Harbour of the North Wind by
Label: Hotham Sound
Genre: Highlights, Electronic, Ambient
$12.99
Availability: In stock
Audiopile Review: Hotham Sound voyage back to Montreal after their recent cross-continental offering from Frédérique Duval under her Fumerolles guise, this time pulling in her partner, Christian Richer, aka Élément Kuuda, both of whom ought to be familiar if you’ve been following our recent tape recommendations in our weekly emails. Among some of their earlier tapes, we’ve just recently started carrying Duval and Richer’s freshly launched Isohyet label, who, in an act of cross-continental mutual love, released the debut from Vancouver’s own J.T Gladysz as their opening salvo. As you might have surmised, Élément Kuuda slots in nicely to the slowly growing Hotham family, the pastoral vistas and naturalistic explorations pulled from old school synths is not far from the established template pursued previously by the likes of Playback Head, Corben and Mount Maxwell. Richer’s threading of the cosmonautic approach of the pioneers at Sky Records with the aquatic warble of BoC-centric ‘90s IDM is absolute catnip for us. Harbour of the North Wind also reignites our memories of the explosive cassette underground of the late ‘00s and early ‘10s, that heady era when a new wave of DIY bedroom synth wizards seemed to emerge en masse. So it should not be a shock that Richer was a part of that influx, in fact, as pointed out by Hotham Sound, he actually formed a short-lived duo alongside Norm Chambers (RIP), a key figure in that cassette resurgence under his Panabrite moniker. Much time has passed since then, and the project of Élément Kuuda has come along way, an assured hand is at work to help guide you along this humble cassette’s effervescent voyage. A tip of the hat to Hotham and Isohyet for keeping the DIY spirit of the cassette underground alive and well.
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A DIY synth builder and multi-instrumentalist, Christian Richer (AKA Élément Kuuda) is a key figure in Montreal’s growing underground minimal-synth scene. In addition to a constant schedule of recording and performing, Richer and his partner Frédérique Duval (AKA Fumerolles) recently launched ISOHYET, a limited edition cassette label featuring electronic music from Montreal and beyond. On ‘Harbour of the North Wind’ he introduces a collection of sprightly electronic tone poems to the Hotham Sound library; equal parts ambient music, synth pop, and Berlin School minimalism. While Richer describes it as ‘music from an alternate world,’ there is something distinctly Maritimes sounding about this album, calling to mind the isolated coastal communities of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. The microscopic bleeps and boops of ‘Reef Analysis’ and ‘Myst Fortahn Probes’ inch their way forward like lichen spreading over windswept rocks, while the sequenced rhythms of ‘Falcon Maze’ and ‘Tidal Denouement’ shine and shimmer like cabin lights on the shore. Album standout ‘Charismatic Catastrophe’ sees Richer slipping into a more languid mode, with stately arpeggios making way for a series of beautiful string arrangements that evoke warmth and home. And finally, ‘Farewell Sea Friend’ is a bouncy and jubilant ode to Richer’s late friend and collaborator Norm Chambers (the two released a collection of faux 70s French library music under the name Soft Mirage in 2012). A highly recommended release from the other side of Turtle Island!
