Austin Bascom — aka Abacus — put out some fantastic music all through the ’90s. His style was varied, touching on deep house, Detroit techno and jazzier, more downtempo approaches. His work on Prescription followed in the steps of legendary deep house producers like Larry Heard and Marshall Jefferson, by retaining the depth and atmosphere of their music and somehow adding a subtle, mysterious feel. As a result his music managed to have the grit of these early producers while sounding ultra modern for its time.

This release for Nick Holder’s fantastic DNH label was no exception and saw Bascom paying tribute to his Detroit influences.

Abacus
Now/Then
DNH/Can/12
Austin Bascom really is one of the producers of the moment with EPs out on God knows how many labels, and an ability to turn his adept hand to a number of different genres. This two track EP shows Austin tipping his hat to the Detroit sound with “Then” really soaking in Derrick May influences, (especially tracks like the Cult Mix of “Beyond The Dance” and ‘The Beginning”). “Now” is a more percussive affair, which will really please the harder heads in the techno spectrum. DNH has built up a reputation as an adventurous house label, this release should introduce it to the techno heads. Investigate. Chris Orr