Vincent - Vincent's Synthetic Pleasure (2020)

Known especially for his rhythm programming and sound synthesis in Workdub, Virgil Work Jr.’s productions as a solo artist, while extremely prolific, remain mostly unheard and under the radar despite dozens of released and unreleased albums under various aliases. Vincent is one such musical alter-ego; focusing on the construction of sonic landscapes that provide space for his digital musings to float freely.

Selected from multiple unreleased albums and handmade tapes and CDs, Vincent’s Synthetic Pleasure compiles a decade of his compositions (1985-1995). Moving from downtempo future jazz and dub a la Larry Heard and Wally Badarou (No Looking Back; Night Sounds), to experimental ambient post-disco echoing Patrick Cowley’s soundtrack work (Deep Thought; Synthetic Pleasure), along with mellow, instrumental synth-pop that wouldn’t be misplaced on a Washed Out or Toro Y Moi release (Summer Winds; Velocity).

His early to mid-80s compositions meander through superfluid environmental soundscapes; his midi setup merging the cosmic rhythms of Craig Leon with the synth sound bath of Iasos (Phase Shift; Fancy Free). By 1987, the influence of Workdub is more pronounced in the downtempo shift and electronic percussion mastery where dynamic, non-sequential rhythms expand into exploratory digital jazz territory, incidentally emulating legions of soundtracks for virtual quests (Sound Reception; Parting Glances; BusyBee). Upon switching to Master Tracks Pro in 1992 and fully embracing PC software recording, Vincent’s non-linear compositional capabilities rendered sonic elevator tranquility.

Where Vincent’s Workdub productions merged balearic tones with the industrial landscape of St. Louis, his solo explorations often feel more like lost video game music soaked in early internet nostalgia – as if performing the start-up sound for an operating system, fluidly oscillating between the office, the club, and the bedroom.