Until May 1, 2024, Shinichi Atobe was a man of mystery. That was when the Tone Glow newsletter published the first-ever interview with the Japanese techno artist, in which he explained that he simply had not given any before because nobody had ever cared to ask. However, it is easy to see why people liked to think of him as an elusive figure: following his 2001 EP Ship-Scope for Chain Reaction, he went radio silent for 13 years before returning with an album for Demdike Stare’s DDS label, the first in a flurry of records that appeared more or less every two years without much comment from the artist himself. It turned out there was not much of a mystery, but at least this meant that Atobe’s music was always allowed to speak for itself.
Silent Way is his seventh album since his unexpected comeback and a classic Atobe record from the moment the tape starts to hiss in the intro. Then come the bouncy kickdrums, the intricate chords and the swirling melodies. Much of Silent Way does not necessarily sound different from anything that came after 2020’s Yes. This is a dreamy yet groovy take on dub techno that prioritises radiant joy over the genre’s usual sombre introspection. However, Atobe takes some licence towards the end of the record with the almost 12-minute downbeat beauty »Rain«, the Drexciyan short piece »Syndrome« and »Fractal«, a tune that sounds like his very own rendition of Underground Resistance’s »The Final Frontier«.
Silent Way does not in fact feed on a sense of mystery, but feels familiar and comforting. However, it also recalibrates the coordinates for Atobe’s musical journey ever so slightly, as if slowly opening a new chapter.
