Based in the North of England, specifically Leeds; Dead Channel are a netlabel focusing on the darker electronics of artists and sound we might otherwise miss. They aim to serve as a vehicle for the transmission of electronic music that has little, or no other outlet.

Modern Ruins is their most current release which came out last year, released back in September. Doesn’t so much matter to me that it saw the light some 8 months back, although I hope that Dead Channel continue to release their sound as they appear to have been dormant since.

The man behind Modern Ruins, Micoland aka Michael Schofield is one of the artists at the core the label. He’s put together 17 mostly dark atmospheric, broken beat, dub influenced tracks. Crunchy tipped, semi fractured breakstep infested audio with a sense of a dank mechanised near future. If that’s your thing too, then you’ll find plenty here to satisfy. Track Backspace has its acid infused hard rolling broken steps fully on display. Occident dishes out it’s side stepping swagger in akin to the work of Threnody whilst the albums title track featuring Lazarou on vocal duty can draw comparisons to the work of Kevin Martin’s The Bug.

Surely by now there is no argument that Mick Schofield, otherwise known as Micoland, is one of the most talented producers currently residing in the city of Leeds. The other half of merry pranksters Wobble n Dubb returns to Dead Channel with the long anticipated follow up to 2008’s All Loop Traffic.

The sounds of traditional northern electronics are combined with Mico’s fascination with dub, it’s unruly offspring dubstep and hip-hop, to produce an album with moments of startling beauty and darkness held together by deep grooves you can get lost in. From the menacing voice of the mysterious Lazarou on the title track, to the dreamy Orb-like pads of Cumulo Nimbus before it drops it’s heavy stepping dub riddem, this album has lots of great moments.

Micoland – Modern Ruins
Download

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Micoland – Dark Freight
Micoland – Movement
Micoland – Modern Ruins
Micoland – Tourism
Micoland – Terra Nullius (Citizen Of Nowhere)
Micoland – Backspace
Micoland – Cumulo Nimbus
Micoland – Long Delays Expected
Micoland – Illegal Medium
Micoland – Blood
Micoland – On The Warpath Again
Micoland – Occident
Micoland – No Roots
Micoland – Motorsteuerung
Micoland – Universal Serial Bass
Micoland – Old Haunts
Micoland – Epitaph