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I have been looking forward to this release more than any other since Hampshire Jam 3 in 2004. Arc's performance was simply the best concert I have ever been to. What we have here is that complete gig split into 'Arcturus Part 1' and 'Arcturus Part 2' plus 'Helicon' as the encore. The band enter to tumultuous applause. Dark swirly pads create a lovely brooding atmosphere. Gorgeous mellotron tones add just the right lonesome touch taking me back to those halcyon days of Electronic Music in the mid 70s. Four minutes in and the scene is set for a superb bass sequence to rumble forward. It mutates, becoming more complex and even meaner as a second, just as impressive sequence falls into formation alongside it. Delicate lead touches add that little extra detail like rays of light shinning from an exquisitely cut diamond. As expected the sequences are turned up and morphed to increase the excitement still further.

At the eleven-minute mark things start to calm down and I thought we were just going to be left with atmospherics but the sequences never completely go away. Instead new pulsating patterns form and we surge forward once more with renewed vigour- and it builds - and builds - and builds. This is just sooooooo good! After reaching a climax things become calmer with three minutes to go gradually winding down to a finish and as the last notes fade away the audience (including me) go wild!

I really didn't think things could get any better- until I listened to Part 2 that is! If anything, it has an even moodier start than Part 1. Strange animal noises and half heard speech mix with windy effects. An organ type sound then comes forth giving a rather gothic feel which gradually changes in character to one of more ethereal beauty before once again returning to the dark as another rapid bass sequence strikes up. Yet again it is simply stunning as are the other sequences that are brought into play around it. From rapid beginnings the pace and intensity are increased still further as a staccato lead line bounces over the top whilst another flutey synth line tries to add a little softness. Take the best bits from 'Rubycon', 'Ricochet' and 'Encore' then add the pure genius that Mark and Ian posses in abundance and you will get some sort of understanding of what to expect. It can be tempting with Berlin school music to set up the sequences and just let them run. This is so not the case here. They are being tweaked, morphed and bent all the time creating the most incredibly organic wall of sound which reaches a crescendo at around the sixteen / seventeen minute mark. We finish with an absolutely exquisite piano solo. The audience again show their ecstatic appreciation and demand an encore.

'Helicon' has a rather cosmic start which then becomes quite symphonic. The sequences are again excellent but a little gentler than in the main set. They mutate beautifully in a rather melodic way and even though a more urgent sequence is added just before the half way mark, overall it is a much more serene experience. This is one of my all time favourite CDs. (DL)

Second Opinion...

Now and again an album comes along which confirms "the reason why" - why EM is such a special type of music. In the past decade or so, albums such as Redshift's 'Ether' and Arcane's 'Future Wreck' have served this purpose. Go further back and you get albums like 'Ricochet', 'Encore' and 'Logos' which form the very bedrock upon which it all stands. Now add to this mesmeric collection 'Arcturus'. Recorded live at the Hampshire Jam 3 festival this album contains possibly the best sequencing I've ever heard, combined with the sort of atmospheric synthesis which can only be described as perfection.

Superlatives simply do no justice to the quality of the music. Mark Shreeve's mastery of the Moog modular, particularly in terms of sequencing, seems to know no bounds. I am a huge fan of Chris Franke, and cherish every pulsation from Nottingham '76 to Paris '81. But in my book the sequence crown has now unequivocally passed to Mark Shreeve. In terms of structure, variation, sonic manipulation, raw power and overt melodicism the sequencing on this album outstrips anything I've heard before. What transcends the music even further is the way Ian Boddy supplements, reinforces and cajoles the ebb and flow of the Moog sound-wall with sonic tapestries of amazing quality, both rhythmic and texture. Stabby percussives dart mesmerically in time with the sequencing, lush pads oil the industrial collage, sublime keyboard treatments swoop and soar.