Variant - The Setting Sun

Label: Field Records – FIELD 40
Format: 2x12", Album, Remastered
Country: Netherlands
Released: Mar 13, 2026
Genre: Electronic
Style: Dub Techno, Ambient

Field Records continue their run of essential vinyl pressings with a beautifully remastered edition of Stephen Hitchell’s 2009 masterpiece under his Variant alias, The Setting Sun.

Known as a key figure behind Echospace, and celebrated for his work as Intrusion and Soultek, Hitchell remains one of dub techno’s defining voices - equally capable of deep rhythmic pulse and pure tonal immersion. As Variant, he channels that full spectrum into an ambient-with-teeth suite that finally receives the vinyl pressing it has always deserved.

Originally released as a CD-only album on Echospace, The Setting Sun was built from a meticulous palette of real-world sound and analogue process: field recordings of storms in Berlin and train rides in Narita, outboard synths, samplers and hardware recording techniques - with no computers used. That commitment to physical sound design radiates through the music: looming chords rich with harmonic overtones, surface noise as an expressive layer, and subtle distortion fragments that deepen the narrative of these glacial, monumental pieces.

While dub techno is present, it’s woven in with restraint - the kick gently underpinning As Time Stood Still, the metallic delay ripples that shape A Silent Storm, or the delicate rhythmic framing of Someplace Else. Percussion is never the focus, instead dissolving into atmosphere, leaving flickering tonal ghosts where drums might once have sat. In quieter moments like Adrift, the depth of detail becomes fully absorbing - slow-moving, weightless and profoundly immersive.

A benchmark in Hitchell’s catalogue and a modern classic of dub techno-adjacent ambient - restored in full fidelity on a stunning 2x12" remaster.