LOWRIDERS DELUXE
Future Deluxe
SICO11
Symbolic Interaction 2008
11 Tracks. 57mins48secs

Ten years in the making, this debut Lowriders Deluxe release sees long-term friends Mark Streatfield, Joseph Auer, Simon Thomas and Clive Burns collaborate on a full length release for the first time. London-based Streatfield and Chicago-born Auer, who, having spent part of his life travelling the world, has now settled down in Tokyo, founded the excellent Rednetic imprint in 2002 and have since continuously delivered some of the finest electronic music around. Both have also released countless solo EPs and albums, the former as Zainetica and, more recently, Cyan 341, and the latter under his own name. Simon Thomas is also a regular on Rednetic as Utility Player, whilst Clive Burns is best known as the guitarist with alternative outfit Deep Valley Orgasm.

Lowriders Deluxe takes these four away from their usual respective grounds and into a series of elegant ambient pieces reminiscent in part of the lush sonic landscapes of early Orb, Global Communication or Future Sound Of London mixed with hints of classic Warp or early Rephlex electronica. Released on Japanese imprint Symbolic Interaction, the CD is housed in a rather moody cover which fits the tone of the album perfectly. Assembling rich textures and smooth soundscapes into warm melodic compositions, Lowriders Deluxe create here a series of sumptuous atmospheric soundscapes which are deployed over eleven tracks, totalling just under an hour of dreamy music. While Streatfield and Auer are in charge of keyboards, the former adding treated percussions, Thomas and Burns are primarily credited for guitar work. It is however quite difficult to isolate conventional guitar textures from the ever-changing electronic sound waves which form most of the backdrop throughout, but, on Autumn Sunset, the dense clouds at times lift to reveal ephemeral guitar elements.

Although evolving in an overall ambient format, the pace occasionally picks up and the band find themselves on the verge of more radical techno, especially on Futura Industria and Chrome Yellow. These remain however elegant in execution and consistent with the rest of the album, and soon Lowriders Deluxe return to beautiful textural compositions such as Lost Probe, Autumn Sunset No. 2 or the closing Text 4. Opening piece Ultraviolet also builds on tightly woven patterns which seem to interact with each other and evolve in a variety of directions all at once, while sounding incredibly tight and controlled, and the soft tones and warm soundscapes of Offworld Colonies, which follows, prove to be one of the highlights of the album.

With this first album, Lowriders Deluxe have create a masterful classic ambient record which avoids every single trap of the genre and makes the most of the vast musical scope of each of the four members. Feeling at once truly modern and hinting at some of the most haunting ambient of the last fifteen years, this magnificent collection shouldn’t be missed.

4.6/5

Lowriders Deluxe (MySpace) | Symbolic Interaction