DiN Vinyl & CDs

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: Fresh from curating a fine compilation marking 25 years of his admirable DiN label, Ian Boddy unleashes the latest in a long-line of collaborative works. He's previously released joint studio works alongside Chris Carter, Erik Wollo and Mark Shreeve, amongst others and here is in cahoots with Parallel Worlds member (and DiN semi-regular) Dave Bessell. In true ambient fashion, Polarity boasts a two-part, near 52-minute title track: an evocative, creepy and slowly shifting fusion of modular electronic bleeps, vintage analogue synthesiser melodies, immersive chords and - for shortish blasts amongst the aural weightlessness - bubbling beats. To round off the album, the pair drifts further into deep space ambient mode via the Pete Namlook-esque 'Confluence'.

Review: Since founding DiN in 1999, Ian Boddy has been driven by a passion for collaboration, particularly with artists connected to the pioneering German electronic scene of the 1970s. When a chance meeting with Harald Grosskopf at a Dutch music festival presented the opportunity to work together, Boddy eagerly embraced Grosskopf's ear; the latter's tutelage at the Berlin school spans decades, and he is most notably for his fellowship as a drummer with Klaus Schulze, whose influence looms large over Boddy's own work. But beyond percussion, Grosskopf's Synthesist album revealed his distinct melodic sensibilities, making him an ideal creative partner for Doppelganger. Blending Berlin-schooled sequencing with evocative grooves. Boddy's modular synth textures shine on tracks like 'Boulevard Horizon', while Grosskopf's rhythmic playfulness is evident in 'Livewire'.

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.

Review: Second time around for DiN Records' 25th anniversary compilation, which lands on CD for a second time - in limited numbers, of course - with an inverted cover design. The set itself is superb, with founder (and regular musical contributor) Ian Boddy inviting artists who have released on the label to contribute new, previously unreleased works. Rooted in ambient, IDM and gentle electronica, the 20-track set simply oozes quality from start to finish. Highlights come thick and fast, from the bubbling electronics and lilting pedal steel motifs of Erik Wollo's 'Emergence' and the sparkling, toe-tapping shuffle of D'Voxx's 'Vila Madalena', to the ghostly beauty of 'Now There Was Nowhere' by Scanner, the psychedelic ambient exotica of Chris Carter's 'Consonance', and the spaced-out ambient jazz of Nigel Mullaney's 'There Is No Dark'.