Swansea born / Berlin based producer Benjamin Damage has stepped out on his own with his excellent debut solo album Heliosphere. Although this is a first album under his own name, Damage is no novice, having already released a tidy body of work in collaboration with Venom and Doc Daneeka.

Loosely speaking what we’ve got here is techno, damn fine techno at that. He does however, delve into a textural depth that goes far beyond the constraints of the genre taking in touches of dubstep, garage and rave. In doing so he’s found a cloudy space between pile-driving techno, the more minimalist delicacy of the genre and an almost ambient slumber. Although this more drowsy side to his sound is maintained throughout, these atmospheric spurts are by no means the pulse of his sound. The music is propulsive and can be dark, mysterious, yet never brutal. Even when in full flight, with rhythms twisting and turning, the momentum is never lost.

An assured and focused sound that packs as much punch as it does intrigue, Heliosphere is out  now on Modeselktor’s very own 50Weapons label.

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