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Dark Star

by Alto Stratus

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Original CDR hand-made product, comes in a jewel case with hand labelled silver disc and 6-fold insert

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  • Full Digital Discography

    58
    releases

    Get all 58 Alto Stratus releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Vrije: Old Woulds Vol.1, Alto Stratus: Old Wounds Vol.2, Vrije: Blitzkrieg, Vrije: Terminus, Retrospection 2, Vrije: Six, Retrospection I, Tasty Morsels, Adhara: Visions Of Alucia, Vrije: Transmission, and 50 more. , and , .

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1.
Aspects Of Urban Decay 05:06
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2.
Tomorrow 14:29
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3.
Echo (introduction) 05:54
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4.
In Camera 02:00
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5.
Blues 00:57
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6.
Nightplay 02:13
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7.
Jump 02:45
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8.
Alien Sky 06:30
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9.
Message 04:50
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10.
Liquid Earth 06:05
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11.
Pôle 15:59
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12.
A Cat In Kew Gardens 06:51
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about

The 1983-84 period of deleted Alto Stratus cassettes form the basis of this CD release. It shows many aspects of sound exploration, developments on the Vrije experiments largely using the Yamaha CS5 monophonic analogue synthesizer and a cheap Casio keyboard along with primitive sound collage and home-made cassette tape loops. One track "Tomorrow" was made without any instruments whatsoever. This involved putting a microphone into a flexible vacuum cleaner tube which was inserted at the other end into the drainage pipe at the front of the house. The wind, traffic and unknowing public that passed by all added to the sounds recorded, which was then reprocessed with several layers of echo remodulation. Similar techniques were used on some tracks on the cassette release "Svet Ozveny".
The 7 tracks from "Liquid Sky" compliment the bonus track "A Hole In The Head" featured on the "Tachyon" CD release, adding up to all the best material from that release. "Pôle" came from a session recorded live as you hear it, entirely on synthesizers, now with added reverb and effects for a richer palette of sound. Finally, the stochastic "A Cat In Kew Gardens" only ever saw release on the compilation "1984 - The End Of All Songs" (DSC13) issued June 1985.

credits

released August 12, 2014

Recorded at Dark Star & Tachyon Studios (1983-1984).
Taken from URBAN DECAY (Dark Star ds101), TALES FROM TOMORROW (Dark Star ds102), ÉPATANT! (Dark Star ds103), LIQUID SKY (Dark Star ds101), LIVE (Dark Star ds110), & 1984: THE END OF ALL SONGS (Dark Star dsc13).
Compiled & remixed at Tachyon Studio (February-March 2001).

Alan & Steve Freeman: synths, keys, guitars, collage, effects, loops, electronics, harmonica, voice.

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Alto Stratus Leicester, UK

The duo of Alan and Steve Freeman (Ultima Thule), we spent much of our spare time during the 1980's experimenting with electronics, sound collage, etc., recording some 30 odd cassettes as Alto Stratus (and other guises: Vrije, Q.S.O., Electric Junk, etc.), also as soloists, and the trio ZBB. For 30 years we've continued with a 10 further releases since, bands: Endgame, The Newt Hounds, Triax, etc. ... more

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