Independent-minded music is usually realized as a reaction to
something. For Arnold Schoenberg it was World War I, for Roger
Waters it was the death of his father and for Redshift (James
Goddard, Rob Jenkins, Julian Shreeve and Mark Shreeve) it is
tomorrow; a tomorrow where music is stored and experienced
digitally, unchanging and perfectly intact... its humanity
vanquished. Their albums OBLIVION (53'20") and FAULTLINE
(74'20") are a fable from the future, refracted in modern
skepticism. One, a studio album which vibrates with restrained
intensity, the other energized by the ritualistic nature of the live
performance, are characterized by their breakthrough in tone,
elegance and complexity of intentions. These works derive their
intensity from the unresolved tension between old and new
music technology and consciously evoke a bygone day of
musicmaking. At its most potent Redshift delivers a range of
strident electronic rhythms. From resolute and propulsive
syncopated pulses of tone to the metronomic, mesmeric
cadence of cycling sequencer patterns, the motifs and
arrangements are rhythmically intricate and meticulously woven.
This brand of Spacemusic demands attention. The raw intensity
is riveting and offers little time to drift off in contemplation. As
space will change shape by twisting, expanding and warping, so
then does the music, eventually arcing downward into fantastic
passages of enharmonic timbres and nonspecific washes of
sound. Redshift puts forth a level of craft as opposed to pure
mechanistic message and takes this music to the edge of
possibility. Spacemusic's most unique attribute is that it
changes, and is experienced, over time. On these albums,
imagination finds form in sound. Somehow, amidst all the
technology, the creative spirit rises. Influence can always be
measured easier than greatness. Redshift fights the notion that
this music belongs to history rather than the present. It's more
than a continuation of a lost tradition; Spacemusic is an art, a
mode that is inexhaustible.

Tune in this weekend to STAR'S END for music from Redshift

For more on Redshift, access: http://www.redshift.biz

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STAR'S END broadcasts every Saturday night/Sunday morning
from 1am-6am (EDST) on:

88.5fm WXPN Philadelphia, PA
88.1fm WXPH Harrisburg, PA
90.5fm Worton/Baltimore, MD
104.9fm Allentown, PA

and live on the web...

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Chuck van Zyl
Host of STAR'S END Ambient Radio
http://www.starsend.org