Mountains in the Sky – Electron Suite

Electron Suite – Mountains in the Sky

by Aidan Roberts

Taken literally, Mountains in the Sky is a most grandiose image; and the music that Melbournite John Lee houses under this moniker conjures a similarly other-worldly atmosphere. This album is a step toward a more organic approach for this sample-master; it hurtles through its 11 tracks like a roller-coaster without a break, glued together by an assortment of vintage electronics, samples and most impressively, an array of truly tribal drum patterns laid down by four different percussionists. There is light and dark in the journey – the psychedelic romp of opener Synaptic Cleft through its urgent successor Soundsistors, into a Kubrick-esque trippy lounge sequence Electrolyte, housing 101 Strings and organ samples in a track that feels almost like an outtake from one of James Bond’s space capers. True to the title, this whole thing does feel like a suite – there is a natural progression to the sequencing that subliminally makes sense, and there’s some moments of genuine beauty in there. This is an electronic record that rises out of the constrictions of a genre piece, and genuinely stands alone as a satisfying piece of music.

***1/2