Tracklist
| Descent | 1:42 | |
| Black State Special | 5:49 | |
| Raine | 5:24 | |
| Carbonek | 5:33 | |
| Avro | 6:51 | |
| Tremearne | 5:03 | |
| Pyat | 4:31 | |
| Drexler | 5:44 | |
| Auchinek | 4:46 | |
| Incluse | 5:25 | |
| Feint | 6:51 | |
| Aileron | 5:38 | |
| Ubik | 4:28 |
Versions
| Title, Format | Label | Cat# | Country | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Study Of 'And' (CD, Album) | Expanding Records | ecd15:04 | UK | 2004 | |
| A Study Of 'And' (LP) | Expanding Records | eva07:04 | UK | 2004 |
'descent' is a magnificent opener that immediately transports you to a place far away from you earthly environment. It also sets the scene for what is to follow, a beautiful ambient intro.
'black state special' continues with beautiful ambient pads and gradually introduces some more structure by bringing in some clicks and a gentle lead, then adding some gentle drum programming.
'raine' continues much in the same vein of 'black state special' but introduces very simple, yet touching synth chords that really connect on an emotional level. This is then beautifully complemented by slow evolving ambient pads.
'carbonek' comes next and immediately starts of with an arpeggiated synth line followed by a beautiful synth line (my god, the sounds on this album are breathtaking!). This awesome, epic feeling is then further enhanced by warm, engulfing ambient pads...close your eyes and you're in musical heaven. A drum sequence kicks in, a menacing bass joins it and seems about to destroy your precious little heaven but then the original sounds kick in again and fuse with the drum programming, robbing it from all its menacing features. And in heaven you remain right until the ending of this beautiful song...
'tremearne' ends the first side of this genre-defining album starting of with atmospheric pads quickly followed by a chilled drum pattern. Once again it's hard to describe the various sounds but suffice to say that they once again manage to create a certain relaxing and engulfing atmosphere that can easily help you recover from a stressful day at work.
'drexler' starts the flipside. I'm not sure but I think the title refers to K. Eric Drexler (a contempary scientist that defined - and is still defining - the field of nanotechnology). If so, Drexler's vision of a nano-powered society conflicts with the, once again, very relaxing, beautiful and refined song that is developed here. On the other hand, perhaps it is just this refined song-crafting that connects 'drexler' to Drexler because nanotechnology too is a very refined field working on the level of molecules and perhaps one day even individual atoms. Then again, I might be completely wrong and Stendec were unaware of the existence of Drexler and all this is just a coincidence ;-)
'incluse'...well what can I say? This album is very coherent hence what I have described earlier applies to this song as well and just as the previous songs it is flawlessly executed here. Mind you that I'm not saying here that they all sound the same! They all share the same characteristics but they are certainly not identical songs or slight variations of the same theme: they all manage to convey the same sense of rest and peace but do so via different paths, each path as interesting as the previous one.
'aileron' opens with angelic pads and soon brings in an infectuous drum pattern and soft bursts of noise.
'ubik' ends the album on a beautiful note. Once again transporting you to a safe and warm place (you can imagine that this is how unborn babies feel in the womb of their mother - a beautiful feeling).
Sadly the album then ends but to all good things must come an end and you can always start over which is exactly what I have been doing for the last couple of days!
By the way, the title of the album is explained on the back of the record sleeve by quoting Arthur Stanley Eddington (a rather influential scientist living from 1882-1944):
"we often think that when we have completed our study of one we know about two, because 'two' is 'one and one'. we forget that we still have to make a study of 'and'"
I'll leave it to you to think about what this means on a musical level but considering that electronic music is made by machines that think in zeros and ones, you'll probably figure it out soon enough...
Conclusion: a genre-defining album that I can easily place alongside others of its kind (Arovane's Tides and Lillies comes to mind as well as certain tracks from Boards Of Canada) and a must for all those who love their electronica injected with a relaxing dose of ambient...