With two compilations released to date, Broken District has sought to carve out a niche among the ever-expanding plethora of independent electronic labels across the globe. By promoting an off-brand mix of eclectic music at the cross-roads of house, modern jazz, funk, and soul, the imprint is taking the Rhythm Section approach to the industry and welcoming in a variety of sounds, tempos, and styles. Broken District 03 is no exception, featuring 6 tracks that string together down-tempo R&B, jazz, soul, and dance music with a common electronic thread. Today, Bolting Bits premieres the compilation’s third offering, Deep Downstairs by Duktus & ODC Live Band.
Straddling a line somewhere between the club and the concert hall, Duktus attempts to bring together live instrumentation and electronic production by way of sample work to create a track that is both structurally and sonically experimental. The opening bars feature a modern-jazz inspired live drum workout in conversation with two electric pianos . The keys wax and wane cyclically before making way for a more pulse-centric kick/clap beat to solidify the groove.
[soundcloud url=”https://soundcloud.com/boltingbits/premiere-duktus-odc-live-band-deep-downstairs” /]
Slowly, Duktus leads us downstairs. Still, and despite the newly introduced, club-friendly drums, the song continues in a linear path reminiscent of jazz, instead of the more circular structure of club music. The keys are back, building a melodic foundation that will support the solos to follow. Tension and release, elements so integral to the club, come and go with organic ease, paying little attention to the 16-bar standards that make music easier to mix. “Deep Downstairs” is a live-recorded nu-jazz session with the ODC Live Band. The band is named after the OverDubClub jam sessions and beat-making event series, which took place between 2012 and 2016 at the Distillery club in Leipzig. After a VA release on the O*RS label gathering productions from all artists involved in the ODC sessions, this one song is the last and only song left from this time period…
The effect is powerful, taking symbiotic elements of each style drawn from, Duktus makes the genre bend seem natural. Not sure if the track would work well in the club or on the stage, it may fall flat without a live performance, yet be too repetitive for said performance simultaneously. Buy it now.
Hiatt
