‘Roots and Wire’ is the new album from Deadbeat on Wagon Repair
Deadbeat is Scott Monteith, a long time Montrealer and recent Berlin ex-pat who has been releasing his own special blend of dub laden, minimal electronics since 2000, for labels such as Cynosure, Musique Risquée, Scape, and Spectral to name but a few.
His work has been met with consistent critical acclaim from the industry’s leading publications, and drawn regular performance invitations for some of the world’s most respected festivals and clubs, including Barcelona’s Sonar, Berlin’s Transmediale, and Montreal’s Mutek alongside Panorama Bar, fabric and the like. His eagerly anticipated new album sees him continue his relationship with kindred spirits Wagon Repair in his own inimitable techno/dub/dancehall/house style.
Those familiar with Deadbeat’s last album, which felt much more a collection of tracks, will be immediately struck by Roots and Wire’s larger cohesive narrative arc after first listen. The album is aesthetically informed by his longterm collaborative friendship with Robert Henke (monolake), the creative relationship with Wagon Repair, the close proximity of his fellow artists in Berlin and the opportunity to collaborate with Paul St Hilaire (Tikiman). It is no surprise that an album of such vast scope be largely inspired by the artist’s own transition from Montreal based producer releasing on Berlin label ~scape for 5 years, to Berlin based producer releasing on a Canadian label. An uncanny logic is present throughout, weaving a fluid narrative from disparate influences and styles.
Opener ‘Rise Again’ is the first of two collaborations with Tikiman, whose beautiful Rasta lament is supported by a huge bass sound. In recording all of the virtual instruments through mic’d speakers as one would do with a real band, he’s given the track a distinctly ‘live’ feel that is a thematic element of all the tracks on the album. The sense of space and breathing room tone this recording process produces also makes the bass sound even larger than it already is.
Title track ‘Roots and Wire’ transcends the 140 bpm dubstep standard, and closely resembles some of Deadbeat’s earlier releases on ~scape as a distinctive melodica line leads. ‘Grounation (Berghain Drum Jack)’ is a dramatic percussive onslaught that draws parallels between ritualistic Rasta drumming celebrations and Berghain’s own pummeling percussive endurance tests.
‘Xberg Ghosts’ explores a distinctly Berliner Basic Channel / Chain Reaction sound, that’s been a big influence for Scott over the years, with an extended mix to follow shortly on vinyl.. ‘Deep Structure’ employs a truly roots production style using spring reverb, bucket brigade delays and heavy compression, but applying these older tools to a more modern house groove, exploring the ties between modern dance music and it’s roots in dub.
The late night jam of ‘Night Stepping’ and lazy afternoon dub of ‘Sun People (Dub Divisionaire)’ lay a path for closing track ‘Babylon Correction’, which again features Tikiman. Frustrated that the recent renewed interest in dub seems to mostly encompass “minor key, sad, dark shit”, this is Deadbeat’s attempt to capture the righteous and uplifting side to the style that are the key to his favourite classic dub cuts, with Tikiman contributing vocals so massive they might just knock you off your seat.
TRACKLISTING:
1. Rise Again
2. Roots and Wire
3. Grounation (Berghain Drum Jack)
4. Xberg Ghosts
5. Deep Structure
6. Night Stepping
7. Sun People (Dub Divisionaire)
8. Babylon Correction
