phase: alone in time?

Take a look over Ashley Burchett's back catalog and you'll find the Greater London resident has played an understated yet influential role in the evolution of British techno. Burchett's Ø [Phase] project debuted on Sheree Rashit and Steve Bicknell's Cosmic Records in 2000 and provided Cosmic ID with its final record in 2002; since 2007, Burchett has helped mold and define Token's sound by becoming the label's marquee artist. In 2013, the Belgian imprint finally coaxed the debut album from Ø [Phase], Frames of Reference, described in Tony Naylor's 4/5 review for Resident Advisor as "a techno album of real imagination and depth that, when it needs to be, is brutally functional." Now, in 2015, almost two years later, Ø [Phase] is back with Alone in Time?, his second studio album, adding to Token's continuous slew of unrivalled long-players. The music further demonstrates Burchett's deft skill in crafting linear arrangements to fit the warehouse frame, while painting a colorful, Detroit-influenced side to his productions to an unprecedented extent. This uncharted sound of Ø [Phase] can be found in tracks like "Remote," the album's homage to electro; the jittery, alien grooves of "Spacialize"; or "Mo_del" and "Nep-tune." There's big-room domination on productions like "Orbitron" and "R-Mash," while the album's title-track is a journey through Burchett's conceptual references to cosmology, time, and isolation. Burchett reflects, "Frames of Reference was about overcoming personal struggles and challenges, while Alone in Time? is more forward facing." With an extensive back catalog in his wake, Ø [Phase] has become a reliable source for the discerning techno DJ, and these expertly crafted club cuts add to his ever-expanding pool of productions.