The last place one might expect to find old-school hip-hop attitude is on the latest techno record from Dusseldorf. Considering that the debut album from German-born techno maestro Loco Dice hasn’t got a hip-hop beat on it, anywhere, it wouldn’t occur to us to even look. But the producer, of Tunisian background, actually spent most of the ’90s as the hip-hop DJ Dice’C and still claims to be a bit of a B-boy at heart. And fundamentally, infusing a rhythm with emotion is the same challenge in either genre.

Almost quixotically, Dice was drawn to techno by the opportunities for live experimentation it affords. With a string of singles on labels like M_nus and Cocoon during the aughts, he came under the wings of techno heavies Richie Hawtin, Ricardo Villalobos, Sven Väth and Carl Cox.

Oddly enough for Loco Dice, who looks and sounds more like a globe-trotting Italian from his residencies at DC10 and Cocoon, his debut album is a subliminal love letter to New York. Dice and cohort Martin Buttrich relocated to Brooklyn to make 7 Dunham, and the tracks are inspired by subway trips and chats with pimps.

Whatever city spawned it, this is beautifully honed minimal techno: no filler, all killer. “Consequently Eccentric and Delicate” grows from a perfect kick with random synth strafing to a disorienting gathering of cloudburst patterns—trimmed with organized chunks of static over what sounds like someone gulping for air. “Black Truffles in the Snow” builds to dramatic heights and collapses. It’s not hip-hop, but even the New Era set may not be able to resist Loco Dice’s subtle commands.

Loco Dice plays Spy Bar on Friday 11.