Sholto Dobie - 23 LP

While I’ve dug his collaborations with current day ballers of the avant-music game, Mark Harwood and Rory Salter, this is my first slice of solo Sholto Dobie. (Note: never mind, it’s actually his debut solo album 🙃😅)

Sholto’s practice centres around homemade instruments incorporating foot pumps, compressed air, tubes, reeds, flutes, metal pipes etc so there’s a want to draw comparison to the tantalising Pancrace collective or Aine O’Dwyer’s breathing of fresh life into the church organ.

It’s an apt comparison but I couldn’t help but think about raw electricity and the primitive principles of synthesis when hearing these “natural world” sounds. Speaking of “natural”/anti-natural, Idea Fire Company’s recorded in a room, in real time synthesizer pieces came to mind, as did Japanese synth drone duo Nord at their most tranquil. - Nic