In Electric Time

MARTA SOFIA HONERとのコラボは勿論、仏ニューエイジ・レジェンドARIEL KALMA とのコラボレーションも記憶に新しいJEREMIAH CHIUによるソロ・アルバム。ロサンゼルスのハイランド・パークにあるヴィンテージ・シンセサイザー・ミュージアム(VSM)を訪れたCHIUがミュージアムの膨大なコレクションを駆使し僅か2日間で即興レコーディングしたものが本作。

RAYMOND SCOTTのエレクトロニック作品からジャーマン・エレクトロの最高峰HARMONIA、80'Sアンビエント、ニューエイジを彷彿させる、瑞々しくオーガニックな高水準のエレクトロニクスが満載。エンジニアのBEN LUMSDAINE、そしてCOOPER CRAIN (BITCHIN BAJAS) も数曲で参加しています。

Jeremiah Chiu recorded In Electric Time during a two-day visit to the Vintage Synthesizer Museum in Los Angeles. He tried out over two dozen synths, starting with ones that he was either familiar with already or had researched. He connected a few of them at a time to a mixer and eight-track recorder without any type of MIDI synchronization, and wrote and recorded pieces on the fly, with some assistance from engineer Ben Lumsdaine and Bitchin Bajas Cooper Crain on one song. Then he spent two days editing the recordings, and this process was also quite improvisational, as he would notice bits of separate recordings that worked well together, so he spontaneously came up with ideas mixing them together. A few bits of studio chatter were left in, making the record feel like a dispatch from a laboratory. Chiu seems to prefer synth textures that are bright, shiny, and bubbly, with tracks like "Seawater Swell" approximating sunshine on glistening ocean waves. "Rococco Rondo" (an interpretation of a piece by Charles Cohens short-lived duo the Ghostwriters) applies a few smoky layers of distortion to lapping liquid tones and a truly beautiful melodic sequence. "Static Stone Railway" feels more stripped-down than some of the other pieces, but it also seems to move at a faster current, containing a rapid pulse intertwined with slower, flute-like strands. "Transparent Spheres" balances a gentle, playful groove with a hallucinatory blur of effects, and the title track approaches ambient techno with the addition of flickering percussion, but gets swept away rather than landing on a steady beat. In Electric Time is a heavily exploratory record that feels like a cohesive set of compositions rather than just a demo reel of old synthesizers recorded at a museum. These pieces are vibrant, blissful, and tactile, clearly crafted by someone who knows how to produce electronic music with personality and verve. ~ Paul Simpson