Castles In Space Vinyl & CDs

Review: Field Lines Cartographer is an alias of Mark Burford and now it is back with a new album-length adventure, Phases Of This & Other Moons. As the title suggests, this is cosmic ambient exploration made using just one Buchla synth and plenty of other sci-fi electronics. It finds him tease the very most out of his machine then feeding it through an array of effects pedals to twist and distorted the sound into alien forms. If you like the more out there work of Zeit-era Tangerine Dream and Michael Stearns then this is one trip you need in your life.

Review: UK based musical collective Jilk have made a name for themselves as specialists of a particular type of understated electronica. Some, including their own members, have compared it to the sound of a haunted bedroom, which kind of makes sense. It's intimate, there's a deeply humanistic and acoustic bent to the work, and so much tangible atmosphere you can sense the spirits surrounding each arrangement.
Syrup House is no exception to the rule, but we do find the gang bringing elements of analogue house to the fore, and merging this to great effect with dream pop and tender instrumentation. Deep, immersive music that is at once playful yet thoughtful, reflective but forward thinking, and - at times - surprisingly dance floor ('128 Rushes', for example). A quiet epic, for want of phrasing that feels a little less cliched.

Review: Kosmonaut aka. Patrick R. Park presents Vapours, the latest album for a project which hadron-collides the sadly too-unexplored fusion of Berlin school, krautrock and vaporwave. While vaporwave is too fresh a genre to enjoy a full resurgence yet, Kosmonaut might just be among the first to spur it on. This is a knowingly nostalgic album, with its seven tracks - from the polyrhythmic 'Contagion Vapours' to the hauntingly propulsive 'Spirit Gates' - penning a reminiscent retro vibe over events as recent as the COVID-19 pandemic. This a soothing and positive sonic adventure - what's more, it was allegedly recorded and mixed in the 'midnight witching hours', in the space of just two to three days.

Review: The Mount Vernon Arts Lab is the work of Drew Mullholland, an underground legend who started the project in the late 1990s. He worked under several different aliases throughout his career and this one stuck with its experimental approach to electronic sounds. This special reissue comes on purple vinyl and has been mastered by Antony Ryan at RedRedPaw from tapes thought to be lost to forgotten and chaotic rehearsal spaces. The sounds are a window into an alternative world where instead of the prevalent Britpop and phoney psychedlia-lite sounds of the time, we get fully roasted electronic acid and indie.

Review: Kevin Pearce's Science Fiction Ballads For The Lost Generation emerges as a riveting exploration of sonic storytelling and atmospheric nostalgia. Inspired by Vangelis' evocative 'Blade Runner' soundtrack, Pearce conceived the album as a cinematic journey, crafting a collection of songs that embody a sense of mystery and introspection. Initially recorded as a personal experiment, the album remained hidden for years until Pearce rediscovered it by chance. With its unearthed quality, Science Fiction Ballads exudes a timeless allure, reminiscent of audio fossils waiting to be discovered. Fans of soundtracks everywhere should really be interested in this release.

Review: Mat Handley's shimmeringly beautiful Cotswold Stone was first released in 2019, and this reissue from Castles In Space reminds us of this: this is an album driven by warm analogue sounds, effortlessly conveying a feeling of being somewhere beautiful, out in the country. The project presents a meditation on the passing of time and the persistence of memory, and is in part a reflective work of familial dedication and reverence. The narrative is one that takes the listener on a journey through the rolling hillsides of England. The record is given extra dimensions and texture through the deployment of woodwind instruments at various points, which add a real sense of pastoral energy to the work. Picking out highlights is always a tricky task when a record is so conceptually strong and consistently rewarding. 'In The Marsh' beautifully juxtaposes reverbed and spectral piano with bright synth arpeggios and distant woodblock percussion, whilst its glorious counterpoint, 'On The Heath', is as inquisitive and enigmatic as the first hare of spring. 'The Green Leaves Of Shilden Hall' are verdant and lush, propelled by some lovely flute and clarinet accompaniment adding an ivy-covered gentility to proceedings. 'In The Grove' with its spectral saxophone evokes images of solemn hillside sunsets and spiritual reflections on past lives.

Review: The Castles In Space label has been quietly supporting esoteric synth works for the past seven or so years out of their home base in Biggleswade. Amongst the artists they've previously released are Antoni Maiovvi and CHXFX, and now they're presenting a new venture by the name of Twilight Sequence. So far, so synthy. The music on this single-sided one-track sureshot fits the vibe as well, dealing in expertly sculpted melodic patterns interwoven in a manner which sounds like it might well come from a modular set up, such is the undulating movement inherent in the sound and the symbiotic nature of the different elements.