richard fearless: deep rave memory

A stunningly accomplished work, Deep Rave Memory is an insight into Richard Fearless's worlds --both metaphysical and geographical. Pulsating in unison with the heartbeat of a modern metropolis, it was recorded at the Metal Box -- his studio located on the peninsula of land where the River Lea meets the Thames. The haunting and wistful blue ambient "Vision of You" leads into the bracingly chilly "New Perspective", which evokes a heavy rush where perceptions are blurred and vision is freeze framed, via elements of techno-soul, Sheffield Bleep and Mika Vainio. A snarling beast of a track, the relentless machine funk of "Devil on Horseback" perfects the pure cathartic release of dark n' hot body music, whilst "Acid Angels" is a throbbing low-fi 303 requiem, which encapsulates that perfect dancefloor moment, when the first light breaks through the shutters. A future classic and the album's modus operandi, title track "Deep Rave Memory", features discordant filter passes sweeping across a hypnotic melody, communicating a deep sense of warm nostalgia and taking you on an epic journey -- stretching out a single riff over 12 minutes -- akin to the krautrock greats of which Fearless is so fond. "Atlas of Insanity" is big room techno with pounding kicks, death-whip metallic snares and head spinning, spiraling synth lines that drill into your core. This is raw, impulsive and frantic music that sizzles with electric effervescence. The Germanic kosmische idyll of "Driving with Roedelius" is a homage to one of Richards' heroes -- Hans-Joachim Roedelius -- and was inspired by his experience playing a set consisting solely of the electronic pioneer's music, at a festival celebrating his life and career. On the album's closer, Fearless recounts, "'Broken Beauty' is something I've always strived for in my art. It's inspired by Robert Frank, William Eggleston and the way they could take the most inane object a turn it into something of beauty. It's equally schooled by the aggressive simplicity of King Tubby's dubbing and the transcendence of Joy Division's 'Decades'. The sparse allure of the best dub and techno is something I'm always striving for; being able to conjure emotion with the fewest possible elements; to not fix what's broken, but to make it shine."