DIN Label

Artist: V/A
P: 2023
DIN 80
LTD 500 Copies
iNDEX08 is the eight DiN compilation album and includes two tracks each from the titles
DiN71 – 79. The artists on show this time are Polypores, Scanner, Ian Boddy, d’Voxx,
Parallel Worlds, Surface 10, Node and Lyonel Bauchet as well as a collaboration between
Ian Boddy & Erik Wøllo. As with the previous seven DiN samplers label boss Ian Boddy has mixed and cross-faded the 18 tracks into a continuous ambient mix that not only showcases the albums featured on the release but presents an exciting and varied title in its own right. It also highlights the varied and intriguing music that the DiN label offers on its releases from deep analogue synth grooves through vibrantly melodic instrumentals to powerful, epic ambient atmospheres. An intoxicating mix of the old and new beautifully presented in a slimline cardboard wallet with an extra flap which just adds to the value and collectibility of this release. With a total release catalogue now of 118 titles the DiN label is continuing to innovate and evolve as it heads toward 2024 when it will celebrate 25 years of releasing quality instrumental electronic and ambient synth music.

Artist: Lyonel Bauchet
P: 2023
LTD 300
Film and media composer Lyonel Bauchet is best known in the electronic music world for his mastery of the Buchla modular synthesiser. Indeed this is the instrument that was in the foreground for his previous two DiN releases, The Secret Society (DiNDDL11) and The Diver (DiN68). However for his third album on the DiN imprint he has eschewed this familiar territory and instead focused on a collection of analogue gear from Soma Laboratory. Their most famous instrument, the Lyra-8, is described by them as an Organismic Synthesiser and certainly has an experimental edge to it. Along with other Soma creations as well as more traditional keyboards and orchestral string textures Bauchet has created a unique and compelling sound world unlike anything you’ve ever heard before.
Taking his inspiration from the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus by the 20th century Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, Bauchet has morphed the title of this inspirational work into a play on synth words. The titles of the album are taken from sentences in the French translation relating to the seven main aphorisms in the book.
Musically this astonishing album marries the experimental nature of the Soma synths with their grungy lo-fi percussion grooves and swarming, scintillating clouds of texture with the filmic, cinematic world that Bauchet often composes in for his library music work. Delicate piano motifs lead to orchestral crescendos accompanied by a mystical atmosphere of swirling drones and deep soundscapes. This is a true headphone album in that listening via this method will reveal the myriad details and beautiful complicity of this unique album.

Another great release from the DiN label released in a beautiful Digipak CD edition showcasing new and refreshingly different electronic music.

Artist: Node
P: 2023
LTD 300
When synth supergroup Node first surfaced with their eponymous album in 1995 they, more than anyone else, nailed “that sound and vibe”, which had become the obsession of so many others. They seemed to encapsulate the very essence of the early German electronic music pioneers such as Tangerine Dream but with production values to die for courtesy of Node founder members Ed Buller & Flood, who were of course internationally renowned producers in their own right. But it was another 19 years before their follow up album appeared on DiN as “Node 2”, to be closely followed (by Node standards), with their live concert album performed at the Royal College of Music, London.Up to that point that was the total canon of their work except for the EP “Terminus” recorded at their infamous Paddington Station gig. Surely they must have more material hidden away in their vaults and indeed this is exactly what the album “Singularity” is, the legendary “lost” Node album. Recorded at the same time as their original sessions in 1994 this has DiN stalwart Dave Bessell join Buller & Flood alongside original member Gary Stout who was later replaced by Mel Wesson for the two DiN releases. Presented here for the first time, mastered to modern standards but otherwise untouched and in its original form and recorded to two track with no overdubs. As a bonus the track “Terminus”, mentioned above, is included in the release.The music is a snapshot in time 29 years ago when Node were first powering up their huge banks of vintage modulars and sequencers to create a tapestry of electronic sound. At times raw and almost out of control and at others delicate and ethereal this quartet of fabled musicians can create atmospheres and soundscapes like no other. The crackling energy of the sounds they coax out of these steam driven behemoths positively pulsates with life and organic energy and will be a real treat for aficionados of the Berlin school style of electronic music.Another great release from the DiN imprint released in a beautiful Digipak CD edition with a special 8 track booklet with photos taken at the time of the original recording sessions.

Artist: Surface 10
P: 2023
DIN 77
LTD 300 Copies
Surface 10 is the moniker of Californian electronic musician Dean De Benedictis. He has previously released albums on the DiN label with In Vitro Tide (DiN8) & Surface Tensions (DiN24). Finishing a hiatus of over a decade, which saw him pursuing several film projects, he returns to DiN with a stunningly original new album, “A Stray Ending” (DiN77).

