BIOTRON SHELF: Cloud Bands And Arabesques (Boltfish Recordings)

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Posted on Jun 21st 2011 01:25 am

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Biotron Shelf: Cloud Bands And Arabesques

BIOTRON SELF
Cloud Bands And Arabesques
BOLTLP012
Boltfish Recordings 2011
10 Tracks. 39mins25secs

Amazon UK: DLD US: DLD

If Biotron Shelf may sound like a rather enigmatic word combination, a simple re-ordering of the letters reveal the names of Wil Bolton and Murray Fisher, two sound artists and musicians who are perhaps best known for their respective solo projects, Cheju and Mint. Their first collaborative effort under the Biotron Shelf banner dates back to 2006 and their album 33 Minutes North, published on U-Cover, which was followed a couple of years later by an EP, Transmissions (Smallfish). Three years on, the pair are back with an EP, Corrugations, and a second album, both released on their very own Boltfish Recordings imprint, a label they set up back in 2004 and which has since delivered a number of fine electronic records by the likes of Infinite Scale, Skytree, Zainetica, Yvat or Polestar to name but a few.

With Cloud Bands And Arabesques, the pair continue to develop the lush electronic soundscapes, crisp beats and evocative melodies that characterized their debut release, which also occasionally incorporates elements of acoustic instrumentation. The album was recorded in Fisher’s studio in London and is filled with moods and atmospheres collected around east London. Over the course of this collection, the pair create a clair-obscure universe with delicate impressionist touches, at times vaporous and fluid, from the shifting drone formations of opening piece October Mist, which overflow onto the shimmering textures of Three Ten To Euston, or the soft summery tones of What Colour Is Your World? to the earthy grain of Forests Of Glass And Steel, at others more clearly defined and concrete, whether it is the kaleidoscopic Formless Geometry and Butternut Squash, the off-kilter folk of A Tree Without Birds or the sticky funk of Clockwork Pharmacy.

But while the overall mood of the record appears particularly chilled, it actually changes with every track as Bolton and Fisher combine their individual sound into a rather eclectic soundtrack. Despite often appearing straightforward, the pieces presented here are often complex constructions built around intricate rhythmic patterns and particularly evocative soundscapes, and serve beautiful melodic themes. This is an approach that both artists have developed through their respective work, but it takes on a different aspect here. Cloud Bands And Arabesques is often quite difficult to pin down for definite, its many influences assimilated into a very individual sound. With this record, Biotron Shelf have created a particularly effective collection of timeless electronica.

4.4/5

Biotron Shelf | Biotron Shelf (MySpace) | Boltfish Recordings
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3 Responses to “BIOTRON SHELF: Cloud Bands And Arabesques (Boltfish Recordings)”

  1. […] The Milkfactory “If Biotron Shelf may sound like a rather enigmatic word combination, a simple re-ordering of the letters reveal the names of Wil Bolton and Murray Fisher, two sound artists and musicians who are perhaps best known for their respective solo projects, Cheju and Mint. Their first collaborative effort under the Biotron Shelf banner dates back to 2006 and their album 33 Minutes North, published on U-Cover, which was followed a couple of years later by an EP, Transmissions (Smallfish). Three years on, the pair are back with an EP, Corrugations, and a second album, both released on their very own Boltfish Recordings imprint, a label they set up back in 2004 and which has since delivered a number of fine electronic records by the likes of Infinite Scale, Skytree, Zainetica, Yvat or Polestar to name but a few. […]

  2. […] Boltfish. He has also an ongoing music project with Murray Fisher, the other half of Boltfish, as Biotron Shelf, and has published an album with Mark Streatfield (Zainetica) under the name Anzio Green back in […]

  3. […] Boltfish. He has also an ongoing music project with Murray Fisher, the other half of Boltfish, as Biotron Shelf, and has published an album with Mark Streatfield (Zainetica) under the name Anzio Green back in […]