Introduction
In Part Five of this six-part series covering cv313 releases old and new, we take a look at an unexpected new release of cv313 material old and new, packaged as a bursting-at-the-seams 2xCD edition. Stephen Hitchell talks about the first in this series of three Altering Illusions compilations.
Q & A with Stephen Hitchell
Altering Illusions [Chapter One] cv313 started out as a limited 4xLP compilation of tracks by various echospace [detroit] artists and guises, but this release is, instead, an expansive 2xCD compilation of exclusively cv313 material both old and new. Can you talk about the history of this release?
SH :: “Originally, the concept for Altering Illusions was to celebrate five years of the echospace label. During the process of piecing together material for the 4xLP edition, I found there was a vast array of unreleased content in the archives. It was a difficult decision to pick and choose which material to include with the LP set, and during the process I realized that there was enough material to release several editions. In light of this, the project became a culmination of years and years of unreleased work finally getting to see the light of day.”
Two things stand out in particular about Altering Illusions [Chapter One] cv313: firstly it’s a very different beast to Dimensional Space and secondly it actually sounds like a truly coherent double album, rather than a compilation. How did you go about selecting the tracks for this release?
SH :: “Perceptive response, indeed. As with every CD album on the label, it is very important to us to tell a story or create a balanced sonic experience. In this particular instance, we had to subtract content originally written for the Dimensional Space album, but during the track selection we discovered other content that made more sense with these earlier pieces.
It was during this process that we quickly realized what had turned into one album had become two, which gave us the ability to showcase and remaster material previously exclusively available on a vinyl format. It was really special to showcase these vinyl releases on CD, to find a natural flow in which they worked together as one whole body of work.”
Many of the previously released tracks on Altering Illusions [Chapter One] cv313 have been beautifully remastered, sounding better than they ever have before. What’s your approach to mastering and remastering, and has it been affected by changes in technology over the last few years?
SH :: “My approach to mastering hasn’t changed much since the days I spent with Ron Murphy at NSC Studios in Detroit. Ultimately, the concept and sole purpose is to bring the recording to life, utilizing a series of tools whether it be analog or digital. Certainly, the technology has developed beyond imagination over the past decade, and it is easy to be distracted by the myriad of options. In light of these developments, we certainly try to incorporate some of the new technologies available while maintaining the essence of the teaching or learning we have developed early on in those days spent in the garage.”
A number of cv313 “singles” that preceded the release of Dimensional Space are included here in one form or another. Were any of these originally planned for the main album?
SH :: “Yes. With this first edition, there were many pieces originally conceived for the Dimensional Space album that were omitted and used on this compilation instead. I just felt the content recorded for the album was a bit more cohesive as a whole body of work. Essentially, the nature of this project is meant to evoke a sense of fluidity in that it is an entire listening experience versus a series of singles.”
Can we expect single/EP releases of any of the new tracks from this compilation?
SH :: “Yes! Right now we’ve received test presses of Echospace 14, 15, and 16 all scheduled to come out over the next two-to-three months, and although each release has something exclusive on it, many of the compositions from the Altering Illusions CD will be featured.
One of the key tracks from the first compilation set was Deepchord’s amazing “Electro Magnetic Dowsing (cv313’s Live Rewire)”. As with most things we produce there’s always another version and we’ve saved the best for last: Deepchord’s “Lost D Side” is set to come out as a limited 12″ in June which we’re really excited about.
We’re also planning a very special 3LP set of the Dimensional Space album which also has new material (previously unavailable in CD or digital formats) exclusive to the vinyl release. We’re very excited about this particular project for a multitude of reasons: firstly it was mastered at Alchemy in London and they really brought out the best in these recordings and secondly, our friend Lindsay—who beyond operating one of the best labels in Edinburgh (Firecracker) is also an exceptionally talented graphic artist—is designing the sleeves by hand, each one being unique, and the design is out of this world!”
What can we expect from parts 2 & 3 in the series?
SH :: “At this point, we’ve outlined some of the back catalog and are hoping to reveal more information on these editions very soon. I will say there’s a good chance it may feature some of the unreleased “live” material from past events and potentially some new Deepchord Presents: Echospace material on the horizon!”
