- Canadian producer Chris Hreno has been quietly settling into his place on the Berlin house scene for a couple of years now, with his solid 2012 debut EP being followed last May by the squelching basslines and soul vocal samples of the Frank Barns EP. This nicely understated, acid-flecked third outing has a more reined-in atmosphere than Frank Barns, and largely succeeds on those terms.
"Highway 17" reveals its hand immediately, with a rapid acid bassline and sharp hats, before gradually adding backgrounded voice samples and tough, clanking synth effects. It's compelling for a while, but its ten-minute duration means it begins to drag. EP standout "Little Squirl" has a softer touch. It leavens its periodic metallic synth punches with a bed of chiming keys and a gentle, eddying bassline. "Ottawa Valley" is both mesmerising and off-kilter, its gently propulsive bass and percussion being assailed from multiple directions by rebounding blasts of synth. A staging post on a journey rather than a final destination, Parts Unknown nevertheless has promise and confidence in spades.
TracklistA Highway 17
B1 Ottawa Valley
B2 Little Squirl