Thoughts & Press:

Live was the fourth full length CD release to appear on echospace [detroit], neatly following up on the success of Intrusion’s The Seduction of Silence in early 2009. Distributed by design as a Japan-only release, it initially flew under the radar due to its limited availability, but happily a batch was later made available at various outlets internationally. Better still for those unable to obtain a physical copy, the complete album can now be legitimately downloaded in a variety of digital formats at the newly founded echospace [detroit] Bandcamp site.

Though this is technically an edited recording of a live set at Chicago’s Smart Bar in 2008, it is fully mixed into an unbroken session, and if the album hadn’t been given a name that alluded to its live nature you’d probably never know.

The set opens with the acclaimed “Subtraktive,” one of the great slow burning builders at which cv313 excels. Appearing here specifically as a live version, this was nevertheless the first time the track appeared on CD. The rolling thunderclaps and deep wells of reverb that characterize the track are ever-present as usual, slowly building across focus fifteen minutes until the propulsive beats kick in – a perfectly paced opening to an album firmly devoted to enthralling a live audience.

Things pick up further when the first of two mixes of Deepchord’s classic “Grand Bend” arrives. Credited simply as “cv313 dub” on the sleeve notes, but now known to be “Grand Bend (Cv313 Live Mix),” it’s based on the “Cv313 Reshape” that appeared on the original Grand Bend double 12″ released in 2007, itself bearing more than a passing resemblance to “Sunset” on Deepchord presents Echospace’s classic The Coldest Season.

“Space” first appeared as the flip side to “Dimensional” (which itself appears on the bonus ‘Live @ D.E.M.F. – After Party in 2008’ disc) on the two track twelve inch, Dimensional Space and, as one of the earliest releases on echospace [detroit] was a new template for the earlier cv313 material. This leads into “Sonorous [Midst Of Something Beautiful]” that originally appeared on Fortune 8, a smudged and smeary mix of dub, hissing static and the merest trace elements of an eroded and fading pad the likes of which could be found on many an IDM record in the early 2000’s.

There’s a signature cv313 live moment following the snare-heavy thunk of “A World Apart” as the set dips into Soultek territory with a pumping Chicago house version of the floor-filling “Groove Control” (the original of which can also now be found digitally on the Reflective compilation available via the Bandcamp site). This sequence is then tied up neatly by the “Grand Bend [cv313 Edit],” a live edit of the “cv313 dub,” paring the track back to it’s bare dub essentials and firing them through a rippling echo chamber.

One of the most compelling reasons to pick up Live, however, is the previously unreleased “Lost Sequence,” which remains exclusive to this release (appearing again at the front of the additional D.E.M.F. disc) to this day. For just shy of fifteen minutes, delicate jets of rainbow pattern static spray shimmering, amber pads while a propulsive beat, congas and crisp hi-hats pepper the sound stage. It’s worth picking up Live for this track alone. And the set is closed finally with a live version of “Spatialdimension” featuring clattering, rolling congas and drums from The Howard Street Rhythm Section.

To this day Live remains one of the most varied and accessible entries in the echospace [detroit] full-length canon, sporting a host of classics and remixes in unique live versions that make it a must have for collectors and a superb jumping-off point for new recruits. This gets the highest possible recommendation. -Igloo Magazine


*Full album release which was available in Japan as a limited edition (300 copies) CD release - featuring unreleased tracks and versions of deepchord tracks & plenty of unreleased cv313 content* Amazing set of live transmissions with nine tracks covering some of the finest in-the-moment versions of deep, dark and dubby classics. The "Live" element gives cv313 license for yet more coatings of static, droney dub textures and astral chord sequences, providing near-infinite variations of his amazingly well wrought theme that will immerse you in hazy textures from the off. Highly Recommended! -Boomkat


Alongside Echospace, Deepchord, and Intrusion, CV313 has grown out of the fertile creative partnership between Rod Modell and Stephen Hitchell. While their collaborative efforts and respective solo projects often tend to take on a more ambient flavor, the CV313 project represents their attempts at honing in on the more overtly dance-oriented aspects of their aesthetic. Released exclusively in Japan, Live is just that: a live album culled from a 2008 performance at Chicago’s Smart Bar. Comprised of selections spanning CV313’s impressive catalogue of singles and remixes, Live hardly bangs; instead, the set plays out as a burbling stream of locked-in beats and richly textured soundscapes that rattle about in a churning cauldron of reverb and oscillating delay. Suffice it to say, Live may be a slight bit rowdier than Echospace’s The Coldest Season, but it’s hardly the sort of party starter that Scion’s classical Arrange And Process Basic Channel Tracks was. Regardless, this is a gorgeous document from one of the most vibrant electronic music imprints going at the moment and a real treat for those willing to take the time to track down a copy. - BIGSHOT MAGAZINE