Following last year's interstellar transmissions as part of the collaborative duo Echospace, the venerated American techno producer touches down on Planet Earth, immersing himself in eerily lush soundscapes inspired by cityscapes and punctuated by steady rhythms. Simultaneously expansive and claustrophobic, his latest captures the duality of the modern metropolis and conveys its essence over ten absolutely gorgeous compositions.
Since the nineties, Rod Modell has earned the admiration of a vibrant contingency with his dub-minded ventures, not the least of which being Deepchord. As part of the aforementioned Echospace, whose highly anticipated The Coldest Season ultimately met the astronomical expectations set by these rabid fans, he has potentially reached his largest yet. This makes Incense & Black Light, a proper solo effort released on an obscure foreign label, all the more puzzling. Photographer Makoto Hada's mesmeric pictures of vibrant streets in an active nocturnal Tokyo adorn the packaging of this captivating new album, though they might have more to do with this being released on a Japanese record label than with Modell's actual inspiration, the material recorded at his home studio.
Still, the track titles allude to themes both Asian and urban, suggesting that the art direction is appropriate. At a glance, they suggest a narrative at work, even if the material doesn't evidently mirror the intent. Dissonant opener "Aloeswood" hardly reflects Tokyo's vibrancy with its atonal atmospheres and drifting, fluid pulses; nor does the similarly ambient and moderately more melodic “Hotel Chez Moi” that follows. Perhaps then, Incense & Black Light isn't about the city that you see but the city you don't, the one lurking in neglected or even personal spaces suggested by the desensitizing panoply of brightly lit windows visible yet overwhelming. Taken, then, from the perspective of one who dwells in such habitats, the ambrosial quality of this intentionally repetitive music evokes a dramatic calm prone to unsettling thoughts. The bubbly looping dreaminess of "Cloud Over" invites pensiveness and even a hint of dread, while the inescapably eerie analog feedback that drives "Temple" practically induces full-on paranoia. The sparsely arranged "Red Light" basks in its double entendre, flicking springy echoes around and suggesting something unsavory at the heart of this long night's journey into day. (For me, it unintentionally reminds of Ryu Murakami's thrilling novella Piercing, which details a determined salaryman's fantasy fulfillment scheme of stabbing a young prostitute to death.) This minatory mood extends to the claustrophobic penultimate track before dissipating into the harsh sunlight of the final cut, a redemptive sliver of sheer brilliance entitled "Morning Again."
A worthy contender for my top ten list this year, Incense & Black Light thoroughly and dutifully expands beyond what we have come to accept as the appropriate parameters for dub techno. Bucking the trends, Modell deserves the praise consistently bestowed upon him, and leaves the Basic Channel emulating progeny in the dust.
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