- Pacific Rhythm goes techno (sort of).
- If you're a dance music fan and you've spent any time near the Pacific Northwest in the past decade and a half, you probably know the name Max Ulis. He cut his teeth in Vancouver's '00s bass music bubble, then teamed up with Robbie Slade as half of pop house duo Sabota (a group that feels like West Coast's answer to Junior Boys). He's a regular fixture at the region's flagship festival, Bass Coast, and helps book the lineups as well. Although Ulis is a beloved figure of the Vancouver underground, he's increased his output the past couple of years with a lean, muscular style of house and techno (heck, he's even found himself on a Get Physical compilation).
"Haze," the A-side on his latest 12-inch, is like a mini time capsule of his career. It starts with rusted, creaking synths and slightly delayed kicks. Speed this up and add some sub pressure and it could be a Hemlock release circa 2010. But then Ulis turns the track into the Vancouver take on contemporary UK techno—wiry and ropy drums obscured by haze as the song closes with dubby chords. This makes "Haze" one of the most (the most?) banging tracks in the Pacific Rhythm back catalogue, and also one of the few tracks in the world that Khotin, Mor Elian and Green Velvet could all conceivably play.