A cryptic title, a well-established producer, a significant evolution in sound: LA-based David Christian returns with his third studio album for HANDS - 14 tracks in the grey area of raw electronic underground. TOP DED CTR manages to hover elegantly between subtle textures and banging beats, at the same time straightforward and calculated. This dynamic is essential for a great hard electronic album.
While remaining true to the sonic outline of head-on beats, crisp bass lines, and carefully measured noise, the tracks on TOP DED CTR allow space to breathe and unfold it's unique atmosphere. Metallic techno bangers like “Drive” or “Resist” scream out, unleashed to the dance floor crowd, just like “Center” or “Weaponize” (which sit on the industrial side of the spectrum with it's undeniable rhythm'n'noise roots.) For good measure there are also mid tempo tracks (“The Report”, Mind Mechanism”), beatless interludes (“30 Year Decay”), as well as the distorted electro tech darkness of “Nowhere Fast” - and infectious psycho melodic hook of “We know exactly what will kill us”, possibly the main theme of this album. A fine example of how industrial and techno are a perfect match - or rather branches of the same tree, one that is experiencing strong growth for sure: TOP DED CTR draws from 18 years experience as a producer and older influences to achieve a sound that is totally state-of-the-art.
Released 2019 by Hands Productions.
Track Listing:
01. Everything
02. Drive
03. Resist
04. We know exactly what will kill us
05. Controlling Systems
06. Triggered
07. The Report
08. 30 Years Decay
09. Center
10. Drop off
11. Mind Mechanism
12. Radical Law
13. Weaponize
14. Nowhere fast
English