Create

Artist: Create
P: 2006    
Recorded between June and November 2004 and in October 2005 at the Backroom Studio.
Music composed, arranged and played by Steve Humphries
Tracks 1/3/5 are live studio versions of tracks I played at the very first Create gig in Nottingham 07.11.04.
Tracks 2/4 were recorded Oct 2005 and are shorter ambient interludes to the sequencer tracks which are 1 and 3.

Behind Create is the Englishman Stephen Humphries. “Biospherical Imagery” is his third album. Again, the music is based on the Berlin School but there is a difference from his first two albums “Reflections From The Inner Light” and “From Earth To Mars”.
On these albums he didn’t make use of traditional instruments like Mellotrons and analogue synthesizers but he created everything with the aid of the software program “Reason”. The difference could not be heard. When he started playing live, he also started using (lots) of hardware-synths and now he also uses these instruments on an album for the first time.
“Biospherical Imagery” contains five tracks from 2004 and 2005 that are played live with only the sequencer patterns and drum loops pre-programmed before hand. The title track is the central piece. It is almost 47 (!) minutes long. Now, that's more like it! In comparison to other works of Humphries, there is more emphasis on rhythm. In addition to his sequences, solos and ambient sounds, this gives the music a full and rich sound. The Berlin School at its best.
There are also two short tracks on the album, “Endless Corridors” and “Mystery Voices” that are ambient interludes that Stephen played before he gave his concert at the “E-Live Festival” in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, in October 2005.
With “Biospherical Imagery” Create again proves to be one of the best new forces in retro-EM. And his music gives the listener an extra “reason” to listen to the Berlin School again.

Artist: Create
P: 2005    
The man behind Create is Englishman Stephen Humphries.
His debut-cd “Reflections From The Inner Light” was dedicated to the Berlin School and that is just what is also happening on “From Earth To Mars”.Striking in Humphries’ music is the fact that he doesn’t make use of instruments like Mellotrons and analogue synthesizers but that he creates everything with the aid of the software program “Reason”. The difference can not be heard. When he plays live, he uses (lots) of hardware synths though. This of course also makes a more interesting show.
“From Earth To Mars” is an oasis of sequences, fat analogue synth solos and pads, effects, space-atmospheres and gentle electronic rhythms that -in case of sound- has references to the big EM-names. Especially old Neuronium and Robert Schroeder come in mind. Sequences play an important part in Steve’s music. It immediately starts with a wonderful pattern in “Light Bank”. This is continued in excellent epic tracks like “Earth To Mars” and “Solar Flare”. The music is long-stretched with a lot of emphasis on details. “Goodbye” is a tribute to Michael Garrison, the EM-pioneer who sadly died a short while ago. This track shows another side of Steve with more warmth and melody. It reflects the many creative sides of Create.

Artist: Create
P: 2009    
These compositions employ a slow-building structure, starting out as tenuous harmonics which steadily evolve into pastiches of zealous vitality. A sense of growth is accomplished through the constant expansion of melodies, yet the music rarely has any urgency, with each escalation flowing naturally and unhurried. A strong air of expectancy is generated as the intertwining riffs compound into thrilling configurations that shimmer with puissance and optimism.

Artist: Create
P: 2008
Stephen has earned a special place in electronic music. He started with only a computer and the Reason software but later on he became a collector of synthesizers, new and old, and now has developed kind of a name in the retro/Berlin School area of electronic music. The nice thing about Stephen and his music is that it is growing with every album. Especially his sequences (not an unimportant element of retro-electronic music) are becoming better and better and have a special place on “Lost On An Island Of Adventure”.
The opening track “Just Above The Surface” has traces of mid-seventies Klaus Schulze.
An eerie piece like “Run For Cover” captures the atmosphere of the TV-series Lost excellently. The best sequence on the album can be heard on the outstanding track “Paradise”.
“Lost On An Island Of Adventure” has become Create’s best album until this moment.
The last piece of music, “Heaven Waits (For Grandad)” is dedicated to Stephen’s grandad who sadly passed away in November 2007. Stephen manages to come with a fitting honor. It means that music can say a lot and Stephen does that.

