Between spring 2000 and fall 2006 UK electronic musician Ian
Boddy traveled to Philadelphia to perform at events presented by
The Gatherings Concert Series. On all three occasions following
the public performances Boddy went live again - this time over at
the WXPN studio on that evening's edition of STAR'S END. In late
2007, to mark the launch of the MusicZeit music download
website, Boddy released all three STAR'S END sessions as fully
realized albums.

THE FINAL QUESTION (62'43") was created on the 05.07.00
broadcast of STAR'S END. As 2:00AM approached and the on-air
concert was about to begin, Boddy (overheated and exhausted
by the day's events) was probably wondering how he had
allowed these crazy Yanks to talk him into playing another set.
But once things were underway and he became more absorbed,
Boddy used this time to go places he would not have under less
strange circumstances. The set began (as one of his sets
earlier at The Gatherings) with a computer voice reading some
17th century science fiction. Between this curious opening and
the dramatic ending which features a slowly moving chord
progression based on Ives' "The Unanswered Question", lies a
vast sonic zone of inspired improvisation. Bringing together
unusual synthesizer modulations, manipulated sound samples
and fleeting hints of melody, Boddy creates a soundscape where
everything and nothing is happening all at once.

THREE DREAMS (53'11") comes out of the 03.21.04 broadcast
of STAR'S END (once again following a public concert for The
Gatherings). After his previous experience, Boddy decided to
bring only a minimum of gear to the radio studio for his on-air
concert. With not much more than a laptop Boddy set about
establishing an even more defined and original listening space
than last time. While the atmosphere of his previous STAR'S
END concert seemed determined mostly by his present
headspace, this concert had a decidedly surreal tone to it. The
distinctive sound effects used to decorate his more focused
pieces were moved to the forefront - providing a strange sense
of unbalance and eerie calm. The center piece is an extended
version of "Suburbia" from the "Fluidities" anthology and
captures perfectly the twilight realm between wakefulness and
sleep. This set also has a climactic conclusion. Out of a murky,
swirling aural space rises heavenly synth pads - the sudden
ending leaving the listener to contemplate the plane they have
just traveled through.

THE MECHANICS OF A THOUGHT (55'02") was played in the
recent re-locale of WXPN studios on 10.01.06 - which is probably
what provided this work with its more aggressive positioning. As
usual, after our public concert at The Gatherings, Boddy and his
gear were moved over to STAR'S END for his third 2:00AM
concert on the air. Compared to the old studio, the new building
and environment are many times more efficient and comfortable.
With a small in-studio audience for support, Boddy launched into
an impressive and exciting hour-long performance of spacey
atmospherics and complex textures set against bold
sequencing and strong lines of melody. Having brought from
home sequencer elements made on Mark Shreeve's vintage
Moog IIIc synthesizer, Boddy got hearts pounding with deep and
heavy patterns cycling in metronomic syncopation beneath
spiraling electronic accents and reedy thin lead lines. Rhythm
elements from the first section of this performance have been
transformed and used in "Tourmaline" on "Slide" - with the entire
section first appearing on the "STAR'S END 30th Anniversary
Anthology" CD as the track, "Before the End of the Beginning".
The concert closed in a trembling ambiance of cascading tones,
their echoing trails lost in reverberation.

The three CDs each stand alone as fascinating statements
about opening up and exploring the vast distances of space in
real time. Taken together this work impresses in its magnitude.
Realized live on the air, in the middle of the night, after a long day
of concertizing, Ian Boddy impressively got in touch with his
creative center. With curiosity enabled by endurance, he thrives
in the exciting unpredictability of the live environment.

Tune in to STAR'S END this weekend for music from Ian Boddy's
STAR'S END Sessions

For more on Ian Boddy, access: http://www.din.org.uk

-

Musical Highlights of 2008 Part Three

This weekend, STAR'S END presents the annual Year in Review
show which will feature the significant releases of 2008 (Part
Three).

-

STAR'S END 30th Anniversary Anthology CD

To mark 30 years of continuous broadcast of STAR'S END,
WXPN has released the STAR'S END 30th Anniversary Anthology
CD. This double CD contains over 120 minutes of live music
from 12 renowned artists. The unique performances were culled
from on-air in-studio radio concerts by some of our community's
greatest talents. Included on the disc are previously unreleased
live selections donated by: The Ministry of Inside Things, Orbital
Decay, Ian Boddy, AirSculpture, Radio Massacre International,
Robert Rich, Rudy Adrian, Jonn Serrie, Jeff Pearce, Saul Stokes
and Steve Roach.

The STAR'S END 30th Anniversary Anthology CD is available for
a $60 donation to WXPN, which includes membership and all of
its benefits (current WXPN members can receive the STAR'S
END 30th Anniversary Anthology CD for a $25 donation). Call
1-800-565-WXPN for details.

Thanks very much for your support!

-

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

88.5fm WXPN Philadelphia, PA
88.7fm WXPH Middletown, York and Lancaster, PA
90.5fm Worton/Baltimore, MD
99.7fm Harrisburg, PA
104.9fm Lehigh Valley, PA
W285DH Whitehall, PA

and live on the web at http://xpn.org

-

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