Ghost Dubs - Oblique - Pressure
For true supersoft heads, Ghost Dubs will be a familiar name, as his and The Bug’s collaboration Implosion was featured in the very first article on this page. Now, Martin is happy to have the Swabian dub don back on his imprint Pressure for his first solo album since the breakthrough release Damaged, which made huge waves in 2024.
Michael Fiedler, a true music enthusiast from southern Germany near Stuttgart, has been a musician and producer for over twenty years. Fiedler first appeared under his Those early releases already offered glimpses of his current productions in terms of atmosphere and a curiosity for sound-system-heavy aesthetics. The dub component became even more apparent with his subsequent project in the late 2010s and early 2020s, Jah Schulz, which ventured even deeper into dub and roots steppers territory.
Ghost Dubs feels like the darker, purist follow-up chapter: less uplifting (to be perfectly honest, not uplifting at all), extremely stripped-back, and incredibly bass-heavy—a common thread running through this alias that is fully present on Fiedler’s latest masterstroke, Oblique. The opening track Low Times, After All, or Decay serve as prime examples of this delicate, minimalist tightrope walk between an immersive bass massage and fine percussion work. Classic Ghost Dubs business.
Fans of stank-face cuts will also find plenty of joy in the sheer brutality (in the best way possible) of Long Way To Go, or Attack, which lives up to its name with white-noise storms and swelling chords delivering an exceptional energy level. But Oblique is much more than a collection of bangers or expected contemporary dub brilliance. The mix of dark atmospheres and slowed-down rhythms creates a form of deeply immersive meditation. You can dive straight into Cold Data’s dystopia, the Dune-reminiscent Blackout Dust with its Middle Eastern-leaning melodies, or the decelerated dub contemplations of Dead Channel and Overthinking.
Stretching his craft across twelve pieces leaves room for tracks that bridge these categories—such as the slow yet devastatingly heavy atmospheres, or the rare, catchy melody carefully arranged alongside almost jazzy chords in Soft Collapse. Oblique’s outro, Almost A Structure, is another example of newly explored terrain: a mesmerizing, swampy ambient jam carrying the distinct Ghost Dubs signature—rich in texture, yet atmospheric rather than hectic.
Taking the time to listen to this album in one sitting, experiencing it as a conceptual work rather than just a collection of tunes, allows you to truly sink in. Drawing on oppressive, dark aesthetics from drone and dubstep rather than traditional Caribbean flair, Fiedler offers a truly unique approach to dub music. The imagery of swampy, dystopian landscapes and an arduous wading through them is not merely about a gloomy vibe or processing dark emotions—far beyond that, it invites the listener to contemplate and get lost in its immense depth and minimalism.
Make sure to witness one of his live sets on a proper sound system; you will hardly ever experience anything quite like it.