Artist: Create
P: 2004    
Behind Create is the Englishman Stephen Humphries. His debut-CD with the great title “Reflections From The Inner Light” is dedicated to the Berlin School. There is a lot of retro-EM released, so to attract attention you must come with something special.
Striking in his music is the fact that he doesn’t make use of instruments like Mellotrons and analogue synthesizers but that he does everything with the aid of software. The difference cannot be heard. In eight pieces he exploits the diverse corners of the Berlin School in an intriguing way.

The CD opens in “Narissa” with all kinds of fat sounds that reminds of legendary albums like “Body Love 1 & 2” and “Mirage” of Klaus Schulze, calmly accompanied on the background by excellent sequences and easy rhythms. This sets the tone for the rest of the CD.
There are a great number of very good compositions on the CD like “Touching The Void” that has a lot of Mellotron sounds and some extremely strong sequencer lines.
Also is “Kaleid”, again with fine sequences and drum sounds that are a bit more on the foreground now, an outstanding track.

Artist: Create
P: 2007
This is the fourth CD by the English electronic musician Stephen Humphries, better known as Create. In comparison to his first three CD’s, Stephen has changed two things. First of all, he wanted to return to recording shorter tracks. Secondly, he now only makes use of hardware synthesizers (amongst them one of the flagship-synths of this time: the Alesis Andromeda) in stead of software.
Two of the five tracks on “Space Time Continuum”, the titletrack and “Fading Lights Grow Brighter”, were first performed at one of the “Awakenings”-gigs. Humphries’ music is a perfect blend of atmospheric sounds and perfectly crafted sequences. On “Space Time Continuum” the best sequences can be heard that he has created so far.
Take the titletrack, with which the CD opens. It starts real spacey, even a bit eerie, with great effects and SF-voices. After this a marvellous sequence enters and Stephen goes off with fine solos. The album contains two of the greatest tracks he has composed in his still short lived career. The first one is “Cryogenics”. The piece begins with effects and Mellotronstrings, after which some excellent, menacing, sequences take over.
And if that is not enough, “Footprints in the Sand” shows even greater sequences, as well as fine samples of the nostalgic sounding Mellotronflute.
Well, is this music nostalgic or not? It brings back some of the best from the Berlin School.

Artist: Create
P: 2010
This is perfect Berlin School Sequencer music, as we know it from Bernd Kistenmacher and Free System Projekt. But it was made in a different way, but still sounds as vintage as possible.
Back in March 2009 I began recording We Live By The Machines with view to hopefully recording 5 or 6 tracks before the birth of my daughter Ella. Over a 3 month period the tracks began to take shape and the album was finally completed in May 2009. Unfortunately the original version of the title track We Live By The Machines has been left on the cutting room floor. The reason for this is that the original used some speech samples from the Terminator movies which are protected by copyright.
So the version of We Live By The Machines on the album is a brand new track recorded in May 2010.

Artist: Magnetron
P: 2012
Stephen Humphries and Xan Alexander in a Berlinschool retro style at its best, recordings from 2006 and 2012..

Artist: Magnetron
P: 2012
Stephen Humphries (Create / Astrogator) and Xan Alexander (The Omega Syndicate) in a Berlinschool retro style at its best, recordings from the Awakenigsfestival 2012 and from their studio.

Artist:
P: 2006
There is always much to do amongst musicians and/or fans of em about analog or digital? Will we use the warmth of analog or the more reliability but less character of digital? This album has become a sort of contest where each artist could use only three genuine analog synthesizers to create a piece of music (although modern recording techniques were permitted).
"Analogy, volume1" contains music by some of the finest em-musicians of today.
The music ranges from traditional sequencer-based berlin school (create, syn, altres, modulator esp), via melodical (remotion, emmens, aerts, tescee), ambient (ellis and roach, 4m33s) to experimental (nerell, roach and oken, storey).
All music was played and recorded with care and love for the music and the instruments that it’s played on. "Analogy, volume1" is a great and eagerly awaited project.