2562 – Fever review

For a producer who earns a living patrolling the moody sonic terrain between dubstep and techno, the third album from Dutchman Dave Huismans under the 2562 alias is his most raucous yet. A notable progression has been made from the dense atmospherics and subterranean bass that characterised 2008’s Aerials and the dark textures of 2009’s Unbalance, both of which saw release on Bristolian imprint Tectonic. Fever – released via Huismans’ own When In Doubt label – has a more insouciant slant, albeit buried beneath several layers of robust drum programming and hanging synths.

It’s perhaps a little strange then that this development is in part the result of Husimans’ concept for Fever: every single sound used has been sampled from 1970s and 80s disco records, with the producer’s year of birth (1979) used as a something of a centrepoint. Although the LP’s artwork is a beautiful illustration of this fact, were it not publicised when the album was announced no one would have picked it – it’s the most un-disco disco record you’re ever likely to hear.

The stuttering rhythms and disorientating panning of “Winamp Melodrama” opens Fever, followed by the whirring effects and muffled vocal loops of “Cheaters”. The chaotic drum programming on “Juxtaposed” brings to work the mind of fellow genre ignorer FaltyDL, before “Intermission” marks the album’s halfway point and paves the way for Huismans’ most outlandish moment, namely the unrelenting party techno stomp of “This Is Hardcore”. God only knows which disco records he sampled for this one – but it’s enamoured with bucket loads of groove and swing (sadly it only appears on the CD and digital versions of the album, although it also appeared on a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it 10” which surfaced back in February).

The mechanised fuzz and raved up synths of “Brasil Deadwalker” maintains the sweat-drenched basement momentum which now been firmly developed, before “Final Frenzy” offers just that – one last burst of fire before things are reeled in towards a natural conclusion. The gloopy bass and odd yelps of “Wasteland” and strangely evocative shuffle of the album’s title track provide yet more evidence that this is a producer who possesses both exciting ideas and the nous to make them happen in the studio.

Aaron Coultate