Deepchild: Neukolln Burning Label: Thoughtless Music

Trading the warmth of his native Australia for the cool of Berlin seems like something only a techno artist would do, and that's Rick Bull, a.k.a. Deepchild. This is a fantastic album named after his Berlin neighborhood of Neukolln. The dub-inflected tech-house & acid-bathed techno beats are brilliantly arranged & grab you. And there is plenty of soul & substance here too. I'm not sold on the ambient tracks, as the hits are clearly the dance-y tracks like #2 ("Neukolln Burning"), #3 ("Dirty Cutlery") and #4 ("Riyadh"). #8 ("Want") is great too.
1. Atmospheric synth intro w/ dialogue snippets. I think I heard a woman say "talk some shit" so this is SAFE HARBOR ONLY. (FCC)
2. Wonderful title track. Dub-inflected electronics, catchy little synth loops & effects, some vocal samples, punchy claps - all thoughtfully composed and ultimately groovy.
3. Techy now. Insistent tones, big claps, vocal snippets, then a big breakdown that leads into a massive acid-rave-tech bath about halfway through. Slammin'.
4. Minimal-tech-house. Exotic Middle-Eastern-sounding flavors over an acid/techno framework with cool tweaky blippy melodies.
5. Space-y electro-dub. Nervy little effects & clicks & samples. Cool stuff.
6. Wacky dubbed-out madness. R&B soul vox and crazy synths over a dub framework.
7. Ambient soul. Synth soundscape/interlude.
8. Retro-style synth throwing down a sick groove on this homage to Detroit techno. Awesome.
9. Stripped-down techno that elegantly builds up over some vox & warm synths
10. Deep & thoughtful tech-house that breathes organically and pounds mechanically
11. Melancholic techno that features expansive Gregorian-esque vocals
12. Light and airy tech-house, some uplifting vox, bright synth loop & big claps
13. Textures of crackles & synths over a dark & cold soundscape - FCC (a dialogue with the words "fucking die")
14. Sinister & cold ambience with rolling distorted bass