The Darkening Scale — Hydrogen Kaleidoscope
Hydrogen Kaleidoscope is a CD release- which compiles together two releases from The Darkening Scale- the solo project of Dave Janssen, who is one-half of Uk Avant pop/ (off) world music project Renaldo & The Loaf. Largely this twelve-track release focuses on the more urgent & jigging side of the project's sound, which is filtered through genres like the blues, world music, and chopping orchestrated sound.
The CD comes presented in a most colourful and bright digipak. This features an illustration of a boy with a catapult firing up into a multi-colour stained glass window full of atom drawings. Within the gatefold, the various shards of said window shattered and spread out. It’s by Poxodd, who has done artwork for The Residents, Renaldo & The Loaf, etc. All in all, a nice impactful and eye-catching bit of packaging.
The release brings together tracks from 2012’s Secondhand Muon and 2010’s Hydrogen Kaleidoscope- both of these were previously only put out as digital self-releases. The collection moves from the manic, at times angular/electro bending string saw ‘n’ bay of “String Theory”. Onto swamp blues meets avant strut of “Jaunting Bone”- which from time to time is added to by pitch bucking vocalising’s. There’s the moodier and more spaced grey ambience of “A Finger Pointing At The Moon” which finds distant and eerier bass prods meeting synth string drifting malevolence- before we find dramatic and brooding percussion added in its second half.
Later on, we have ethnic rhythmic electro meets stretched African-like vocalizing of “Chanciness Forgone” which at points has this great jiving horn element appearing. There’s unease chime 'n' drift opening of “Chained Vapor” which as it progresses features jarring electro orchestrated tone hits. Or the rapid chip-chop electro beat meets robot chipmunk vocalizing of “Arable Rabbi”, which tops the collection off.
Hydrogen Kaleidoscope is a most worthy bringing together of these two formally digital-only releases. Of interest to fans of Renaldo & The Loaf more recent jigging ‘n’ jiving output, and those who like the genre-blending more upbeat & slightly oddly tinged sonics.