The DiN label has always actively encouraged the blurring of genre boundaries and with this new opus Dean has certainly done that with influences as far flung as Electronica, Ambient, IDM, Berlin School, Glitch, Progressive Jazz Fusion, World and Cinematic music. Such a heady mixture is immediately apparent on the opener “Neverheart” with its achingly beautiful and haunting chordal themes overlaid with an intertwining tapestry of percussion and glitched out effects. The album rises and falls through layers of dazzling sound design and compositional complexity to reach its apex with the freak-out intensity of “Azz”. The following track “Dorothy Spearhead” is perhaps the most concise piece on show here, with its vocal melodic hook and danceable drum groove. This leads into the spectacular “Non Fi” which propels the listener on an epic tour de force of electronic invention before the album closes with the melancholic shimmering beauty of “Universal Winter (Rework)”.

This new album from Surface 10 is almost beyond categorisation and is full of so many inventive and detailed sonic and musical elements that it will give the listener something new to focus in on each and every listen. Another truly unique addition to the DiN catalogue.

Artist: Parallel Worlds
P: 2022
DIN 76
LTD 300 Copies.
Greek synthesist Bakis Sirros who records under the name of Parallel Worlds has become a familiar name to followers of the DiN label. His debut release was “Obsessive Surrealism” (DiN26) back in 2007 and since then he has released a further solo album, “Shade” (DiN32), as well as several collaborative albums with different artists including DiN label boss Ian Boddy & Node guru Dave Bessell.
“Plector” (DiN76) is his third solo outing on the DiN imprint and continues the deep dive into organic, analogue modular excursions that this talented musician is so adept at. Throbbing, deep bass lines are accompanied by sparse drum patterns and beguiling melodic synth lines. The album has a beautifully cohesive, dark and brooding atmosphere. Hints of a John Carpenter like synth soundtrack lurk around every corner but the sound world that Sirros creates is very much his own. At times the raw beauty of his synth patches grab you whilst at other moments the delicate, glitch like sound design details hover just out of sight. The album is built upon two groups of three rhythmic tracks interspersed with the dark drone of “Atmoform” and the beautiful, almost Enoesque final track, “Harmonic Pathways”.
Lovers of Electronica, Dark Techno, Downtempo & IDM will find much to admire in “Plector” and this new album once again showcases the unique talent of this highly individual musician.

Artist: Ian Boddy
P: 2022
DIN 74
LTD 600 Copies
DiN label boss Ian Boddy follows up his 2020 studio release “Axiom” (DiN64) with another vinyl album length slice of vintage electronic music synth heritage. Whilst there are many focusing in on the world of possibilities of modular synths to the detriment of form and composition Boddy uses his 40 plus years of experience to create six succinct slices of analogue warmth and emotion.
The title track which opens procedures is a case in point. Boddy crams into its seven minutes more drama than many would manage in a side length track. Soft textural chords soon give way to a pulsing arpeggiator playing from his venerable Roland System 100-M modular. Just when the piece seems to be settling into a cyclical groove a series of transpositions move the harmonic interest along before a climax of percussion and synth textures soar toward a stunning crescendo.
The next piece, “Messiaen M31”, in contrast is a calm, floating track with an unusual harmonic chord progression based on Olivier Messiaen’s music theory with a beautiful Ondes Martenot style solo line. “Rings” features layers of sequencers and arpeggios that twist and turn through various key changes toward another stunning climax. “Teutonium” is pure Berlin School with a thundering Moog bass line interspersed with edgy, glitchy interjections before subsiding to the calm, gentle fluctuations of “Flow”.
Finally “Silver Surfer” is a slice of Synthwave fun featuring the crisp tones of the 100-M set against a syncopated bass line and a beautiful Ondes Martenot duet over a transposing sequencer line. 

Artist: Scanner
P: 2022
DIN 72
LTD 500 Copies
The second album for the DiN imprint by British Electronic Musician Scanner sees Rimbaud utilising a different toolset from his first album, An Ascent (DiN63), released in July 2020. Here he focuses in on several Elektron instruments such as the Analog Four, Analog Rhythm and Digitakt. Whilst his debut album was forged live in his studio during the start of the global pandemic here Rimbaud was after a lighter, more optimistic tone. Rather prophetically Rimbaud states that this album was indebted to the work of the Ukranian film maker Laris Shepitko. Indeed the title of the sixth track “Artemovsk” references the birth place of Shepitko. Furthermore the title of the album, “The Homeland of Electricity”, is taken from her 1968 film which was commissioned by the government to celebrate the October Revolution’s 50th anniversary, but was rejected by the authorities for not being patriotic enough.