REDSHAPE - THE DANCE PARADOX (DELSIN)

Whoever Berlin-based Redshape is, and there’s a fair amount of speculation about his identity, there’s no doubt that he’s made quite an impact on techno since his emerge in 2006. Having been somewhat prolific in those 3 years, we’re now treated to his first longplayer on Marsel Van Der Weilen’s Delsin label. Those first few releases were punctuated by musical alliteration - titles such as “Steam” and “Blood Into Dust”, and allied with the careful visualisation (ironic considering the choice to remain anonymous) gave us something different from the normal techno sound. Here was something gritty, off the wall and subterranean, often using rhythms and ideas of percussion that were closely allied with the elasticity of dubstep but without losing that primeval techno adherence to 4/4.

“The Dance Paradox” is 8 tracks of atmospheric techno that mostly doesn’t stray far from his favoured BPM range of 115 - 125. It’s techno with a house tempo, (not tech-house thanks), preferring to lurk in abstraction rather than opening up with full-blooded compositions. As such, it’s hard not to feel that these are sketches that often frustrate. This is perhaps a harsh criticism, as there are times during the album, especially on “Garage GT” that he creates arrangements that perfectly create that kinetic suspense so popular with DJs. The real skill though, comes in knowing what to do once you’ve got to the natural end of these compositions. Of course, one could argue that as techno music is purely functional, it’s perfectly normal to make this sort of music, but I reason that with albums, although there are ultimately no rules, one could expect more than just tracks made for DJs. With the aforementioned track, it shows a little sliver of Redshape’s musical talents, as the track breaks down into something Carl Craig would be proud of. In fact, throughout the album this is the first time we hear a definitive Detroit influence on proceedings. 

The melodies are kept to a minimum, but in fairness are used with the accuracy of a scalpel. “Rorschach’s Game” weaves slowly, with what sounds like dense wind in trees scattered amongst broken notes. It’s punctuated by DJ Shadow-style drum breaks, and somewhat of a shame that as it’s about to go forth, it ends. Elsewhere matters are kept to a pedestrian pace, and I found it hard to find much to enthuse about beyond the standard beats and sinewy tropes that, whilst well-produced and arranged, did not evolve further.

There’s no doubt that Redshape is one of techno’s more intriguing producers, and his workrate is such that I suspect that we may hear much better from him in the future. “The Dance Paradox” hints at possibilities of exciting ideas, but for the time being it’s treading water rather than moving forward with any real sense of purpose.

Toby Frith