- Over the past few years, Berlin producer Mike Dehnert has been hitting the spot with a series of classic techno-inspired but completely distinctive records. It's fair to say that anything bearing either Dehnert or his Fachwerk label's name has been worth acquiring. This relentless precision is also audible in Dehnert's DJing. Having heard him in action late last year, what was most striking about his performance—apart from the great swathes of moody, knotted bass that flowed through the speakers—was the imperceptible seamlessness with which he crafted his set. Granted, the vast majority of the music was his, but there was something almost detached about the manner in which he effortlessly dispatched each transition.
If Fachwerk is representative of Dehnert's strike-power, then MD2, its limited edition offshoot is where things get looser and rules—while not thrown out the window—are less rigidly adhered to. This is audible on the untitled A cut, with Dehnert dispensing a glitchier, noisier texture than usual and crunchier drums, albeit delivered with tight claps fashioned into sucker-punches and underpinned by a more malevolent, distorted bass than usual. In an unpredictable move, the flipside sees him at his most mellow, with a more relaxed rolling groove and echoing metallic drums sounding like Dehnert's android take on Chain Reaction. Sometimes, even in Mike Dehnert's case, rules are made to be broken.
Tracklist A MD2.3
B MD2.4