Two albums in one year is a feat for any electronic music composer these days, but 31 year old Tim Martin residing in Peterborough (UK), has adequately established his sound over the past several years veering from Detroit inspired rhythms to his current output of digital-smoothness and sincere musical renderings of ambience, experimentation and beauty. While operating the budding Cactus Island imprint with cohort Steve Davis (a.k.a. Broca), Tim Martin’s Maps & Diagrams moniker has been witnessed on labels like Neo Ouija, Tundra-Music, Static Caravan, and Endorphin. 2003 brings Martin’s music full-circle with two new albums on Pause2 and Expanding Records both located in the United Kingdom.
Free-Time (Pause2) was released a few months prior to Polytuft-Tech, displaying an elegant, calm-natured feel that glistens in a relaxed fashion. “Reabsorb My Love” is probably the most irresistible track on Free-Time, embarking on an atmospheric mission of analog infested innocence with an engulfing percussive flow that is to be felt not just heard. Other segments of this album span through melodic structures displaying simplicity in both form and function. While Free-Time rearranges technology driven ambiences, it also manages to leave a warm feeling in your ears without veering too far off the beaten path. Both creative and magical, Maps & Diagrams’ free time is well spent and nurtured on this thoughtful electronic nugget of music.
Switching gears to the August 4th (2003) release of Polytuft-Tech on Expanding Records, Maps & Diagrams’ introduction (“Vacado”) leaves a distinct footprint for what’s ahead. Rather than relying on ambient infused layers, Polytuft-Tech carves its way into the glitch of each melody and transforms those melodies into energetic arrangements. “Through Me,” for example, focuses on a skittering, almost vacant beat that is morphed ever so slightly above an invisible drone of ambient sizzling. These are the ideas present all throughout Polytuft-Tech: taking relaxed rhythms and gluing them to intricately woven beats that are sure to keep insomniacs wide-awake.
Tim Martin takes analog electronics and marries them effortlessly to digital sculptures of sound. While both albums aren’t entirely innovative, one thing is certain: Both titles reflect a specific and sincere mood, keeping a focus on constructive ambiences and breathing life into robotic modules. What else could be so relaxing?
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