Review Summary: From the Par Future
If there’s anything to be said for Terrence Dixon (assuming a 20-year-rep as Detroit techno’s reclusive torchbearer does not speak for itself), it’s this: the man has ineffable style. His trio of
Far Future LP’s represent essential modern iterations of Motor City minimalism, and his excursions beyond the terrestrial – from the aquatic
Badge of Honor to the nebulous
Galactic Halo – have only intensified his idiosyncratic approach to dance music.
Other Dimensions represents yet another of these forays, and just as the release is divided, so too is this reviewer.
Side A contains all the techno, and standout ‘Final Results’ is classic Dixon. A soft, persistent kick drives a rippling synthesizer, tension subtly honed and dispersed with a shimmering, discordant swell. This same swell washes through into subsequent offering ‘The Meeting’, where it bubbles and warbles as counterpoint to a melody of alluring simplicity, and culminates in a re-drop of startling authority (considering all Dixon really does is remove and replace the kick). In both cases, what sells his particular brand of minimalism is a sense of vivid contrast – the sparsity of elements serves only to highlight their brooding interplay.
Side B, too, boasts its fair share of drama. ‘Elliptical Orbit’ introduces the record’s ambient half in a kind of hypnagogia, pulse so indirect as to be almost implicit. Enthralling centerpiece ‘Brilliant Rotation’ induces an ethereal vertigo with a splay of icy notes, their graceful orbit aligning them to form chilling chords. At his best, Dixon’s attention to detail infuses even his ambient ideas with undeniable momentum and character.
Given this emphasis on detail, the faults to be found in
Other Dimensions are largely comparative. The steady jitter of ‘Aurora’ might turn heads, but it’s a little too reminiscent of a piece from last year’s
Reporting from Detroit to stand out in Dixon’s catalogue. ‘Mystical Journey’ would beguile with little effort, if its tribal undercurrent and babbling overture were less evocative of prior
Far Future cuts. These tracks are not rote copies, to be sure, but the overlap is unsatisfying from an artist normally so focused on subtle shading.
It’s telling that a majority of the criticism one can reasonably level at
Other Dimensions speaks of frustrated potential. ‘Small Discovery’ intrigues with a tactile hiss and arid echoes, but squashes this nuanced atmosphere when it concludes in a few aimless orchestral tones. ‘Yesterday’s World’ is intensely remote, but treads too nearly on the frigid heels of ‘Brilliant Rotation’ to conclude with any gravity. On the whole,
Dimensions might be an inconsistent entry in Dixon’s discography, but for an artist of his significance it’s ultimately reassuring. Even when he missteps, he still manages to strut.
