Oliver Deutschmann Breakdown

As a resident of Berlin's legendary Panorama Bar/Berghain club and co-operator of the Vidab label alongside Stephen Hill, Oliver Deutschmann has established himself as a force to be reckoned with in contemporary dance music. Like his imprint's mission to release timeless club music, Deutschmann's own sound remains rooted in classic ideas while smartly pushing them forward with new and innovative production techniques. It's a sound that has earned him support from respected labels like Soma, Aim, and Caduceus is pleased to have Deutschmann for our eighth release with two original tracks backed by remixes from Dutch legend Steve Rachmad and Lad. The front-and-center insistent acid line, typewriter percussion, and drum rolls of "Breakdown" reference familiar elements, but it is also clearly contemporary. Eschewing the dirty, thrown-together analogue production common today, Deutschmann controls each sound carefully and builds a heads-down groove unmistakably Berlin in origin. Once the title vocal sample enters, dementia inevitably results, but it moves in a long, slow crescendo rather than a sudden descent. "Braineater" is pacier and superficially less twisted but equally relentless, the gradually increasing drum density custom-made for abuse in Tresor's basement. Sterac's remix of "Breakdown" progresses in sections with each illuminating a different aspect of the original; he then combines them in layers with emphasis on dirty drums to power through. Ever adept at finding contrasts, Lad slows "Braineater" down to a grinding crunch and adds layers of vocal clips and spaced-out synth for the deepest effort here.