DIN Label

“Tone Science Module No.7 Cause and Effect” continues the journey down the rabbit hole of possibilities and sound worlds inhabited by artists and musicians working in this ever fascinating and varied musical field.

Artist: Chuck van Zyl, Stephan Whitlan u.a.
P: 2021
DIN TS05
LTD 555 Copies
Tone Science sub-label, from DiN records, continues to explore the world of modular synth music.Following the success and critical acclaim of the first four Tone Science compilation albums, DiN label boss Ian Boddy has collated another nine tracks from musicians of varying backgrounds  working in the realms of modular synthesis.One of the things that is so delightful about artists working with modular synthesisers is the sheer variety of styles on show. These instruments more than any other can be personalised for each musician who can then express themselves within their own sonic world. The journey on this fifth volume gets under way with the gentle, layered tapestry of “Incantation” by Hélène Vogelsinger followed by the beautiful, glitched piano treatments of “Iterations” from Raffael Seyfried. These two opening tracks compliment each other with their melodic soothing tones before entering deep space territory with the cosmic soundscape of the track “Waving And Drowning” from Stephan Whitlan.The next two pieces very much put the modular synth in the foreground with their sound and technique. “Cuckoo” by Johnny Woods is a hypnotic, cyclical track featuring his Wiard 300 series modular system. This is followed by “Clocks, Unravelling” by Polypores which shows an astonishing command of the modular environment with its ever evolving rhythmic acrobatics.Lisa Bella Donna then takes us back into deep space with the beautifully authentic vintage synth soundscape “Electronic Study #26” featuring her venerable ARP 2600. The next two tracks re-establish the rhythmic side of modular with firstly Matths playfully combining the techno and ambient genres in the wonderful “Delusion”. This is followed by Chuck van Zyl who goes all out with his Berlin School piece “The Zanti Misfits”. The album then comes to a rest and closes out with the static dronescape of “Delicate Elementum” by Philippe Petit with the pure sound of Buchla synthesisers.“Tone Science Module No.5 Integers and Quotients” continues the journey down the rabbit hole of possibilities and sound worlds inhabited by artists and musicians working in this ever fascinating and varied musical field.

Artist:
P: 2020
DIN TS04
LTD 555Copies
Tone Science sub-label, from DiN records, continues to explore the world of modular synth music. Following the success and critical acclaim of the first three Tone Science compilation albums, DiN label boss Ian Boddy has collated another nine tracks from musicians of varying backgrounds  working in the realms of modular synthesis. One of the challenges for Boddy in compiling the Tone Science albums is to get the track order flowing to reveal a musical structure. There’s a certain amount of serendipity in this but for Tone Science V4 the shape of the album became very obvious early on. Opening with the beautiful abstract forms created on a vintage Paperface Serge system by Batchas the next two tracks feature gentle shimmering & undulating sequencer patterns from Lightbath & Panic Girl that instil   a sense of calm & wonder. This leads us to the middle section of the album where first Andrew Huang gently slows down proceedings with harmonic abstract patterns before Stefan Bojczuk twists the mood with a stark, moody atmosphere conjuring up images of the isolated landscape referenced in the title of his track, Blackstone Edge. Things start to climb up to the sonic climax of the album with first Ebcidic providing a dark & dangerous pulsing sequence followed by a crazy psychedelic melange of a track from the inimitable Steve Davis. This is followed by a sledge hammer of audio from Mattia Cupelli with huge gnarly bass & TNT percussion from which there seems to be no escape. After such an astonishing climax the longest track on the album by Tim Held at first appears to mirror the distorted tones of the previous track before a sense of calm ensues and the album finishes with a final long, beautiful breath. “Tone Science Module No.4 Form and Function” continues the journey down the rabbit hole of possibilities and sound worlds inhabited by artists and musicians working in this ever fascinating and varied musical field.

