Snare Tapes

I was first introduced to Denis Safiullin's music when I discovered a string of records he'd released as Unbroken Dub on the prolific Frankfurt based label Rawax. In fact the very first two records on the label named 'Untitled Dubs' and 'Seven' were both solo EPs from the Russian DJ and Producer, which turned out to be the initial pre-cursors to many productions of his the label supported and released over time.

His positively identifiable sound has always carefully tread those blurred lines between House and Techno, but done so in an almost defiantly personal way. The consistent and unquestionable analogue presence through murky, dissonant chords and stabs are often woven around simple but well designed drum and percussive patterns that build slowly, create tension and often do little more than hypnotically dance and sway around your head at a subtly satisfyingly slow-ish tempo. 'How Slow Can You Go' on his Raw Siberia EP is a perfect demonstration both physically and metaphorically as a track, of how his slow-mo analogue style creates this tension.

This mix for Snare is extremely reminiscent of his style and without pigeon-holing his sound, is typically Unbroken Dub. It's well constructed, heady, stripped back house and techno. The tempo is steady but has purpose and the tracks are blended beautifully; all working together to create one body of work. There isn't a track list, but it wouldn't surprise me if there's more than a handful of Denis's own productions, unreleased or otherwise in there. An excellent mix by a producer that has represented Russia's underground music scene brilliantly for a while now. Long may it continue!