Beat Pharmacy is one among several identities employed by Brendon Moeller. Originally from South Africa and based in New York, Moeller is known primarily for his extensive explorations of dub techno a la Basic Channel. With eight full length albums and countless tracks released on labels including Sm;)e Communications, Astralwerks, Wave Music, Deep Space, Mule Electronique, Steadfast, Connaiseur, Apnea, Third Ear, Echochord, Eskimo, Rekids and more, Moeller is returning to Throne of Blood for his second EP-length outing in as many years.
Obviously, a man working on multiple musical projects under multiple guises has to balance a wide array of influences and stylistic cues. Using dub as an overarching framework, Moeller also embraces jazz, afrobeat, and psychedelia to inform works that consistently fall along the house/techno spectrum. More incredible, though, is the fact that Moeller’s many projects and releases retain a unique quality. Beat Pharmacy is distinct from Echologist, and neither is quite the same as Brendon Moeller. Even as he buries other producers beneath the blizzard of productions emanating from his upstate studio, Moeller manages to create classics in a world full of disposable hits
For Tricks of the Trade, Beat Pharmacy leaves dub in the background, taking things in a analogue-heavy, improvisational direction reminiscent of the most dancefloor moments on Juju & Jordash’s mindblowing Techno Primitives LP on Dekmantel. While “Sometimes I’m Happy” melds a functional dancefloor groove with outthere synth flourishes, “Jive At Five” foregrounds the weird and funky. This is heady f!@#$%^ dancemusic. On the flipside, “Analogues Anonymous” recalls Moeller’s dubbier inclinations thanks to echo-drenched pads and metronomic drum programming. “Holy Stain” closes out the vinyl EP with a focus on atmosphere.
For the digital edition of the EP, Beat Pharmacy has given us another tweaked-out bleepfest in “Magic & Luck”.
Published: 25