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DEEPCHORD PRESENTS ECHOSPACE The Coldest Season Modern Love ****

US producer Ron Modell has been accused of borrowing too liberally from Basic Channel's sound to shape his Deepchord releases. Still, a good portion of Coldest Season, the album result of his Echospace collaboration with Soultek producer Steven Hitchell, has its roots in music and techniques that precede the German techno act by a few decades. The swaying, seismic frequencies of Jamaican dub are evident on the upbeat shanty rhythms of Empyrean and the repetitive, lurching sub-bass of Aequinoxium, while the dreamy, layered textures of Ocean of Emptiness suggest that Modell and Hitchell have taken inspiration from My Bloody Valentine's droning, blissed-out pop. The evocative groove of Celestialis is a reminder that, even when they hit the dance floor, Modell and Hitchell's music is more detached than Basic Channel's. Introspection rarely sounds this inviting. www.modern-love.co.uk RICHARD BROPHY

Download tracks: Empyrean, Ocean of Emptiness, Celestialis