DJ Bone is a Detroit titan. He plays on the decks with high energy and next-level skill that few can match - which is why they call him the Terminator. He pulls no punches in the studio either, crafting all killer no-filler club weaponry as exemplified here by his new album Further. This is top-level techno on his own Subject Detroit label with lashings of machine soul, futuristic ideals and evocative atmospheres. Some cuts sink into deep inner grooves and take you on a mindful trip and some are more wildly expressive, but all of them bang in the club. More

He may have been making records since the mid 1990s, but DJ Bone has never been in such a rich vein of form. For proof, check out "Beyond", his follow-up to "A Piece of Beyond" and the second part of a trilogy that will conclude in early 2019. Opening with the gleeful Motor City sci-fi futurism of "Dreamers 7", the expansive triple-vinyl set sees the Detroit veteran flit between wonky dancefloor hypnotism ("Multiples of Self"), foreboding late night rumblers ("In The Deep", "With A Vengeance"), starry, beat-free soundscapes ("Techno Ain't Techno"), intergalactic bliss ("Ahhh Life") and carnival rollers rich in layered pots-and-pans percussion ("Bound To Move", "Rosedale Park"). It's another stellar set from a producer who's finally getting his dues. More

As we step into 2018, DJ Bone brings another fresh fusion of funk and ferocity, Composed for deployment on his own Subject Detroit imprint, A Piece Of Beyond is a detailed and varied cross section of Bone's multidimensional musical mind, journeying along a strong spine of Detroit Techno in all its many shapes, colours and textures... More

A diverse and damaging three track EP from Bone, exploring and exhibiting Detroit Techno musically, figuratively and spiritually. A1. Here To Stay (Won't Fade Away) A nod to Detroit as an ever-present - a marker by which others are measured, Bone's first track on The Detroit EP, Here To Stay (Won't Fade Away) makes a statement above and beyond just being a fine example the music it refers to. The sumptuous melody that opens the track is accompanied by a substantial yet soft, almost warm, kick, a combination that somehow provides an atmosphere and depth way beyond merely the of the sum of its parts. More rolling percussion and drums are crisply ushered in before the Here To Stay (Won't Fade Away) vocal begins looping over the composition. Linear, straight up loops, grooves and rhythm give a consistent sense of railroad-esque motion atop of an ever-present vein of lush synth and melody. A track that is certainly here to stay. A2. Detroit Is ... Soul With more of an emotional focus than symbolic this time, it's clear this one is from Bone's heart. Detroit Is ... Soul, ducks and weaves in the grey area between house and techno; the initial percussion that is brushed over the kick giving more of a house swing than a techno groove. The on/off, cut-and-dry synth chords contrast with the looser fluidity in Here To Stay (Won't Fade Away), and gives a real sense of intent and desire. The real focal point however is the profound vocal that comes swirling over the top, "Detroit is what I love, Detroit is what I need, Detroit is where I'm from, Detroit's the air I breathe?" No explanation necessary. B. Detroit Is ... Hard Bone rounds off part 1 of his Detroit EP with aplomb. Where the previous two tracks have drawn on the emotional and symbolic significance of Detroit as a place and as an ideal, Detroit Is ... Hard, cuts straight to the chase. Utilizing the same vocal sample as Detroit Is ... Soul, Bone feeds things through the grinder and comes out with a late night dancefloor destroyer that blends Millsian fury and Red Planet mystique with the archetypal Subject Detroit aesthetic. Chaotic arpeggiated melody, indignant claps and breakneck drums and percussion are the chosen company for Bone's words on this flipside to Detroit Is ... Soul. Detroit is ... Hard, undoubtedly to become a mainstay for sweaty after-hours affairs the world ove More

