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Steve Rachmad – Light And Time
Steve Rachmad, the veteran Dutch producer known for aliases including Sterac and Parallel 9, has released 'Light And Time' via the Dekmantel label, a record that moves decisively away from club-focused techno towards orchestral and ambient composition. After roughly 45 years shaping Dutch and Detroit-influenced electronic music, the album finds him treating rhythm as a background presence rather than a driving force, favouring sweeping strings, fragile harmonics and textured atmosphere instead.
Tracks such as 'Reality Programmers' and 'Silent Revolution' foreground meditative synth and orchestral swells over percussion, while 'The Field Of Reality' is singled out as an emotional peak built entirely from mournful orchestral arrangement. Other pieces, including 'Invisible Warriors Of Light' and 'Wok And Pumpkin', touch on Rachmad's electro-funk roots and blur boundaries between club music and gallery-style composition. The review praises the record's restraint, describing it as confident, unforced music that rewards patient listening over immediate impact.
In short
- Steve Rachmad releases 'Light And Time' on Dekmantel, shifting away from techno.
- Album favours orchestral, ambient textures over dancefloor rhythm.
- Reviewer highlights its restraint and emotional depth after 45-year career.
Explained simply
Steve Rachmad is a Dutch electronic music producer with a career spanning approximately 45 years. Working under various stage names including Sterac and Parallel 9, he has been influential in shaping Dutch and Detroit-influenced electronic music production.
For most of his career, Rachmad has produced club-focused techno designed for dance floors, with rhythm and percussion as driving elements. His recent album marks a significant shift away from this approach, instead prioritising orchestral and ambient composition, with strings and atmospheric texture replacing beat-driven structures.
It contains pieces ranging from purely orchestral arrangements to hybrid works that incorporate elements of his earlier electro-funk style. This represents a substantial change from the sound for which Rachmad has been known over his decades in the field.
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