It’s the year 2047- 2083. Specifics are a thing of the past. Every city and town has been prefixed with the word ‘Neo’. Futuristic biker gangs have risen to rule the streets. Places like Neo-Burton-on-Trent are overrun by crazed clowns on two tires hell bent on twisted justice. Music has transgressed the confines of simply being audio and is literally everywhere. I’m not sure how or why. Life is now perpetually scored dependent on mood... somehow. I really wish I’d thought this part through more. Regardless, the soundtrack to this dystopian nightmare? Illum Sphere.
In reality, I imagine we’ll all be listening to white noise and metronomes in 36 to 72 years’ time. However, Illum Sphere’s latest two track (plus mandatory remix) EP ‘Dreamstealin’/Blood Music’ gives us a realisation of what the 80s thought the future would sound like.
The grated drones and tortured violins of ‘Dreamstealin’ would sound just as at home on Shoji Yamashiro’s soundtrack to awesome late 80s manga AKIRA. With its addition of tweaked out glitches, compulsory 909 claps and baked shakes, the track plays like a current day re-boot to a former day OST. The constant pace provided by tumbling kicks and offbeat synth stabs coupled with a healthy dose of high pass Korg conjure images of riding through a neon-lit cityscape on a really sweet red motorbike, hitting blokes dressed as clowns with metal pipes.
Well, they would if you’d seen AKIRA.
‘Blood Music’ sits as a support track should. Ethereal drones mimic the style of the lead track and create a theme for the EP. Lounge tinged keys, muted sirens, gruff vocal yelps and discordant percussion all play their part in making some incredibly well crafted and decidedly above average filler - filler much like the little inflatable bags you sometimes get in a box holding fragile content, like, I don’t know...an original 1988 Streamline copy of AKIRA on VHS?
As it stands ‘Dreamstealin’/ Blood Music’ isn’t a step ahead or a step behind 2010’s great and well received Titan EP , but when you carve yourself a niche with as much wiggle room as Illum Sphere has it makes it decidedly difficult to become stagnant.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to shout “TETSUO!” from atop a large pile of discarded masonry. No? Oh, come on - the film came out 23 years ago!
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