Benoit B’s first solo drop since a 2018 EP for Wisdom Teeth is also his debut on the Unthank imprint. UNTHANK 13 - Caution 9'6" High is a set which really shows the producer’s range - this is dubwise drum techno which stays close to an array of established club styles without fully cosying up to any of them.
We are thrown a curveball by the very first track of UNTHANK 13 - Caution 9'6" High. Whereas those familiar with Benoit B’s work from his previous records will have been expecting some kind of atmospheric club track with focus on the bass, opening cut ‘Global Go’ actually has more in common with minimal wave and Belgian New Beat. Amid the clattering programmed drums and zippy synth, only the detailed textural shaping here herks back to the producer’s previous work.
The rest of UNTHANK 13 - Caution 9'6" High finds us in more familiar territory. ‘Nanga’, ‘Cruising’ and ‘Coconut Groove’ all have an almost hypnotic vibe about them that is conjured by Benoit B’s typically deft way with tuned percussion. Whereas the chunky half-time of ‘Nanga’ may be rather far away from ‘Coconut Groove’s lackadaisical Balearicism or ‘Cruising’s minimal soundsystem style, everything here has the same air of evocative contemplation about it derived in part from a careful use of delay and echo.
Benoit B focuses on both the body and the mind with his new EP for Unthank.
