Orbiting back to his own imprint for From Another Star’s sixth release, label head Allen returns with his second mini-album, System Collapse, an eight-track voyage to new destinations in the cosmos. More mysterious than its predecessor, it begins in ‘Empty Space’, one of several mood pieces whose desolate content fits with its title. ‘The Search for Exo Planets’ turns on the thrusters to slowly reach hyperspeed, with waves of pads washing over the percussion in flybys. Searching for signs of life, ‘Detection Device’ juxtaposes patterned bleeps with drifting, garbled synth transmissions, combining these elements with the steady rhythmic pulse as it maintains the mission. ‘Signature Unknown’ examines intercepted signals, attempting differentiation from background radiation. With echoing returns and rotating drums, ‘Phenomenon’ begins the next phase, circling an unknown object for closer examination. The brief, truncated ‘System Collapse’ and ‘No Return’ both suggest plans gone awry as dark undertones take over and rhythms disintegrate. ‘Phoenix’ finds the mission reborn and steadily gaining momentum once again, the slicing claps and driving toms powering onwards over pulsing bells to overcome alien interference.   

Allen - System Collapse

01. Empty Space
02. The Search For Exo Planets
03. Detection Device
04. Signature Unknown
05. Phenomenon
06. System Collapse
07. No Return
08. Phoenix

Release date: November 29th 2024
Pre-order now at: https://fromanotherstar.bandcamp.com

Written and produced by Allen
Mastered by Troels B-Knudsen
Words by Albert Freeman

Allen - System Collapse (Audio Previews)

From Another Star