Artist: Redshift, Robert Rich d'Voxx u.a.
P: 2019
DIN TS03
LTD 555Copies
Following the success and critical acclaim of the first two Tone Science compilation albums, DiN label boss Ian Boddy has collated another nine tracks from musicians of varying backgrounds working in the realms of modular synthesis. Three of these names will be familiar to DiN listeners whereas the other six are new to the label. Thus the album opens with a shimmering soundscape from American ambient pioneer Robert Rich who has previously collaborated with Boddy on three DiN releases. Well known for his infamous “sleep concerts” Rich here focuses in on the sonic details that modular synthesisers can offer the composer. The following two tracks by Caspar Hesselager and Little Ambient Machine show beautifully how a simple melodic sequenced phrase can be shifted, fractured and refocused in the analogue domain. The mid album section then features two very different tracks with a more experimental feel. Radek Rudnicki cleverly mixes samples of traditional Japanese music controlled in the modular world with great swathes of analogue synth whereas Eden Grey uses her modular in a very retro, radiophonic manner to conjure up the raw sounds of yesteryear. The music returns to sequenced tracks with synth maestro Benge lightening the mood with the Kraftwerk like motifs of “Round #2”. The next track, “Angel”, is by d’Voxx who recently had their debut album, “Télégraphe” (DiN58) released on the DiN label to great acclaim. Once again they show off their skilful use of sequences with melodic progressions to create a captivating track. The album has it’s sonic climax with “Berserker” by Redshift which after a dark sonic intro section goes into overdrive with a huge Moog modular system going full tilt. Redshift is none other than Mark Shreeve who has been a long time collaborator with Boddy in the ARC project which has spawned several releases on the DiN label. Finally after such a huge sounding piece the album calmly dissipates through the beautifully simplistic yet haunting “Hands” by Jogging House to bring to a close another varied and intriguing Tone Science album.

“Tone Science Module No.3 Cosines and Tangents” continues the journey down the rabbit hole of possibilities and sound worlds inhabited by artists and musicians working in this ever fascinating and varied musical field.

Artist: Paul Nagle, Parallel Worlds, Dave Bessell u.a.
P: 2018
DIN TS02
LTD 500 Copies
Even after being involved in music since the late 1970’s Boddy has continued to explore new sonic territories and in 2016 he released what was probably his most experimental album in “Tone Science” (DiN48). This album comprised five long, slowly evolving self playing compositions realised entirely on his vast arsenal of modular synthesisers. Boddy’s love of the analogue sound has been well documented not only through his own releases but many sound and sample libraries. These instruments all but disappeared in the 1990’s but recent years has seen an unprecedented growth in interest in this form of synthesiser with a proliferation of both module manufacturers and performers using these highly flexible and personal systems. Thus, inspired by his “Tone Science” release, Boddy has set up this sub-label to feature artists and performers working in the field of modular synthesis. The first release “Module No.1 Structure and Forces” was released in March 2018 and has garnered a lot of critical acclaim. This second compilation “Module No.2 Elements and Particles”, like its predecessor, features nine artists from different musical backgrounds with the common thread being that all the tracks were composed entirely with a modular synth system. The album opens and closes with the ambient soundscapes of two tracks by Todd Barton and r beny. Barton is a world renowned exponent of Buchla modular systems as well as the Music Easel employed on this track. Austin Cairns (aka r beny) has a penchant for lo-fi looped synth atmospheres which combined, in this case, with a field recording creates a haunting, evocative piece. The next three pieces by Bluetech, Parallel Worlds and Paul Nagle build up rhythmic and sequenced elements with a fascinating amount of detail that modular systems are so good at. They also all use various methods to produce a poly-rhythmic, fractal feel as patterns shift and change throughout their tracks. The middle of the album then sees a fascinating experimental ambient interlude by Dave Bessell (a member of the synth group Node) using waveguide physical modelling in the analogue domain. The second half of the album has a rawer, more gritty feel with Richard Quirk building up a crescendo of wonderful textures in his track “Radar Hill”. This is followed by Hainbach using the exotic Ciat-Lonbarde series of hand built instruments to produce, in his words, a piece of “pure electronic music”. Nathan Moody then brings proceedings to a climax with a gnarly, muscular track using a Buchla modular system before the blissful ending piece “Marine Layer” closes out the 60 minute sonic journey the listener has just travelled. Boddy has curated both the artists and tracks on this album to flow in a musical way and not just be a collection of equipment heavy demos. Though fascinating and always cool to look at, it is important not to get lost in the gear for gear’s sake syndrome. Having said that this album features Eurorack, Serge, Buchla & Ciat-Lonbarde modular systems and the nine tracks show how varied and flexible these instruments can be. “Tone Science Module No.2 Elements and Particles” continues the journey down the rabbit hole of possibilities and sound worlds inhabited by artists and musicians working in this ever fascinating and varied musical field.

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.