GRAD U Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Coming in hot after last year's Pura Lempuyang compilation is this new two part 12" offering up cuts from it on limited edition turquoise wax. Dib kicks off with 'Cieloterra' which is a devilishly deep and dubby techno cut with fizzing synths running across its face. Federsen is much more smooth and silky with liquid pads and a sublime sense of frictionless groove to his 'Random Motion' while Grad U offers more heavy and stumbling dub quakes on 'From The Shadows.' Last of all is Altone's 'Emergent Structure,' a lush minimal excursion with deft hits and feathery pads over sublime drums.

Review: The impeccable Lithuanian label Greyscale is a real leader when it comes to dub techno and already they are racing into 2024 in fine style with a first full-length of the year from label head Grad_U! The sublime and immersive Sustain has eight larges ambient soundscapes that are detailed with field recordings from another planet. Each one is alluringly empty and beautiful, intriguing and unsettling to make for an escapist trip to another dimension. The way the producer manages to conjure up what feel like familiar emotions in such a faraway world is second to none and will leave you wanting to do it all over again the second it ends.

Review: Prolific Lithuanian dub techno explorer Grad_U is back with a new album which further develops his explorations in realms well beyond the limitations of the dancefloor. Spectral Decay examines all manner of spatial processing, not to mention celebrating the power of the space between the pulses. There are still some steadfast technoid rhythms to latch onto, but the beats are always secondary to the atmospherics in Aleksandr Martinkevic's immersive productions. With a couple of remixes from kindred spirits such as Dominique Jacquinet and Ohrwert Alter folded in for good measure, this is another essential trip into the echo chamber from a master of the craft.

Review: Aleksandr Martinkevic is Grad_U, and is a dub techno artist from Vilnius, Lithuania who has now been serving up fathom-deep tunes for over a decade. He mostly does so on Greyscale but it is Kontakt who signs him up here for two long gems. 'Betelgeuse' opens with classic dub FX, shimmering chords that are smeared in all directions and rolling, rounded drums setting the tempo. Oracys Fractio Resolutio Retake then gets a little more direct with its heftier kicks and on the flip 'Hesperus' locks you in over the course of almost thirteen minutes of skewed synth work and frictionless dub techno drum work.

Review: Redscale and Greyscale label founder and dub techno production don and master DJ Grad U takes us on a killer trip here into widescreen worlds of ambient sound. The textures are lo-fi and fuzzy around the edges as per most ambient albums, and the synths are heady and smeared to perfection. Some pieces are filled with a subtle sense of hope and optimism, others are more darkened drones that turn you in on yourself, but all of these tracks are fantastically realised and immersive pieces of ambient art.

Review: Considering the hazy, spaced-out and immersive nature of grad_u's dub techno productions, we were rather surprised to discover that "Umwelt" is his first full-length collection of cuts for almost seven years. We're glad he's finally got round to making another album, though, because it's the extended format that offers the best chance to wallow in his becalmed and beguiling blend of fuzzy aural textures, deep dub rhythms, woozy ambient soundscapes, fluid electronics and deep space beats. While it would be easy to pick out highlights - the up-tempo beats and pulsating chords of "Racing Thoughts", say, or the Basic Channel-esque throb of "Mars Odyssey" - the genius of "Umwelt" is how it hangs together as one intoxicating, slowly shifting set of dubbed-out electronic movements.

Review: Lithuanian label Greyscale's full-length catalogue is back with another doozy and this one comes from Japanese dub techno don Silentwave. Dub Melancolia lays out a dynamic vision across 11 slick tracks that all add up to a superb cinematic experience. Each of the deeply hypnotic cuts are detailed with exquisite additions like moody strings, celestial melodies and wintery pads. Label owner grad_u also appears with a remix of his own and further highlights com from the emotional 'Indigenous Dance' and 'Eden', a stylish sunning mid-tempo melody peaker. This one goes way beyond the dancefloor.