Bleep

Derek Carr is one of those many unsung heroes of underground house, electro and their neighbouring electronic relatives. Born, raised and operating principally in Westmeath, Ireland, he is fast entering his third decade as an actively releasing artist. As his latest album Arrival demonstrates, he’s showing no signs of letting up.

Carr draws most often from the potent UK techno scene of the nineties, a pioneering time of experimentation which explored the vast potential beyond the dancefloor. He makes machine music infused with a very human soul, with a deftness for keen melodic hooks and expansive atmospherics.

There’s an undeniable influence of the Detroit and Chicago sounds too, which were also inextricably linked with their transatlantic counterparts as they developed over the last few decades. Sonically, Arrival is a collection of ten DJ-friendly movers working within deep house, broken electro, acid and general 130bpm territory with a subtle sci-fi twist.

‘Haemoglobin’ is one track in which Carr’s mix of analog rhythms and synthesizer charm is particularly beguiling - starting out with thunderous, sloping kicks, it unfolds layer after layer of tender keys and pads to stunning effect. Tracks like ‘Droid World’ & ‘MCR’ tap into that sweet deeper side of 90s acid soul, retro-futuristic bleeps and synth leads circling tough drum machine structures.

Arrival marks another strong entry in the catalogue of one of the purest practitioners in the scene.