Showing posts with label space ambient. Show all posts
Showing posts with label space ambient. Show all posts

15 July 2025: Field Lines Cartographer "Resplendent in the Light of the Universe" (DiN93); Jo Johnson "Escape Now" (Quiet Details 36)

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Resplendent In The Light Of The Universe (DiN93)
Mark Burford aka Field Lines Cartographer 

The second solo album on the DiN imprint from UK synthesist Mark Burford, aka Field Lines Cartographer, sees him venturing even further out into the cosmic void with an hour long suite of modular explorations. His previous DiN release, Portable Reality Generator (DiN85), was enthusiastically received, and as with that release the music on this new album flows seamlessly from one track to the next. Burford has been establishing a fine reputation both as a live performer and with releases on several labels such as Castles In Space, Quiet Details and Woodford Halse. His musicality and deft touch are certainly at the fore on the beautifully named ‘Resplendent In The Light Of The Universe’.

Using a range of analogue modular instruments as well as an array of digital effects Burford weaves music for a deep contemplation of questions alluding to the underlying nature of the cosmos. The eight tracks have such an organic feel and swell and grow like nebulae. With reference to the albums title they have an inner light which shines through the swirling clouds of texture. At times he ventures into Berlin School sequencer territory, especially in tracks such as ‘Various Rotations’ and ‘The Light of Billion Stars’, but it’s never a slavish pastiche of this idiom but rather his own musical voice finding form in this particular style. Elsewhere pieces such as ‘Forever Spheres’ and ‘Gentle Flows’, which bookend the album, are particularly redolent of, in his own words, “the splendour of the luminous universe”.

This new release from Field Lines Cartographer is another fine addition to the DiN canon and takes the labels musical roots forward to a bright future.
 

credits

releases July 18, 2025

All music performed and recorded by Mark Burford as Field Lines Cartographer.
Mastered by Ian Boddy February 2025.

Instrumentation:
ARP 2600 and Intellijel Cascadia semi-modular synthesisers
Eurorack and BugBrand modular synthesisers
Buchla 208C Easel Command
Make Noise Strega
Effects processing via Eventide, Chase Bliss, Strymon and Walrus Audio


Thanks to everyone who supports my music and love to my friends and family as always for their unflinching support.
Special thanks to Ian and Wendy at DiN.
FreeForm Radio thanks Ian Boddy for a complimentary copy of this release.

Always strive for the light
ambient em electronic electronic music electronica modular synth space ambient space music Sunderland
 
Credits:
Music by Jo Johnson
Mastered by Alex at quiet details studios
Artwork by quiet details in collaboration with Jo Johnson
Design by quiet details
© quiet details 2025 all rights reserved 
FreeForm Radio thanks Alex for a complimentary copy of this release.
 
Next in the quiet details series is one of the most naturally talented musicians working today, the wonderful Jo Johnson, with Escape Now

Known and loved across the musical spectrum for her transcendent and deeply affecting synthesiser mastery - heard on the albums for labels such a Castles in Space, 9128.live, Apartment, Bleep43, Further, Going In, Mysteries of the Deep and her own self-releases; and in her much in-demand live performances.

Previously also on guitar and vocals in the revolutionary punk band Huggy Bear and other projects, Jo is a true musicians’ musician and has taken all this artistry and experience to create something stunning that goes beyond all expectations.

Escape Now is the music of an artist in brilliantly creative evolution - taking all the elements that make her so widely admired and building on them to take things to a new and mind-expanding sphere.

All the trademark gorgeously nuanced melody and harmony is present, deeply hypnotic and psychedelic - and now her synthesisers combine with a dazzling array of other sound sources and live instrumentation.
Recorder, voice, bells and harp join the analogue and digital synthesis to form a living whole - a vast universe that shows Jo’s unique blend of musical skills - wonderful performance technique, exquisite taste, and the ability to orchestrate it all together in the most elegant fashion.

Ever-shifting melodic sequences come in and out of view, soaring washes of chords mix with endless organic textures - at times a huge sound-world, at others intimate and delicate - always using sonic dynamics to create a beautiful and powerfully mesmerising atmosphere.

The album is perfectly balanced and takes us on a totally absorbing exploration through Jo’s musical mind - it’s a brilliant piece of work that I’m honoured to share with you.

Huge thanks to Jo - an incredible addition to the series.

The artwork was made as always influenced by the music and idea behind the album - originating from a photo from Jo which was then captured with analogue photography and processed here at quiet details studios.

As usual, the album is presented on the physical edition, a custom six-panel digipack with a separate fine art print too.

The CD also has a special long-form continuous mix of the album, created by the artists and representing the music in its purest form.

jojohnson.bandcamp.com
 

credits

released July 2, 2025
ambient chill-out downtempo drone electronic field recordings synth synthwave United Kingdom

 

18 June 2024: Field Lines Cartographer; Protogonos

 Be sure to follow KMXT FreeForm Radio on Facebook and Bandcamp.  

Please support FreeForm Radio and KMXT by going to www.KMXT.org and pledging your support.

The music you hear on tonight's show is available on the artists' Bandcamp pages and websites and Spotify. 

We urge you to support the musicians you hear on FreeForm Radio. 

                           Portable Reality Generator (DiN85)

Mark Burford, aka Field Lines Cartographer, is one of the new generation of musicians crafting original sonic worlds in electronic music using primarily modular synths. He has garnered quite a reputation both for his live performances as well as a series of releases on labels such as Castles In Space, Quiet Details and Woodford Halse. He has also appeared on a couple of the Tone Science albums, most notably Volume 8, which was the Tone Science Live event from last year. Thus the time seemed right to invite Mark to create a long form solo release on the DiN imprint.

What is particularly fascinating is that Burford seems to channel the Kosmische Musik vibe of early Tangerine Dream without actually trying to copy their style. His music just seems to end up in a similar sound world but via a completely different path. In his words; “I’ve always loved how music creates new worlds -  imaginary environments you can live in. As a listener you become immersed in a new reality for the duration of an album. Fully enveloped by textures, melodies, harmonies and rhythms, new pictures appear in the minds-eye, new dreams … strange & beautiful landscapes sketched in sound. An alternate, portable reality.”

With a running time of nearly 70 minutes this is exactly what FLC achieves on this beautiful album. From the opening gentle undulations of ‘The Sun In Splendour’ the music is both familiar and yet strangely different. The epic, almost 20 minute piece, ‘Collapsable Mantra’ flirts with Berlin School sequencing but adds something new and fresh to the mix. The music has time and space to gently unfold, to grow organically where texture and harmony become one before finally coming to rest on the shimmering shoreline of the final track ‘Interference Patterns’.

As DiN is celebrating its 25th anniversary it’s really satisfying to be able to give such talented artists as Field Lines Cartographer a platform from which to spread the word about their fine music.
 

credits

Our thanks to Ian Boddy for providing us with a copy of this release.

releases June 21, 2024

All music performed and recorded by Mark Burford using ARP2600 and Eurorack modular synthesisers.

Mastered by Ian Boddy.

Special thanks to Ian and Wendy at DiN for inviting me along.

Instagram:  field_lines_cartographer 
X: @FLCartographer
Bluesky: @flcartographer.bsky.social

license

all rights reserved
 
 
A collection of tracks from the last forty [gulp!!] years of Protogonos. Some were unfinished but have been completed for this collection. Some were published in other compilations.

credits

released September 1, 2023

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