textura

Albums
1982
Amute
Answer Code Request
Asuna
Marvin Ayres
Barreca | Leimer
Building Instrument
Taylor Deupree
Dose
David Douglas
Kyle Bobby Dunn
Dusted Lux
Ensemble Economique
The Eye Of Time
Benjamin Finger
M. Geddes Gengras
gnarwhallaby
Hatakeyama & Hakobune
Carl Hultgren
Imaginary Softwoods
Isnaj Dui
Kidkanevil
David Lang
Linear Bells
Mokhov
Moskus
Phasen
JC Sanford
Günter Schlienz
Seelig & Metcalf
Seelig & Nerell
Slpwlkr
Sons Of Magdalene
Håkon Stene
Robert Scott Thompson
Throwing Snow
V/Vm
Julia Wolfe
Xumla
Girma Yifrashewa
Jeppe Zeeberg

Compilations / Mixes
5 Years of No. 19 Music
Margeir

EPs / Singles
Blind EP2
Children Of The Stones
Dylan C
Eveson
Northcape
Katsunori Sawa

Dose: Mind the Future
Commercial Suicide

That Mind the Future, Chris Truman's long-awaited Dose debut album, appears on Klute's label Commercial Suicide is the first clue as to its hard-hitting character. Hailing from Christchurch and currently ensconced in Auckland, the DJ-producer has been releasing drum'n'bass since 2006 on labels such as Ram, Renegade Hardware, and Shogun Audio and has established himself as as one of the top drum'n'bass acts to come out of New Zealand.

Truman brings out all the heavy artillery on the opening cut, “Haphazard,” a stealthy, take-no-prisoners banger powered by a lethal drum'n'bass attack and with more than a little amen fire packed into its thunder. Intensity aside, the cut offers a convincingly strong argument for the producer's skills at the outset of the fifty-five-minute set, and what follows does little to downgrade that impression. It's a solo, twelve-track affair with one exception, “No Turning Back,” whose seizure-gripped squelch includes contributions from Teknik and MC Jabz (“Eyes to the future / From the shadows of past”).

Elsewhere, the fidgety throwdowns “Like This,” “The Experience,” and “Nowadays” scatter vocal riffs, typically nothing more than the title, across their belting rhythms, while “Once Again” and “Mind the Future” see Dose bring no small amount of gut-punching noise to the collection. But Truman also mixes things up by indulging his funkier and soulful sides in the high-rolling “What She Wants” and synth-heavy “Moving On,” respectively. An album standout, the latter's also distinguished by an irresistibly wiry bass pulse, among other things.

Though the typical Dose cut isn't lacking for artistry, Mind the Future is clearly conceived with the club in mind more than the listening lounge. That said, it's also easy to find oneself struck by the artful detail Truman threads into even the most straight-up banger. There's certainly no shortage of stimulation on offer in this blazing set.

July 2014