Oliver Deutschmann, who operates the Berlin-based Vidab label along with Stephan Hill, specializes in what he calls “timeless” club music - while it’s a term that initially seems like it could apply to anything and everything, a quick survey of Deutschmann’s work makes it readily apparent what he means. His hard-edged beats, insistent tones, and occasional flash of devious humor make Deutschmann a natural addition to the Mote-Evolver roster: his natural versatility and clear-minded futurism result in compelling club tracks and DJ nights, and his Mote Evolver debut EP Lost In A  Loop is no exception to this rule. With just a simple schematic to work with, Deutschmann does what the best producers do and enlivens those simple instructions until they give an illusion of greater complexity.

Deutschmann’s deft usage of split-second samples on the opening track “Seduced” turns a distant, repeated murmur of the track title into an inescapable command, while a dense undergrowth of acid bassline makes it clear there’s no turning back. The interlude “Apsurt” follows with lofty, faintly ominous synth pads providing the backing to a glass elevator ride to the top of a skyscraper utopia, all while a reassuring monologue on neurology points towards a future of human connectivity. The tension between the dark-tinted instrumentation and these utopian pronouncements is a classic techno trope that Deutschmann employs to great effect.

On the b-side, “Survive” plays out very much like the more intense and anxious twin of “Seduced,” again relying on the repeitition of a single reverberating word to set the tone, while the hammering drum patterns fill in the details. The closer “Lost” dispenses with the vocalisations completely and lets the steaming mechanical processes take center stage: the stripped-down symbiosis of body and brain that this track achieves is very rperesnetative of Deutschmann’s work overall.