Review: Immersive but not ambient, the sleeve notes claim. It's not hard to see where the copywriter was coming from, either. SloMo A/V is testament to the months and years DJ and procure Chloe Thevenin has spent building soundscapes in her studio, honing the kind of skills necessary to create this level of lush and depth of, err, depth. Teaming up with Dune Lunel, a Paris-based art director who has been working within and around culture for two decades, and Adrien Godin, of ECV Digital, what's here is actually just one part of a greater whole. If you've been lucky enough to catch a SloMo A/V performance, you'll already know where this is going. Listening to the audio alone is captivating, sounds grow and develop from the faintest quiet to something that's, well, not loud, but certainly powerful and hypnotic enough to bore directly into the mind's eye. The experience forces you to slow down, reflect, consider, and ponder, sounds that inspire the imagination and speak to our third eye. Now, just imagine if this was accompanied by the visuals Chloe's project is based on when experienced live.
Review: Reissued again via Finders Keepers, Suzanne Ciani's Buchla Concerts 1975 returns again to highlight one of the best among the sublime synthstress's many live performances. The story goes that Ciani (dubbed 'the first woman on the proverbial moon' by the label) was a not-by-chance employee of the Buchla company, whom at the time were San Francisco's neck-and-neck contender to New York's Moog. Unlike the latter, Buchla refused to indulge the end user of intuitive design features like keyboards or styluses, so their products soon gained a herculean reputation. So when Ciani came along and performed this set of divinely feminine, daresay anima-rousing versions of her mentor Morton Subotnick's Silver Apples Of The Moon - to a comparatively small, stuffy, feckless and likely easily bemusable audience compared to the all-earses of today - all particulars changed thereafter. She became the first woman to publicly demonstrate the use of Buchla technology by a woman, and so one of the primordial synth sisters. A holy grail of electronic music history, this record exhumes two fantastically eerie odysseys in sound, seguing from melodious opening trips to aleatory alien burbles.
Review: Suzanne Ciani's pioneering Buchla synthesiser performances, now available on vinyl from Finders Keepers Records, represent a monumental collective moment in music history. Captured at a New York art gallery 50 years ago, this release finally brings Ciani's groundbreaking work to a global audience. As an archival project of 'art music', it redefines musical history and challenges our understanding of music technology. Ciani's Buchla Concert records aren't just gamechangers; they symbolise a musical revolution and an artistic revelation. They serve as a benchmark in the evolution of synthesiser music and highlight Ciani's role as a pioneering force in a male-dominated field. This sonic installation, along with her WBAI/Phill Niblock 1975 sessions, marks a triumphant moment in the synthesiser space race, showcasing the untold story of the first woman to explore these new musical frontiers. The album captures a genuine live act experimenting with the Buchla, a fully performable music instrument, during a time when such performances were groundbreaking. Had these recordings been released alongside those of Morton Subotnick, Walter Carlos, or Tomita, Ciani's influence would have already been recognised for its radical impact on the shape and sound of electronic music. With this release, Finders Keepers illuminates Ciani's legacy, celebrating a visionary artist whose work has remained in the shadows for too long.
Review: Generations of modular might fold in on themselves as legendary Buchla pioneer Suzanne Ciani patches into accomplished French synthesist Jonathan Fitoussi for this outstanding album on Obliques. The title is clearly a tribute to Morton Subotnick, whose own Silver Apples Of The Moon is a true ground zero for West Coast synth albums and as you might surmise Ciani and Fitoussi opt to create something more shapely and inviting than the wild, brilliantly alien tonal mutations Subotnick conjured up back in the 60s. If you're familiar with either artist's work you won't be disappointed, as exquisitely rendered melodic flourishes, delicate spatial processing and subtle textural shifts unfurl around your ears across these eight beautiful pieces of synth perfection.
Review: Andrea Cichecki - a German DJ, music producer and audio engineer based in Dresden - presents her debut LP for Castles In Space, building on an intense reflection on her past. Having been brought up on the precipice of countryside and woodland, Cichecki is a lifelong adherent to what she called the "edge effect", thriving on the boundaries of things both metaphorical and actual, rather than sticking within them. Bringing macro-cosmic scale to Moogish synthesis, each track weaves a personal story of an implicit, instrumental nature, unalloyed by words, and incorporates field recordings from the Ore Mountains and the wild, valleyed landscape of Saxon, Switzerland.
