Steve Moore and Bluetech : Liminal Migration

On the new collaborative LP Liminal Migration, Steve Moore and Bluetech get full-on cosmic using analog and modular synths. It’s a heady ode to both forward-thinking dance music and 50s sci fi in all it’s glory. Bluetech(Behind The Sky label head Evan Bluetech) and Steve Moore first collaborated last year on Behind The Sky’s compilation release Portals. Now with Liminal Migration they come together to give us an album of sparse but heady rhythms and analog synth goodness.

Liminal Migration is actually the first release from Behind The Sky’s sub label Ovoid Crafts. The idea behind the label is, according to Bluetech, “a showcase for forward thinking dance oriented releases and an opportunity to pay homage to retro sci-fi in all it’s cheesy glory. Featuring sequential covers that reference 70s and 80s pulp novel covers in collaboration with different concept artists, Ovoid Crafts celebrates the more kinetic side of analog synth music which is the foundation of Behind The Sky’s oeuvre.”

Liminal Migration opens with Steve Moore’s sleek and darkly-lit “Gutter Talk”, a song that has the movement of a dance floor banger but the brooding melodies of a late night walk home after you leave the club. I’m getting some Pentagram Home Video vibes here as well. So good. Up next is Bluetech’s “Entrain Light”, an effervescent track that seems to glide along like the tail of a meteor rocketing through deep space. Bluetech has a knack for creating music in the analog/modular realm that seems to invite you into its world. Last year’s Underwater Cities is a perfect example of that, as is this great track. If you’re familiar with Entrancer’s Arcology album then you know the territory we’re exploring here.

Up next is the collaborative “Memory Beta”, where both artists add their own ingredients to the track. It’s a sparse, utilitarian track that mixes both the circuit board buzzing of modular experiments with the cool and collected world of early 80s dance music. Melody is king here, and it reigns supreme. Title track “Liminal Migration” is another collaboration between the two electronic wizards. This seems to tow the line between dance floor banger and brooding doom just under the surface of the disco lights. I hear elements of Zombi’s kinetic arpeggiated synth riffs intermingling with Bluetech’s solid electro rhythm. It’s a perfect coming together of electronic worlds.

There’s also two remixes, with Bluetech giving Moore’s “Gutter Talk” the Bluetech treatment while Steve Moore slows down “Entrain Light” and gives it an almost seedy, underground club vibe. The ethereal swaths of synth gives the proceedings an almost widescreen feel. The album closes on the gorgeous, slow moving “Cosmic Shores”, which brings dance music and the cinematic world together perfectly. It’s like Burial collaborating with Vangelis.

I’m excited to see what comes next from Ovoid Crafts, as Steve Moore and Bluetech’s Liminal Migration is one hell of a start.

8.1 out of 10