Bessell, Dave

Artist: Dave Bessell & Liam Boyle
P: 2021
Dave Bessell and Liam Boyle first met on Facebook through an interest in Node. Liam has a very wide range of musical interests and skills including the classical avant garde so Dave invited him to a performance of one of his classi-cal modernist pieces for orchestra at Plymouth University. The two hit it off and first collaborated on a track called Theme One from Dave’s solo electronic album ‘Black Horses of the Sun’. It was always on the cards that these two would collaborate further and in 2020 the opportunity arose which resulted in this latest album ‘Imaginator’.
Liam has produced a number of film socres for american independent films as well as recording multiple electronic albums such as ‘Off World’ and more recently ‘Waveforms’ He continues to explore electronic sound design, visuals, guitar and classical compositions
Dave Bessell, founder member of synth group Node, has been releasing a series of fascinating solo and collaborative EM albums over recent years, mainly on DiN records. He also has a lengthy back story involving session playing programming and arranging for a variety of artists and labels including Killing Joke and Suede. Along the way he also picked up a Phd in classical orchestration from the Royal College of Music.
This latest collaboration is the first full album with versatile soundtrack and EM composer Liam Boyle. The musical emphasis here is on both melody and sonic explora-tion with an atmospheric soundtrack feel throughout. Not surprising really considering both artists have seperately worked on soundtracks - from independent films to TV. The music is detailed and multilayered repaying close and repeated listening and is realised entirely with analogue hardware, plus a little heavily treated and disguised guitar. Dave also uses an unusual instrument on a couple of tracks called an Aum guitar which is designed to be played with an ebow and sounds nothing like a guitar!

Artist: Dave Bessell
P: 2020
DIN 62
LTD 500 Copies
Dave Bessell is a familiar name for followers of the DiN label for his previous solo release, “Black Horses Of the Sun” (DiN47), his two collaborations with Parallel Worlds (DiN41 & 56) and being a founder member of synth supergroup Node (DiN44 & 55). 

Artist: Michael Brückner
P: 2012 / 2022
10 years earlier, in 2012, Michael released his first label release on SynGate Records, which was also his 100th album: "One Hundred Million Miles Under The Stars".
Since then, this album has been one of Michael Brückner's personal favorites among the albums he recorded. The new re-release is now much more than a re-release, in fact completely new tracks were created when the individual pieces were not only remixed but completely reinterpreted by other artists that Michael had invited to this project. The excellent participating artists on 100 MILLION MILES UNDER THE STARS are:
- Dave Bessell
- Johan Tronestam
- Joerg Schaaf
- Esteban Menash
- Ami Hassinnen (of Nemesis)
- Hollan Holmes

Michael says: "I'm really impressed and happy how the new versions have taken shape through the hands of the immensely talented artists.
The double album offers the remix with the artists involved on CD1 and the original album from 2012 on CD2.

Artist: Node
P: 2018
LTD 2000
Release Date 18.05.2018
Synth supergroup Node don’t do things by halves so when they decided to perform an all to rare concert in London in 2015 they chose non other than the auspicious venue of the Royal College of Music. It’s almost certain that those hallowed halls have not seen such an assemblage of vintage and modular gear before, although indeed that could be said of anywhere else one can care to imagine.The four members of Node, maverick producer and sonic legend Flood, renowned producer and composer Ed Buller, classically trained Doctor of music Dave Bessell and Hollywood film composer Mel Wesson not only have between them a vast arsenal of synth gear to draw upon but they also know how to use it in a live performance. Indeed this is no mean task as without the safety net of a backing track all those myriad knobs, dials and switches have to be manually tuned and set up, a task that took the intrepid quartet plus their road crew several hours to complete.Why bother one may ask in this world of computers and plug ins? Well simply because they can! This is a performance, a unique event never to be repeated. It’s a show where the physical presence of all that ancient, creaking analogue equipment is as much part of the performance as the music itself. And of course there’s the sound these instruments make, a huge pulsating wall of analogue warmth that can rise from a delicate whisper to a mind numbing crescendo of noise at the whim of the performers. “Node Live” includes edits of four tracks from the concert as well as a bonus piece recorded at the groups rehearsal for the event. Released as a limited edition run of 2,000 copies in a beautiful fold out digipak featuring a stunning widescreen live group photo spread across the front and a photographic booklet enclosed this is a must for lovers of Berlin School inspired sequencer music.

Artist: Parallel Worlds + Dave Bessell
P: 2018
DIN 56
LTD 500 Copies
The names of both Parallel Worlds and Dave Bessell should be very familiar by now to followers of the DiN ambient electronica label. Bakis Sirros (aka Parallel Worlds) has two solo albums, Obsessive Surrealism (DiN26), Shade (DiN32) as well as collaborations with DiN label boss Ian Boddy in Exit Strategy (DiN37) and most recently World Adapter (DiN48) with Self Oscillate (Ingo Zobel). Bessell on the other hand has a single solo album Black Horses Of The Sun (DiN47) as well as his contributions to the two synth supergroup Node releases (Node 2 (DiN44) & Node Live (DiN55)). Of course the duo have already collaborated before on their 2012 album, “Morphogenic” (DiN41) and “Dystopia” sees these two musicians continue their sonic dialogue. Track titles such as “Cipher”, “Mutagen” and “Devoid” as well as the album title leaves one in no doubt that you are entering a dark and foreboding sound world. Indeed Bessell quotes the infamous novel “Neuromancer” by William Gibson as a major influence. Bakis Sirros as ever weaves his intricate modular rhythms that seem to squirm and writhe underneath vast slabs of analogue chords that rise and fall like cities. Indeed the album is very dynamic with complex, almost classical arrangements that constantly shift under ones feet. Amongst this Bessell introduces some fleeting guitar work as well as his adventurous analogue physical modelling sound design. Seeming to inhabit a netherworld between dark electronica and progressive synth these two musicians have once again created an album that just doesn’t sound like anyone else out there. Join them for a unique sonic adventure.

Artist: Parallel Worlds + Dave Bessell
P: 2021
DIN 65
LTD 500 Copies
The names of Dave Bessell & Parallel Worlds should be familiar to aficionados of the DiN label with various solo & collaborative albums under their belts. “Phosphenes” see these two well respected musicians team up for their third collaborative release on DiN. Following on from Morphogenic (DiN41, 2012) & Dystopia (DiN56, 2018) this new album builds on their previous work creating an imaginary Synthwave soundtrack. Bakis Sirros the mastermind behind Parallel Worlds provides the skittering rhythmic backdrop to the tracks over which he and Bessell overlay ominous bass lines, twisting melodies and creative sound design that recall a shadow of 1980s John Carpenter film scores. Bessell also adds his unique guitar style that he so effectively uses in his other well known side project with the synth quartet Node. Both musicians make extensive use of modular synth systems but in very different ways that perfectly blend together in these eight atmospheric tracks.The duo of Bessell and Sirros really do have a unique sound that is unlike anything else released in the world of electronic music and “Phosphenes” presents another chance to enter their darkly twisted sonic world.