Blue Hour – ‘Flow State’

The ‘Flow State’ EP, due some time around mid-November, is the debut release from mysterious Berlin-based, UK-hailing artist, Blue Hour.

Dropping on clear blue vinyl, via Blue Hour’s own self-titled imprint, ‘Flow State’ is underpinned pretty much throughout by the ubiquitous and classic sound of the Roland 909. Just a sprinkling of grassroots techno sounds are layered on top of rudimentary analog drums in all but one track, for a clear illustration of how less is indeed more when you’re dealing with percussive artillery such as this.

Each of the A-sides, ‘Flow State’ and ‘Meridian’, is a fairly minimal affair, devoid of riotous basslines or hands-in-air pads; some old school, well-placed synth stabs are all that is deemed necessary here, the knock-down kicks delivering bags of energy by themselves. Synth envelopes open up a bit for the first B-side, ‘Solace’, which has a prominent Jon Doe ‘D-Series’ feel to it, albeit with a steadier pace, before closing track, ‘Inner Reflections’, does away with the 909 and ushers in some heavy atmospherics.

There’s not much to be learnt about the artist online, apart from his/her current location and the fact that they know their way around a vintage drum machine. But something tells me they aren’t new to the techno game, not least the fact that they had Flow State mastered by Alchemy – if Blue Hour isn’t a moniker for someone much more familiar then I’d be very surprised.

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