Portland, Oregon’s Strategy aligns himself with the politically progressive, faux-secessionist (or at least fantasy-secessionist) movement known as Free Cascadia. On his most recent single for Seattle’s reliable Orac label, he seems principally intent upon liberating the Pacific Northwest- Grunge territory, where a no-nonsense indie rock ethos still holds out under a flannel flag- from its fear of dance music. His tactic is a slow, grinding disco number that’s got enough meat on its bones to satisfy those who prefer guitars to synths- in fact, the guitars are its most prominent feature, bruise-coloured loops of knotty funk that ooze all over careful acupuncture percussion. What really makes the song work is its sense of perpetual mystery. Hypnotised by the motions of a heavily resonant low-pass filter, which erodes jagged licks into smooth impossible shapes, the listener is included to follow the beat wherever it leads.

– Philip Sherburne, The Wire

Manchmal brauchen Wunder etwas länger. Zumindest das Erkennen derselben.  “Fields Of May” sollte man beileibe nicht nach dem ersten Hören ins Kröpfchen legen. Der schüchterne Amerikaner, der zuletzt für Community Library überzeugte, flickt hier einen feinen Teppich aus altmodischen Samplequellen: weitschweifig, konzentriert und intime Clubs mit massigen Soundsystemen anvisieren. Umgedreht durchsiebt der Schweizer Secondo den Track bis auf die Essenzen und lässt ein mächtiges Groovemonster übrig. 

– GJ, Groove

Born in Moscow, Idaho but now residing in Portland, Oregon, Paul Dickow has covered some ground in his musical career thus far, from experimental rock to art punk, dance cuts to more out-there efforts. ‘Fields of May’ is a juicy tech-house workout but check ‘VCoda’ for the more interesting selection, five minutes of aural foreplay as sultry beats and heavy breathing keep you on the lip of your seat. Leave them lusting for more, that’s the Strategy strategy.

– Si Hawkins, URB

Fields of May finds Paul Dickow taking time out from his Community Library doings to contribute a predictably arresting 12-inch of Strategy material for Orac. In a manner similar to Dickow’s equally expansive “World House,” “Fields of May” effortlessly conflates African boogaloo, Chain Reaction dub, and Detroit techno into a barrlehouse hybrid. The tune swoops into view in a steely haze of fluttering, Fluxion-styled exhalations, then promptly segues into a snappy, kalimba-accented groove that spreads its global wings towards Africa, India, Berlin, and the Australian outback. Radovan Scasascia (aka AM/PM) gives the tune a dubby Secondo remix that slightly arrests the original’s quicksilver flow and instead grounds it in space-funk territory. Tiny electronic glissandi leave spiraling trails across the night sky while a hiccupping funk pulse inches its way across the floor. The opening tracks are strong but matched by the B side’s “VCoda,” a gloriously funky, nine-minute serving of dub-soul-disco that’s as cool as an ocean breeze. Though we’re presumably hearing the fruits of sampling wizardry, in an alternate universe one might imagine Dickow surreptitiously hitting ‘record’ after cottoning to the studio magic his session musicians are producing during a loose, impromptu jam.

– Ron Schepper, Textura

Einer dieser Tracks, die einem erklären wollen, dass der Dancefloor eigentlich Funk ist, das aber vielleicht ein klein wenig zu wörtlich nehmen. Selbst der Secondo-Remix, der seine typischen Methoden anwendet, um den Track auseinander zu nehmen, bleibt nämlich hier an dem Funklick hängen. Und dagegen habe ich z.B. eine Allergie. Deshalb bleibt nur der phantastische Bonustrack, in dem alles in seine Fragmente aufgelöst durch den Raum flirrt und für mich einfach wesentlich mehr Funk verbreitet.

One of these tracks which want to explain that the dancefloor is really funk, but that actually take it a wee bit too literally.  Even the Secondo remix, which uses his typical methods in order to take the track apart, stays so: hanging on the funk lick. And on the other hand I have e.g. an allergy.  Therefore only the fantastic bonus track remains, in which everything flickers, dissolved into space, and for me is simply rife with intrinsically more funk.

– bleed, de:bug