Been Through

This is the second full-length release from Berlin's Lars Fenin for the Shitkatapult label. From his start in the late-'90s up until now, Fenin has crafted a unique dub techno trademark sound. However, Been Through steps out of the dub techno circus to involve much more. Rhythm-wise, you can recognize that the dubstep era influenced the Berlin producer: 4-to-the-floor beats have been replaced by strong broken patterns that evoke a dancefloor feeling but with their subtle breaks and moves, develop into a unique approach to electronic dancehall. Fenin is also accompanied by fantastic guests - Gorbi, a Berlin-based singer from Ghana, lends his unique voice to four tracks on this record. Far away from being a wanna-be Jamaican reggae toaster, Gorbi showcases a real African singer spirit in his work. If you are looking for the original reggae tip of Been Through, you might prefer Jamaican toaster Scorcha with whom Fenin created "Complain," which is a first-class digital riddim. To make it a classic Fenin album, you can also still taste the dub techno beat on tracks like "Miles and More" and the first single track "Breakin." "Breakin" is a little machine - it merges the dub techno and dubstep fever with a taste of electronic pop. Abstract fun and deep grooves. To complete the album, there are three ambient tracks: The heavenly "So Weit So Gut," "Years Ago" and the opener track, "Dub Eraldo," which was made together with Eraldo Bernocchi, an Italian avant garde jazz guitarist and electronic producer who has worked with people such as Thomas Fehlmann and Bill Laswell.