Flare comprises four tracks from two previous releases, and one unreleased live track. The first and most important of these is "Luminous," taken from the C46 of the same name. Originally released in 1993 on Aube's own G.R.O.S.S. label, this long form track is the result of processing and manipulating fluorescent & grow lamps. Subtle jingling of the warming heating elements gradually unfolds into full on, hypnotic drone. Vibrating, oscillating, waxing, and waning, this wall of soft heat is the medium with which Aube brings us his glorious design. A false sense of security is given, and about midway through, this warming drone hits with uncomfortable buzzes and screeches. Lower ends crawl forth like machines gaining sentience, and this once lazy amble becomes a bit more serious. As impressive as Aube's work is manipulating one sound source, his ability to keep it from getting stale needs its due as well. "Luminous" clocks in at over 43 minutes, and manages to be fresh and interesting throughout. The next two tracks are taken from 1995's "Vibrate-Flasher/The Silent Light" 7". Using only glow lamps, these two six minute tracks take very different approaches. "Vibrate-Flasher" drones its way into a more traditional, lower noise raga, while "The Silent Light" is soft, spacy, and reflective. This shows a great artist taking drastically different paths with the same source material. Closing out Flare is a previously unreleased live performance from 1992. Again, using fluorescent and glow lamps, Aube's buzzing manipulation moves far less than the studio track, but still has a strength and beauty that few others can match.

While I must admit that I wasn't the biggest Aube fan while he was alive (mostly due to my lack of knowledge of his catalog), I'm very pleased that Iris Light is making his work readily available. My taste has grown over the years, and I'm now able to recognize brilliant artists like Aube more readily than in the past. Flare is a wonderful example of how one man can turn a mundane sound source into something really intriguing and supremely interesting. I eagerly await the next release in Iris Light's Aube series. Head over to here to get hold of the release