Detroit duo Luke Hess and Joshua Harrison continue their dub techno journey as Hess & Harrison. Following the project’s debut on Echocord, ‘Rogue Signal’ invites the listener on a driving dub trip, recorded as a live performance in the Black Cat Recordings studio in New York. We invited them for a little interview.
Hey Luke & Joshua. „Rogue Signal“ follows after your ‚Epibenthos Mbira‘ EP on Echochord. What were the reasons to go with Black Cat Recordings this time?
We were in contact with Jack Russell (White Wolf / Black Cat Recordings label boss) for almost a year before we started the EP. Jack was sending photos and videos of the new studio he was building in NYC and it got us excited to get out of our studios and work with some of the fantastic gear that he was setting up to create a new EP. There was a great enthusiasm for the Techno and Dub-Techno genre and we were enthusiastic about the prospect of going to a professional, purpose built electronic studio and exploring. In the end, what sealed the deal for us was the idea of making a record in a traditional fashion where all the involved parties are in the same place participating in the process, letting all the character of the wonderful analog gear and in-person process shine through in the music.
The EP was recorded in one take in the BlackCat Studio. Give us some insight into your jamming process and the gear you’ve used. Did you record it in the studio because of some specific technology/equipment you were fancy to use?
So much gear! Working on an API console was super inspiring. The pieces that make the most identifiable contribution to the record are likely the Roland Space Echo, TC 2290, and Lexicon 300L. Those are the primary send effects we used for all the live “played” ambiance and delays. For the synths, we used an Oberheim FVS, DSI PolyEvolver, SCI Pro-One, and Roland Alpha Juno.
The composition process was pretty direct, we would get a sequence going using a combination of the Sequential Cirklon and also the built-in sequencers on some of the synths. Once that felt good, we would start building out Effects chains and practice different ways we could perform the track as we went. Jack Russell and Femi (Sonuga) were a huge help in the studio engineering, and keeping the two of us from getting hung up on the details. Eventually, we would hit a point where there were enough knobs to turn in meaningful ways and we would hit record. Luke does the bulk of the send performance and fader rides on the record Joshua took care of filter envelopes on the synths and drops in some live played bits. Once we worked our way through the arrangement a couple of times with different variations (usually about 20 minutes for each track) we would call it. All of the tracks ended up being just the best 5-to-7-minute section of each performance. Maybe in one or two instances, we did a little cut and paste.
We always get the impression that Dub Techno is an incredibly underrated genre. Everyone loves it and yet, the sound seems way too rare. What do you think about this? Has it changed over the years? Is it more or less popular nowadays?
Let’s say that maybe Dub-Techno’s rarity as a genre is what keeps it protected and vital. As much as it would be amazing to hear more being produced and to also have a larger audience it would be an absolute shame to see it devolve into a trend. As far as it being underrated, that’s hard to comment on. Dub-Techno can be challenging at times for the listener but, once you understand there is a performance taking place and that there is a human intention to all the decisions, even when the choice is stillness, silence, or repetition then maybe people can start to feel it more fully. For all the records in the genre that are made to “elevate a dancefloor” and “uplift the people” some of our favorites are quiet and introspective works that are the perfect underscore to a rainy afternoon spent alone.
Could you name some of your current fav dub artists/labels? Where we can find more of this stuff? Dub and Detroit just works so incredibly well.
We can never get enough of listening to the greats like Basic Channel, Maurizio, DeepChord, & Echospace. We are equally inspired by Scientist, King Tubby, and other Dub Reggae dons. However, for some new inspiration, we recommend checking out Federsen, Conforce, Altinbas, and almost any of the artists and releases coming out on Echocord.
What’s up next for you? Will you focus on your solo projects or can we expect another collabo of you soon?
We are very excited to start work on an EP for our longtime friends on the Visionquest label this fall/winter.
Luke is completely focused on his third studio album this year, but all the details are a big secret until it comes out. Luke has some other projects in the works for Dolly, Syncrophone, Echocord, and NPM, but the album must come first! In the meantime, check out Luke’s label catalog on his own label DeepLabs and his latest release on Dolly’s TS series..
Joshua is working on new solo material and releasing it on the NONCOM label. He also has an ongoing collaboration with Detroit House and Techno mainstay Keith Kemp as Prosthetic Hands and also on Ryan Elliot’s FaithBeat label.
Vinyl release date: April 20
Digital release date: June 14
From FAZEmag 147/05.2024
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