MIKE SCHOMMER レコード& CD

Review: Last year's superb Pura Lempuyang album has been pulled apart and served up on a couple of separate 12"s and this is the second one. It comes on limited turquoise vinyl and offers four cuts of stylish deep dub and techno. Fletcher's 'It's A Virtue' goes first with taught, twanging bass and grubby basslines then Mike Schommer's 'Kingmaker' offers liquid dub funk with watery pads and hissing static. Nicolas Barnes picks it up a little with a darker but still warm dub techno roller in 'Sonic Dial' and Redrop's 'Genesis' is the more driving of the lot but again exists right on the ocean floor.

Review: REPRESS! When it comes to dub techno, no-one's flying the flag quite like Steve O'Sullivan these days. His Mosaic label is a bastion for the sound, and on this latest missive he's teamed up with Mike Schommer for some excursions into reverb soaked, filter sweeping hypnotism of the highest order. Before we get on to the originals though, equal dub tech legends Deepchord are at the controls on the A side with the "Negative Space Exploration" version of "Submerged", pinging the track out into a vast, icy landscape with subtle drums and stirring string swells lurking in the mist. The original version kicks off the B side with a cleaner, sharper finish but no less of that Basic Channel-inspired finesse. "Depth Charge Dub" completes the package with a slinky dive into stripped down dubby house for the heads.

Review: Mike Schommer's legacy in deep techno reaches back to his part in co-founding Deepchord with Rod Modell in the late 90s. After a protracted hiatus, Schommer returned in 2017 and has since gifted us elegant, dub-tinged techno on labels like Mosaic and Greyscale. Now he arrives on Kontakt with more of that eyes-closed, heads-down gear, offering up a perfectly sculpted warm-up trip in 'Seen The Light' which should go down well with anyone who appreciates the sound of Steve O'Sullivan and other such dubby tech house totems. 'Don't Look For Me' is a different affair thanks to the starring role of Milly James on vocals, bringing an ethereal pop dimension to Schommer's subtle, deep-diving sound. His old bandmate Modell returns on the B-side to remix 'Don't Look For Me' through the lens of the inimitable ambient dub techno he's perfected over the past 20 years.

Review: Deepchord Records co-founder Mike Schommer joins the Kontakt family with two super-smooth Detroit-dub techno tracks. The amazing Milly James adds her dreamy vocals to 'Don't Look For Me', while Mike's old partner in crime, Rod Modell, contributes with his own interpretation of the track, lending ricocheting swirls and scape-scouring vocals to a mix whose sense of expansion rivals the unstoppable cosmic force of dark energy. The A-side's 'Seen The Light' is a livelier contribution, sounding to combine the sexy shoulder-raises of deep tech done right, with the echoic mirror-stages of dub techno. One for the collectors, the original constellation of Deepchord strikes again here on limited edition coloured vinyl.

Review: It would probably be a sin not to describe the work of Mike Schommer (and his affiliates) as 'atmospheric'. While the word is a music reviewers' cliche, 'City Sleeps Remixes Part 2' is also the kind of music to which it best applies. Following up the first remix bundle of Schommer's monumentally emotive album 'City Sleeps' (the first volume heard the likes of dub techno legends CV313 and Steve O Sullivan), this follow-up comes back just as strongly with a response from Deepchord, Deadbeat and Freud der Familie. Deepchord's remix is a free-associative pulse through a dejected, rain-soaked 'scape (the occasional 'night bus' vocal can be heard). FDF and Deadbeat, meanwhile, get overtly dubbier and with it. FDF's is particularly evocative of hawkishly looking out over a landscape, half-blind, its light only periodically being let through.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged, but otherwise in excellent condition***



Dub techno doesn't come deeper than DeepChord, and Mike Schommer is one of those responsible for launching the legendary project. Making his return after 15 long years, Steve O'Sullivan's re-energised Mosaic Records is the perfect place to get reacquainted with the chap. "Invitation To Love" is as romantic as the title would suggest, letting gorgeous chords and pad washes ooze out over a steady ticking beat. The rhythm gets chopped up a little on "Remember When", while "Into The Night" heads into head-nodding dubstep territory with mammoth bass replaced by elegant Motor City synth shimmers.

Review: Few will be surprised to learn that former Deepchord member Mike Schommer explores deep and dubby pastures on "City Sleeps", his first solo release for almost a year. Interestingly, though, the title track cloaks his usual spacious dub techno rhythms in morning-fresh flute lines and hazy female vocals. There's a similar level of melodious positivity at the heart of "Very Being", too, with cascading piano lines and eyes-closed vocalizations tumbling down over a loose-limbed dub techno groove. "Lost In You" sees Schommer move closer to jaunty digi-dub territory, while Andrew Fagan hook-up "Three Tears" places Balearic style Spanish guitar solos atop a locked-in, Rhythm & Sound style rhythm track.

Review: Dub techno doesn't come deeper than DeepChord, and Mike Schommer is one of those responsible for launching the legendary project. Making his return after 15 long years, Steve O'Sullivan's re-energised Mosaic Records is the perfect place to get reacquainted with the chap. "Invitation To Love" is as romantic as the title would suggest, letting gorgeous chords and pad washes ooze out over a steady ticking beat. The rhythm gets chopped up a little on "Remember When", while "Into The Night" heads into head-nodding dubstep territory with mammoth bass replaced by elegant Motor City synth shimmers.

Review: Deepchord label co-founder Mike Schommer is lesser known than his partner Rod Modell, but this new EP on Greyscale could well even things out a little. His third solo EP is a tender dub techno lullaby with distinctive vocals from Milly James. On "Come Home," the dubbed out chords ripple to infinity while James' angelic vocal lingers long in the air above, then "Breathe" slows things right down to a crawl for even deeper listening. "Cut You Down" is impressively cavernous then Deepchord remixes "Breathe" into a frosty and late night roller.

Review: Lempuyang makes it to release number 15 with a devastatingly deep new EP from Deepchord Records co-founder Mike Schommer. He kicks off with 'Scapegoat' featuring the alluring vocals of Milly James which echo out over super slow-motion dub rhythms and icy pads. The Pole rework brings more crisp hits and distant eerie drones over a more pronounced rhythm but one that remains devilishly sparse. On the flip, 'Deceivers' has more hypotonic drive - a fleshy dub stepper to lock in any 'floor and then 'Believers' slows it down to a crawl once more. An essential dub EP that promises no represses.