Altering Illusions [Chapter One] cv313
If the shock that the long-awaited Dimensional Space album consisted of seven totally new tracks plus a bonus disc entirely dedicated to mixes of “Subtractive,” then the revelation that what at first glance appeared to be an extended version of the 4xLP “Altering Illusions” compilation was, instead a completely different bursting-at-the-seams 2xCD collection of old and new cv313 material was a delight.
You see, Echospace [Detroit] presents: Altering Illusions Chapter One: cv313 (or whatever the hell this thing is actually called) is in fact the first chapter in a three part series of Altering Illusions releases, each focusing on a different artist. Two brand new cv313 albums instead of one? Yes, please. Furthermore, it makes for an amazing companion piece to the main Dimensional Space album, the tone and palette substantially different but the content every bit as essential.
There is no better statement of intent than the opening track, “Isis,” as jets of crystalline ice particles are shot through solar winds, which batter the soundstage to the rhythmic thump of a relentless beat. Forthcoming single “Fading Lights [Original]” ups the ante with shuffling rhythms, blunted beats, plumes of steam and tumbling breaks before the album spirals towards the dance-floor with the comparatively brief “Irradiate,” all pin-sharp hi-hats, fretwork and thundering bass.
We enter previously released singles territory at this point, with remastered versions of the both the original and particularly fine reduction of “Seconds To Forever,” “Dimensional” and “Sailing Stars” before the disc ends with “Beyond Starlit Sky [Live]” that reads like a re-pitched, holographic version of “Fading Lights.”
The only material here that doesn’t quite blend in is the odd slice of older single material. “Dimensional” sounds better than ever thanks to an even higher definition remaster, but feels like it belongs to a different era, and the harder stomp of “Sailing Stars” juts out at oblique angles, somehow out of place among its amorphous, vaporous siblings. But this is nitpicking given that this is ostensibly a compilation rather than a dedicated album, even though it mostly feels like the latter, rather than the former.
Perhaps the finest moments on Altering Illusions [Chapter One] cv313, however, are those found on the second disc, an even more seamless and unified experience than the first. It certainly has the power to surprise as it opens with “Longing For Darkness,” a delicate but metallic bowed synth string melody emerging from a mist of swirling vapour, soft static hiss and what sounds like a genuine field recording of a haunted, twilight whistle and howl of wind through deeply saturated, nocturnal environments. It is quite unlike anything cv313 has released before or since, a beautiful hybrid of cv313 textures, dense, whirring drones from Alva Noto’s Xerrox series of ambient albums and Thomas Koner’s panoramic soundscapes.
“Beyond The Clouds” is, for many, one of Hitchell and Modell’s key masterpieces and reason enough to own this compilation, which it closes in a beautifully remastered form, but if any shred of doubt still lingers in your mind, it should be utterly eradicated by one of Hitchell’s crowning achievements: I give you “Standing Still [Reduced].”
Seated regally at the epicenter of the majestic second disc, it is simply one of the ultimate expressions of cv313’s craft, a twenty-two minute pièce de résistance of meticulous and subtle artistry. Once you enter its orbit, and are enveloped in its supple blooms of synth, scything fx, soft flashes of electricity, deep-sea sub-bass throb and bass rumble, ever-so-subtle machine fan whir and the hypnotic, propulsive rhythm of the piece, a higher state of (un)consciousness is inescapable.
It’s followed by yet another album highlight in the newly minted “Magenta,” packed with turbulent whorls of dark beige storm clouds pregnant with rain and ice whipping around the adrenalin-fueled listener submerged in a tumbling life-support capsule full of bubbling fluid that muffles the beat to a in-ear heart pounding. And as already mentioned, the whole experience is beautifically rounded out by “Beyond The Clouds [Reprise]”.
Altering Illusions [Chapter One] cv313 is every bit as strong and essential as the debut cv313 album it supplements and acts as a nexus between cv313 material old and new. It has also just become available as a digital download on the echospace [detroit] Bandcamp site, for those who missed out on or are not interested in the physical CD edition.
Altering Illusions [Chapter One] cv313 is out now on echospace [detroit]. [ Download | 2CD Edition ]
