About

Shinichi Atobe is a Saitama-based producer who has been making house and techno music since he was 27 years old. His sound has evolved from abstract, dubby minimal techno to brighter, more melodic deep house. Originally appearing in 2001 with a 12-inch EP titled Ship-Scope (2001), which came out on the cult-favorite dub techno label Chain Reaction. Copies subsequently changed hands for triple-digit U.S. dollar amounts. Atobe disappeared for over a decade and during the early 2010s, Miles Whittaker and Sean Canty of Demdike Stare managed to track down the Japanese producer and convinced him to release Atobe’s first full-length album, Butterfly Effect (2014), on their record label DDS.

Shinichi Atobe has spent much of his on-and-off career as a stand-in for dub techno's love of mystique and inscrutable characters. But he's been (marginally) more approachable lately: an active and earnest Twitter presence and a DJ set once every few years. This more gregarious side of the Japanese producer is on display on Ongaku 1, the first in a new series of limited-edition 12-inch records from the DDS label. This is Atobe's third 12-inch single. Atobe has been working in a sunnier style since 2018's Heat, influenced by classic deep house but keeping his usual air of unsettlement. With chords blooming deep in the mix and strings layered at melodic angles, "Ongaku 1" is like a lot of the other music he's made—he's great at it, even if the lack of surprise is a bit deflating. "Dub 6(six)," the B-side, is where things get more interesting. This is the first track he's made since Heat to point backwards towards the dubby depths of his earlier sound, creating rhythmic interest with webs of echo and stuttering synth choirs.

Atobe's tracklists are intriguing. His song titles usually end in a numeral, and numbers are often out of order or missing, as if what made it onto his releases is only a small curation from a vast archive (likely true). Yes had "Ocean 7" and "Ocean 1," and "Ocean 2" turned up on his next album Love of Plastic. Can we expect more "Ongaku" and "Dub" tracks? The latter in an exciting direction for the producer, pointing to an integration of his newer deep house sound with the bizarre sonic trickery of his earlier work. Even if Atobe no longer lives in mystery, his music is still best when it does. — via Resident Advisor

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Label: DDS
Format: Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, Limited Edition, Clear Vinyl
Released: 2024
Genre: Electronic
Style: Deep House, Dub Techno

File under: House / Electro / Techno
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