Dweller at the Threshold Full Boundary Condition Play: Lo-Fi   Mid-Fi   Hi-Fi   Download: Lo-Fi   Mid-Fi   Hi-Fi (Excerpt from track 'Full Boundary Condition Pt 3') Please go to the Store to buy this item.

The first couple of discs are 24-bit remasters of their first two albums 'No Boundary Condition' and 'Generation-Transmission-Illumination' It is this third completely new disc 'Full Boundary Condition' that will be the main reason why most people buy this set however and what a wonderful CD it is too.

I would even say an essential purchase for anyone into seventies inspired, sequencer based, retro music. I will therefore review that disc first then add on reviews of the other two albums after. Solar winds and cosmic effects provide a lovely atmospheric beginning to Part 1 of the title track. A slow moody melody can be heard which subsides as more pads swell. This short introduction gives way to a superb (and I really do mean SUPERB) melodic sequence, lovely thick sounding whooshes and stellar tinklings. A heavenly beginning. The lead lines sound as if they could have come straight from one of Edgar Froese's solo albums.

Four minutes later a rumbling bass sequence replaces its predecessor but the quality is equally as high as before with more exquisite delicate lead lines floating over the top. I once thought that this sort of music could really only be produced by Europeans, a belief based on the hundreds of promos I had received, which I had put down to cultural differences. That belief, however, like many in the past, will now have to be consigned to the dustbin as this track just gets better and better. Another sequence comes in, the sound chosen just right, as are the wonderful pads and textures backing it all. Truly awesome! The incredibly moody Part 2 seems to take us down to the depths with water dripping from above then some melodic sonic stabs (very Tangerine Dream sounding) give a little structure through which yet another perfect brooding sequence emerges. Again the sounds chosen are spot on, nothing meek or mild about this.

The Third Part commences with metallic shimmers then lovely soft relaxing pads. I thought we were going to get a tranquil interlude but no, another sequence enters, then another very fast one, all underpinned by deep pads contrasting the high register sequences perfectly. Part Four initially has a similar subterranean feel to the Second Part then probably the best sequence so far (and that is really saying something!) strikes up. It is melodic but also full of power with some exquisite dronal backing. The lead lines are slow and perfectly placed (reminding me a little of early AirSculpture) adding just the right amount of interest but without dominating. Just when I thought things couldn't get any better another sequence starts up, mutating wonderfully as the track progresses- pure bliss! 'The Inner Boundary Condition' is a gently pulsing piece, the shortest on this disc, leading to the longest 'The Outer Boundary Condition'. Mellotron sounds are used to good effect but the tranquillity is shattered in the fourth minute as a sequence bounces forward, initially starting quite bright before becoming more bass laden as a variety of excellent leads play over the top, sometimes flashing like lasers and at others times meandering serenely. What an excellent CD.

Now on to the first disc 'No Boundary Condition'. The opening 3 tracks comprise the 16 minute title track. 'Invisible Geometries' is not only similar in title to AirSculpture, it is also very similar in style with a fluctuating sequence dominating some fine complementary themes which add rich texture rather than being the focal point. 'Event Horizon' carries on in exactly the same way, the sequences if anything more powerful and impressive, before winding down to a spacey end section which the third track 'Over a Fractal Landscape' develops in style. A fine opening trio.

'Silent Watcher of Dark Matter' and 'The Revealing Spiral' continue the exploration of deep space with some cold and isolated freeform timbres, while 'The Arc of Gravity' supplements the formula with a slowly undulating sequence to produce another fine track. Subsequent tracks continue the Space Music theme and though there are some impressive synthscapes created I was rather disappointed that the sort of powerful sequencing prevalent in opening tracks didn't reappear. Even so, AirSculpture fans impatient for more will delight at tracks 1-3, and fans of Space Music in general will find the album as a whole very palatable.

When first released I had been looking forward to DAT's follow up to 'No Boundary Condition' for seemingly ages but boy was it worth the wait! It was a stunning album, sounding even better now re-mastered as part of this three CD set, and should be loved by all the retro freaks but at the same time provides much more that just stonking sequences though it certainly has those in plenty. It is a very well constructed album that sounds as if hours of careful thought and care have gone into every note and pulsation. Even though such care has been lavished on the concept there is nothing clinical about the results. This is a warm album full of energy and that something that can only come deep from within true artists.

The album is split into the three sections of its title and each of these is subdivided further into a number of parts. 'Generation Part One' is a dark brooding affair but it soon makes way for the deep plodding sequence of Part two. The sequence quickly transforms and a superb pin sharp melody takes over as the main focus though it has to battle to keep your attention as the sequence becomes even more strident. The melodies on this album are never meandering, they are simple but superbly effective. Part Three adds more dynamics and the lead line becomes even more devastating. Things calm down for Part Four, the sequence dies away and a delicate melody is left to float in space. Part Five brings back the sequences, sounding like some vast machine. Part Six coincides with the introduction of a new lead line creating images not usually found on an album of this type but confirms that DAT are not just content on churning out new versions of what has gone before. Unexpectedly right in the middle of this, just when a real groove has been developed, all is change and we are catapulted back into deep space. Part Seven returns us to the machine and another brilliant sequence thuds its way from your speakers. Awesome Mellotron pads then take things to a completely different level finishing the Generation tracks off with the best piece so far. To these ears this track is perfection. I just keep playing it over and over again.

Dragging myself away I move on to the first part of 'Transmission'. The machine imagery is still there but this time something sounds as if it is about to fall off! All hell breaks loose with Part Two as a bludgeoning sequence descends on you like an avalanche, not as unique as some that have gone before but its unsubtlety is just right, hitting you between the eyes. Got me cranking the volume up anyway. Things continue in a similar fashion in Part Three but as we enter the final part of this section another more warbling sequence takes over accompanied by all manner of other effects and sonic stabs.