Unidentified - #002 (2018)

"Shimmering Moods Records are pleased to announce the release of #002 by Unidentified - #002 is the follow up to #001 and similar to the 1st release we have gone through a variety of tapes found in the basement of a charity shop in North Devon, England. All tracks have been remastered and digitalized as best as we can, this is the 2nd issue, hopefully there are more to come..."

Please read the review for #001 from Norman Records to give you an idea of what to expect...

NORMAN RECORDS REVIEW BY JAMIE 9/10:
Literally unidentified, this record seems like quite a discovery. From a forgotten about tape, apparently found in the basement of a North Devon charity shop... why is it all I ever find is Hot Fuzz on dvd? It had been lurking there for nearly 30 years, so that would put the music at a late-80s vintage. Early Reflections, on remastering duties, did a sterling job as the sound is pretty decent, nice and crisp with a touch of background hiss at the high end which only adds to its mystique and atmosphere.

The CD comprises 20 short-form tracks which neatly melt and segue into each other. Molten metallic synths flow seductively into murky, milky pools of disrupted sound, tape decay occasionally revealing hidden textures. A vocal appears on track 8 which bears a striking resemblance to a lost Ian William Craig piece… surely not? Nah, he would’ve been in his bedroom listening to Bon Jovi round about then. Elsewhere, soft chimes reverberate fuzzily amidst dripping semi-organic gauzy ambience. There is even some ambient techno. On track 11, the tape noise is ramped up as synthesized mallets and metal bars resonate, echo and bounce off each other to create parabolic, constantly shifting and panning sound images.

Sometimes these jams warp and remind of ‘Selected Ambient Works’ era Aphex, with added electroacoustic organic mutability. Other times there are rhythmic workouts, as on track 13’s distorted tabla routine. The haunting chimes on track 15 appear as disorienting flashes in a field of crackling, static fog. The overall effect is of a work suspended in time, willing itself to be discovered only when the times are just right, just confusing enough. Just what we needed, in fact.