Original score inspired by the Catherine Cavendish novel The Malan Witch

The Poppet

'hycean'
Rhombus Index
See Blue Audio SBA 055

1. Elytron
2. Giiflora
3. Digital Anemone
4. Polyeme
5. Tine
6. Flotsam
7. Coastal Curve

Release date: 20 September 2024

lnk.to/SBA055

See Blue Audio: ambient / electronic / beatless / cinematic / downtempo / eclectic / introspective… Shade rather than light...

Following 'Mutual Expression', his recent collaborative project with f5point6, Rhombus Index returns with a solo album, 'hycean'. This will be his fourth release on See Blue Audio and represents a further step in the artist's musical evolution; this is a world where the interplay between the organic and the digital takes centre stage, and it has a special resonance in these days of artificial intelligence and machine learning. 'hycean' is the fifty-fifth release on See Blue Audio and, reflecting their symbiotic relationship, a new solo album from f5point6, 'A Random Sequence of Events', will also be released on the same day. An art booklet of images generated during the creation of 'hycean' is included with the album.

As an electronic artist from West Yorkshire, Rhombus Index inhabits a geographical and historical space where modern, industrial society and the power of nature collide. It's only logical, therefore, that these contradictory forces come out in his music. 'hycean' is an exploration of sounds that evoke images of organically grown digital creatures and objects. The typically enigmatic track titles, artwork and video for 'Digital Anemone' serve as a guide for the listener: imagine a future evolution of organic beings merging with digital inorganic entities to form a new kind of life.

The production tools used on 'hycean' include generative sequencers, field recordings, wavetable synthesis and rompler synthesisers, while the closing track, 'Coastal Curve', was developed using sonification of coastal path measurement data. These techniques and references to areas like video game technology are a constant thread in the work of Rhombus Index, and the natural and digital worlds are ever crashing into each other in a kind of dance.

Over the seven tracks of 'hycean', the pastoral electronic sound of Rhombus Index is in full effect. The embrace of washes of warm synth chords, beats fall like smatterings of spring rain, and that playful elegance abundantly found in nature. Faster tempos on tracks like 'Flotsam' add another dimension, while remaining essentially ambient. The artist has always drawn influences from the dancefloor and rave culture, and 'Digital Anemone' captures the kind of Balearic aura that is the essence of dance music. The beatless aesthetic of See Blue Audio is also represented on 'Elytron' and 'Polyeme'.

'Digital Anemone' was created in reverse with the video elements made first and then the music written to fit the video. The sounds of digital anemone creatures are heard in the opening minute as high pitch synth warbles. Once the track was completed, it was then fed back into the video to make it audio reactive.

The accompanying eight-page, full colour booklet contains conceptual images that were created using a generative process applied during developing the image for the cover artwork. These images could be seen as depicting the new digital flora and fauna that has evolved alongside the music. The booklet also contains fragments of data, but what these data sets mean and how they relate to the images is for the listener to figure out should they wish.

A gentle harmony runs throughout 'hycean', but this harmony is not without contrast and conflict. The album is a personal reflection on the fusing of organic and digital realities, and the journey of discovery that the introduction of generative artificial intelligence has brought into our lives. We have little idea how it will end. With its lightness of touch and moments of rare beauty, 'hycean' thoroughly deserves to be enjoyed and recognised as a richly insightful piece of work.

Image: Loui Binns.

hycean

'hycean' (preview) – Rhombus Index (See Blue Audio SBA #055)

'Vestige'
Leit Motif
See Blue Audio SBA 058

1. Aonaran
2. Seva
3. Before You and I Were Us
4. Roots and the Tree of Life
5. Welcome Home
6. Sweven
7. Anam Cara
8. Veni Vidi Amavi

Release date: 31 January 2025

https://lnk.to/SBA058

See Blue Audio: ambient / electronic / beatless / cinematic / downtempo / eclectic / introspective… Shade rather than light...

