room Ibiza-oriented space that you might expect however, the four new tracks collected here see Gtronic instead taking things on a meticulously-detailed journey into deep, nocturnal techno.
‘Virtus’ opens proceedings with a warm glow of harmonic tones fading into focus against rattling aluminium-light snares and 4/4 kicks, the hypnotic rolling groove locking into focus with the arrival of shimmering dubbed-out synth washes, the grinding digital contortion lurking amidst the precise mechanistic rhythms becoming more evident by the track’s second half. By contrast, ‘Confusion’ goes for a more bass-loaded electro-funk feel as looming sub-bass pads lurk amidst burbling analogue synth sequences, dubbed out metallic clangs, as ghostly fragments of vocal samples flit between the pressurised tech-house snares.
On the flipside, title track ‘Kshama’ breaks the sense of dark reverie that’s built up, instead opting for a rattling house-centred wander that sees squelching analogue synth FX and pitched-up soul samples gradually getting overtaken by what sounds like murmuring electronic insects as the harsh snares break down, leaving the tin-foil light hi-hats plenty of space to tease before the track drops back in.
If it’s the closest thing to a bright poppy moment here, elsewhere ‘909 Groover’ lives up to its name, sending a throbbing 4/4 kickdrum pulse powering against grinding digitally contorted textures and eerie subaquatic burbles before the streamlined rhythms begin to reach their full hammering momentum. If dark mechanistic techno atmospheres along the lines of Audion sound like your thing, you’ll probably love this.
