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(Future Classic/Inertia)
In the ensuing last three years since the release of his previous third 2003 album ‘What’s Going Wrong’, which showcased a more vocal-led change in direction for the Sydney-based dub / electronic producer, Deepchild (real name Rick Bull) has spent increasing amounts of time travelling throughout Europe and the UK, with his productions and live performances receiving critical acclaim from tastemakers such as Gilles Peterson, The Wire and Berlin’s feted De:Bug magazine. This change in environment has certainly exerted a conversely discernible influence upon Bull’s production as well, a development certainly hinted at on his recent ‘Blackness Of The Sea’ and ‘What’s Going Wrong?’ 12”s (also released through new Sydney label Future Classic), which both preceded and considerably increased the levels of anticipation surrounding this full album. To this end, much of the material contained on ‘Lifetime’ is distinctly touched by the sort of razor-sharp shimmering electro-dub approach forged by such notable practitioners as Akufen and Vadislav Delay, a factor that makes complete sense when you consider that the latter Finnish producer was recently responsible for remixing Deepchild’s ‘Blackness Of The Sea’ under his Luomo guise. Perhaps most significantly, ‘Lifetime’ sees Bull continuing to increasingly incorporate vocal collaborations into his productions, with a range of fellow local artists including Melbourne band Gauche, Sydney-based soul vocalist Andy B and Ras Roni of Sydney reggae outfit The Resurrectors contributing vocal input to this album.
Opening track ‘Mutual Sigh’ (also featured on Future Classic’s recent ‘Attractions’ compilation) begins this collection on a finely-detailed minimal digi-dub tip, clicking broken rhythms tracing a path through distant dubbed-out tones, grinding synthlines and shimmering ambience, broken fragments of female soul vocals (courtesy of collaborators Gauche) drifting through the gossamer-smooth mix, while heavily-processed squelching bass licks and floaty Fender Rhodes keys inject an atmosphere that’s drenched with downbeat jazz. After this suitably lush and sultry intro, title track ‘Lifetime’ takes things out even further towards jazz in one of this album’s more dancefloor-oriented moments, with rolling double-bass notes and tight house rhythms providing a propulsive fluid backdrop for heavily-dubbed out vocals, squelching waspy synths and abrasive glitchy textures as samples of a deep male voice intoning “life” swap places with a woman’s voice sweetly singing “time” over the spidery broken rhythms. First single ‘Blackness Of The Sea’ ushers forth one of this album’s most rhythmically-propulsive and streamlined offerings, with Andy B’s stretched out falsetto gliding over a shimmering Luomo-esque backdrop of phased synths, subtle funk bass inflections and ambient washes as his lyrical flow takes in some distinctly politically-edged imagery (“Our promises build on a patchwork of bones / and blood still and oil will not tear down the throne”), while instrumental offering ‘Sometimes It’s Just A Concept’ veers perhaps closer to the downbeat explorations of Deepchild’s earlier albums, a distinct ragga pulse lurking in the swaggering chords that play at its centre as complex rhythmic trickery and dubbed-out bass pulses flicker like candlelight around the treacherous beat programming and lurking synthetic buzzes.
‘Greifwalder Strasse’ manages to inject some distinct hiphop elements, with G-funk-tinged synth grooves bending their way over headnod beats and unpredictable timestretching, the addition of ghostly female vocal fragments taking things on a jacking retro breakers’ trip that sits somewhere between Funkstorung’s hyper-detailed contortion and Jimmy Edgar’s sleazy crunked-up electro groove, before the stunning ‘No Disgrace’ ushers in my personal favourite moment amongst this collection, taking things down into Rhythm & Sound-esque pulsing minimal dub-techno as Ras Roni’s rich intimate vocal delivery fills the expansive spaces remaining around the skeletal rhythms and shimmering melodic synth elements with a contrastingly human presence that nicely counterpoints the precisely-honed programming that surrounds it. Longtime compatriot and former Baggsmen member Buchman also makes a notable appearance on ‘Reconnect’, contributing jazzy flute to a deep crunked-up backdrop of hiphop beats, buzzing sub-bass and wandering bass licks that definitely has more than a touch of G-Stone smokiness to it, pitched-down vocal samples adding an old school feel that sits beautifully amongst the complex DSP trickery and deep funk grooves being laid down.
An excellent fourth album from Deepchild that in my opinion shows this Sydney-based producer unveiling his most compelling collection of tracks so far – and one that also shows him exploring deep, downbeat territory alongside more dancefloor-oriented offerings with a greater degree of cohesion and detail than previous album efforts. So impressive are the contents of this latest album, that it would come as absolutely no surprise at all if ‘Lifetime’ proves to be the album that sees Deepchild’s music expand to a considerably wider global audience, an event that certainly seems close within reach for Bull, given the rapturous overseas reception to his recent 12” releases. For Australian audiences however, there’s a sense after listening to ‘Lifetime’ that it’s worth getting out to see him play now while you’ve still got the chance – with a record as good as this under his belt, it seems inevitable that Berlin will end up stealing him away.
Check out www.deepchild.com and www.futureclassic.com.au
