ARC

Artist: ARC
P: 2005    
DIN 19
LTD 1500 Copies.
Ian Boddy & Mark Shreeve once again combine forces for their fourth outing as the duo ARC. As with their first release on the DiN label, Radio Sputnik ( DiN 7 ), Arcturus is a recording from one of their rare live performances. Indeed their appearance at the Hampshire Jam III festival in October 2004 was only their second venture onto stage performing together as ARC. This festival held in Liphook, Hampshire has a cult following amongst fans of “Berlin school” style electronic music and always attracts a very enthusiastic audience. In these days of laptops & virtual synths it’s quite a sight to see musicians from across Europe assembling to play music using classic synths and struggling to tame large modular systems through a hefty PA and with a mesmerising light show.

Apart from the ARC releases Shreeve has been busy establishing his Redshift group as one of the premier UK electronic music groups with a string of very well recieved releases as well as five concert appearances both in the UK and The Netherlands. For the last decade his music has been built around his massive custom Moog IIIC modular system and his increasing virtuosity with real time sequencing performances. Boddy of course has been building up his DiN label with a string of highly acclaimed albums that have spanned many areas of both retro and modern electronica. It is this combination of styles that have made ARC such an interesting act in their combinations of classic analogue sequencer textures with more modern forms of ambient electronica.

Arcturus captures the duo in full flight with it’s combination of full on analogue sequencing, electronic loops, dark atmospherics and haunting keyboard work. The main set which was played as one continuous piece is split into two sections with the encore, Helicon taking the total playing time of the disc up to the 61 minute mark. The music was recorded onto multi-track allowing Boddy & Shreeve to fine tune the production quality of the performance to the highest standard and should ensure Arcturus goes down as one of THE legendary electronic music concert album

Artist: ARC
P: 2003   
DIN 15
LTD 1500 Copies.
"Blaze" is the third CD release by ARC and their second CD on the DiN label. The duo is comprised of DiN founder Ian Boddy and Mark Shreeve and the pair are joined on the album by guest musician Carl Brooker who plays drums on four of the discs eight tracks.

Both Boddy and Shreeve have been at the centre of the UK independent synth scene since the late seventies and have known each other since they both appeared at the very first UK Electronica in 1983. Shreeve has been involved with his Redshift project for the last 10 years which has revolved around extensive use of an arsenal of vintage synths including a giant Moog IIIc modular system. With Redshift he has released six albums and performed several concerts as a four piece band.

Boddy first approached Shreeve in 1998 to set up the ARC project to run alongside Redshift in a more experimental and ambient vein. Their first disc "Octane" was released on Something Else Records and was premiered at the alpha-Centauri festival in the Netherlands. "Radio Sputnik", the duos second CD was released as
DiN 7 in 2000 and was a document of this concert.

"Blaze" has a running time of almost 55 minutes spread over eight tracks with a split of five rhythmic and three atmospheric pieces. Their signature sound of muscular Moog sequencer riffs overlaid with layers of ambient keyboard is still very much in evidence. However the addition of acoustic drums played by Carl Brooker on four of the five rhythmic tracks gives an added dimension and subtlety to the sound of ARC. Their music has a great sense of organic development and the drumming of Brooker further adds to the sense of dynamics. Once again ARC have compiled an evocative mix of the early Teutonic synth pioneers with modern ambient electronica.

