Artist: Gregor Tresher
Album: Quiet Distortion
Label: Break New Soil
Release date: 30/05/2016
Gregor Tresher returns this week with his latest musical offering, Quiet Distortion, released on his own label Break New Soil. The release has been receiving high praise from a number of Tresher's peers, including icon, Laurent Garnier, who has said; “I've been listening to the album over and over. All I can say is, it's simply superb - 10/10.” Praise indeed. The German maestro has been wowing eager clubbers since emerging from his native Frankfurt in the early ‘90s. He has since released tracks on a number of outstanding techno labels including, Cocoon, Drumcode and Moon Harbour.
The album begins with ‘Numb', a spacey, melodic intro track that sets us up for a sprinkling of Tresher's magic dust. This is followed by ‘Surrender', a tune that significantly ramps things up a gear. Boasting mesmerising layers of synths and looping drum machines, it makes way for track three - the club friendly ‘Consistency' - a simple but effective techno number.
It's then time for ‘Tyrant' to please the ears. This track echoes of a sci-fi theme tune, with reverberating synths that continue to siren throughout, alongside a toe-tapping drum beat that wills momentum along. ‘Quiet Distortion' continues in a similar vein. Built for days spent basking on the beach, it embodies an almost Balearic sound; one that seeps beneath your skin and makes you feel like you've been kissed by summer.
We're midway through the album now with ‘Safehouse'; a track that begins with a haunting yet vibrant keyboard, and that builds with a simple snare and kick drum, leading us into the sinister, more techno-infused layers of track seven, ‘The Kracken'. This is the hardest track on the album so far, continuing with dark, all-encompassing undertones and rising to a crescendo of synths, drums and menacing hisses - I can see this being a DJ's favourite this summer.
‘Riot Gear', as the name suggests, continues to launch us into this harder, darker phase of the album. Beginning with a bang that reverberates around the head, the haunting undercurrent of alarmingly boisterous keyboards will have you pressing repeat on this one more than once. Clapping your hands and nodding your head in appreciation, you'll notice it's built for a dark, low-ceilinged techno lair. ‘Depend' is another banger on the same level as the previous two; all three melting seamlessly into one another. Releasing some of the pressure, it rises to a heavy, droning conclusion, and you're left anticipating what it would be like to hear it on the dance floor.
‘Decades' starts with more breakbeat style drums. It provides a brief hiatus from the intensity of the previous three tracks, yet still maintains the eerie vibe that permeates the album. The penultimate track is ‘Goliath', a track that was originally released last year on John Digweed and Nick Muirs' Bedrock label. The tune sits perfectly with Tresher's new offerings, and remains equally as infectious as on its first release. The final track, ‘Give It All Away' bookends the album expertly and is similar to the melodic outer-space sound of ‘Numb'. It differs by building to a fine crescendo that would be the perfect soul-shaking remedy after a long night on the tiles. Quiet Distortion is a truly excellent album; one with an eclectic mix of sounds that could easily be the soundtrack to a modern sci-fi classic.
Tracklist
1. Numb
2. Surrender
3. Consistency
4. Tyrant
5. Quiet Distrortion
6. Safehouse
7. The Kraken
8. Riot Gear
9. Depend
10. Decades
11. Goliath
12. Give It All Away
