Deepbass – Atmos
(Informa Records, 2021-02-18)
While most techno artists try to reach a certain notoriety, even in the underground scene, as a way to sell more records and/or to feed a more or less legitimate ego gap, Deepbass is somewhere else, he travels, geographically and musically. As a DJ, he enjoys festivals but prefers small intimate venues over halls of fame, finding in the deeper connection with the audience his profound source of happiness. Same with his circle of friends: he enjoys the real world, the real contact, more than the virtual identities. His “realism” can be sensed in his music, authentic, sincere, seemingly simple yet close and accessible.
It’s been a while since we haven’t heard from him; a massive EP on Planet Rhythm in 2019, then a long radio silence. When “Atmos” got released, it had therefore a flavour of “come back”, making us very excited to play it. The cherry on the cake, the Scottish artist returns with a whole album, his third one, and like the two others, on his own label: it’s the sound of home.
Not sure of what happened during this long break, but in “Atmos”, Deepbass has obviously released the tension of his past music. The first listening made us feel the well-designed drone-ish techno he accustoms us to, but in the second one: “wait, it’s more light than usual”; “wait, it’s more fluent”; “wait, it’s different”… Eight tracks, one journey, obviously designed for a mix, which he made here, and maybe the preparation of the live act he was talking about a while back.
After some listenings, we reached some metaphysical thoughts not worth mentioning here: it’s very easy to get lost in this album…
Now, we are wondering if as a person, Deepbass has found the peace that his music is suggesting. Because at the top of his groundbreaking career, and with such a beautiful new music orientation, we hope that he’s back on track, ready to produce more regularly again. In a world made of automated “likes” and “followers”, of “voyeurism” and “fake selfies”, the key to success lies in the heart of artists such as him, who haven’t forgotten that “letting the music speak by itself” is the fundament of the underground culture.
WRITING BY: CEDRIC FINKBEINER | 21 FEBRUARY 2021
