Applescal is the name by which Dutchman Pascal Tersteppen goes, and this is the 21 year-old’s debut album. These facts are worth considering because ‘A Slave’s Commitment’ sounds like the work of somebody nearly twice his age, a person that really knows their way round the recording studio and has a solid grasp of what makes people dance. Yet what really makes this record sound like a mature piece of work is the way it’s structured – Tersteppen moves from start to finish with barely a pause, incredibly assured in his use of beats, whether they be down tempo, breaks or four to the floor. Atmospherics are carefully used, and tracks like ‘In The Mirror’ paint vivid cinematic pictures. Two choice moments are where the beat comes back with a vengeance in ‘The Forms Of Abstract Life’, or when ‘How Heroes Die’ gets into its moody breaks, but this is a record to be considered overall, a fine piece of work from a producer with bags of potential.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Ben Hogwood
