Back catalogue: Coldwave/Synth

Review: Ben Edwards, better known by his pseudonym Benge, is famed for his grasp of authentic vintage synth technology, called in to produce John Grant aming many others as well as Wrangler and Creep Show. He's been exploring the sonic possibilities of electronic instruments since he was a young boy, in the 1970s, and The View From Vega, his debut solo album on the DiN imprint, is primarily an ambient suite of tracks inspired by the space-music typically produced in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It uses a selection of vintage synthesisers, sequencers and FX units to provide a fertile sonic landscape to explore. The idea was to use simple sequences (using both analogue and digital units), sustained synthesiser pads and electronic piano improvisations, alongside various ancient delay, flange and reverb units. The beautiful, warm quality of the tones that exude from such instruments are very evident on the six tracks that slowly unfold their oscillations in organic, melodic soundscapes.

Review: Preston, UK-based Polypores (AKA Stephen James Buckley) is a great advertisement for just how fertile the North West England electronic music production scene is outside of Manchester, the region's sonic epicentre. Self-describing as "painting" sounds with synthesisers, suffice to say his a deep and patient aural world to step into, and one that reflects the rugged serenity of the region's stunning countryside. Multizonal Mindscramble is a case in point. With track titles like 'The Dream Incubator' and 'Machine Elves', it's clear these are computer sounds but made resolutely human through earthly and heavenly elements, gliding refrains, bubbling flourishes, and a vast, open feeling to arrangements. Naturally evolving, ebbing, and flowing, rather than being trapped in the regimented, hard-fixed loops and patterns that can often define output from musicians and their digital audio workstations.