I love the fact that no matter how much music you think you know about, or how vast your knowledge is there’s always something new to you just around the corner. I’ll go months not discovering anything new(or new to me), and then all of a sudden like a “Eureka!” moment something new hits my ears and I feel like a teen discovering an album that blows my still developing mind into a thousand pieces. That moment came just a couple weeks ago with my discovery of Cate Brooks’ excellent Prismatics LP.
On one of my many scrolling sessions on Instagram I saw a post by musician/writer/director/sound guru Graham Reznick discussing Cate Brooks’ new album. Reznick described the album and Brooks this way, which is what grabbed my attention, “Brooks’ music always makes me feel like I’m dreaming I’m in a montage building a laser research lab in 1983 and why would I ever want to wake up?”
‘Nuff said. I’m in.
Cate Brooks has released albums under the name The Advisory Circle, and she has released albums on one of my favorite UK Hauntology labels Ghost Box(the main home of Pye Corner Audio.) This is computer music that captures a very specific vibe and era, which is early 80s electronic. The kind of music you’d hear on PBS shows, sci-fi movies, and library music used in deep cut Betamax/VHS tapes in the early days of digital/video media.
With Prismatics, Cate Brooks has created a looping, blipping/beeping sound world that truly sums up my childhood. Sleek electronics with an analog lean that would end up in weird, late night infomercials or DIY science fiction that you’d find on some random remote control tear at 1 am on summer break. There’s heady swaths of chilled synth noise(“Blue Chip Fever”) reminiscent of Edgar Froese’s late 70s/early 80s output, wavering, dream-like tones that lull you into waking dreams(“Delta Waves”), Michael Mann-esque electro-pop sheen(“Cog on Cog”), and Cluster-like computer haze(“Energens”). There’s even an amazing 10-minute suite called “Technology Suite” that is everything you’d want in an epic electronic track.
If you grew up in the late 70s/early 80s and have a sweet spot for the early days of computer/electronic music that captures that DIY, sci-fi leaning, retro-futuristic dystopian sound then look no further than Cate Brooks’ excellent Prismatics. Now I have a vast new sound world to explore with her Advisory Circle output, and of course continuing my audio digestion of the excellent Prismatics.
Who says the internet and social media isn’t good for something?
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