Deathprod - Imaginary Songs From Tristan Da Cunha

Helge 'Deathprod' Sten is a patient man, sometimes creating entire soundworlds from tiny pieces of recording, slowed down and manipulated until every detail is palpable. For me his most essential piece, and the most accessible to newcomers, would be his 'Morals and Dogma' opus, which features the heart-shatteringly beautiful 'Other People's Things'. As far as his back catalogue goes, though, this one still very much counts as a major work and it's good to see it back in print. Tristan de Cunha is a tiny island which is only accessible at certain times of year because of its tidal patterns, and as a result it has developed one of the world's only truly successful anarcho-communist societies, a bona fide cultural phenomenon. It's the isolation which Sten is focusing on here, though, with these finely detailed and glacial semi-melodic drones inviting you to contemplate your own place as a solitary entity. A beautiful piece of work from a true modern day master of minimal. If you're already a drone aficionado I'm sure you're already aware of his stature within the genre, but if you're a fan of his work in Supersilent and Motorpsycho and haven't yet investigated his solo pieces, I strongly recommend it.