Talkin' Straight at Ya'...

Listening to music in Space

Space music with EVI(electronic valve/wind instrument) performed by Mark Steiner.

The Tender Sea Of Space

Various Artists Tone Science Module No.7 Cause and Effect DiN:TS07

Release date 21st April 2022
Limited to 500 copies. Digipak CD format

Tone Science sub-label, from DiN records, continues to explore the world of modular synth music.

Following the success and critical acclaim of the first six Tone Science compilation albums,  DiN label boss Ian Boddy has collated another nine tracks from musicians of varying backgrounds  working in the realms of modular synthesis.

One of the things that is so delightful about artists working with modular synthesisers is the sheer variety of styles on show. These instruments more than any other can be personalised for each musician who can then express themselves within their own sonic world.

This volume starts with a pair of beautiful, texturally detailed sequenced tracks “Abalone Vortex”  by Andrea Cichecki and “Tempestarius” by Chris Meyer which form a natural pairing that create a melodic, calm opening.

“Dim Rill” by Rodent enters a more mysterious zone with mesmerising bell like tones that bounce around in the stereo field before yielding to the rising harmonic motif of “Flutter” from Dark Sparkler that promises resolution but ultimately falls back into mystery.

The mid-point of this volume sees Blakmoth take the music sonically into a very deep, dark place with a huge slab of dread that is “Of Ash And Sorrow”. Counterbalancing the first four tracks it sets up the audio space for the remainder of the album.

The next three pieces see a more heavily sequenced space emerge with definite echoes of the Berlin School ethos that was instrumental in inspiring so many modular synth artists. No more so than on “Pareidolia” by Brendan Pollard with its groaning, spring reverb clatter in its opening that gradually coalesces into a throbbing analogue bass line. “Hecataea” by Andrew Ostler and “A Hopeless Momentum” by James Cigler complete this trio of sequenced tracks with varying layers of complexity and harmonic exploration.

The album floats away into space as it closes with the track “Near Earth” by Jon Palmer. Inspired by the weird and wonderful abstract sounds on the long wave radio band this impressionistic soundscape fades to an eerie signal mournfully calling in the void.

“Tone Science Module No.7 Cause and Effect” continues the journey down the rabbit hole of possibilities and sound worlds inhabited by artists and musicians working in this ever fascinating and varied musical field.


01 Abalone Vortex by Andrea Cichecki   7:39
02 Tempestarius by Chris Meyer   7:30
03 Dim Rill by Rodent   5:15
04 Flutter by Dark Sparkler   6:45
05 Of Ash And Sorrow by Blakmoth   6:30
06 Pareidolia by Brendan Pollard   8:23
07 Hecataea by Andrew Ostler   7:23
08 A Hopeless Momentum by James Cigler   8:30
09 Near Earth by Jon Palmer   6:40

Total Time: 64:51

Tone Science Module No.7 Cause and Effect

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Tone Science Module No.7 Cause and Effect Demo Mix

Lyonel Bauchet Tractatus Lyra-Organismus DiN79

Release date 16th June 2023
Limited to 300 copies Digipak CD

Film and media composer Lyonel Bauchet is best known in the electronic music world for his mastery of the Buchla modular synthesiser. Indeed this is the instrument that was in the foreground for his previous two DiN releases, The Secret Society (DiNDDL11) and The Diver (DiN68). However for his third album on the DiN imprint he has eschewed this familiar territory and instead focused on a collection of analogue gear from Soma Laboratory. Their most famous instrument, the Lyra-8, is described by them as an Organismic Synthesiser and certainly has an experimental edge to it. Along with other Soma creations as well as more traditional keyboards and orchestral string textures Bauchet has created a unique and compelling sound world unlike anything you’ve ever heard before.

Taking his inspiration from the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus by the 20th century Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, Bauchet has morphed the title of this inspirational work into a play on synth words. The titles of the album are taken from sentences in the French translation relating to the seven main aphorisms in the book.

Musically this astonishing album marries the experimental nature of the Soma synths with their grungy lo-fi percussion grooves and swarming, scintillating clouds of texture with the filmic, cinematic world that Bauchet often composes in for his library music work. Delicate piano motifs lead to orchestral crescendos accompanied by a mystical atmosphere of swirling drones and deep soundscapes. This is a true headphone album in that listening via this method will reveal the myriad details and beautiful complicity of this unique album.

Another great release from the DiN label released in a beautiful Digipak CD edition showcasing new and refreshingly different electronic music.
 
01 Tout ce qui a lieu   10:17
02 Le grand miroir   08:42
03 L’ordre à priori des choses   07:11
04 Le nombre des noms   03:41
05 Une seule et même réalité   08:52
06 Égalité des signes   03:33
07 Sur ce dont on ne peut parler   06:03

Total Time :  48:17

Tractatus Lyra-Organismus

Tractatus Lyra-Organismus by Lyonel Bauchet (DiN79) Demo Mix

Polypores Multizonal Mindscramble DiN81

Release date 15th September 2023
Limited to 300 copies 180g Vinyl / 300 copies Digipak CD

Stephen James Buckley aka Polypores returns for his second full album on the DiN imprint following on from his 2022 debut “Hyperincandescent” (DiN71).

