Synæsthesia was a Canadian ambient band formed by industrial musicians Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber as a side project of their main band Front Line Assembly.[1] Keyboard magazine writes: "Synæsthesia explores dark tribal ambient sounds, composers have a flair for cinematic electronica, and favor epic pieces that unfold slowly."[1]
Synæsthesia | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Synaesthesia |
| Origin | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Genres | Ambient |
| Years active | 1995–2001 |
| Labels | Cleopatra, Zoth Ommog, Hypnotic |
| Past members | Bill Leeb Rhys Fulber |
History
editLeeb and Fulber formed Synæsthesia in the 1990s and began recording together. Due to contractual entanglements they were at first not able to admit they were behind the music.[2] Instead credits for their first two albums, Embody and Desideratum, went to "R. Deckard", an allusion to the main character in the film Blade Runner.[2][3]
The identity of the musicians was revealed with the release of the third album, Ephemeral, crediting Leeb with the music and Fulber with programming.[2][4] The album incorporates symphonic passages, traditional rhythms and nature sounds into menacing electronic sounds.[5]
Synæsthesia uses samples from a number of musicians and from the film Fire in the Sky.
Desideratum
editDesideratum is Synæsthesia's second album of ambient, industrial music, released October 17, 1995 by Cleopatra Records.[6] It was produced by Leeb and Fulber. Its length is 139:15. It received a four of five star rating by AllMusic.[7]
Track listing
edit- Disc one
- "Andromedia" – 8:00
- "Orion Nebula" – 11:30
- "Consciousness" – 6:56
- "Umbra" – 9:00
- "Barred Spirals" – 9:48
- "DNA Barcode" – 10:42
- "Surface System" – 11:20
- Disc two
- "Dark Core" – 8:08
- "Subversion" – 8:24
- "Lumia" – 10:30
- "Hallucinations" – 9:07
- "Mosaic" – 9:48
- "Lifeless" – 15:42
- "Tubastrea Aurea" – 10:20
- Note: Disc 1 track 2 is labeled incorrectly as "Orion Nebulua". The correct title is "Orion Nebula"
Discography
edit- Embody (1995, Cleopatra, Zoth Ommog)
- Desideratum (1995, Hypnotic, Zoth Ommog)
- Ephemeral (1997, Hypnotic)
- Cryogenic Studios (1998, Cleopatra) – Compilation of songs from Front Line Assembly and related projects
- Cryogenic Studio, Vol. 2 (2000, Cleopatra) – Compilation of songs from Front Line Assembly and related projects
- The Collection (2001, Hypnotic) – Compilation of songs from the first two albums
References
edit- ^ a b "Synaesthesia - Ephemeral". Keyboard (24). NewBay Media: 136. 1998.
- ^ a b c "Synaesthesia (CA)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
- ^ "Synæsthesia: Ephemeral". Industrial Reviews, review by Al Crawford (in Russian)
- ^ "Synaesthesia (CA)". Sputnik.
- ^ "Ephemeral". AllMusic Review by Jim Brenholts
- ^ Brenholts, Jim. "Desideratum Album Review". AllMusic. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
- ^ AllMusic ratings link