Amp Studio:
Uncertainty Principles:
Ampbase:
2xCD:
May 20th 2016:
Drones. Not the most popular phenomenon of recent times it has to be said. The type that political intelligentsia use to monitor our every move are becoming increasingly intrusive and irritating. Drones from AMP Studio and its associated outputs however are far more musical, agreeable, sociable and organic. Derived from seemingly random sound experimentation and earlier soundscapes, AMP's Richard has chosen to revisit these recordings and re-present them on this expansive sprawling double CD of musique-concrete, found-sounds and drone.
If you're familiar with the works of Steve Moore, Controlled Bleeding, Biosphere, Jon Hassell and La Monte Young, you'll soak up the rich ambient textures on offer on this long-awaited double CD. From the swirling sea-scape of opener Sliptwo, through the cyclical Terry Riley-esque Spinfactors to the densely layered psych-drone of Misstype Dolittle, which resembles Boards of Canada circa their Campfire Headphase era. Not in the slightest bit derivative however, AMP Studio's oeuvre is somewhat more subtle and geared towards the more blissed-out end of the genre.
Tracks swell and mutate into eddying whirlpools of fractured sound from unsettling symphonies of and the merest hint of commentary and seismic shifts in delivery - Mort Irritées being a case in point - before Uncertainty Principles calms down for a slowly evolving piece Tiller, the track that apparently kick-started this whole idea for a release.
Lovers of eerie 30-minute driftscapes will flock to the album's epic centrepiece, Uncertainly Alive, a powerful concerto of waves on rocks and brain-roasting bottom end. The whole experience is really rather disorientating but amenable nonetheless until some pretty thunderous beats kick in and the whole thing turns into a less-than-mellifluous blitzkrieg.
By this time you'll need something far more placid and Flashbacks fits the bill perfectly, recalling Eno's work with Cluster and brother Roger with treated piano and atmospherics.
An unexpected gem of an album, there's a very VERY limited double lathe-cut vinyl edition fetching £80 (or a more affordable double CD) to choose from.
★★★★★★★★☆☆
Uncertainty Principles:
Ampbase:
2xCD:
May 20th 2016:
If you're familiar with the works of Steve Moore, Controlled Bleeding, Biosphere, Jon Hassell and La Monte Young, you'll soak up the rich ambient textures on offer on this long-awaited double CD. From the swirling sea-scape of opener Sliptwo, through the cyclical Terry Riley-esque Spinfactors to the densely layered psych-drone of Misstype Dolittle, which resembles Boards of Canada circa their Campfire Headphase era. Not in the slightest bit derivative however, AMP Studio's oeuvre is somewhat more subtle and geared towards the more blissed-out end of the genre.
Tracks swell and mutate into eddying whirlpools of fractured sound from unsettling symphonies of and the merest hint of commentary and seismic shifts in delivery - Mort Irritées being a case in point - before Uncertainty Principles calms down for a slowly evolving piece Tiller, the track that apparently kick-started this whole idea for a release.
Lovers of eerie 30-minute driftscapes will flock to the album's epic centrepiece, Uncertainly Alive, a powerful concerto of waves on rocks and brain-roasting bottom end. The whole experience is really rather disorientating but amenable nonetheless until some pretty thunderous beats kick in and the whole thing turns into a less-than-mellifluous blitzkrieg.
An unexpected gem of an album, there's a very VERY limited double lathe-cut vinyl edition fetching £80 (or a more affordable double CD) to choose from.
★★★★★★★★☆☆