Benjamin Damage At Juno Download

Review: There is no doubt that "Tremens" is a worthy addition to Modeselektor's 50-strong collection of 'weapons'. The UK producer's own 'long version' is a peak-time slammer; based on oversized, grainy kicks, it features hissing percussion and analogue riffs howling past, which act as a prelude for the mammoth chord sequences that veer into the kind of eerie sounds that emanate from Detroit. By contrast, the Robert Hood version sounds relatively sedate. The Detroit producer takes musical chords, adds in some robotic vocals and underpins his arrangement with heavy rolling drums that are the antithesis of the visceral minimalism he is associated with.

Review: Heliosphere marks the debut solo long player of Benjamin Damage will for the Modeselektor-helmed 50 Weapons imprint. The young producer, who divides his time between Swansea, London and Berlin, is already established as a 50 Weapons regular, debuting back in 2010 before striking up a fruitful partnership with Doc Daneeka for the label which culminated in last year's They Live! long player. Once again working solo, Damage eschews the garage-tinted rhythms of his previous output for a sound that is resolutely techno on Heliosphere and it's an approach that suits him well!

Review: With his collaborative album with Doc Daneeka still ringing in our collective ears, future RBMA participant Benjamin Damage delivers his latest solo missive. A far cry from the UKF inspired bass which characterised the producer's first releases, "Swarm" sees him deliver a brutal slab of uncompromising techno in the Marcel Dettmann mould, as a throbbing 4/4 kick is propelled along at a rate of knots by a dry arpeggio and severe dub chords. "Headache" meanwhile swaps brute force for military precision, as the sound of ascending aerial drones is accompanied by threadbare percussion in the form of a heavyweight tool made with the sole purpose of delivering its devastating payload on the dancefloor. With these two tracks, Mr Damage more than lives up to his moniker.