Emitido
September 2003 / June 2024
- A crucial '00s dub techno team-up from Tikiman and Vainqueur earns the reissue it deserves.
- The early '00s was a transitional time for dub techno. Chain Reaction had folded, the American wave led by Rod Modell was only just emerging, and Mark Ernestus and Moritz von Oswald were deep in the reggae explorations of Rhythm & Sound. The latter duo's 2003 album, With the Artists, is rightfully hailed as a masterpiece of dub techno that skews towards the first descriptor more than the second. A lesser-known and equally impressive example of this sound is "Faith," released the same year, and the only collaboration between Dominican-German vocalist Paul St. Hilaire, AKA Tikiman, and René Löwe (who made classic records on Chain Reaction as Vainqueur). At the time the debut of both artists under their real name, "Faith" represents dub techno at its most sumptuous.
Dub techno is often cold, spartan music, but "Faith" feels warm and reassuring. Löwe prefers major-key harmonies to the minor key more common in dub techno, and his generously stereo-spread synth washes create a cocoon around St. Hilaire's optimistic exhortations to "let your light show." St. Hilaire's voice sounds reassuring but distant, like a guide just ahead who threatens to disappear into the fog. While Rhythm & Sound channeled dub's sense of religious awe on With the Artists tracks like "Jah Rule" and "King/Queen in my Empire," "Faith" has an uplift that aligns it with great roots reggae like Bunny Wailer's "Blackheart Man."
Faith is split between a "Vox" mix and a "No Vox" version that lets Löwe slather the canvas with even more synths and layers of static. As this is the first time this music has been available digitally, perhaps it loses some mystery in being widely available at the simple push of a button rather than coming at the end of a crate-digger's exhaustive quest. But 21 years after its release, "Faith" is no less alluring an environment to lose yourself in.
Correction, June 11th: A previous version of this article said that Kynant Records had remastered the record. That's not true.
Lista de sequência de músicas01. Faith (Vox Mix)
02. Faith (No Vox Mix)