the story of basic channel reads like a tall tale of underground dance music. they invented dub techno. through hard wax, cofounder mark ernestus brought detroit and chicago records to berlin. their near-flawless body of work, encompassing a universe of labels including chain reaction, m-series, burial mix, main street records and rhythm & sound, speaks for itself. and yet, ernestus and moritz von oswald don’t talk much about the label they founded 25 years ago, so their legacy remains tantalizingly obscure. ernestus’ recent mania is Mbalax music. as usual, he’s gone deeper than most, following a youtube trail to senegal, forming the ndagga rhythm force, reducing the music to its polyrhythmic essence, and overseeing the mixing desk for live shows. ernestus also drives the band around on tours of europe, a role he took on for underground resistance on their first tour… here’s a clip of theirs from earlier in the year. were obsessed.   by moody