Double LP - Japanese Import
Mercurial dancefloor vet Shinichi Atobe turns out a full length for his own recently minted label, and provides further compelling evidence of what longtime followers have been aware of from the get go - Atobe's a master of highly adept and supple production that swings between big room energy, gauzy dub-centred inversions, deep house inflections and the kind of classic electro-techno synthesis of Carl Craig in his More Songs About Revolutionary Art and Food phase. The Japanese producer has been pumping out records for decades now, that initial 12 on Chain Reaction foreshadowing a run of now-classic-sounding releases on DDS. After such a prolific run, you'd forgive the inspiration running a touch dry, but Silent Way might actually prove one of the best places to start in the catalogue, a run through the splintering cluster of derivations and detours Atobe has a history of exploring. 70minutes over two discs means there's a lot to pick out, though special notice is given to the zoned-out hypnotics of 'Phase 2' and, in particular, the shimmering and relentless (until it ends too soon) tech-ambience of closer, 'Defect'. Front to back a killer.
FFO: Carl Craig, Priori, Skee Mask, Anthony Naples