A1. Motechnique Itokim's opening gambit on Subject Detroit certainly leaves a dent. To true DJ Bone fans, Motechnique will have eyebrows raised and mouths open from the off with it having been a staple component of Bone's three deck attacks in recent months. Weighty but warm kicks start as they mean to go on, bursting with pace and vigour as thrusts and stabs pinprick the brooding chords. The composition continues to explode with ever more rapturous flourishes of orchestral verve as synth and melody are thickened, acting as a backdrop to a brutal yet beautiful assault of wild, stabbing strings. Itokim delivers a magnificent forgery of might and magic with Motechnique, with all the hallmarks of a classic-to-be. A2. Roll Up and Shine The laid back, easy-going connotations of the title are very much the ethos and aesthetic of Itokim's second contribution to the Subject Japan: Rhythm Poems EP. The playful, bubbling melody sets a warm and almost sugary tone from the off before being bolstered by a suave melange of full-bodied kick and dexterous percussion. Swirling and smiling from start to finish, Roll Up and Shine, is a sumptuous merge of insistent groove and radiant warmth that is guaranteed to raise a smile even on the darkest of days. B. The Mood Device Itokim rounds off his first outing on Subject Detroit with The Mood Device, a tothe-point groover that melds elements of both Motechnique and Roll Up and Shine to stunning effect. A genuine builder of a track with a straight and true trajectory, The Mood Device melds innumerable coatings of percussion and synth as stabs are layered and layered again, clotting and coagulating the composition in to one delightfully deep and multidimensional slice of formidable dancefloor composite.
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Label boss DJ Bone mans the controls for the 38th release on Subject Detroit, laying down a typically fierce, three pronged auditory attack. "What He Said" tactfully yet forcefully treads the line between house and techno, cherry picking physiognomies from each side of that ever-blurring line and constructing something fresh but bristling with familiar Subject Detroit elegances. A favourite fixture from Bone's more recent DJ sets, "I Do" sees bubbling, arpeggiated chords simmer and swoop from foreground to background loosely as one solitary, remanipulated ticking hat keeps things in formation. Watch out for the thunderous, doubled-up drum arrangement that crashes in to the picture out of nowhere! B Side track "Rhythm Soul Funk" is a genuine hard hitter and another that tiptoes between the old school and the nouveau.
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Belgian techno icon Fabrice Lig makes his Subject Detroit debut here with a real driving yet emotional peak time techno banger complete with remixes from Aaron-Carl and DJ Bone himself. A. Hmong Dignity Original Club Mix Already a longstanding component in Bone's dancefloor armoury, Fabrice Lig's Hmong Dignity finally lands on SD. The scoring is opened with a tight groove - familiar percussion paving the way to a popping, head-bobbing kick, creating a rhythm that bridges the gap between classic and contemporary. Fabrice wastes no time in getting to the punch line however and swiftly dispatches the track's payload of unforgiving weaponised melody. Raw ingredients laid out, the plot is thickened with jazzy chords that finally falls away to an extravaganza of a break, complete with a funky-as-you-like riff and bassline to boot. An epic example of Detroit's unbridled influence on European techno. B1. Hmong Dignity Aaron-Carl Remix The late, great Aaron Carl provides a meaty rework to Fabrice's original. With a more "housey" aesthetic, AC switches to bigger, flatter kicks and chops up the immense central melody of the original in to more of a part than a centrepiece. Layered, stomach churning bass is deployed on the front line as the synths swirl and mingle around the main groove. Sitting comfortably on the house/techno border, AC's version is chunky, funky, raw and real. B2. Hmong Dignity DJ Bone Remix SD head honcho DJ Bone delivers an elite remix to round off Fabrice's debut Subject Detroit release. The groove that flies off the start line gradually thickens and expands, with Bone slicing up and morphing Fabrice's melody into a completely different beast as it tweaks and spasms in and around a pacey and complex groove. The beat gives way to a cavalcade of funky, arpeggiated synth stabs that remain a constant for the rest of the track, and even they continue to evolve as brooding bass and lush reverberating strings add a genuine next level to the track. As deep as it is tough, straight up yet funky, Bone's remix plucks certain elements of Fabrice's original, redrafts and revises and turns it into a dancefloor bomb in its own right.
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