[Night Gallery]

Dijkhuis’ Dijkhuis #1 is the debut release on the newly-minted Night Gallery label founded by Little White Earbuds writer Kuri Kondrak and Shawn Kralicek. Although the identity of Dijkhuis is unknown except for the clues provided in the attendant press release which claims it’s an established producer operating incognito, what’s clear is that he or she is comfortable working with a variety of styles.

“Hotel #19” is a creeping, largely beatless kosmische-style track. It’s appropriately minimal, and the largely unchanging synthesizer pattern is the main focal point here, though an operatic sample does make its way in to heighten the sense of drama. While well-composed, it’s slightly at odds with the house experiments on the tracks that follow. “You Can Bring It” begins with some preset rave stabs, which, considering how untreated they are, seem like an ill omen. Luckily, they fade comfortably into the background as a rough, beatdown house arrangement emerges, along with a chopped-up vocal and snaking, hoover-ish synth line. A beatdown homage to rave motifs is a novel if strange idea, but when all its elements are firing at once, it actually works. Finally, “My Love Is…” is a dynamic, cleanly executed house tune, led by a refrain of the phrase, “my love is a lie,” and an adjoining passage of ambiguous spoken word. Its playful synth squiggles and the pronounced funk of its bass line should endear it to followers of the more party-ready end of the house spectrum. While it may lack a clear direction, Dijkhuis #1 hardly suffers from a lack of ideas and showcases a producer who stands to further capitalize on that inherent unpredictability.