Deadbeat - "Journeyman's Annual"

Deadbeat - Deep in Country feat. Moral Undulations (~scape 2007)

Deadbeat – Journeyman’s Annual / ~scape

The first thought that crossed my mind when I slipped in Deadbeat’s fourth full-length for the ~scape label was “cool… a dubstep album with a Berlin approach to post-techno.” But upon further listening and research, my initial reaction was a bit erroneous and more specifically, backwards. This is a post-techno album heavily influenced by dub, which obviously spins it into dubstep territory, though with a significant increase in the bpm department. And designating geographically to Berlin was incorrect as well (damn I’m ignorant in the world of electronica!), though it is being released on Stefan Betke’s (aka Pole) ~scape label, which is located in Berlin. Scott Monteith, who explores the overlapping characteristics of dub and electronica as Deadbeat, is actually very much intertwined in the Montreal digital music underground. So, I was near completely wrong with my initial assessment of Journeyman’s Annual, but really, that only makes it significantly more intriguing. Monteith has crafted a sound near impossible to categorize in both a geographic and stylistic sense as it encompasses so many different influences, not to mention it can double as a club banger.

Like most intriguing artists, Monteith’s sound evolved from odd, sometimes conflicting influences during his formidable years as a musician. According to his bio, he stumbled through church choirs and acid rock high school bands before discovering the sinister beat of industrial music. This led him to increasingly more beat-oriented styles and into the mid-90s rave scene which was thriving in Toronto, a short trip from his hometown in Ontario, Canada. After hooking up with Mike Shannon and Jeff Milligan (aka Algorithm), Monteith began to explore the possibilities of DJing and relocated to Montreal where thanks to being in the right place at the right time, he helped sprout the city’s potent laptop techno scene. But perhaps the most important musical exposure he gained was from his first roommate in the French-Canadian city who hated techno but loved dub reggae. This led to Monteith’s infusion of both genres and with the help of a fertile scene and a job at a music software company (Applied Acoustic Systems), he was able to carve out a niche that wouldn’t be internationally popular until nearly a decade later in the mid-aughts (dubstep, though perhaps ambient-techno with a heavy dub influence may be a better description of his sound) and grab the attention of Betke’s then blossoming ~scape label. Monteith and the Montreal scene garnished more and more attention as the years passed, and now fully established and with hefty fan-base, the fourth Deadbeat album drops with eager international anticipation.

This first track of Journeyman’s Annual, “Lost Luggage” is a bit misleading, which is why it led to my initial incorrect assessment. It is near wholly in the menacing dubstep mode with deeply resonating dub-like effects and a sinister, slow-moving beat. The song opens up about halfway in where rich, booming string plucks provided by fellow Montrealer Stophie Trudeau of Godspeed! You Black Emperor and A Silver Mount Zion fame which completely encompass your speakers. From here on out though, it’s as if each subsequent song increases in bpms and you are repeatedly remind that this is a techno album laced with dub elements rather than the other way around. “Melbourne Round Midnight” thumps with bone-rattling low frequencies and sparse rocksteady organ chops, “Night Train to Paris” stutters with increasingly overlapping high frequency clicks and taps before opening up with a head-nodding bass line and echoing sound effects and “Where Has My Love Gone.,” which may be the strongest song of the disc, bumps into a danceable dub-techno array of swirling acoustic guitar-like sounds, drum washes and enveloping organs. Monteith enlists a few vocalists as well who all excel with their individual styles, mostly dancehall derived though. Bubbz, a Bristol-based emcee, is first on deck and rips “Refund Me” with a rap-like approach though he is buried in a sea of chugging white noise and hollow drum sequences. “Deep in the Country,” featuring the unearthly grunting of Moral Undulations, definitely reminds me of Kode9 & the Spaceape as he gutturally narrates and cackles underneath a typewriter beat and deep-thudding bass. And finally, Deadbeat goes dancehall as Montreal deejay Jah Cutta expresses his irresistible love for ladies of all sizes on "Gimmie a Little Slack." The album closes with a much-revered remix of what is easily def poet Saul Williams’ finest moment, “Black Stacey.” Up until now, it was a much sought after promo-only 12 inch and the trademark set capper for Deadbeat live sets.

Journeyman’s Annual is undoubtedly a very strong album, and most importantly, it helps bring the dubstep sound to techno-friendly dance floors as Deadbeat has been successfully purveying for years now. Like ~scape label owner and mentor Stefan Betke, whose minimal dub-techno alias Pole is heading in the same direction, Monteith is increasingly accessible, probably thanks to the international recognition and acceptance of the similar dubstep genre. Journeyman’s Annual is less ghetto though and more… well Montreal… than the majority of the stuff dropping from London, but there are very few who can drench what is essentially a techno beat with such saturated dub elements than Monteith. It is an album that can be comfortably listened to in both your home and in the club, which is maybe the toughest characteristic to achieve for electronica producers everywhere.