The Sea of Wires — Self Titled

Coventry-based 80s electronic duo The Sea of Wires were huge fans of the German Kosmische scene that arose in the 1970s through bands like Amon Duul, Can, Cluster and Tangerine Dream. Chris Jones and Tony Murphy crafted their own equivalent to those records with a variety of analogue equipment that produced exciting experimental electronica with a working-class Midlands twist to it. 

This new release from Cold Spring Records compiles several of their early '80s releases across two packed discs. Individually Screened was originally released in 1980 and makes up the first disc, while disc two contains Chris Jones’ solo album Diversion, which features Tony Murphy on synth, and Beyond the Edge of Tomorrow from 1982. Whilst they have previously been released in this configuration on vinyl as part of the “80's Minimal Synth. Wave Vol.2” box set, this is their first release, thus compiled, on CD. 

Cd One, begins with "Invincible" and straight away we can hear exactly what we’re getting here. Loads of bubbly early synth goodness with nods to both the aforementioned German Kosmische scene and the BBC Radiophonic workshop. Loads of lovely warm-sounding synth that bubbles away throughout with some spoken word elements that work really well. "Seascape"follows next with some fast spacey sequencer pulses with loads of Hawkwind-esque special effects floating around over the top, giving the whole thing a very psychedelic vibe. A shift to more experimental sounds takes place around the midpoint, but it remains a fascinating slab of avant-garde electronics.  Track 3, "The New Man Human" is a little more droney with some lovely synth lines laid across the top, it’s epic and always seems to hint at some darkness bubbling just below the surface. That is followed by "Return of the Captain", a short interlude that sounds like it was recorded on a Casio Keyboard. "Robot Dance" is up next and heads off into more space-age electronic territory. Loads of bleeps and tweets take precedence over the song’s sequenced basis; this one is also pretty short and leads us into the epic "An Endless Rainy Day" which features beautifully orchestrated sequences that seem to take flight. Light and airy, it gives the sensation of a bird gliding on the wind during a rain storm, all the sounds are in there, the ocean, the rain and the wind. Disc One closes with "Breathing", only the second track to feature vocals, albeit of the spoken word variety; however, this wouldn’t sound out of place alongside any of the modern electronica that is so popular today, this reminds me of stuff like The Warrington New Town Development Plan or Belbury Poly.

Disc Two gets underway with "The Man Who Smiles" nothing much has changed at this point except that the whole thing sounds a little more evolved and complex. The synth sounds are still those warm late 70s early 80s ones, and the overall setup remains the same, but we are presented with more synth lines working in synch to create a more fully rounded sound.  "S.O.W. (Sea of Wires)" is up next and takes a slightly more experimental approach to things with some spoken word elements and more off-kilter synth work. "New Age (With Apologies to You Know Who)" sticks with the more experimental side of things, it’s a dense up-tempo number with some barely distinguishable chanted vocals deeper in the mix. "It Will Never Work" is a little more industrial-sounding, hinting slightly at what bands like Nitzer Ebb, Ministry and Nine Inch Nails would go on to create in the future without ever veering into the heavier territory those bands would inhabit. "The Nightmare Continues" is a pretty dark slab of electronica; it wouldn’t sound out of place on a horror movie soundtrack before things take a step up and we head further into proto-dance music, it just needs the heavy electronic beat to carry it all the way. The disc is brought to a close by "Recollections of Death", a 34-minute monster of electronic goodness. It’s a true experimental piece that goes all over the place across its epic length. Ranging from quiet ambient style atmospherics to raging synthwave and everything in between, it almost feels like a sampler track for experimental electronic music up to that point.

It has to be said, for a band that I’d never previously heard of, The Sea of Wires produced some pretty startling sounds throughout their short but productive career. This whole 2 CD set is quite remarkable for its time, the music is varied and diverse, however, it always works, the synths sound fantastic, their warm, welcoming sound puts the listener at ease from the start, and I absolutely loved every second of it.  This is almost proto-modern electronic music, as its influence can be heard in so many of the bands releasing music through labels like Ghost Box, Library of the Occult or Castles in Space. On top of this, the CDs come beautifully packaged in a rather fetching digipak from Cold Spring, who have done a cracking job on this release. If you love modern electronica, 70s Kosmische or even the early proto-synth work the Radiophonic Workshop or White Noise, there is plenty here for you.