DeepChord

Under the name DeepChord, Rod Modell has been developing work since the late 1990s that sits between ambient, dub techno, ambient techno and minimal techno, following the Detroit tradition while maintaining a clear link to the Berlin aesthetic of repetition and space. Born in Detroit in 1969 and associated with Port Huron, Michigan, he originally launched DeepChord with Mike Schommer before making it his main solo project. DeepChord's music rests on muffled techno pulses, minimal loops, diffuse soundscapes and a sound treatment that emphasizes depth, erosion and duration. His discography under this name includes DeepChord 01-06 (2000), Vantage Isle (2007), Hash-Bar Loops (2011), Sommer (2012), Lanterns (2014), Ultraviolet Music (2015), Auratones (2017) and Functional Design (2022). At the same time, Rod Modell has developed long-term collaborations, notably with Stephen Hitchell in Echospace and cv313 — producing The Coldest Season (2007), Liumin (2010) and Silent World (2012) — and with Mike Huckaby. DeepChord thus circulates among labels and scenes linked to atmospheric techno, electronic dub and live or DJ formats.