Tone Science Module No.7 Cause and Effect is the definitive benchmark for next-level modular stillness and mayhem rolled into one cohesive whole. A gorgeous visual-audio amalgam with all the right coordinates mapping several top-notch musicians in the scene.
Synth swells for several miles
“DiN label boss Ian Boddy has collated another nine tracks from musicians of varying backgrounds, working in the realms of modular synthesis for the Tone Science sub-label.” It’s, as expected, soaring well beyond any preconceived notions of ambient and long-form audio works. Andrea Cichecki, Chris Meyer, Rodent, Dark Sparkler, Blakmoth, Brendan Pollard, Andrew Ostler, James Cigler, and Jon Palmer each uniquely craft tranquilized electronics this time around, with synth swells for several miles.
Andrea Cichecki rolls out the red carpet with “Abalone Vortex,” a blissful blips and bleeps sojourn that continues to unfold with each passing minute—coming to life with blurred and dreamlike vocal bits. Chris Meyer drives us through synthesizer realms from yesteryear on “Tempestarius,” an emotive slice of life that seeps through us in its seven and a half minute duration as Rodent’s “Dim Rill” casts darker shadows on this simmering sonic collection.
Contemporary modular synthesizer compositions ::
The curation of such an expansive series is baffling. Head-honcho Ian Boddy’s inner-circle of multi-talented sound-sculptors are skillfully positioned (track order) to create surreal and rolling landscapes. Dark Sparkler’s aptly titled “Flutter” shifts and slides through modular acrobatics with a low-rumbling undercurrent, as Blackmoth’s “Of Ash And Sorrow” is an even darker movement of drifting drones and ethereal spaces. Brendan Pollard’s fidgeting pulse on “Pareidola” drips from the edges in a buzzingly beautiful supernova as Andrew Ostler delivers vintage audio fragments on “Hecataea,” a pitter-patter piece that spontaneously ebbs and flows that recalls an earlier time of abstract electronics and musique concrète. James Cigler’s “A Hopeless Momentum” forms microscopic shapes and sounds in tune with its vibrating noise boxes and closing with an almost invisible soundscaping flux is Jon Palmer’s excellent “Near Earth.”
Tone Science Module No.7 Cause and Effect is the definitive benchmark for next-level modular stillness and mayhem rolled into one cohesive whole. A gorgeous visual-audio amalgam with all the right coordinates mapping several top-notch musicians in the scene.
Tone Science Module No.7 Cause and Effect is available on Din / Tone Science. [Bandcamp]
