[Intacto Records]

Dave Ellesmere’s story is one that seems surprisingly prevalent among techno producers. His musical roots are in punk rock and thrashy hardcore, beating the drums for Discharge, Flux of Pink Indians, and Disgust. Drifting from punk rock and its obscenely brilliant naming conventions, Ellesmere was drawn to acid house during the “Summer of Love” and later more strongly to the sounds clamoring out of Detroit and Berlin in the early 90’s. This inspired him to start the label Emergency Broadcast, releasing music by fellow Dutchman Steve Rachmad and Minnesota-born, Bronx-reppin’, UK-affiliated Freddie Fresh. Ellesmere began writing his own tracks and uploading them to mp3.com in 2000. Within a week of uploading, Derrick May charted one of his tracks while at the same time staff at mp3.com featured his tracks on the site. This resulted in over 30,000 downloads in one month. Soon he found himself recording for Kanzleramt, paired with Swiss producer Diego Hostettler, and later with Dylan Hermelijn (2000 And One) as one half of Microfunk; you may remember the track “Pecan” from 2006.

This brings us to Ellesmere’s latest, a split single with Polder on Hermelijn and Shinedoe’s Intacto Records. “Today, Tomorrow, and Yesterday” begins with a simple beat surrounded by disorienting synth pulses that continue until the song pulls back in anticipation of a melody that washes over the track like a tsunami. From there on it’s rinse and repeat. Its towering melody creates a warm and joyful mood that justify the track’s placement at the top of Ellen Allien’s December 2007 chart, a hot toddy in the midst of winter. Structurally similar to Hermelijn’s 2000 And One material but with a stronger techno orientation, Ellesmere displays simplicity with tact and grace. Have a listen and be sure to turn it up as loud as you can. (post by Manuel Sanchez)