doc sleep: first solar

Berlin-based Doc Sleep's debut EP on Bottom Forty is a record that pulls no punches and plays no tricks; it is instead a sophisticated, gorgeous array of minimal techno inspired by the darkest of dance floors. Doc Sleep's ear for sound and rhythm set the tone for your moments of eyes-shut dancing, giving you the chance to hang onto every subtle but flawlessly executed fragment of noise. “First Solar” opens up with a contrasting blend of dark, rolling hills of bass and bright pads that quickly pick up a dangerous amount of momentum. The moment the track “Between” pounds its first kick, you can't help but be immediately sucked in by Doc Sleep’s ear for sophisticated, minimal, beautifully engineered sounds. Between is a track that stays on its groove while soft gorgeous pads pass over you like waves, it's the perfect time for patrons of a dingy basement dance floor to connect in the dark. Lastly, “Ampere” is a track that lays out a solid techno soundscape that is mixed up at the listeners surprise with heavily reverb’d snare hits and brooding sweeps. On the B side, two remixers bring Doc Sleep's EP into a different dimension. Bottom Forty label head Nark extracts the gorgeous pads and pulls them to the forefront of “Between”, starting with a long ethereal intro sure to stop and sway any dance floor before continuing into a grimy minimal 303 bass line as the subtle rubs to Doc Sleep's original sounds lend it an exasperated grinding element. The second remix from Bottom Forty artist Cid & Fancy takes “Ampere” into a place of rhythmic organized chaos with synth stabs that shoot off like metal sparks.

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