Though we’ve come to know a wide range of sounds from Polypores, it’s here on “Multizonal Mindscramble” that we get plunged into the outer reaches of the inner psyche. Flickering insectoid transmissions are laid atop slowly shifting walls of drifting oscillators, barely discernible chirps and static-encrusted filter sweeps. There are moments of undeniable melodic bliss amongst the warm, weightless transmissions though, with soaring arpeggios and covert counter-melodies emerging from the fog and coalescing into perfect harmony before fading once again into the ether. The slow intricate weaving of sounds and timbres has become a Polypores trademark, and once again the fluidity and ease with which Buckley moves between sound-worlds is evident on this new album. The organic textures morph and grow, from a syncopated glitching oscillator through to slow swells of synth and spacey, cavernous reverb. Like a languid walk through the forest, while you gradually melt through the earth and into the soil. 

A perfectly balanced textural odyssey, and a stunning example of the depth and breadth of the Polypores sound “Multizonal Mindscramble” is released both as a 180g Vinyl edition and a Digipak CD with stunning artwork from Wendy Carroll that matches the music perfectly.

01 The Dream Incubator   03:30
02 Foam   03:01
03 Machine Elves   05:58
04 Can Non-Player Characters Experience Love?   02:58
05 Diverging Reality Tunnels   03:29
06 Retrocausal   03:05
07 Hyperdata   00:59
08 Until You Observe It, It Isn’t There   04:30
09 Compute Gnosis   02:56
10 Hexagram   03:18
11 Strangels   04:04
12 The Green-Screen Beneath It All    02:09
13 Adventures In The Super-Spectrum   02:59
14 Butterflies   01:08

Total Time :  44:02

Multizonal Mindscramble

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Multizonal Mindscramble by Polypores (DiN81) Demo Mix

Various Artists Tone Science Module No.8 Tone Science Live DiN:TS08

Release date 6th October 2023
Limited to 500 copies. Digipak CD format

Tone Science sub-label, from DiN records, continues to explore the world of modular synth music.

The first seven volumes on the Tone Science sub-label featured 63 musicians (9 on each album) with varying backgrounds and styles, showcasing the wonderful richness and variety inherent in the world of modular synthesis. The next step was to transfer this concept to a live performance and hence the inaugural Tone Science Live concert, which took place at the Capstone Theatre in Liverpool on the evening of 22nd April 2023. 

All five musicians were set up onstage simultaneously and each played solo before joining together at the end. Field Lines Cartographer opened the evening with a beautiful set full of glistening textures and pulsating oscillations. Next came Nigel Mullaney with a more upbeat performance, featuring the famous “Pale Blue Dot” speech from Carl Sagan which seemed very appropriate as the 22nd April was Earth Day. After a short interval, Polypores took to the stage with a breath-taking display of modular synth virtuosity, with him constantly shifting and morphing the myriad sequencer patterns and tones emanating from his modular system. DiN label boss Ian Boddy followed with a sonic trip through four ambient sections, seamlessly mixing minimal ambience with vibrant pulsing sequencers before falling away to a tranquil conclusion. After another short break, Scanner played a stunning set featuring field recordings and disarming vocal samples and building up a monumental industrial rhythm from the simplest of ingredients.

The evening ended in fine style with all five musicians taking to the stage and performing an ambient drone piece inspired by the early American minimalist composers. At the helm was Scanner, mixing and shaping the overall sound of the music as it slowly grew in intensity to fill the hall with a mesmerising wash of tones. A fitting end to what was a fantastic evening of music from five musicians coaxing such varied and beautiful sounds from their small modular systems.

The entire evening is presented as a double CD in a 6-panel Digipak with accompanying 8 page booklet. A must-have album for followers of the Tone Science series.


Track listing:

01 TSL Set 1 by Field Lines Cartographer   23:43
02 TSL Set 2 by Nigel Mullaney   27:44
03 TSL Set 3 by Polypores   22:42
04 TSL Set 4 by Ian Boddy   23:58
05 TSL Set 5 by Scanner   28:45
06 TSL Set 6 by Tone Scientists   23:58

Total Time: 151:00

Tone Science Module No.8 Tone Science Live

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Tone Science Module No.8 Tone Science Live Demo Mix

Benge The View From Vega DiN82

Release date 17th November 2023
Limited to 300 copies 180g Vinyl / 300 copies Digipak CD

Ben Edwards, better known by his pseudonym Benge, has been exploring the sonic possibilities of electronic instruments since he was a young boy, in the1970s.  After graduating from art school in 1990 he set up his own music studio and started recording his unique blend of experimental electronica, culminating in his debut album "Electro-Orgoustic Music" and the formation of Expanding Records in 1995. Since then he has released dozens of albums as Benge, as well as collaborating with various luminaries from the electronic music world on many other album projects. He has formed several notable and ongoing bands such as John Foxx & The Maths, Wrangler (with Stephen Mallinder / Cabaret Voltaire and Phil Winter / Tunng), Fader (with Neil Arthur / Blancmange), and his most recent project Creep Show (Wrangler + John Grant). Benge's creative output now centres around his Memetune Studio Complex, located in one of the UKs remotest moorland locations, writing and producing his various music projects as well as making video art and TV programmes about his activities.

