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review by Dene Bebbington In more ways than one Full Boundary Condition is a kind of retrospective. There's the obvious retro aspect of DATT's music that anyone familiar with their work will be aware of, and in addition this is a three disc set containing two re-mastered releases from the 1990s -- No Boundary Condition and Generation Transmission Illumination -- plus material recorded live and in the studio during 2001 on the last disc Full Boundary Condition. So there's more than enough music here to keep fans of DATT happy for several hours! Disc 1: No Boundary Condition. This album could be considered as one long piece of several movements, it's actually split into ten tracks but these merge seamlessly into each other. Like some other retro groups (Free System Projekt come to mind) their music is ambiguous in the sense that it could be considered an exploration of inner (one's mind) or outer space. Most of the tracks create atmosphere with disquieting drones and synth effects, one that stands out is "The Revealing Spiral" where we also hear voice effects combined with a bell sound to make an unusual toll. Sequencing is also used in places, with it highlighting in "Event Horizon" where the sequence builds up to become an urgent repeating refrain before eventually giving way to a bright denouement of reverbing synth. Disc 2: Generation Transmission Illumination. Again this is really one long piece divided up into what I'd describe as movements which map to fifteen tracks - all coming in under six minutes. There are noticeably different moods between the "Generation" (parts 1-7), "Transmission" (parts 1-4), and "Illumination" (part 1-4) tracks. The "Generation" tracks are quite desolate overall and the sequences often made me think of how electricity and alien devices might sound, it's like wandering through a massive strange machine. "Transmission" in contrast is lighter in mood and conveys the energy of something being transmitted striving to reach its destination. Finally, the "Illumination" tracks are rather pensive, especially "Illumination Part 2" which has a reverbing synth that repeatedly stamps onto the soundscape as drones and washes provide the continuity of sound. Disc 3: Full Boundary Condition. Like the previous two discs this most recent one continues the abstract sound explorations of who knows where or what - the listener can make up his own mind. All the elements encountered previously can be heard across these six tracks: the strange and curious atmospheres and electrical or bubbling sequences that shuttle the soundscape along past fleeting vistas. I'm not known for being keen on DATT's music, mainly because I find their sequencing tends to be grating and the overall feel of the music is too desolate for my taste. Saying that the production quality of these albums is excellent and they sometimes create very atmospheric passages. This three disc set will doubtless appeal to DATT fans, for anyone else wishing to check out this kind of Berlin school music I'd recommend getting hold of an individual album first. |
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