A Caged Bird/Imitations Of Life (feat Roots Manuva)
Lessons
Wait For Now/Leave The World (feat Tawiah)
The Workers Of Art
Zero One/This Fantasy (feat Grey Reverend)
A Promise (feat Heidi Vogel)
Review: Given the rise in popularity in new school jazz in recent years, it seems a fitting time to welcome back Ninja Tune stalwarts The Cinematic Orchestra. "To Believe" is not only their first album in some seven years, but also one of their strongest releases to date. Opening with the poignant neo-classical/soul fusion "To Believe", the set sees Jason Swinscoe and company attractively saunter between jazz-electronica fusion (Roots Manuva collaboration ("A Caged Bird/Imitations Of Life"), pastoral jazz epics (the sunset ready epic that is "Lessons"), gentle downtempo songs ("Wait For Now/Leave The World"), ambient jazz ("The Workers Of Art") and slowly unfurling dancefloor workouts (killer closing cut "A Promise"). In a word: stunning.
Review: Vince Clarke (Erasure, Yazoo, Depeche Mode, The Assembly) presents his first ever solo album, Songs of Silence. As the album title suggests, it's a lyricless (though not vocal-free) instrumental album, and unlike anything you might've previously heard before from Clarke as an artisan of dynamic electropop. Rather, this LP brings with it a comparatively sober ambient electronic beauty, its unique characteristics lending it a category of its own. But two self-imposed oblique strategies underpinned its creation - first, that the sounds Clarke generated for the album would come solely from Eurorack (a modular synthesizer format introduced in the mid-90s), and second, that each track would be based around one note, maintaining a single key throughout.
Review: Cluster's Zuckerzeit stands as a landmark in electronic music, showing the duo's innovative approach to ambient electronic soundscapes. Unlike their self-aware avant-garde contemporaries, Cluster's music emerges as a pure expression of their passion for electronic gadgetry and songwriting. The album's subtle shift in sound from their previous work heralds a more intriguing style characterized by bubbling ideas and electronic manipulation. Tracks like 'Hollywood' and 'Caramel' paint vivid pictures with gloriously chunky synthesizers and jerky drumbeats, evoking reflective and playful tones respectively. 'Rote Riki' ventures into experimental territory with alien-like synths and throbbing bass, while 'Rosa,' "Fotschi Tong,' and 'Marzipan' conjure images of ambient space exploration with colorful synthesizers and relaxed drumbeats. 'Caramba' and 'James' delve deeper into experimentation, showcasing Cluster's versatility. Closing with 'Rotor' and 'HeiBe Lippen,' the album maintains its pace, with motorik beats and droning sounds adding to the overall spacey atmosphere. Clocking in at under 40 minutes, Zuckerzeit is a dynamic journey through Cluster's boundless creativity, setting a new standard for electronic music.
Review: Ivan Pavlov aka CoH's new experimental electronic opus Radiant Faults makes a point of its creation deriving from the use of a rare new synthesizer, the Silhouette Eins. Developed by the artist Pit Przygodda, the Eins is the centrepiece of this album for good reason: it is a unique bit of gear, in that it uses real-time video signal as its carrier for sound synthesis. This direct interfacing of visual and auditory realms inspired a haunting praxis in Pavlov, who began the album as a means to commune with ELpH, one of the "celestial beings" first communicated with and summoned by the supergroup Coil. Pavlov continues what Coil devilishly started here, fleshing ELpH out evermore into whispery echoes and sinewy traces.
Review: New CD edition of Musick to Play in the Dark Vol. 2, the 2000 studio album from Coil and. As with Part 1, it was described by the band as "moon musick." This contrasts to earlier work which was solar rather than lunar inspired, but either way, it was another classic from Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson and John Balance. Their partnership remains one of electronic music's most magically alchemic and after a quiet start, this album slowly but surely takes its hold on listeners. 'Ether' and 'Paranoid Inlay' are confessional tone in tone while the final two 'Where Are You?' and 'Batwings (A Limnal Hymn)' are brilliantly haunting. Fact fans might know that the latter was actually played at John Balance's funeral service.
