“Lovers of experimental and improvised Berlin School EM, this is a good one in 2006”
1 Biospherical Imagery (46:50) Live Studio Nov 2004
2 Endless Corridors (5:06) Live Studio Oct 2005
3 Signs of Life (15:00) Live Studio Nov 2004
4 Mystery Voices (3:12) Live Studio 2005
5 The Day After (8:36) Live Studio 2004
(CD 78:47) (V.F.)
(Improvised Berlin School)
Create is Steve Humphries, a true electronic music (EM) aficionado that I had the pleasure to know on the web. He is a new name in the big league who had pleasantly surprised with a first album released in 2004, Reflections from the Inner Light. Since then, it's been fame! We see his name and hear the sound of his synthesizers everywhere in the small world of EM, and he was honored to participate in the posthumous work of Robert Moog on Groove's Analogy compilation album by setting the tone with the fiery Analogue Revival, a track that is a must have. BIOSPHERICAL IMAGERY is his 3rd CD, and it's the real deal! Almost 80 minutes of pure delight.
The title-track alone is worth the money. A long 47 minutes which is in the wake of this Analogue Revival. One should not trust its atmospheric intro where heterogeneous noises cross metal sounds and cosmic waves that hold their ardor with distress. Because gradually, a thin line of the sequencer waddles and the first blows of sequence are felt. The beat is jerky and hit by rotating percussions. On a good bass line, the synthesizer screams with strength and Biospherical Imagery takes off. Throughout, the rhythms intersect with sequences that alternate between brittle ambient and sustained beats. The bass and percussions are nervous over constantly boiling synth lines. The ambience buzzes on layers of grave voices and sounds as piercing as biting. Great improvised EM. To this effect, each track on this album was recorded on one take and played in improvisation. So, live in the studio! After such a crazy track Endless Corridors gives us a little rest. Like Mystery Voices, it is a track as much atmospheric than dark. Moments that continue on the intro of Signs of Life with a synth that whistles in the darkness of the nebulosity. Heavy notes pulse and dance a hypnotic tune. Heavy sequences that come back and modify their tonalities without changing the anesthetic course of their heaviness. A title, you will have guessed it, heavy, but very heavy. The Day After closes on an avalanche of synth lines. The rhythm is light and bathed in a thick synth layer that hangs on a groovy bass line. A good track on sequencer to put the final touch to a solid opus.
Lovers of thrills, experimental and improvised electronic music, BIOSPHERICAL IMAGERY is one of the solid albums in 2006. Create shows an amazing maturity and artistic arrogance worthy of the big names. The kind of graveyard work, so much it is audacious and ingenious. A clever mix between ambiences and unbridled rhythms. The title-track is absolutely brilliant. Nearly 50 infernal minutes to be played at high volume, and there is no guarantee that the paint will stick to the walls. To get without fault!
Sylvain Lupari (June 14th, 2006) *****
Available at Groove nl