Segue’s big announcement to us all came through Silent Season last year with ‘Pacifica‘ [review here]- one of my favourite albums of 2013 and probably my #1 when it came to the more dub-techno-orientated bunch.
It seems like Jordan is probably one of the only people I know who can add a slice of positivity into dub-techno nowadays. And by that I mean, it’s pretty easy to become very sad and reflective whilst listening to this kind of music. However, Jordan manages to combine a certain combination of pace, instrumentalism and uniqueness with his approach. Instead of peering out onto the world, I find myself peering in, thinking of good memories, summertime and friends.
As soon as that synth kicks-in off the first track ‘Turning Patterns’, i’m smiling. It’s like the smile you get from a euphoric drop in a big techno track, but this one is the paced-down, perfectly executed, mellowed-out younger brother. And that unexpectedness seems to be the theme of this beautifully original album.
One thing that’s a little different to ‘Pacifica‘, or even his earlier work on ‘Blue‘, is Jordan’s confidence in letting the instruments play bigger parts within the tracks on this album. Instead of hiding behind washes of ambience, the looping layers and melodies form a much more defined electronica-style approach, with tracks like ‘Sometimes’ or ‘Flood’, echo-ing the colourful palettes of Milieu, ISAN or Freescha.
Their’s a multitude of approaches here and you can tell Jordan has done his best to keep each track a development from the last. New instruments are introduced at every opportunity and a slightly new vibe from each keeps you hooked throughout. From the grainy churning of ‘Flood’ to the searing washes and unsettling undercurrent in ‘Settle Down’, to the rolling dub-beats from ‘All At Once’, you never quite know where this album is about to take you.
‘The Here And Now’ is an evolution in Jordan’s sound and his confidence. Dub-techno often gets labelled as boring or formulaic and it’s people like Jordan who are pushing the boundaries and merging the lines between genres. And like I said before, he’s one of the only few producers that manages to capture the positivity of it all. I hate labelling music into genres and this is a perfect example of why – just absorb the brilliance that Jordan has to offer.
Available as digital and CD through SEM.