Review: There are echoes of Coil's mid-1980s cult classic album 'Horse Rotorvator' in 'The Ape of Naples' in that it has such a wide variety of sounds and styles. This one first came back in 2005 and is a go-to for fans as it is just a great example of the band's singular sonic world. The album was put together by Peter Christopherson a year after Jhonn Balance's deadly fall and it features re-workings of the live favourites like 'Amethyst Deceivers' and Love Secret's Domain album track 'Teenage Lightning' plus a numb of tunes first meant for the ultimately ill-fated Backwards long player. Grammy-nominated engineer Jessica Thompson has remastered all the originals for this new reissue.
Review: First released 22 years ago at the turn of the millennium, Constant Shallowness Leads To Evil has been described as one of Coil's most "mind-altering creations"; given the fiercely experimental and often otherworldly nature of their catalogue, that's some going. The album, which has now been fully remastered, was one of the first things Coil recorded following their relocation to Weston-super-Mare, and sonically it's as bleak, windswept, and barren as the town itself seems out of season. It's full of droning tones, modular blips, metallic melodies, slowly shifting ambient textures and musical motifs that lap in and out like waves. Furthermore, the album's standout moment, the near 14-minute 'I Am The Green Child', is like some mutant, experimental sea shanty crossed with a hypnotic ambient-industrial raga.
Review: This is the first time that Coil's original Love's Secret Domain album from 1991 has ever been reissued. It comes at a time when a few of the seminal electronic band's record are making their way back onto shelves and we couldn't be happier about that. It has been specially remastered by Martin Bowes and comes on nice heavy vinyl for a fulsome listening experience. Musically, the album departs from the doom and gloom of previous records for a more upbeat sound but still with plenty of trippy invention.
Queens Of The Circulating Library (part 1) (25:00)
Queens Of The Circulating Library (part 2) (24:30)
Review: Queens Of The Circulating Library stands as a post-industrial masterpiece alongside Time Machines and Soliloquy For Lilith and is a sensory-warping long-form drone. Created by Thighpaulsandra and John Balance, the 49-minute track flows in cyclical waves which echo the minimalism of La Monte Young. Released in 2000, it marked the beginning of a series of evolving compositions and its theatrical opening features Thighpaulsandra's opera-singer mother delivering a dreamlike, declamatory monologue, setting the stage for the trip that ensues. The music shifts like slow-motion surf and is a fine example of Coil's unique ability to embrace extremes and mutation.
Review: Musick to Play in the Dark Vol. 2 was the 2000 studio album from Coil and, as Part 1, it was described by the band as "moon musick." This contrasts to earlier work which was solar rather than lunar inspired, but either way, it was another classic from Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson and John Balance. Their partnership remains one of electronic music's most magically alchemic and after a quiet start, this album slowly but surely takes its hold on listeners. 'Ether' and 'Paranoid Inlay' are confessional tone in tone while the final two 'Where Are You?' and 'Batwings (A Limnal Hymn)' are brilliantly haunting. Fact fans might know that the latter was actually played at John Balance's funeral service.
Moon's Milk Or Under An Unquiet Skull (part 1) (8:07)
Moon's Milk Or Under An Unquiet Skull (part 2) (7:56)
Bee Stings (4:51)
Glowworms/Waveforms (5:42)
Summer Substructures (5:04)
A Warning From The Sun (For Fritz) (8:02)
Regel (1:15)
Rosa Decidua (4:53)
Switches (4:43)
The Auto-Asphyxiating Hierophant (5:57)
Amethyst Deceivers (6:17)
A White Rainbow (8:51)
North (3:48)
Magnetic North (7:23)
Christmas Is Now Drawing Near (4:57)
Copal (16:45)
Bankside (6:48)
The Coppice Meat (10:48)
U Pel (Incense Offering) (12:33)
Review: Originally released as a double CD in 2002, Moon's Milk (In Four Phases) is a collection of four EPs Coil issued seasonally in 1998 via their Eskaton imprint. Featuring John Balance, Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson, Drew McDowall, and William Breeze, it was recorded in their Chiswick, London home studio before they relocated to Weston-Super-Mare. This pivotal work has long been considered a high point in Coil's discography, though it was never reissued or pressed on vinyl at the time. Arranged around the equinoxes and solstices, Moon's Milk captures Coil's deep dive into improvisation, ritualistic sound design and mystical atmospheres and stands proud as a testament to their individuality.
