Every now and again, you stumble across a piece of music that you know is going to be with you for a long time. I must admit as I've got older this seems to happen less frequently, but last week an LP landed on my doormat (literally, nowadays the postie opens the door to our front porch and chuck the letters and parcels in. We've started leaving a tub of Celebrations for him to help himself to as a thank you for keeping going during the various lockdowns!) that as soon as I put it on, I knew it was a keeper.
I think my first exposure to Richard Norris would have been when he was half of The Grid (the other half being David Ball, ex Soft Cell). Their track Flotation was on a mixtape my old musical pal Dan did when he was tempting me over to the way of electronica. Flotation was lovely, but then The Grid hardly put a foot wrong.
I lost track of him a bit - sort of liked some of the Beyond The Wizards Sleeve stuff, but it didn't really grab me at the time.
But I'd caught bit of his more ambient/abstract work in Abstractions Vol. 1 & Vol. 2, which I really did like.
So when Elements landed, and Dan again gave me a seriously hard nod that I should listen to this (he knows me well), I jumped in.
And, oh my goodness, he was right. What Norris seems to have done is make an album for me. There's little touches and influences from many electronic artists I adore, beautifully mixed in a rich tapesty of synth loveliness.
It's like an exhibition, or museum piece. Like he's taken little gems of style and sound, and curated them into a collection that shows them off beautifully. Placing them so they metaphorically catch the light just right, and glitter and sparkle.
But this isn't an homage or replaying of old electronic music tropes - he's far too clever for that. Each of these tracks stands up as it's own piece of music. There's a real deft touch in terms of structure and production here. It's delicious.
So, here's a quick rundown of the tracks with a few thoughts from me - but if you like electronic music, you must give this a go. Welcome to your next favourite album... 😉
I'm a sucker for motorik arpeggios. And this gets straight to business with a lovely Kraftwerkian creation.
Which is lovely enough, but then there's some subtle Global Communication influences in the bass and pads. Those that know me will know that I rate 76:14 as one of my favourite albums of all time. So to feel that colour here works beautifully for me.
But it's a lovely wash of a track. Light, and subtle. Layered, but never cluttered.
So, I already adore this album. Everything about it is just lush, but precise. Even the artwork reflects the music inside. The deep comforting blue envelops you in a warm cocoon, with those geometric patters reflect the precise placing of the sounds. It's just spot on.
Ooooh!
Aaaah!
Mmmmm!
Thanks for reading!
I am an indie musician, with an eclectic taste in music. If you fancy checking me out (!), then here are some starting points: https://www.flow.page/gribbles
Cheers,
.g
