artist: Detroit Escalator Co. country of origin: USA style(s): Ambient techno essential releases: Soundtrack 313 (1996, Ferox) Excerpts (2000, Peacefrog Records) Black Buildings (2001, Peacefrog Records)

The Detroit Escalator Co is the one-man project of Neil Olliverra. He's long been part of that city's techno scene, even if often hovering in the background, and his resume includes a stint as manager of the iconic Transmat label which in the late 80's and 90's released a string of definitive club records.

You wouldn't call his own music Detroit techno in the classic sense, if you take that to mean the banging dance productions of Derrick May, Juan Atkins, et al. But like the quieter moments of fellow resident Carl Craig, while Olliverra's sound may be a long way from the dance floor it’s still informed by the same minimal and futuristic aesthetic.

Both Soundtrack 313 and Black Buildings are quietly stunning works of gorgeous, haunting ambient techno. The part-compilation Excerpts is also excellent, though half of its tracks already appear on Soundtrack 313 while the remainder are drawn from a now unavailable e.p. recorded many years before.

In Olliverra's music some of the clean, glistening melody lines hook you straight away, others only start to sink in with repeated listens. Those skittering hi-hat percussion sounds that distinguish much Detroit electronica are scattered throughout, yet in this case they are extremely spacious and subtle. Most crucially, Olliverra's music has real soul. It’s the sound of machines with feelings, a kind of mournful twilight music for a decaying industrial Mecca. Indeed, the inspiration for Black Buildings was the eerily beautiful industrial landscapes and art deco buildings of old Detroit, mostly now abandoned and awaiting demolition.

After a mediocre 3-track E.P release in 2006 Olliverra seemed to disappear from the music scene altogether, possibly returning to his other love: painting. His DEC website features a single enigmatic page with zero content and an email address. Is the Detroit Escalator Co. closed for business? It's quite impossible to say.

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