BnB Review: D-Nox & Beckers - Distance

Written by Youri Jozee

House/Techno -

Christian Smith’s Tronic label is about to release Distance, the debut LP from German duo D-Nox & Beckers. Any good? Here’s what we think…

D-Nox & Beckers have been releasing tracks since the mid-00s on labels such as Global Underground, Systematic and Great Stuff, with respect coming from a wide variety of DJs including Satoshi Tomiie, Pete Tong and, of course, Christian Smith. Having moved from stripped-down house to big room house and techno, D-Nox & Beckers first album perfectly matches Tronic’s trademarked sound: Distance has become a diverse, 10-track trip through rumbling house and techno with hints of progressive and featuring D & Bs well-known melodic structures. After a relatively soft opener in the form of the playful Sunner and Castor, the album soon shifts to menacing grooves with tracks such as the soaring stomper My Voice (feat. Leif), and Follow Me (feat. Gabe) an almost haunting techno belter  with great vocal snippets and a shitload of insane fx. As we come near the end, the duo drops a few more subtle tracks that sound a bit like the duo when they first emerged. Among these is Jacaranda, a very warm sax-driven deep house cut that’s (probably) best enjoyed at outdoor festivals.

Our verdict:
Distance is proof that D-Nox & Beckers  know their way around the big room sound while keeping things subtle, melodic and catchy at the same time. Constantly moving from energetic techno to warm, atmospheric deep house, the album has become a convincing debut that transmits a constant club pulse. Not every track’s a winner, but on the overall this album is most definitely way above average. Two thumbs up.

Rating: 7.3/10
Label: Tronic
Release date: May 30^th, 2011

Tracklist:
1. Sunner
2. You Are feat. MYGOD
3. Castor
4. My Voice feat. Leif
5. Little
6. Follow Me feat. Gabe
7. Hate To Wait
8. What I Have feat. B.A.
9. Jacaranda
10. I Will Rise feat. MYGOD