In 1994 Toronto DJ / producer, Austin Boscom, released his debut EP. He went by the alias Abacus. Since, he has sometimes used the alternative A:xus. The record, named The Relics, issued on Chez Damier and Ron Trent‘s  label, Prescription, was one of a long list of electronic landmarks that I purchased from Covent Garden’s FatCat Records.* It was house, but it was mellow, musical and melodic. The very definition of deep. A warm, relaxing analogue bubblebath. Like a meditative extrapolation of Larry Heard, Mr Fingers and Fingers Inc. Swimming / floating in warped, otherworldly tones that shared something with the introspective techno I was bang into. Trippy, treated party whistles and strange singing synths rode a rumbling rhythm like a rolling tide. Cymbals crashing, like surf smashing against rocks and breakers. Its vocal samples conveying powerful messages. A civil rights sermon delivered by Dr. / Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., calling out unchristian segregation, and stanzas from Harlem Renaissance poet Countee Cullen’s “Heritage” creating a timeless after hours moment. Alien yet Afrocentric. Where ancient history meets the future. Like Kodwo Eshun’s “More Brilliant Than The Sun”.

Clone Classic Cutshave repressed this gem. The new 12 contains a new mix and 2 previously unreleased tracks.

*I should also add that EP’s “bonus beat” The Abacus Chat was part of the shiny new soundtrack at Andrew Weatherall’s Sabresonic 2 shindigs.