Synthetic: Season One

That Rich Aucoin is still full of surprises is perhaps no surprise at all given his track record. Imaginative concept albums, bizarre creative challenges, and ambitious feats of physical endurance have been hallmarks of his career since he debuted in 2007. The Canadian artists previous release, 2020s United States, was a vivid avant-pop missive inspired by and partially written during a solo bicycle tour of America. That would be remarkable enough in its own right had he not previously undertaken similar cross-Canada tours both as a cyclist and runner. For his fifth album, Aucoin kicks off yet another daunting project that essentially catalogs the great historic synthesizers of the 20th century. A proposed quadruple album divided into four seasonal volumes, Synthetic came about while Aucoin was serving as Artist in Residence at the National Music Centre in Calgary, which is home to one of the largest rare synthesizer collections in the world. The centerpiece of the NMCs collection, and of Aucoins first volume, is TONTO, a behemoth electronic instrument first made famous by Stevie Wonder in 1971. "Tonto" the song, recorded on its namesake synth, justifiably kicks off Synthetic: Season One and launches Aucoin into his next phase as a pure electronic composer. Featuring an array of legendary instruments, from early Moog prototypes to the ARP 2600 and the Delta Research Programs modular synth, Season One is a true solo album played entirely by Aucoin. With such sonic riches at his disposal, he wastes little time getting to the good stuff. Aside from some vocoder work and a few samples, Season One is almost entirely instrumental and populated with otherworldly tones that range from transcendent to menacing. While Aucoin is an artist rarely lacking in energy, its clear from the start that he is having fun pulling fresh inspiration out of every new discovery and building the worlds suggested by each instrument. In that way, it feels exciting and interactive rather than encyclopedic; he has actually composed engaging music to extend the capabilities of his chosen palette. It will be very interesting to see where this project leads given that future volumes will include outside collaborators. ~ Timothy Monger