Red Birds Will Fly Out Of The East & Destroy Paris In A Night (2:00)
Red Queen (10:43)
Broccoli (9:16)
Strange Birds (7:40)
The Dreamer Is Still Asleep (9:41)
Review: Coil arguably were in their best form as the new millennium dawned as well as being already deep into their career. Musick To Play In The Dark not only lived up to its name, it marked a transition both sonically and astrologically for the band as they declared a new era as a lunar rather than solar group. Mixing gently melodious ambient motifs and immersive aural textures with more experimental sounds, spoken and sung vocals and a variety of unobtrusive rhythms, the album remains one of the most vivid and enjoyable outings in their vast, action-packed catalogue. Whether it's spooky distorted sounds on 'Strange Birds', 'Red Queen''s strange droning late-night piano soul, or the yearning ambient pop on 'The Dreamer Is Still Asleep', this is a subtly bold record packed with exceptional ideas.
Review: Coil's comprehensive compilation Moon's Milk, based on the four annual seasons and the overpoweringly doomy moods they inspire, comes reissued 18 years after its initial 2002 release. With a strong Coil member base in tow - John Balance, Peter Christopherson, and Thighpaulsandra included - the Four Phases are once again called to mind, and seem to pierce the unconscious with their incisive quietude and unsettling (dis)inhibition, most often totally electronic and droning, but occasionally peppered with faintly hollering vocals and chromatic electric viola interspersals, the latter performed by the now notable occult cleric, William Breeze aka. Tau Silenus.
Review: Perhaps only dedicated avant-garde electronic heads will know about The New Backwards, the final project from the seminal industrial band Coil. But that doesn't make this 2008 masterpiece worthy of this new gory, visceral reissue; far from it. Limited to just 555 copies and splattered with the murderous blood of listeners who didn't survive the album's first incarnation from beginning to end, this one contains 8 additional tracks, including an exclusive live 'work in progress' track ('Backwards'), documenting the many criminally insane production choices Peter Christopherson and co. would make in real time.
B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition
Coil - "Protection" (6:53)
ELpH - "Glimpse" (3:30)
ELpH - "Crawling Spirit" (1:53)
ELpH - "PHILM #1 (Vox)" (9:14)
ELpH - "Static Electrician" (3:11)
ELpH - "Red Scratch" (3:19)
ELpH - "If It Wasn't Wolves, Then What Was It?" (2:56)
ELpH - "Static Electrician (Symphonic)" (4:52)
ELpH - "Track 9" (3:09)
ELpH - "Track 10" (1:26)
ELpH - "Track 11" (2:45)
ELpH - "Track 12" (10:46)
ELpH - "Track 13" (7:43)
ELpH - "Track 14" (2:57)
ELpH - "Track 15" (8:22)
ELpH - "Track 16" (9:11)
ELpH - "Gnomic Verses" (5:06)
ELpH - "Track 18" (11:21)
ELpH - "Track 19" (8:18)
Coil - "Glisten#2" (1:04)
ELpH - "Zwolf" (20:02)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***
This 30th-anniversary reissue of a key experimental release is a journey into the darker realms of electronic music, showcasing the duo's exploration of ambient, industrial and glitch-inspired soundscapes. The release features a stark contrast between the rhythmic, almost club-ready track, infused with danceable energy and the more experimental, glitch-heavy compositions that delve into an unsettling, ritualistic atmosphere. The latter, considered one of the duo's most daring works, uses manipulated sounds, haunting textures and a pervasive sense of sonic unease to create a deep listening piece. The reissue compiles rare material, including previously unreleased tracks, alongside the duo's final appearance under this project. Fans of avant-garde electronic music will appreciate the unique blend of rhythmic elements and abstract textures. While some may prefer later works from the duo, this collection remains a fascinating piece for those drawn to experimental, atmospheric music that pushes the boundaries of sound and composition.
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