If you've been a fan of electronic music for any period of time, the name Dubfire should need no introduction. From his early days as part of the pioneering group Deep Dish to his genre-defining label SCI+TEC, Dubfire has been at the forefront of electronic music for literally decades. Interestingly enough, up until earlier this year, he's never actually released a full studio album.
That all changed on October 14th, as that day saw the release of EVOLV, a 13-track homage to his roots and the future. Weaving in and out of minimal, tech house, and techno, with splashes of other various genres, EVOLV shows that Dubfire's still got it.
The album starts Celestial, a minimal number that evolves from a simple drumbeat into a more spacey composition over the course of 13 minutes. From there, Swerve, The Bell Tolls, and Dust & Gas are classic snappy stripped-back techno that Dubfire built his name on.
Then comes the most popular track off the album, Dark Matter. The haunting and eerie synth line swirls around in your headphones like some sort of ghostly audio apparition.
Bottom Dweller picks up the pace with a more club-focused energy to it using brisk percussion and a tougher kick drum.
As if one version wasn’t enough, the Meltdown Mix adds an extra level of urgency with an alarm-like sound, hence the name.
Album Review: Dubfire – EVOLV [SCI+TEC]
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Deadbug comes in with a stomping, industrial leaning groove, and more aggressive synth lines.
CHALLNGR 1.2 keeps the energy up with its tempo but takes a dub techno route with classic delay-washed chords.
Escape begins the climax of the album in a driving, heads-down manner. No nonsense here. Just quality low-light techno.
As we continue our ascent, Elevation provides a mysterious and floating lead line over a thick warm bass line.
CHALLNGR 1.2 signifies our reaching of the peak, with full on pumping energy.
Much as the name suggests, Descent is the album closer, and it returns us to a more relaxed state after the frenzy we just experienced. Its bubbly soundscape harkens back to the days of Deep Dish and their Global Underground mixes. A perfect way to pay homage to the past in a modern way.
Overall, EVOLV is an extremely well-put-together body of work that showcases why Dubfire is still at the top of the game. Each track is masterfully crafted, the flow is very much what you'd want to hear in a club, and the callbacks to his earlier days mixed with visions of the future come together for a wonderful listening experience.
Grab your copy here.
