Nala Sinephro – Space 1.8

Bought a repress copy from HMV so I can return it easily if it's a dud as many of the represses have been reported to be. Seems ok though so I am keeping it. All releases seem to have used copies of the same original stamper with the mirrored "1" followed by various symbols like | , + , Δ , ⏊ , | | in the matrix. The reported noises and nonfill defects people report must be spurious manufacturing issues rather than a remastering issue. I don't believe people reporting changes in the general dynamic range of overall image stage there is no evidence of remastering. I am always weary of people hyping up first presses for profit.

Here to echo the disparity in pressings, mine is an original press and sounds amazing. It’s clean and the bass is deep. Highly recommend getting a copy regardless, this album is incredible.

Obviously some discrepancies here as my copy (first press) is perfect as perfect can be.

Sold my vinyl copy because it sounded abysmal. Bought a copy on CD instead and it sounds stunning.

Beautiful music and one of the crappiest pressings I own. Shame.

So bad the quality of vinyl is a mess. This is golden syrup music. Love it ♥

Great album, worst vinyl pressing i've seen for a long time. Non-fill all the way...Digital download is way to go with this one.

It would be easy to call Space 1.8 minimalist, though there’s hardly anything here that would fit the minimalist format, then again it would be easy to call Space 1.8 understated, when it fact it’s not, leaving me to suggest that it’s some sort of expansive laidback jazz/ambient jazz (nearly avant-garde) with a bit of electronics … electronics that go on far too long in places and become rather boring over several listens. All this had me downloading the album and taking it apart to avoid the nonsensical meanderings that would not let me drift away facedown on my sofa … and then I was happy.

All and all, the album’s a romantic collection of fluidity, an adventurous romp through an imaginative pasture located somewhere I’ve never been. There are washes of sound that intersect smoothly with other sounds in a transitory transparent manner that envelop in the most subtle of ways, branching out and folding back in on itself effortlessly, in an almost child like manner of grace and comfort. This is not to say that there are not moments of intensity and abruptness, where the vibrations seem to continue on in one’s mind long after a passage as ended and morphs into another. There are moments of inspirational clarity, there are moments of esoteric befuddlement, moments of confusion and blissful sonic harmony. When all is said and done, there were no essential moments, and that’s a good thing here, as essentially important movements would have one recalling those instead of seeing Space 1.8 as a continuum; a single sweet bite of sugar laced gummy candy.

In her fashion, Nala Sinephro suggests that in her world she’s able to bend not only notes, but tones, weaving them as sonic structures of frequency and geometry, all this based on the notion (and perhaps rightly so) that sound is a metaphysical structure that has the ability to move matter, and if not to move matter, certainly to interface with it.

*** The Fun Facts: As to the album’s title, 1.8 suggests that volume capacity can be measured as swept volume, displacement volume or breathing volume. You might also consider that you’ll find 1.8GHz on laptop processors, while desktop processors to up to 5GHz.

Review by Jenell Kesler

Purchased today in San Diego that was put out in the bin this afternoon. This pressing appears to be a first since I see the mirrored 1 without the plus. Seems unlikely, but has anyone posted a photo of what the mirrored 1 or 1+ actually looks like?

I had been hunting for this album for a long time, so I expected high-quality pressing.
Unfortunately, vinyl sound dull, low dynamic range. Lots of pops, especially on the A side.
Digital format / streaming is much more pleasing :/