Another handy 12” of DJ tools, de- and re-constructed from the raw materials of James Holden’s ‘The Inheritors’ album and thoroughly road-tested in his own DJ sets. This time it is the turn of trippy instrumental album interlude ‘The Illuminations’. In its ‘12” Version’ club incarnation, Holden’s mystical cascading arpeggios are juxtaposed with a skittering Detroitian thump to cater for a multitude of bewilderment-inducing dancefloor moments the world over. The ‘Drumsolo’ strips things back to functional old school techno basics as we get to eavesdrop on Holden jamming with his modified DR-110 drum machine. Finally, the extended ‘Arpsolo’ draws out the melodies of the original into a dreamy Boards Of Canada-esque bonus indulgence.

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Electronic explorer James Holden returns with a generically unconstrained new album of rave music for a parallel universe that seeks to reconnect with the feelings of hope, freedom and possibility that characterised the earliest days of dance music, coming to terms with his own musical past in the process.

In contrast to its jazz adjacent live band predecessor The Animal Spirits, Holden's trippy fourth solo artist album is more of a continuous sound collage, artfully juxtaposing audio worlds and field recordings with an anything goes approach in the style of early nineties pastoral classics like The KLF’s Chill Out and the sprawling radioscapes of Future Sound of London.

Physical formats include a colourful 12 page booklet of original illustrations by Jorge Velez (Professor Genius).

Tracklisting:
1. You Are In A Clearing
2. Contains Multitudes
3. Common Land
4. Trust Your Feet
5. The Missing Key
6. In The End You’ll Know
7. Continuous Revolution
8. Four Ways Down The Valley
9. Worlds Collide Mountains Form
10. The Answer Is Yes
11. Infinite Fadeout
12. You Can Never Go Back More

The latest addition to the James Holden archive is an album of solo synth work originally written to accompany the critically-acclaimed documentary ‘A Cambodian Spring’: fourteen tracks of pulsing melancholy, foreboding drone and even the occasional burst of beatless trance in the form of the uplifting arpeggios of surefire album highlight ‘Solidarity Theme’. Picking up where his classic 2013 album ‘The Inheritors’ left off (and giving ‘Self-Playing Schmaltz’ a new cinematic airing) Holden’s debut soundtrack project combines the sound palette of his beloved Prophet 600 with a cranky old Hammond organ to showcase the full breadth of his musical tastes across the epic documentary format. The LP includes digital download code and sleevenotes by ‘Imaginary Cities’ author Darran Anderson. More

Another handy 12” of DJ tools, de- and re-constructed from the raw materials of James Holden’s ‘The Inheritors’ album and thoroughly road-tested in his own DJ sets. This time it is the turn of trippy instrumental album interlude ‘The Illuminations’. In its ‘12” Version’ club incarnation, Holden’s mystical cascading arpeggios are juxtaposed with a skittering Detroitian thump to cater for a multitude of bewilderment-inducing dancefloor moments the world over. The ‘Drumsolo’ strips things back to functional old school techno basics as we get to eavesdrop on Holden jamming with his modified DR-110 drum machine. Finally, the extended ‘Arpsolo’ draws out the melodies of the original into a dreamy Boards Of Canada-esque bonus indulgence.

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‘Trans Forest Alignment’ is taken from Abbott’s critically acclaimed debut album, ‘Holkham Drones’. A remix from DFA’s synth overlord Gavin Russom takes the mystical, ceremonial undertones of the original to the next level, layering eerie synths over a proto-kick drumcircle to epic effect. New recruits to Kieran Hebden’s Text label, RocketNumberNine fuse live jazz drums and spooky, evocative melody lines to give a surprising
UK garage flavour. Also includes previously unreleased Luke Abbott bolshy club growler ‘A Caucus Race’.
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