Heiki - Dub Town (2021)

DUB TOWN is the newest release by Toronto electronic music scene veteran Heiki (Hey-Key). The six song album is his sixth full-length under his own name, following his acclaimed Tower Of Acid (2019) album and the recent collaborative acid house single Datafreq Vs. Hozerz: Acid Jam 1+2.

The new Dub Town album is released as a limited 150 copies compact disc and download.

The album features six tracks of electronic, ambient dub techno, often layered with thick psychedelic washes of abstract sound and noise. Deep baselines, acidic tweaks and heavy rhythms define these long twisting soundscapes, averaging in length from six twelve minutes each!

The opening track Railpath Dub, slowly builds up from a vague sound loop, to a chugging dub techno journey. An ode to Toronto’s West End Railpath, a pedestrian and cyclist path built up from unused railway lands. The ten minute Railpath Dub also nods to Kraftwerk’s Trans Europa Express track, with its motorik rhythm and added train sounds. Heiki also produced a short form video for the track, which can be seen on Youtube (HEIKI Railpath Dub).

The title track Dub Town was inspired by graffiti sprayed on the front of an abandoned former grocery store in small town Ontario. Cavernous bass interlocks with a heavy downtempo acid vibe. The melodica gets processed through infinitely mutating effects, creating a vast and meditative environment. This town has become nothing but a dub town.

April Dub is an epic (9:53) psychedelic ambient dub freakout. The main rhythm and sounds were recorded live, off the floor, with Heiki playing crunchy analogue drum boxes (CR8000+707+727) and one note synthesizers, all slathered in hazy washes of vocoders, pedals and natural outdoor sounds.

Heiki (Hey-Key) Sillaste is a Toronto electronic music scene veteran. He has released a vast catalogue of music and has been involved with production duties on numerous electronic-music based albums. Heiki has also played in several music groups and ensembles, including the internationally renown industrial-techno group DIGITAL POODLE, electronic freak beat group KINDER ATOM, synth duos LES FONTAINES and HOZERZ, as well as collaborating with diverse artists such as reggae musician Michael Rose, experimental pioneers Zoviet:France / Rapoon and ambient duo dreamSTATE. His graphic design work has been seen on countless music releases, museum and gallery graphics as well as national advertising campaigns.

Heiki Sillaste also owns and operates the Toronto based paper+sound electronic music label.