Artist: ARC
P: 2010
DIN 35
Although this is the duos sixth CD release their concert appearances are rare occurrences with only three prior performances. So when the duo were asked to play at the Gatherings concert series in Philadelphia organized by the Stars End radio show host Chuck van Zyl the logistics of staging such a show were considerable. Boddy had performed in Philadelphia four times previously (three times at the Gatherings and once with Robert Rich) and so knew there was an enthusiastic audience for this style of electronic music. However this was Shreeve's first Stateside concert and with the impracticality of transporting so much vintage gear the duo were helped out by three local musicians who kindly lent the duo several synthesizers as well as analog modular & sequencing systems.
The concert itself was staged at St.Mary's Church in Philadelphia on 14th November 2009 which was a suitably atmospheric venue for the electronic music of ARC. The five long tracks span the range of structured melodic sections, classically inspired space chords to improvised sequencer work-outs and prove once again that Shreeve & Boddy are masters of this form of electronic music. Four of the tracks are completely new material with the fifth, Falling Through to Rapture having at it's core the sequencer section from the title track of the duo's last studio album Rapture preceded and followed by two glorious sections of vast, spacey Mellotron chords. The multi-track recording from the concert have been mixed and mastered by Shreeve to provide the listener with a thrilling ring side seat at was an inspired performance by this duo.

Artist: ARC
P: 2007    
DIN 28
LTD 2000 Copies.
Ian Boddy & Mark Shreeve have been at the centre of the UK Electronic Music scene since the late seventies and have known each other since they both appeared at the very first UK Electronica festival in 1983. They've both enjoyed considerable success in releasing a succession of solo albums. However it wasn't until 1998 that they first collaborated under the ARC banner for their first CD release, "Octane". Then in 1999 Boddy set up the ambient electronica label DiN that has achieved considerable success in releasing CD's by artists such as Robert Rich, Tetsu Inoue, Markus Reuter, Chris Carter, Surface 10, RMI & of course Ian Boddy. "Fracture" is ARC's fifth album release and their fourth on the DiN label. It features their fabled retro style sequencing, courtesy of Shreeve's giant Moog modular system, coupled with a heady mix of quirky melodic lines and spacy atmospheres. The album is wholly instrumental and the first four tracks constantly morph and evolve with a set of chilled out grooves and sublime melodic themes. The fifth track, "Rapture", is an epic in every sense. Nearly 23 minutes in length it features a central, pounding sequencer riff section cocooned within truly awe inspiring deep space ambiences for a truly memorable track.

Artist: V/A
P: 2001 
DIN 10
Specially compiled for The Wire by DiN label boss Ian Boddy, the CD features 15 tracks, including material by Chris Carter, Markus Reuter, Arc and Dub Atomica, in a 74 minute trance - mix that moves through analogue synth odysseys, retooled industrial culture beatdowns and glitch - ridden dubscapes. The CD is being produced in a strictly limited edition pressing.

Here the last copies!

Artist: V/A
P: 2005
DIN 20
This is the second DiN sampler disc and as such follows the path set by DiN 10- iNDEX01 (which was the disc included in the June 2001 issue of The Wire). It features a continuous mix of music especially compiled by DiN boss Ian Boddy which includes 2 cuts from each of the 9 titles spanning DiN 11 - 19. This amounts to almost 78 minutes worth of DiN goodness and with the special low sampler price is a perfect introduction to the DiN label. It is presented in a beautifully designed cardboard wallet with an extra front flap which just adds to the value and collectability of this disc.

Artist: V/A
P: 2008   
DIN 30
LTD 1000 Copies
iNDEX03 is the third DiN compilation album and includes two tracks each from the titles DiN21 - 29. The artists include Robert Rich, Ian Boddy, Tetsu Inoue, Radio Massacre International, Surface 10, Parallel Worlds, Hoffmann-Hoock/Wöstheinrich & ARC.

As with the previous two DiN compilation albums, iNDEX01 (DiN10) and iNDEX02 (DiN20), DiN label boss Ian Boddy has mixed and cross-faded the 18 pieces into a continuous ambient mix that not only showcases the albums on the disc but presents an exciting and varied album in it's own right. It also highlights the varied and intruiging music that the DiN label conjures up on it's releases from deep analogue synth grooves through glitchy, digital soundscapes to powerful, epic ambient atmospheres. An intoxicating mix of the old and new beautifully presented in a slimline cardboard wallet with an extra front flap which just adds to the value and collectability of this disc