Frank Bretschneider ‎- Curve (2021/2001)

Completely future ice-cold pinprick dub from severely underrated glitch pioneer Frank Bretschneider. If yr into Alva Noto, Vladislav Delay, Pole or SND, you absolutely need this one.

When "Curve" appeared in 2001, it felt completely new. A wave of laptop music focused on the glitch had begun to wash over the world in the wake of Oval's visionary "Systemische" and "94diskont." and had been highlighted on Mille Plateaux's "Clicks & Cuts" compilation a year earlier. "Curve" built on this foundation, showing the utility of the sound and its proving its long-form potential. Bretschneider constructed the record from a tiny set of tinier sounds, often allowing tracks to develop over ten minutes with only minor shifts. But by infusing his productions with dub processes and rhythmic funk, transcended the scene's aesthetic fireworks reaching a sound that put soul back into the machine.

Two decades later, "Curve" still sounds unique and still stands in a league of its own alongside Carsten Nicolai's early Alva Noto records, Pole's debut trilogy and SND's brilliant early run. Few other artists managed to create such inviting minimalist sound worlds and "Curve" sounds like an empty space mall, an off-world spa, a Polar weather station and a subterranean crystal cave all at once. There's little more than scratchy percussion, deeper-than-deep sub bass and the occasional wavering pad warble, but that's all Bretschneider needs to tell his sonic narrative. Deep as fuck - take us back.