Artist: Dom F. Scab

Albums:

• Analogical Confessions (2002)
• Silent Mars (with John Lakveet) (2000)

DOM F. SCAB

Analogical Confessions

Groove Unltd. (2002)

review by Bill Binkelman

Dom F. Scab once again favors his fans with another exploration into his unique spin on Berlin-school EM. His latest CD, Analogical Confessions, is chock full of a variety of electronic music styles and tempos featuring cool sequencers, cyber-spacy synths, rhythm-happy percussive effects, and an assortment of warm lush analog keyboards. In a word - marvelous! The songs on the CD are energizing and rewarding from the very first listen.

"After Secrets" opens the CD quietly and slowly, melding synth-bells, reverbed piano, and assorted analog keyboard sounds. The music is moody and mysterious, much like the awesome (best of the year, perhaps) cover art which is a black and white photo of two men in trenchcoats confronting each other at sunset while standing near some huge abandoned storage tanks with what looks like a rusted out Fiat 124 sitting nearby. The photo brilliantly captures the mood of the music on Analogical Confessions - noirish with a touch of SF/detective story and hint of darkness to come (the sun is setting in the photo as well).

"Insomnia," the second track, opens with a muted "boom" and a pulsing sequencer line, with squiggly synth effects underneath. One thing that almost all reviewers mention when they write about Dom F. Scab's work is his ability - nay, his creativity - in taking traditional Germanic electronic music (a la Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze) and twisting it in several ingenious and subtle ways to yield something that is part-retro but also wholly original and modern as well. I won't begin to try to detail how he does this, but you'll hear it on "Insomnia" in the extra textures he lays in here and there either on top of sequencer lines or underneath them. The track is forceful but never overly so.

There are eight songs all total on the CD and every one is great. I never got the least bit tired of listening to this album, either in the background while working or through headphones. "Materia Obscura" is weird, spacy, and full of overtly electronic non-musical sounds and patterns. "Navigating Lights," which is one of my favorite tracks, starts off slowly, but soon is underway at a midtempo cruising spped via thumping sequenced beats underneath flitting synths and cool quasi-jazzy piano runs. Another item worth mentioning about Scab is how he absolutely refuses to stay in one place for long during a piece. His music is always evolving - sometimes dramatically, sometimes more slyly. His piano work in "Navigating Lights" will dominate, and then recedes to hide while the more electronic musical textures take over.

The album closer is "2000 Kms" (kilometers per second?). An opening chattering echo sound recedes slightly into the background to be replaced by delicate sequenced notes, soon joined by an assortment of whirring effects and thumping bass beats. Arpeggios dance and flit here and there as the track evokes the feeling of great speed but not in a way that feels too frenetic. Other spacy sounds and assorted "fun" electronic musical textures pepper the cut as it progresses. It's a wonderful way to end such a great recording.

Dom F. Scab always comes through in the clutch. Analogical Confessions continues his string of albums that are draped in the older fabric of Berlin school EM yet the weave of the fabric flows with state-of-the-art engineering techniques and musical compositions that combine the best of the old with lots of new flavors and spices. Like the cover art, even when there is shadow and mystery in the picture, there is also a hint of sly wit (a la the clandestine meeting next to the Fiat 124). Lovers of Germanic EM will almost certainly embrace this album with open arms and welcome it into their collections. And they're right to do so!

LAKVEET-SCAB

Silent Mars

Vagern Records (2000)

review by Bill BInkelman

From Spaniard Dom Scab and John Lakveet (whose ethnicity I'm unsure of) comes an outstanding EM release that features both the enjoyable echoes of Berlin as well as new and exciting electronic music, including elements of both space and ambient genres. Silent Mars is an exploration of densely textured soundscapes that has the ability to paint dramatic visual images.

"Unlikely Thesis" starts things off with a bang as TD-like sequencer lines, bass beats, and delicious synthesizer melody lines all race headlong at a mid to fast tempo rhythm. This is one of the best opening cuts to an album I've heard this year. "Irradiatus" is even faster-paced and features machine-gun-fire sequenced beats and notes, pulsing with electronic life. I think there are four or five different rhythm/beat lines going at once. Frenetic yet so controlled, the song is a marvel of coiled energy. Once again, I'm sure fans of Tangerine Dream will make comparisons to any number of that German groups' releases.

"The Sands Are Running Out" is an alien and spacy sounding piece, mixing a collage of synthesizer effects, whirring and buzzing and whooshing, and eventually layering in minor key washes of sound. The result is an eerie sonic portrait of subtle power. "The Aisle Moves" reminded me a bit of Geodesium's music (as does a later cut, "Forge Nomads"), except when the sequencer lines cut in, we're off into supersonic territory again. Silent Mars makes me crave having a CD player in my car, as this must be exhilarating cruising music. When the tempo on these songs dials-up into hyperspeed, I'll bet the road just calls out and miles whiz by like you're flying. Oh well. I guess I can imagine what it would feel like. Those of you with CD decks in your cars, though, may want to make that the first venue for listening to this recording.

Some other songs on Silent Mars on more low-key, such as "Pinatype Process," while other cuts are from the Berlin school, yet with explorations into new textures or combinations ("Tricks and Games of Mrs. Thumb" plays around with strange percussive effects on top of synth washes to great effect). "Preknowledge.com" opens with a train whistle of all things (pretty startling if played loudly!) and develops into an ambient piece with floating drones and washes, bursts of electronic effects adding depth and textures, and some synth bells thrown in to lighten the emotional impact of the song.

Whether using pulsing sequencers, spacy synth washes, or electronic wizardry of strange sounds, Dom and John have fashioned a highly enjoyable, and technically awesome display of EM. Obviously, fans of the German-school should buy this one, but space music listeners who aren't opposed to rhythms and sequencers will find a lot of cool stuff here as well. The music on Silent Mars is moody, eerie, and always fascinating. Combine that with the great engineering (man, this album sounds good!) and lively rhythms on some cuts, and I don't know what else you could ask for in an EM recording.