Atmospheric washes, gorgeous evolving bass drones, space synths. The tracks sound great on the monitors but absolutely come alive on headphones: Mick’s attention to detail and finely nuanced keyboard work reward close listening.
[Purchase] Michael Gainford, better known as Mick Chillage, has seen a dream come true. On the July 14, 2011 edition of the long-running XFM-Dublin show he co-hosts, he describes with a characteristic mix of humor and humility a “starstruck” list of FAX-released artists who have been huge influences and with whom he’s now a labelmate. Geir Jenssen, Klaus Schulze, label head Pete Namlook himself FAXology, as the name suggests, is the result of Chillage’s long study and deep admiration of the German label’s output and stylistic oeuvre. From the distinctive circle-in-circle album art design (the FAX secret decoder ring says it’s “crossover”) to the spaced-out titles and stretched-out track lengths, the album’s presentation sits squarely in the tradition. But what about the sound?
“Approaching Antares” opens with deep drones, swelling and receding over several minutes as a minor-chord string motif introduces itself. Layers of satellite atmospherics tinkle in the background, enhancing the vibe. At about seven minutes into the twenty-minute epic, the first melodic line makes an appearance. Thankfully absent are the overdone “mission control” samples, but they would have fit in as well here as on any mid-90s Instinct Ambient or em:t release. Ghostly percussion floats into the periphery at the track’s halfway point — presumably we’re nearing Antares now and the faintest hint of a dub-techno beat carries our vessel along. Mick reintroduces his reverberating melody and some delayed, echoing analogue synth trickery as the track dwindles off into the vacuum of interstellar distances.
After such an epic opener, we’re in need of a little grounding. “X 202” is a brief synth excursion propelled by a cthonic bottom end and delayed percussive tapping that sounds like a slow coolant leak deep inside a space station. A bright lead synthesizer line keeps the piece’s mood from claustrophobia and then it’s gone. “Hypersleep” is next, an ambient excursion which balances choral pads with ominous bass swells reminiscient of Biosphere’s classic “Hyperborea.” The Geir Jenssen reference Mick made on the show didn’t come lightly, and indeed, the arctic isolationist atmospherics of Substrata are much in evidence in this middle part of the album. “Control Room” and “Corot-9B” develop these themes further: atmospheric washes, gorgeous evolving bass drones, space synths. The tracks sound great on the monitors but absolutely come alive on headphones: Mick’s attention to detail and finely nuanced keyboard work reward close listening.
The album’s second epic is “Gamma Radiation”, clocking in at 18 minutes 34 seconds. It begins with an absolutely massive, cavernous drone and reintroduces the Berlin dub-techno percussive echoes from “Antares” but by its midway point has evolved into something quite different — an actual techno beat emerges from the inky distance! It’s a slamming, churning affair too, bringing to mind the early Higher Intelligence Agency releases, but evolved somehow, mutated and mixed up on the turnaround. All too quickly it fades, the earlier melodic themes return and, appropriately, the album’s closing track “Returning Home” brings us back down to Earth. A pulsating LFO plays call-and-response with a stately uplifting chord progression but both finally succumb to a backwards-swept Eno-esque line. Majestic.
Mick’s study has clearly paid dividends; fellow students of deep ambient soundscapes would do well to add FAXology to their syllabi.
FAXology is out now on Fax +49-69/450464. [Purchase]
FAXology PS08/122 Teaser Clips Fax [Germany] by Mick Chillage
