Bath, UK producer Tim Gilbert's Fields of Few project bursts into the Triplicate Records canon with an unbelievably brilliant little EP called 'Sines and Signals'. Across these five gorgeously colourful techno tunes, the amount of treats and delights packed into such a brief musical outing must be heard to be believed.

****************
INTERVIEW
****************
GE: Please tell us about your equipment, I'm dying to know because this honestly one of the freshest sounding collections of songs I've heard in ages.

TG: In terms of set up, I’ve got a bit of variety of stuff on the go, but generally I like to go with a fairly minimal setup. If had endless synths/ presets/ plug ins, I think I’d get lazy and write less creatively.I use FL Studio with an M-Audio Sono 61 controller, a couple of SM57’s and a Behringer audio interface, some older gear that I like to play around with to get some nice Lo-Fi sounds- a Korg 05/RW, a Freebass 383, Behringer Virtualizer Pro, Soundcraft Folio F1, a Sony tape deck, some nice Q-Acoustics.And then some really nice acoustic instruments- a Kawai upright Piano, an old German Violin, a French Viola (both of which my wife plays professionally), an old English Cello. An acoustic guitar, a box of random tuned and untuned percussion, and some old Radio Shack and kit radios that are great for white noise, crackles and pops.

GE: If musical genre's were living people, which would be hardest? I don't mean the most difficult, I mean like, which one would you be scared was gonna kick your teeth in.

TG: Probably Thrash metal- there seems to be a lot of unresolved anger there!

GE: I feel it's important to ask this of our artists on their first release with us, who are your big musical influences?

TG: My musical influences are numerous, but the key players are; Faex Optim, Orange Crush, Helios, Horizon Fire, Global Communication, Boards of Canada, Melorman, early Sasha & Digweed mixes, Orbital, Aphex Twin, Richard Strauss, and the master…J.S. Bach!

GE: Everyone works at different speeds, that's always been a source of fascination to me. How long did it take you to finish and polish this fantastic EP? Were there many rejects before you whittled it down to these five tunes?

TG: I usually start with a really clear idea of what I want to write so the composing part often takes me less time than the mixing and production. I usually spend weeks tweaking my mixes (and eventually tell myself to walk away), but the composing/ writing element of the EP took me one week.

GE: If you had to eradicate one animal from the world, which animal would it be? And why is it wasps?

TG: Ha ha! Yes I’m no fan of wasps either, but I’d have to choose the Scorpion. They just look so intent on acting out evil! And it’s not as if you could ever say ‘ah but that one’s quite cute’.

GE: What's your favourite tune on the album? Mine's 'Tapes for Nomads'. I may have gushed about it for multiple paragraphs in the review.

TG: So my favourite track from the album is actually the last one ‘northern light fading’- if it’s ok to say…I’m pleased with the pad sound and harmony I landed on!

****************
REVIEW
****************
A stark spattering of chilly percussion set against bleak radio fuzz is Immediately swallowed in the crisp sepia warmth of synthezizers, and despite the admittedly melancholic motifs floating around on opener 'Lost Transmissions', the overall toasted haze of the mood being set here somewhat betrays the icy-cold aesthetic of the new Fields of Few EP 'Sines and Signals'. In fact it's a small collection of songs that can thrive in multiple temperatures, whether it's the frostbitten synth arpeggios of the opener, and the following 'Weather Damaged Transmitter', or the spicy island marimba-ish twinkle of the sublime 'Outpost Unknown'.

The brainchild of Bath-resident Cellist Tim Gilbert, this EP marks the first solo release from the 'Fields of Few' on Triplicate Records, and frankly the amount of treats and delights packed into such a brief musical outing has to be heard to be believed. The bright and melodic futurist techno of 'Tapes for Nomads' feels like the clearest and most powerful showcase for what exquisite sounds and sweet moods this extremely talented producer can conjure up with his machines. Far from the drawn-out handily mix-ready length we've come to expect from this kind of genre, we're treated to but a brief outing each time, though as someone who's had it on repeat for the last couple of hours I can safely say I wouldn't have it any other way.

It's not to say the material found here would outstay it's welcome if each track were six minutes long, far from it, but these are intricately fussed over and perfected little miniatures which do exactly what Gilbert designed them to do, to tell the compact and evocative little musical tales they were composed to tell. Genre-wise we're looking at the loosely defined early 90's idea of ambient, that is to say laid back yet danceable (or at least bob-your-head-able) tunes. Ear-pleasing textures, pretty melodies and strange compelling percussion, all mixed together wonderfully to create something mesmerizing and lovely.

The aforementioned 'Tapes for Nomads' instantly feels like coming back to an old friend you haven't seen for years; hearing an old classic number you haven't chanced to listen to for the longest time, it feels like home, or at least part of the musical cannon from that alternate timeline you slipped from. Here, Gilbert's mastery of melodies is especially apparent as the many intriguing little musical passages converge with the drums to form an extremely tight and tender listen.

Then finally you have the almost religious rolling keyboard flair of closer 'Northern Light Fading', quickly surrounded and overtaken by the thumping percussion, and before you know it you're listening to another spicy dance number that seems to rejoice in a level of urgency that's quite uncommon for a closer. A fiery little bombshell of track that again, accomplishes a lot within a very brief period of time seems like the perfect closer for a perfect EP. The Fields of Few project's first outing on the label will delight anyone who gives it a chance to do so. The rewards found herein are vast, instantaneous and long-lasting.

George Ernst - Triplicate Records