After many years of delighting fans with their floating style of electronic music, UK synthesists Radio Massacre International have augmented their sound with deep progrock influences, resulting in a transformation that is unique and engaging.
RADIO MASSACRE INTERNATIONAL: Time & Motion (double CD on Cuneiform Records)
This release from 2010 offers 157 minutes of delicious electronic music.
Radio Massacre International is: Duncan Goddard (on electronics and bass), Steve Dinsdale (on electronics and percussion), and Gary Houghton (on guitar and electronics). They are joined by Martin Archer (on wind instruments and electronics).
The band are fond of slowly building tunes by weaving apparently aimless threads into a stunning unity, a process they have excellently honed over the years. Now they've added brass and woodwinds to that convergent procedure--with captivating results.
Conventional electronics establish pageants akin to atmospherics, except these textures possess an inherent vibrancy that evolves into central themes with comfortable ease. Beguiling tangents spring forth from these motifs, unfurling new riffs which then spawn fresh diversions.The electronics are hardly restricted to luxuriant texturals. Keyboards are in constant application, delineating sparkling riffs. Loops are created and set to run; meanwhile auxiliary riffs blossom to be manipulated into crucial contributions. The result is a sonic tapestry that bustles with relentless activity, perpetually evolving.
Besides employing a versatility of electronics, the band is quite adroit at producing inventive sounds and utilizing them in novel ways.
The guitar is rarely idle. Ethereal tones are produced to rival the most winsome atmospherics. Haunting sustains waver and stream with luscious stamina. Lead riffs frequently erupt with searing luster, flourishing into astral expressions of ambrosial scope. Bluesy chords are warped into cosmic deportment. Riffs smolder like the heart of a newborn star, churning with radiant rapture and ripening into passionate phrases of dazzling distinction.
Rhythms are utilized to lend gregarious locomotion. Sometimes this is achieved with percussion, but often non-impact sounds are applied to supply tempos that swim just beneath the music's surface.
Let's not forget the brass and woodwinds. The horns achieve a charismatic posture, augmenting the tunes with tantalizing puissance. The woodwinds offer pastoral undercurrents which ooze throughout the busy mix.
These compositions thrive on a dedication to expansive variety. The melodies are dreamy and bewitching, yet full of amicable vigor as the floating passages escalate into rousing outbursts of remarkable magnificence.
Check out RMI's website for news and info on the band's numerous privately issued releases.
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