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Operating at the heart of electronic music, Saul Stokes' work has been primarily an exploration of timbre and the character of sound. On Villa Galaxia (55'45") Stokes does not ditch the experimental ambiance he took so long to develop, and surprises us with eight tightly arranged and focused works. With the path of each piece following imaginative accelerating percussion and charged synthetic rhythms, the energy level of this CD wanders into the realm of more contemporary releases. Yet, with its fascinating arrangement and wealth of original tones and sonic coloration, Villa Galaxia will please the bobbing club hipster as much as the prone head-tripper. In this finely tuned collage of grainy beats, squiggly synths and twisting tones each song bursts with vitality and warmth. An album of its time, spanning and transcending electronica's musical moment, Stokes channels the era of the synthesizer.
- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END 5 September 2008 |
