Deadbeat - Roots & Wire
(Wagon Repair) CD & 2LP
Now stationed in the techno mecca of Berlin, Montrealer Scott Monteith has chipped a distinct pattern out of dub’s storied lineage. His career has been a dichotomy of sorts to date, juggling his own take on post-Basic Channel dub techno with a future-purist strain of classic skanked-out dub. As the title indicates, Roots & Wire maintains this path. Opening with “Rise Again”, the esteemed chants of Paul St. Hilaire litter a classic dancehall dub track; he blesses the sparse, echo chamber scape with energy & soul. The paced ventures are great, but when Deadbeat hones in on the dancefloor, Roots & Wire really opens the meditative channels. “Xberg Ghosts” is flawless textbook dub-techno; familiar delayed chords whisper around, finding ground in rhythmic basslines. And then the kick & clap drops & you’re sucked down the vortex of techno-hypnosis. “Deep Structure” & “Sun People (Dub Divisionaire)” follow this same brilliant form of spectral lures inside of throbbing, undeniable rhythms. Turn it up loud.