RADIUM 88: Escaping Tomorrow (CD on Formation Audio Recordings)
This CD from 2012 features 65 minutes of inventive electronic music.
Radium 88 is Tim Thwaites (on keyboards, accordion, guitar and ukulele). He is joined by: Jema Davies (on voice), Matt Clare (on guitar), Clare Hunt (on violin and vocalese), Mike Clifford (on coronet and low whistle), Joe Thwaites (on clarinet), and Nik Hewitt (as the voice of reason).
Delicate electronic tunes embellished by chamber music influences.
Versatile electronics generate a melange of bouncy synthesized sounds. Tender keyboards contribute amiable riffs that guide the music, while idiosyncratic effects pitter away on the fringes. While few textural backgrounds occur, the overall mesh of the other instruments often generates an atmospheric resonance of bewitching character.
Piano seasons the electronics with charming riffs, lending a cerebral majesty to the music. This intellectual solemnity is furthered by the presence of winsome woodwinds, melancholic accordion, and ethereal violins. And there's slick guitar, too, cleverly hiding in the music.
Mechanized percussion provides quirky beats, frequently blooping out rhythms immersed in the crisp mix.
A few tracks feature female vocals, while one piece has a spoken word treatise on the future.
These compositions successfully blend contemporary electronic music with a classical demeanor, resulting in engaging tunes which bristle with charisma for fans of either genre. The tunes themselves are quite interesting, often featuring catchy melodies characterized by inventive arrangements. This curious blend of electronics and chamber music is excellently handled; this sensibility produces a worthwhile selection of tunes.
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