[Kontra-Musik] (buy vinyl) (buy mp3s)

You don’t get released on Omar-S’s FXHE Recordings or get taken under the vaunted producer’s wing without being someone special. And with his third solo release, Detroit native Luke Hess confirms that he’s certainly someone to talk about. Though he’s been releasing since 2005 on labels like the Detroit-based Berettamusic, the young producer made a more concerted effort in 2007 and landed a track on Steve Lawler’s “Viva London” mix. The “Believe & Receive EP,” his latest, comes from Sweden’s Kontra-Musik and explores his love of dub techno. Soloaction Records proprietor, Shed, brings his own dub enthusiasm to bear for a “Deepanddubbydub” remix.

Listen to “Believe & Receive” (Shed’s Deepanddubbydub remix):

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Rather than get mired in his own reverberations as many producers tend to do, Hess opts to pushing the tidal echoes into the background, as if lapping at the side of the vessel in which “Believe And Receive” is set. Instead he focuses on smart, sharpened percussion, stark bass stabs and a vibrating high end, a blend which provides a great internal contrast. And only when you give up on a hook does a surging synth arrangement to lock Hess’s tune into dancers’ memories. Shed’s version, however, seizes on the progression from the beginning, wrapping it around unadorned percussion that gets caught in reverb eddies, one element at time. Turning the original’s structure inside out, Shed finally brings in the dub about halfway in, making for an unrelenting record that’s as dark as it is deep. An EP as compelling as “Believe & Receive” bodes well for Mr. Hess’s flourishing reputation and Omar’s A&R notoriety. Detroit ain’t dead yet.