Gareth Hardwick / Machinefabriek - Lost In The Memory / Bathyale (Parts 2&3)
[Low Point]

Another slice of vinyl genius from the vastly under-rated Low Point Records, pair’s ambient sound designer Gareth Hardwick with Dutch experimentalist Machinefabriek. And what a fine pairing it is too.

Presented in lovely translucent vinyl, Side A sees Low Point head honcho Hardwick sculpt intricate, alluring melodies via his luxuriant guitar manipulations. “Lost In the Memory” explores the possibilities of guitar within an ambient framework and creates a tranquil atmosphere similar to that of Stars of the Lid. Not only that, over the course of fifteen minutes, Hardwick provides further evidence that he is at the forefront of the UK’s ambient movement.

Machinefabriek was recently hailed as one of the most innovative experimental musicians on the planet by avant-garde bible, Wire Magazine. Amazingly, this is only the third release out of 50 that is not available solely through digital download. Such factors, along with his uncanny ability to create claustrophobic soundscapes using only rumbles of static and distant guitar, make his appearance here a major coup for Low Point.

Constructed from edits of a live performance, “Bathyale (part 2 & 3)” is surprisingly cohesive, as Machinefabriek spends several minutes building an ominous atmosphere that seems like the aural equivalent of walking down a dark street unsure of what is lurking in the shadows.

It bursts into life, jarringly disrupting the eerie mood, after ten or so minutes. The sudden shift mirrors the dramatic tactics Vangelis used so successfully during ‘Bladerunner’, particularly the first moment when Deckard walks into Eldon Tyrell’s expansive office and looks across a dystopian Los Angeles in 2019.

Superb stuff again from one of the UK’s finest labels.
Track Listing:

A - Lost In the Memory / Gareth Hardwick
B – Bathyale (Parts 2 & 3) / Machinefabriek