“Adventures in Electronics” by Adventures in Electronics
The band name and album title effortlessly give away the musical content which is, obviously, adventures in electronics. There are disjointed rhythms and the sounds of machines possibly malfunctioning throughout. Among the various beeps and boops, you’ll hear elements of glitch, funk, cut up, ambient, industrial, and experimental soundscape. All to say, while there is often a percussive element moving these songs along, the patterns (or lack thereof) along with the absorbing sounds mixed in make for a stimulating listen.
As soon as I heard the first minute of opening track “Property XZY,” Ryuichi Sakamoto’s “B-2 Unit” came to mind. My guess is that album may be an influence on what Simon Peter Gains has created here. As I got deeper into “Adventures in Electronics” I hit the fat synth bass interlude of the song “Drew Four Unit,” a song title that’s a possible nod to Sakamoto’s album. Even if it’s all coincidence, it’s an appropriate touchstone nonetheless.
“Searching for the Great Heterodyne” by Group of Seven
With this record, Group of Seven takes us on a haunted journey. The stated thread with this release is that it features sounds recorded in St Botolph’s Church located in Lincolnshire, UK. The now “redundant” church was built in the early 13th century and (at least in recent times) visitors have reported strange things, including ghosts, unexplained sounds, and odd lights. The well-crafted noise here definitely does a great job conjuring mysterious aural elements. You’ll hear components like disembodied voices, all kinds of drones, creepy pulses, modified pianos and organs, and the occasional knocking, all given a proper paranormal patina through Simon Gains’ production.
Many of the song titles are quite unusual – “Bspa Cmot,” “Hda Trh Iro” and “Lal Izy Tor” to name three. I tried deciphering them as anagrams, performed language translations, and researched names. I’m usually pretty good at puzzles, but I came up with nothing except that the track listing is in alphabetical order, so gold star for me (I guess?). Maybe you’ll have more luck but, the good news is, even if you end up stumped like me you can simply enjoy this visit to an abandoned church property.
“Rough Sculpture of Space” by Group of Seven
This is a really excellent collection of sound manipulation explorations; Simon Gains is the sole manipulator here and says he typically uses ‘found’ sounds as his starting point. Each track is somewhat unique, either in the sounds being used or the overall effect. To illustrate…The first track, “Overture of Uncomfortable Space,” sounds like someone rattling around a steel drum; not trying to create a melody, but finding what noises it can make. “Earth Type” is next up, with its bubbling space notes and echoes, followed by “End to Power” featuring layers of electronics and (what could be) violins, creating an unusual dirge. I think my favorite track is “Human Numbers,” which manipulates voices and (again, maybe) a cello, resulting in what it probably sounds like when our earthly voices float up to outer space.