This is an unreleased gem (at time of publication)…
First of all you may be asking yourself who the humble Tim Martin is besides a fellow NeoChat visitor at the Neo Ouija website message-board. I find it somewhat peculiar that within the past several months, Tim hadn’t once mentioned his Maps and Diagrams project that may have been playing as background music in his Nottingham, UK residence all this time. After Tim slipped a few scans of the back cover-art sheets in a (music swap) package we did in early January (without the Maps & Diagrams CDR), I immediately thought it was time to hear what this 28 year old British producer was up to. Nonetheless, I managed to acquire this little gem, and now it’s time to give it the attention it deserves.
On Maps and Diagrams several tracks are laid out in a warm and soulful Detroit (influenced) fashion. The persistant sweeping melodics of “While No-One Was Watching” reminds me of recent output by Indio (Transmat) where casually placed ambient chords melt above an array of sharp percussion. At times it also sounds like some of the chilled material from Plaid’s Not For Threes (Warp) –much of the ambience and subtle rhythms create a similar mood. “Still Life Framework” has a very thick layer of warm and penetrating chords that should have you tucked away pleasantly on the sofa or office chair.
With the title track “Maps and Diagrams,” a layer of relaxed ambient melodies are tucked away in the part of your brain that wants to sleep and recall childhood memories. It’s a beautiful feeling, and yet it all seems to drift into a few Bola inspired moods. Within 13 (yes, 13) tracks, Tim Martin maps a functional and peaceful voyage of ambient electronics and casual techno leaving the listener to create their own diagrams reflecting the moods set out by the creator.
Maps and Diagrams is one of those albums you place on your player for the entire duration of its syncopation. Nice, relaxed, melodic, and a tear tickler.
Tracklisting ::
::..:::…..:..::….:::::..:::..:::::::……:::…::.:::….::::..:..:::…::…….:::::
Biography ::
(As clipped from recent email correspondence).
“Tim Martin has been making music and DJ’ing since the late 80’s accumalating a range of equipment including rhodes synths, minikorgs, novations, moogs, and a whole other load of monophonic analogue synths. Putting these instruments to their maximun use and recycling home processed sounds over and over to recreate music –distortion is a must! And in the pipeline is remixes for a band called Reynolds.
Maps and Diagrams is a mix of old and new music some dating back to the early ’90’s and as yet unsigned will be releasing fresh music within the next few months either with a label or through self-distribution.
Apart from music, Tim can be found outside in the summer months in his organic garden, growing all sorts of tasty vegetables and smoking a big fat one in the greenhouse.”
::..:::…..:..::….:::::..:::..:::::::……:::…::.:::….::::..:..:::…::…….:::::
