[Ostgut Ton]

Ostgut Tonträger is moving into longer releases after focusing on singles, a couple mix discs and a compilation since its early 2006 launch. Coincidentally it’s the first producers to be released on Ostgut, Ben Klock and Marcel Dettmann, who are ushering them into this new era with their 2×12″ collection, Scenario. While so many of techno and house artists have gone running for the nearest piano to reconnect with their inner deep-house, these two have remained solidly focused on minimalist grooves at maximalist volumes for a wide-eyed after hours crowd. This five tracker is as stark as the scratched metal adorning the cover, occasionally crossing strains with dub techno rhythms to reveal ripples of Chain Reaction, Maurizio and Basic Channel in its wake.

“Blank Scenario” leads the pack, stripped to the bones and foaming with fizzy snare hits. The track appears with its clothes on as “Scenario,” layering a fluttering, three note syncopation and sidelong stabs atop the “Blank” skeleton. Though its simplicity breeds a meticulously groomed timbre that’s easy on headphones, the track’s shuddering melody will send tingles down dancers’ sweat-wet spines when booming from a club’s system as well. Dettmann and Klock also traffic in minutiae on “Renumber,” whose ticks grow more complex as the mechanical tones pulse in place, and “Places Like This,” revealing only hints of soul behind dub-influenced repetitions. It’s the kind of track that you might find in the crates of Brenden Moeller, Rod Modell or Andy Stott. The final cut, “Dawning (Revisited),” updates Ostgut’s first side of vinyl with a heavier hand, whether it’s the authoritative percussion (seriously, that’s a no nonsense cowbell), the increasingly effervescent main progression, or the superbly knotty synth vamps. Though “Dawning” has remained popular since its 2006 arrival, “(Revisited)” will ensure the duo’s crown jewel stays well polished.

Ben Klock and Marcel Dettmann are known for delivering unflinching, artistically challenging minimal techno and house and the highly recommended Scenario collection further cements that reputation. Ostgut’s first steps into near-album territory are rewarding and will hopefully spur more of these extended releases. The label will be tested again with Prosumer & Murat Tepeli’s forthcoming album, Serenity (advance warning: it’s a hot one).