Belgium producer David Poltrock is not like most producers. He is somewhat of a rarity. He doesn’t come from a traditional producer background, should it be Hip-Hop or some form of computer music. Instead, David comes from an Indie background. And when you are influenced more by bands rather than strictly producers you are naturally more instrument-focused and tend to be more focused musicianship.
Not saying that producers are not skilled musicians, many of them are, but in most cases beat makers tend to focus on drums and layers to create an overall sound in all of their various sequences. While a producer coming from a band background will tend to put instrumentation front and centre. This is very much the case in ‘Titanus’.
Throughout the track you can sense how passionate David is about his vintage synths and as he describes it himself, his “old and stubborn Steinway upright”, which takes centre stage in the second half of the track. You can tell how deeply connected with them he is because of how he records them, clean, crisp and raw!
The mastering of Titanus makes you feel like you are standing next to David in a intimate space while he lays everything down, pounding out pulsing and soaring synth lines and gently coaxing out notes from his Steinway. The piano sequences are edited together in a rough and ready fashion, forgoing unnecessary sheen and polish for a kind of rare authenticity. It is like Poltrock wanted you to feel every frequency vibrate through your body like he does throughout his sessions. And in this he succeeds. The synths resonate powerfully and majestically, taking flight as the track builds in its intensity, while the old, stubborn Steinway gives us relief in it’s still and gentle melodies.
If you are a fan of Nils Frahm, Jon Hopkins or Moderat be sure to check out Poltrock as he is definitely one to watch in the coming years. Also be sure to check out the pre-order for David’s ‘Machines’ album which is due for release on the 16th of November.
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