Fluorescent Grey — Gaseous Opal Orbs

The previous release by Fluorescent Grey was a rather hectic affair, you’d find yourself lost in a confusing hurricane of electronic bits and pieces. Robbie Martin seems to have found more balance on his new creation, Gaseous Opal Orbs. Still a lot happening, but there’s a little more air left to breathe.

He easily jumps from tribal drums of Ayahuascaro Empyrial to Bernard Parmegiani-like subtlety in Teleological Attractor, and then back to more dubby territory in Physically Modelled Theme For Children. The linernotes explain is entirely built from synthesized sounds. Meaning there are no ‘real’ instruments or samples used but everything is constructed within the bowels of a computer. Quite amazing and surprisingly one of the more palatable parts of the album. Palette Swap Dub on the other hand starts with obviously ‘real’ sounds from experimental saxophone improv straight from Downtown NY. It gets even weirder when it morphs into electronic gamelan sounds. For Celtic K-hole we even get warped back to medieval times. Fibrous Emerald Tendrils on the other hand comes from a more chaotic angle. Heavy pulsating rhythm and a dark atmosphere of Are you aware of the pink light emanating from your navel? conclude the album on a more mysterious note that is somewhat like Autechre.

A unique mix of world music and electronic music that goes from beats to abstract soundscapes. Comparisons are very hard to make but it’s easy to get intrigued by the dense textures of sounds. Less dizzying than Lying On The Floor Mingling With God in a Tijuana Motel Room Next Door to a Veterinary Supply Store, which can only be seen as a step forward.