For the opening release of 2025, See Blue Audio sees the welcome return of one its artists, but with a little twist. Glaswegian electronic producer Fragile X contributed three EPs in his characteristically dramatic and atmospheric style to the early days of the label, and his musical themes of journey and inner discovery fitted perfectly within the See Blue Audio ethos. Now he assumes his Leit Motif guise with a new eight-track album, 'Vestige', that expands on earlier releases under this name to create a fully formed and immersive sonic world for the fifty-eighth release on See Blue Audio.

In fact, this is the second appearance of Leit Motif on the label; his 'Dawn Chorus' remix of Bagaski's 'Spring Prayer' was an exclusive track on the 'Shade Rather Than Light: Anthology | Two' compilation and a joyous celebration of nature. So where does Fragile X end and Leit Motif begin? It's no secret that they are one and the same artist, but to think of Leit Motif as the more ambient side of the coin would be misleading, even though it was originally conceived as a mix series, 'Microsleep', studying the relationship between music and sleep. Rather consider Leit Motif to be one branch of the musical tree that is producer, remixer, Bricolage label head and radio show host Fragile X.

The word vestige is rich in nuanced meaning: a trace, a reminder, a residue, a fragment or relic of something that has been left behind, an echo from the past perhaps. There's a time-stretching quality to this idea and things may not always be as they seem in the moment. As the artist explains, "This album is influenced by the many thousands of connections we have with so many people throughout our lives, big and small. These connections may be ephemeral and transient, or they may be long lasting and fulfilling. That all depends on the nature of the relationships we create and sustain throughout life, but either way we display a bit of ourselves in each interaction we have and leave behind a trace. A remnant. A vestige."

Across its eight tracks, this concept is explored and imagined in musical form to superb effect. The trademark Fragile X production techniques of swirling and enveloping swathes of sound punctuated by moments of calm for reflection are fully utilised to create a powerful, at times almost theatrical, depiction of our journey through life. Waves crash against the rocks, the shoreline is weather beaten and battered, but then the heavens open and the light pours down.

There's something timeless and mysterious, even mystical, about the audio landscapes of 'Vestige' as there is with life itself. This is also reflected in the track titles. At times the mood can be brooding – 'Anam Cara', for example – while at others tingling with excitement as on 'Welcome Home'. The beatless aesthetic of See Blue Audio is also well represented on tracks live 'Seva' and 'Roots and the Tree of Life'. As 'Veni Vidi Amavi' closes the album, we're left with a sense of the wonder of life and how we are all just microscopic parts in the grand cosmos of existence.

The meaning of 'leitmotif' is a recurring theme in artistic composition and one that could be associated with a particular person, place, idea or situation. This is a pulsating vein that runs throughout the body of 'Vestige', but what it refers to we can leave to our own imagination and individual life stories. As a musical offering, this album also suits the mood as we enter a new year, and one that may well be riven with change, turmoil and dissent. May it give you a little respite.

Photography: R.Cleveland Aaron.

Vestige

'Vestige' (preview) – Leit Motif (See Blue Audio SBA #058)

phonenomical

blowing bubba

Made with Trope from Brian Eno and Peter Chilvers.

Trope Composition in Tolumonas

freak shift

prepared guitar - 3_5_20, 3.38 PM

Artist: XIV Orchestral
Release Title: Presences
Label: Esoteric Rituals
Catalogue No: ESORIT01
Release Date: 2025.12.20

XIV Orchestral - Presences III

XIV Orchestral - Presences II

XIV Orchestral - Presences I

I DO NOT ACCEPT REPOST COMMUNITY REQUESTS, PLEASE DON’T WASTE MY TIME

Music composer and Soundscape designer.

Heavily influenced by Beaumont Hannant, Autechre, Brian Eno and a wealth of styles ranging from classical music through to DC Hardcore.
I love the organic feel of music and the creation of warmth within patterns.
Trying to create soundtracks to everyday life and images.


Tracks available on my YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC29fEzmTPEV69UKepjsDHxQ?view_as=subscriber

New EP available on Open Case Recordings https://www.facebook.com/1683424458553112/posts/2506179442944272/

The Poppet

Electric Supply Station