Shreeve, Mark

Artist: ARC
P: 2024
DIN 89
LTD 1000
Live albums have always been a big feature of the DiN imprints output, with many of its releases featuring performances by label boss Ian Boddy either solo or in conjunction with other artists. Seven such albums have been as the duo ARC with Boddy alongside his friend and musical collaborator Mark Shreeve who sadly passed away in 2022.
Their show at E-Live in The Netherlands from 2007 was the only concert of theirs so far unreleased and hence ‘Chronicle’ is both here to fill that gap and to provide a reminder of the power this duo could create in a ‘live’ setting.
This concert was unusual in that ARC used it as a chance to showcase their recently released album ‘Fracture’ and indeed the duo constructed their set around the five tracks from that album, interlinked by short ambient passages. Underpinning the rhythmic elements of each piece is the huge Moog modular utilised by Mark over the years to such sensational effect, not only in the ARC project but his band Redshift. In creating that “Berlin School” sound, this system is the real deal and under his skilled sequencing the pieces have an organic life that breathe and can grow from a tiny staccato rhythm to a huge growl in seconds. Over this structure Boddy and Shreeve layer atmospheric effects, warm chordal motifs and blistering solo lines.
The concert culminates in the sensational twenty-two minute epic track ‘Rapture’ which begins with spacey, drifting atmospheres before chordal Mellotrons add a sense of the grandiose. This just lulls the audience into a sense of calm before those sequencers thunder in to produce a truly hypnotic and incredible sonic climax.
‘Chronicle’ is a testament to the music of ARC but more particularly in remembering Mark Shreeve, who left us all way too early.

Artist: ARC
P: 2017
DIN 53
LTD 1000 Copies.
“Fleet” (DiN53) is the seventh concert album by the duo ARC (DiN label boss Ian Boddy and Mark Shreeve). This fact alone should tell you how popular this musical partnership is in a live setting where they continue to dazzle audiences with their mix of live electronics underpinned by huge slabs of analogue sequencing. “Fleet” was recorded to multitrack at the E-Scape Electronic Music Festival in Halesworth, Suffolk on 13th May 2017. On returning to the studio this allowed Mark Shreeve to mix and master the resulting performance in fine detail to produce a stunning, dynamic album that preserves all the power and richness of their live show. The seven tracks, complete with enthusiastic audience ambience, spans almost 78 minutes for the next best thing to actually being there! What is most evident on this ARC album are the richly harmonic themes, most notably in the opening title track which builds and grows through a series of gorgeous melodies to it’s climax. Tracks such as “Soar” are more delicate in nature with distant mellotrons overlaid with intertwining sequencer patterns whereas “Crux” opens with a spooky ambient section before ramping up to a live sequencer fest that lovers of Berlin School electronica will lap up. ARC always like to leave the  stage with a bang and for the last couple of years they’ve finished with the track “Cherry Bomb”. Well the duo have outdone even that blockbuster with the encore track “Howl”. Starting with a whisper it finishes the album off with a real sledgehammer of a track that will surely become a favourite for ARC aficionados.

Here the last copy!

Artist: Mark Shreeve
P: 1995
Powerfull tracks that sound like soundtracks for action movies.

Here the last copy!
 

Artist: Ian Boddy, Shipway, John Dyson,
Mark Shreeve, Ward u.a.
P: 1991
Nice collection with new and already released tracks from the Surreal to Real label around 1990.
Track 10 recorded live at UK Electronica festival in 1990.
Track 12 recorded live during rehersals for the 1991 Klemdag festival, Netherlands.

Here the last copy!
 

Artist: ARC, Kevin Keller
P: 2010
With a brilliant new track of ARC (Ian Boddy & Mark Shreeve).
Dream Logic is our 16th Echoes Living Room Concert CD. Like a dream, you move through spaces, walk through doors and open windows into new worlds, in this case, new worlds of sound. It s just like the soundscape of Echoes, which takes you from acoustic chamber music to ambient spaces to African hymns and mantra chants.