FM
beautiful album crossing over many genres of soundtrack, synth and even french house. very lucky i discovered this. the artwork suits the music perfectly
Favorite track: Belief.
Phono Ghosts (alias of producer Neil Scrivin - also behind Meatbingo) returns with his long-awaited second album released via brand new imprint Fonolith.
Building upon the cassette-raiding, micro-sampling methodology and varied sound landscape of 2013's Chrome Position on Skam Records, Solar Dream Reel is a journey through summery funk, mangled radio jingles, evocative atmospheres and anthemic edit-stomp, all filtered via the shimmery analogue lens of the compact cassette.
A sonic exploration of that borderland between the waking world and sleep - a place everyone has been to but few remember - Phono Ghosts comes back to reality with a selection of vivid Polaroids and cassette memories from his visits to the hypnagogic hinterland of the collective unconscious and presents these pure distilled documents for you on four beautiful sides of vinyl and limited dual-colour (yellow/black) cassette.
"The shadowy Phono Ghosts drifts back to the forefront of abstract electronica with a richly detailed album on the newly minted and self-operated Fonolith imprint.
Having dropped some of the best Skam releases as Phono Ghosts and under the rather tasty name Meat Bingo (a tribute perhaps to the infamous meat raffles that are a traditional Northern pub feature) Phono commits his own brand of chop 'n' drop synth sounds to wax and the fan fave format cassette. Clocking in at fifteen tracks, Solar Dream Reel perfectly mixes the disco fun(k) of Kerrier District with a strong sensibility that should see him aligned with the new wave sounds of Bok Bok's last EP but matched with the cloak and dagger approach of the best out-on-the-edge 0161 tracks.
Having been rinsing this over recent weeks, our fave's have to be the rotational swerve of Megacycles, or the VSnares going mad in the classic house racks of Iron Tones. Adding depth and variance, pieces like Mystery Lingers As A Branch Of Heaven blend atmospheric synth work with unknown sample sources of gurgling vox and film dialogue. Hands down though, the absolute highlight has to be the album closer Saturation Valley. A low-fi piece that verges on synth-pop, but executed with a rain-sodden sensibility that could easily find its way into the sets of Blackest Ever Black or Optimo.
Sterling work and great to finally have some of this guys stuff on vinyl, the highest recommendation from this corner." Bleep.com (Album of the Week)
"... a nervous twitch through the dial of a late 1980s radio receiver. Or a glitchy hyper-charged mash-up of Prince and Scritti Politti, full of unexpected changes and feverish vocal samples, each more queerly affective than the last. Like James Ferraro played for fun, or a DJ set by TV avatar Max Headroom on all the right drugs." The Wire
credits
released September 9, 2016
Written and produced by Neil Scrivin.
Artwork by Neil Scrivin.
On vinyl for the first time courtesy of Geometric Lullaby, this dream synth epic spans moods and textures to create a soundworld all its own Bandcamp New & Notable Dec 2, 2022
Lean, cutting synthwave with an industrial edge from this California artist, with icy keys slashing across thumping beats. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 22, 2021