Jeff - Observatory

Melancholic, piano-based number but, hey, don't panic, there's a beat, a sample and other electronic things going on as well that are guaranteed to keep your interest levels up. One of my personal faves.

(Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash.)

Source Code

Having a ball with a bunch of NASA samples. (Look, every wannabe electronic musician has to go through that phase... don't they??)

Critical Vehicle Functions

Moody, piano-based number; dedicated to the memory of my late father who was an excellent pianist and keyboard player in his time.

The Experiment

Inspired by early micro-computers, this track is probably my most tech-influenced to date but don't let that put you off. Programming the drums on this one was enormous fun.

PLEASE NOTE: My SoundCloud account was compromised on 11th Feb 2019 and 264 false plays of this track, Micro, were credited to my stats. If you wish to know how many plays this track has truly received at any given time, please deduct 264 from the total figure shown.

Micro

"One Tree" is a joyous, up-tempo little ditty which features a field recording of a rusty, village churchyard gate as it's rhythmic cornerstone. Composed, performed and mixed by the artist during the spring and summer of 2018. Mastered at Steve Kitch Mastering.

Watch the "One Tree" video produced by Rainbow Zemo here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUHtTn9YPnM

One Tree

Watch the Diversity And Solidarity video here: https://youtu.be/XhQnsj5b3yA

Diversity And Solidarity is a celebration of life in all of its wonderfully differing flavours. It's a little bit rustic, a little bit funky and more than a little bit electronic (and lo a new genre was born: Rustic Funktronica).

The artwork is from an original oil-on-canvas painting entitled "Giunchi" (Bullrushes) by the amazing artist Lillo Pisano. You can see more of his incredible work on Instagram: www.instagram.com/lillopisano/ and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Lillopisanoart/

Diversity And Solidarity was composed, recorded and mixed entirely in Ableton Live by me (Observatory) during autumn 2018. Mastering was by Steve Kitch at Steve Kitch Mastering in November 2018: https://www.audiomaster.co.uk/

Diversity And Solidarity

Apparently, sodium is the seventh most abundant element on Earth. It's also the name of this brand new ditty from yours truly. Consider it to be "a song of two halves": the first half is soft and silvery, like freshly cut sodium; the second half is when you chuck the sodium in some water and watch it fizz around. Artwork is by Lillo Pisano and is taken from an original oil-on-canvas painting entitled "Black Circuit". See more of his incredible work on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lillopisano/ and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Lillopisanoart/

Sodium was composed, recorded and mixed by Observatory during Winter 2018/19. Mastering was by Steve Kitch at Steve Kitch Mastering: www.audiomaster.co.uk

Sodium

The eagle-eared amongst you may recognise this little number as a re-imagining of my 2017 tune, Source Code. It's been remixed, remastered and generally rebooted to form an (almost) entirely new piece. Some might say that it's been mercifully shortened too.

The artwork is a picture of Unusual Balance, a wood-turning sculpture by the brilliant artist and all-round ace craftsman, Lillo Pisano. See more of his incredible work on Instagram: www.instagram.com/lillopisano/ and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Lillopisanoart/

Return To The Source was created during Spring 2019.

Return To The Source

Enceladus was one of the Gigantes from Greek mythology, a son of Gaea and Uranus, who is said to be buried under Mount Etna. More recently, he gave his name to Saturn's sixth-largest moon, discovered by Herschel in 1879 and thought by many to be the only other body in our solar-system that might harbour life. Could this be true? Why not join me on an inter-planetary mission to explore its icy depths and we can find out for ourselves...

Artwork is by the inspired collage artist, Harl Vind and is entitled "Gigantomaniacs".

Enceladus

Often described as the most esoteric of crafts, Light Modelling has been practised by arcane societies throughout the known universe since the dawn of time. Dismissed by doubters as mere hocus, this mysterious art form had all but died out during the dark epoch, until more recent times witnessed a pleasing resurgence in its popularity. Despite this, reliable apprentice guidance can be hard to come by... that is, until now. Assembling the collective wisdom of the ancients, handed down across countless millennia, this brand new edition aims to prepare the novice practitioner for their first steps into this most rewarding of magical disciplines. Open your minds, students of the Light and prepare to be initiated...

Artwork is by the very talented collage artist and accomplished Light Modeller, @harl-vind. It is entitled "Dancing The Light Fantastic".

Modelling With Light - A Beginner's Guide

This is my contribution to @minimal_drone_grl's stunning remix album, Origins Remixed, released in September 2020. The full elpee, containing 15 remixes by 15 different artists of the tracks on her earlier long-player, Ancestral Origins - itself a completely mesmerising listen - can be found here:
https://minimaldronegrl.bandcamp.com/album/origins-remixed
I'm dedicating this number to the memory of my great friend of many years standing, Steve Finch, who tragically died during the period while I was working on this. Steve was a unique and special soul who will never be forgotten. Rest in peace, great mate. #hcafc #yccc

Retrospection Reimagined

Minimal_Drone*GRL - Retrospection (Observatory's Retrospection Reimagined Remix)

This brand new piece from yours truly was created during summer 2020 and takes its influences from many different directions but I'm particularly indebted to Jason Ross who has provided much of the inspiration with his insightful recommendations for listening, viewing and reading material, and through our many conversations over the past year; big respect, mate - you've influenced this tune more than you could imagine. Thanks also go to Jason for sourcing the untitled photograph by Sara Gossett on flickr.com.

Acid Folk

"At the farthest extremities of the electromagnetic spectrum, way beyond the realm of visible light, further even than the mysterious infra-red frequencies, lurk countless, unheard communications from distant worlds....."

"Autumn Equinox" is the result of my overhauling "Radio And Microwave", a tune that I originally put out over a year ago. I've been working on this new version sporadically throughout autumn 2020 - hence the title - even though it's now technically in winter that I've finally got around to finishing it. It's inspired by, well, autumn, which is by some distance my favourite season of the year.

The artwork is an original piece by the enigmatic collage artist, Harl Vind, entitled "Consumed By The Waves".

Autumn Equinox

Inspired by late-night conversations and assembled over many months from disparate musical fragments, Love! Love! Peace! Beauty! is an ode to freedom, tolerance and bliss.

I owe massive credit to Mike B for providing the wonderful electric guitar stylings on this piece and to Jason Ross for sourcing the spoken word sample and the photo image. Brilliant work, gents - I owe you both, big time.

Love! Love! Peace! Beauty!

The evocatively named Cold Wold is an area of arable high ground, located roughly between the villages of Millington and Warter in the East Riding of Yorkshire. This relatively unspoilt chalkland region is great for walking, running or whatever else takes your fancy at pretty much any time of the year. I'm constantly inspired by the quiet, gentle landscapes of the Yorkshire Wolds and I only hope I've been able to do them some sort of justice with this relaxed piece of electronica.

The photograph is by Peter Church.

Jeff - Observatory

Chris Beet