Russian label Monochrome Vision offers it up Meditations on Light again, complemented with its flintier, decidedly colder obverse, “Darkerspace,” another piece done in collaboration with visual artist Kathryn Thomas, plus the added enticement of an entire disc of remixes by various friends and acquaintances.
[Release page] Many have already praised Simon Whetham‘s soft, warm album Lightyears, myself included. Now, Russian label Monochrome Vision offers a sparser reworking of the track (intended for gallery use), complemented with its flintier, decidedly colder obverse, “Darkerspace,” another piece done in collaboration with visual artist Kathryn Thomas, plus the added enticement of an entire disc of remixes by various friends and acquaintances.
Whetham is fortunate to have such sensitive remixers in his line-up. It’s an impressive line-up, too, including Scanner (who mastered the original), Lawrence English, Richard Lainhart, Iris Garrelfs, Mise-en-scene, Christopher McFall, Philippe Petit and Yann Novak. In fact, there is only one name unfamiliar to the current reviewer, who upon further investigation proves to be a visual artist from Lisbon who has only released one single CD, and that in 2007. A clutch of artists hail from Novak’s Dragon’s Eye Recordings imprint (which has recently re-released the lone track “Lightyears”) and in keeping with that label’s minimalist aesthetic, maintains a cool, respectful distance. In fact, the three final tracks by Novak, English and John Kannenberg dovetail so seamlessly that they would make a fine extended player on their own. Others, Garrels in particular, obey a more eccentric lunar gravitational ebb and flow.
With moon visuals by Thomas in glorious black and white and a densely-packed précis of Whetham’s work in its sturdy jewl box, Meditations on Light is the authoritative edition of an important accomplishment.
Meditations on Light is available on Monochrome Vision. [Release page]
