Review: Continuum by Ian Boddy

Artist: Ian Boddy
Album: Continuum

Continuum comes to us from Ian Boddy, who was among the first of his generation of synth artists to release recordings through his own label. Throughout his impressive career Ian's style has spanned many areas of electronic music, yet he is most well known for his upbeat melody driven compositions. Throughout the years, as I would listen to Ian's music, I would always marvel at the richness of his Ambient interludes and hoped that one day he would concentrate more on timbre and atmosphere in his compositions than on melody and rhythm. Ian has answered my unasked request with his new CD Continuum.

Continuum is a double CD edited down from one seven hour live concert (June 15, 1996 Newcastle UK) performed by Ian Boddy. On the CD we are given two very lengthy tracks: "Alpha" and "Beta" (one on each CD), each coming in at over 70 minutes. Each CD is broken down into several parts (tracks) but the music flows constantly from beginning to end and is best experienced that way, all at once. Credit must be given to Ian for being able to take such a long span of time and fill it with a slowly evolving composition of sounds and atmosphere. Nowhere along the journey will the listener become disinterested. I credit this accomplishment to Ian's years of experience as a musician, producer and synthesist.

Although Ian does provide the listener with a rich atmosphere of original timbres and floating soundscapes, please don't think that Continuum is all drones and swirlies, not at all. There are some very rhythmic sections that take a while to evolve and this is where Ian's craft shines. Ian subtley uses rhythm to give his compositions more focus yet without it being a major distraction. Before you realize it you're in the middle of a driving pattern, not sure how you got there or where you're going. Ian is a wonderful guide and by CD's end he brings us back to a point where we can find our way home.

At this point I must compare parts of Continuum with the epic Jet Chamber 1 (on Fax) by Pete Namlook and Atom Heart, if not for the same musical style and direction then at least for the lasting impression both works have left on me.

- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END 11.24.96

| R E V I E W S |