Arc Octane

Needless to say this is another album I’ve long been anticipating. Many of you may know that Mark Shreeve and Ian Boddy appeared as Arc at the recent Alpha Centauri gig. I’m unsure whether the rehearsals for the concert inspired the album, or the album inspired the gig, however the origins don’t matter when the result is this good. What is immediately striking is that the styles of both artists have gelled remarkably well. Both seem to have approached the project with a remit of producing some genuinely interesting "sounds" (for want of a better word), using synthesis in its purest form. I don’t know the equipment list, but I’m sure Moog Modular and Roland 100M feature heavily. In many ways it’s back to basics stuff, however this is no Berlin School sequential romp. Sequences are featured heavily but for large parts they are there to supplement rather than dominate the sound. The filters of the Moog are often in strangulation mode, like a tethered monster, however when they are unleashed the power is awesome (Redshift fans should check out the final track ‘Relay’). This is a technique favoured by NODE and after hearing this album a few times I felt that in may ways the music featured is a stable-mate to NODE’s output. Particularly impressive is the way the music sounds so organic, yet it still contains striking melodic references. The balance is almost unique. It’s a genuinely 90’s "street cred" brand of EM yet it hasn’t used shock or alienation tactics to get there. Projects like this are never a foregone conclusion, except perhaps when Messrs Boddy and Shreeve are involved. Somehow it couldn’t fail... (GG)

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