Recoil - Hydrology And 1 + 2

Alan Wilder was a member of Depeche Mode but also a guy who likes to mess around in the world of experimental sounds. He started his Recoil project in the mid 80s and released some fine pieces of music.

This particular release is actually a combination of his 2 earlier albums put together on 1 album. There is not really a definition or a style that fits this kind of music, you can only define it as experimental. Alan Wilder likes to turn knobs on his synthesizers, messing around with filters, envelopes and changes in amplitudes.

Personally I like the hydrology part most, especially 'Stone'. A slow builder, it actually has about a 3 minute intro. After that it becomes a totally different beast. After a short break, a metallic bassline and an electro kickdrum make an appearance. It slowly builds with added effects and synthlines. The atmosphere is mysterious and industrial sounding. After about 6/7 minutes, the percussion fades away and the synths/effects guide you further on, untill about 13 minutes after which the whole package kicks right back in. Wonderful trip!

'Grain' is a piano-based track which starts off pretty subtle but during the 8 minute trip, Wilder explores different areas with added pads.

'The Sermon' is an upbeat track for the first 11 minutes. After that it transforms into a section with only tribal chanting. Pretty strange. But the first 11 minutes are pretty nice and interesting.

The tracks '1' and '2' are just as experimental as 'Stone'. They have different phases and offer during their 14 and 18 minute trips a lot of interesting knob-twiddling stuff.

Pretty experimental release, but beautiful in a strange way.