“The View From Vega”, his debut solo album on the DiN imprint, is primarily an ambient suite of tracks inspired by the space-music typically produced in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It uses a selection of vintage synthesisers, sequencers and FX units to provide a fertile sonic landscape to explore. The idea was to use simple sequences (using both analogue and digital units), sustained synthesiser pads and electronic piano improvisations, alongside various ancient delay, flange and reverb units. The beautiful, warm quality of the tones that exude from such instruments are very evident on the six tracks that slowly unfold their oscillations in organic, melodic soundscapes.

An unashamedly vintage sounding album in all its analogue glory, “The View From Vega” is released both as a 180g Vinyl edition and a Digipak CD with stunning artwork from Wendy Carroll that matches the music perfectly.



01 The View From Vega (Part I)   06:44
02 The View From Vega (Part II)   05:07
03 The View From Vega (Part III)   06:14
01 The View From Vega (Part IV)   06:54
02 The View From Vega (Part V)   05:21
03 The View From Vega (Part VI)   07:32

Total Time :  37:54

The View From Vega

The View From Vega by Benge (DiN82) Demo Mix

Jonn Serrie - StarMoods

David Bowie - Space Oddity vinyl (2015 Remaster)

DOWNLOAD THE ALBUM: http://smarturl.it/OneStrangeRock
One Strange Rock (Original Series Soundtrack)
Daniel Pemberton

01. OSR I - I 0:00
02. OSR I - II 0:30
03. OSR I - III 1:00
04. OSR I - IV 1:30
05. OSR I - V 2:00
06. OSR III - IV 2:30
07. OSR IV - I 3:00
08. OSR IV - II 3:30
09. OSR IV - III 4:00
10. OSR IV - IV 4:30

One Strange Rock - Daniel Pemberton - Soundtrack Preview (Official Audio)

Really experimental, Inspired allot by Julien H Mulder - Fragments
and Space Engine!
Photo - Space engine 0.97

Experimental ambient space music

Ian Boddy has been at the forefront of the UK electronic music scene since 1983 when he both performed at the very first UK Electronica Festival in Milton Keynes and released his first vinyl album The Climb.

In the 4 years preceding this event he had been experimenting at an Arts Council funded studio in Newcastle whilst at University. His early work resulted in 3 cassette only releases on the Mirage label as well as several local concerts. These early tapes showed Boddy gradually forming his own style through a long self teaching process in the techniques of analogue synthesis and tape manipulation.

After the success of 1983 he went on to release another 2 vinyl albums, Spirits and Phoenix, as well as performing several concerts throughout the UK. However it wasn't until 1989 that his first CD release, Odyssey, came out on the EM label Surreal to Real. After Drive, his second release on the Surreal label Boddy formed his own record label, Something Else Records , through which he released a further 4 solo albums as well as reissuing his 3 early vinyl albums and the cassette only release Jade on CD. Furthermore he released three collaborative CD releases with some of Europes finest exponents of EM, namely Andy Pickford, Ron Boots and Mark Shreeve.

He continued to expand his concert appearences which have now surpassed over 100 events with concerts in the UK ( including several more UK Electronica appearances, two shows at the Jodrell Bank Planetarium & two at the National Space Centre), Holland ( five festival appearances ), Germany and three shows in Philadelphia, USA.

Alongside these mainstream EM activities Boddy has also built for himself a formidable reputuation as a sound designer having produced a series of sample CD's & virtual instruments for sampling specialists Time & Space. In late 2008 Boddy set up his own downloadable sample CD company with the Waveforms series of sample packs. Furthermore he is also involved in library music having composed 11 such CD's for the publishing company deWolfe as well as producing some music for a computer games company.

Thus we come up to the present with the formation of his DiN label in 1999. Unlike his private Something Else Records the DiN label was set up to allow Boddy to actively form different collaborations with a wide variety of musicians as well as release other artists music. DiN has achieved widespread critical acclaim for it's adventurous outlook at the world of EM and has seen 39 releases with Boddy being involved in 21 of these ( five solo and sixteen collaborative projects ). 

In 2008 DiN expanded it's catalogue with a series of download only releases featuring Boddy in concert both as a solo performer and with other DiN artists. 

The View From Vega by Benge (DiN82) Demo Mix

ianboddy