Frenk ‘n’ Hitch

Even at the risk of repeating myself: Kontakt Records has a great hand at picking artists and releases. And by now this focus on quality leads to even classier releases. Not only do they get Frenk Dublin a.k.a. Snd & Rtn on board, they even get Stephen Hitchell to go for a remix double shift, both as Intrusion and as cv313.

This is maybe not such a huge surprise, though. Frenk Dublin is getting a lot of traction, not just with his steady flow of Snd & Rtn releases on Echo Ltd., but increasingly under his own name. Just look at the recently published album “Quantum Dubs”. Excellent stuff. It probably was high time that he hooked up with Kontakt.

For Mr. Hitchell the story is slightly different, of course, being something like a grandmaster of Dub Techno and all. After a few quiet years, he seems to have picked up where he should never have left off, re-releasing tons of epic material, most of it mastered by Stefan Betke (Pole). Hitchell has gone from quiet to manic in what feels like no time, constantly releasing material on Bandcamp – I think I must have bought about twelve hours of music last month alone.

So – it’s not that much of a surprise that we are seeing his name more often now. Judging by what we hear on the back side of the “Jawa Dubs EP” that’s a very good thing to happen. But don’t try to decide which of the two remixes is the more convincing one. Hitchell as Intrusion? Hitchell as cv313? Ah, forget about it. Both of the remixes are fabulous testaments to the unique aural galaxies Hitchell, Modell, Schommer and a few others have created. The Intrusion reshape is relentlessly moving on fabulous rhythmic foundations, an instant classic. For the cv313 redesign Hitchell cleared the skies a little, it’s slightly more crisp, but in no way less relentless. They both keep on chugging.

So much for the guest list. Back to side one, to Snd & Rtn, and the title track. I like the contrast between the two sides. Where the immersiveness of the Hitchell mixes is a submersive one, the Snd & Rtn world is a spaced out one, far more dubby, with plenty of analog warmth and carefully constructed layers. “Jawa Dub” is simply very, very elegant.

“Moonlight” has a slightly different shine to it. Still dubby, but in a much more minimal setup, so much that it almost feels nostalgic. Synth sweeps heighten that feeling, like moonlight in a cloudy sky, shining through every now and then, in eternal disregard of the rhythms of life on the ground it illuminates.

Every minute of this EP is a treat.

Release for review:
SND & RTN – JAWA DUBS – KONTAKT RECORDS – KNT-46

Get the vinyl version on Discogs (sold out almost everywhere else): Click
Get the digital version on Bandcamp: Click