Album Reviews: Strategy

"Clocky Man"/"Snowdrift Dub" 7-Inch (ZamZam)

[DUB TECHNO] Strategy's strategy is usually pretty clear: Fuse dub, techno, house and ambient music together using analog synthesizers, then get weird. Paul Dickow, aka Strategy, has kept the formula fresh in his 10-plus years of beat-making, because his tactics vary so much. His music has been released seemingly everywhere, carefully catered to the style of each particular label. With this new 7-inch, Dickow crafts beautiful, dance-floor-ready jams perfectly suited to ZamZam's dub-techno sound. "Clocky Man" explodes suddenly with a muddy, wobbly bassline set over driving high hats and classic reggae chords churning in the distance. "Snowdrift Dub" gets a little more esoteric, as the reverberations of a clean piano are carried through an array of gates and samplers. Both tracks could use a little more room to breathe, but that's nothing a skilled DJ can't fix.

SEE IT: Strategy plays ZamZam Lounge at Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., with E3, on Tuesday, Oct. 29. 9 pm. Free. 21+

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