Purespace Recordings prepares another EP from the Canadian Tonepushers duo of Joe Silva and Ali Khan. Individually the two have released on labels like Stickman, Viva!, Cocoon, and Fabric London, growing as international forces to be reckoned with and developing their own live performance styles to present their respective bodies of work. Branching off into other areas of writing, Khan's ethereal and ambient sensibilities have also made for successful forays into video game soundtracking.
Combined, Tonepushers blend funky tech house with atmospheric techno, nomadically exploring a twisted electronic terrain. Since 2004 the long-standing producers have mixed and matched their abilities, uniquely tailoring their live sets together with lush presentations across the energy spectrum. Their latest lab experiment in chemistry results in the dubby techno call-and-response of "Windmill". Whereas usually vocals are dubbed in a hynpotic and calming way, here they sound anxious and lost. In the first remix, Lucid Flow label owner and Berlin techno guru Nadja Lind swishes the chords and effects of the original around until it's chilled to her liking, adding perfect percussive cues like rim shots and more driving, linear hats, seemingly minor touches that wind up making a huge difference.
Two fellow Winnipeg artists finish off the release in their own remixes; Robert Alexander removes most of the low end resonance in favor of a grittier mid-range, propelled by a drum machine groove, while Viktor Dudley's debut effort ends things as the most hard to place cut, distinguishing his remix with the helicopter-blade-like beat-slicing of a layered kick from the higher cut off range. Dudley must have taken the "Windmill" title to heart.
Purespace and the Tonepushers deliver a warehouse willing, industrial inclined, dub devoted, and techno tendentious exhibition.
Terry Francis - "The Nadja Lind remix is for me … cool."
Malbetrieb (Klopfgeist / Paradigm) - "Nice!"
Larry Tee (Carnage Music) - "I love it!"
Daniel Bortz (Suol / Pastamusik) - "This is a cool one."
DJ Harri (Sub Club) - "I'm loving the Nadja Lind remix."
Craig Stewart (Montana & Stewart / DCSTrax) - "I'm feeling the original … a stunning sound for the floor."
Chris Fortier (Fade) - "Good stuff."
Sumsuch (Colour and Pitch) - "I love the Nadja Lind remix, and the breakdown on Robert Alexander's remix is bleakly beautiful. Very good."
Vegard / Of Norway (Connaisseur Recordings) - "I don't know if Dunno if Viktor Dudley is a genius or just mad … and that's what I love about it! What a bold remix."
Tyler Stadius (Deepsite / Dialtone Records) - "I love the original and the dark driving remix from Nadja Lind."
Alinep (Asia Music / UB Radio) - "I'm liking Robert Alexander's mix here … trippy."
Taigo Onez (The Essence Radio Show) - "Viktor Dudley comes with it on the remix … quality!"
Simon Kirk (Simon Kirk Radio Show) - "Very tasty release. I love the original and the Robert Alexander remix … futuristic and right up my street."
Tariq Ziyad (New Urban ERA) - "Techno at its finest … love it."
Available now from Beatport, Juno Download, and iTunes.