ROTW: Rod Modell - Captagon

The majority of people will know the name Tresor as being one of Germany’s most iconic techno clubs, but as a label, they have released music from genre topping names like Joey Beltram, Carl Craig, Robert Hood and Juan Atkins. This month the Tresor crew welcome Detroit’s Rod Modell for a brand new long-player titled Captagon, coming with 9 tracks on vinyl and 12 tracks on digital, it’s a dub-focused techno record that absolutely does not beat around the bush. It’s not an easy task to keep things

ROTW: Rod Modell - Captagon

interesting across an entire album when your sounds are limited to drums, a bassline and a couple of synths, dub techno is not a genre that relies on fancy melodies or big toplines to keep the attention intact, but Modell does a great job of holding our ear here. The album is ambient and drone-like in some places and meticulous and fierce in others, giving you a gentle cuddle before going for the throat via the use of strong kick drums and stabbing, filtered synths. And it’s a masterclass on rhythm from start to finish, with tracks like Qurra and Reiki you’ll be instantly intrigued and left wanting more.

Where to start:
‘Reiki’ – Rich percussion, dreamy synth work and subtle distortion
‘Jade’ – Punchy kick drums, fizzling hats and a big dub influence
‘Qurra’ – Perfect rhythms and strong production combine brilliantly

Previous from Rod Modell:
Sacred Geometry EP (2004, Echocord)
Kettle Point EP (2003, Echocord)

If you like this then check out:
Cv313 – Fading Lights EP (2015, Rubadub)
Maurizo – M-Series (1997, Basic Channel)

Rod Modell – Captagon is out now on Tresor Records.