Frank Wiedemann – Granville (Chorus)

I do love it when you tune into the sound of a piece of music that stands out from a mix, a club night or a radio show and just have to know what it is. This is exactly what happened to me with Frank Wiedemann’s ‘Granville EP’ on brand new label Chorus.

Dig that degree deeper and you’ll find the story of Marcus Worgull, German producer and Innervisions artist who categorically stated he’d never run a label. When his friend Frank Wiedemann stepped up with a solo EP that was so good, having trusted Marcus’ ear to treat his music right he knew an outlet was needed and Chorus was born.

If you didn’t know, Frank Wiedemann is one half of the uber talented Âme and co-owner of the stalwart label Innervisions with Dixon. Put together all those touch-points and the scene is set for that special story to play out all the way to a happy ending. We all know that happy endings are not guaranteed, but from the opening bars of ‘Granville’ you get the sense that the production quality is deeply ingrained into the fabric of the production. It’s complex, deep and I would imagine for some a little challenging. To those with the ear for rich and powerful sounds this is immediate. Not in a commercial way, in a way that you know takes experience and pedigree to commit to a composition like this.

‘Granville’ is twisted yet soulful techno. It could be deep house, perhaps with a touch of the progressive too. You decide, because the box it comes in doesn’t matter. What does matter is the quirky organs, the repetitive bleeps, the nagging bassline, squelchy analogue and the clever affected percussion. The ever changing soundscape is like watching the scenery slip by from the back seat of a car or the moon sliding out from a cloud on a starry night, magical and surreal, emotive and life-affirming.

In the right club you’ll set fire to the curtains. In the wrong club you’ll clear the floor. I know which club I’d rather be in.

Lurking behind and nudging gently for the top spot is ‘Themroc’, a skanking techno groove that builds like a steam train powering through the night, unstoppable, heavy and dangerous.

It’s another quirky groove, percussive, bass driven and attention seeking from the off. The unusual vocal lulls you into a false sense of security, but the bass and skanking synths are the fire to the ice that propels this monster groove. There’s melody too, it’s an ear worm in the most thuggish way, but when the break comes in a powerful arpeggio slopes in and settles the argument, the synths go crazy and the whole thing lifts the roof.

For those that love the groove there’s a dub that is exactly that, grooved out dub techno. I can imagine this whole EP being played by François Kevorkian or Danny Tenaglia, it’s Germany, New York, London, Ibiza……

Support from corners as diverse as John Digweed and Pete Tong too.

This EP is touched with a little genius, and it’s not for the faint-hearted. Make no mistake this is one underground, heavyweight jam, the likes of which we rarely see. Get on it, but don’t tell anyone else. This is our secret, right?

Score: 9/10

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