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LINKS [AB-OC-20] PHOSPHENE (featuring Lol Coxhill and friends) - The Plum, The Orange and The Matchbox  CD only $11 USA; $15 World 1. Doctor Silence 2. Opaline 3. Elsewhere and Otherwise 4. Spheries 5. His Master's Vice 6. Golf: an Antechamber to Death [MP3] 7. The Plum, The Orange and The Matchbox 8. Henry The Ninth [MP3] 9. Cepheid Variable Glasgow's John Cavanagh (AKA Phosphene) weaves a wizard's spell of gurgling electronic pleasure on this, the second Phosphene CD for Secret Eye. This time out, Phosphene's sonic explorations embrace a free-jazz trip as John collaborates with friends such as legendary improv saxophonist Lol Coxhill. Atonal analogue synths and free brass sounds combine to make an eccentric, contemporary, psychedelic, electronic, stoned Radiophonic workshop classic. Together, they create diverse album gauzy tone-textures, moving seamlessly from amorphous psychedelic fantasy to infectiously catchy song. [AB-OC-10] PHOSPHENE - Projection  CD only SALE! $9 USA; $12 World 1. The Third Bell 2. A Spherical Song [MP3] 3. Alex Trocchi's M.U. 4. Tirana Calls 5. Cosy Sphere 6. Souterrain 7. Turbillion 8. This Is Not A Woodstove 9. And The Ship Of Sunrise Burning 10. Wild Wind The second solo release (and US debut) from John Cavanagh of Glasgow, Scotland - former member of Electroscope, BBC Scotland presenter and author of the recently published book "Piper At The Gates Of Dawn", a detailed look into the first Pink Floyd LP - in the 33 1/3 series from Continuum Press. The CD features a new, Floyd-esque cover photo from Vic Singh - his 2nd ever album cover (the first was the original Pink Floyd Piper!). A stunning new record of amazing psychedelic ambience! REVIEWS "If you're a fan of abstract and ethereal music, Phosphene is simply made for you. Ex-Electroscope John Cavanagh favours collages of sounds to structured tracks, long instrumental pieces interspersed with elongated bursts of noises to songs and, above all, the pleasure of sound textures over texts and lyrics. How would I define Cavanagh then? Simply as a contemporary philosopher of cosmic music." Erasing Clouds "This is the second album by Phosphene. John Cavanagh has this time also used some guests. Projection shows some progression also in that aspect, that in addition to the ethereal, ambient-electro-floating there are now also some clear songs with rhythm and vocals. He hasn't compromised one drop on the psychedelic side though, which is always positive... There are also some 60's influences on the album, even a bit of Pink Floyd feel. Quantitatively the most part of the album is still filled with cosmic instrumental soundscapes in the similar style than on Long Meadow Felt Company. John does have a marvellous skill to make his electronic noises sound surprisingly organic. This is a nice, trippy album, and extra points for the cool cover!" - Psychotropic Zone, Finland "Imagine if Syd Barrett had survived the acid wars and made it whole into the 21st century. He'd probably be doing music that resembles what Phosphene accomplish on Projection. Glasgow's John Cavanagh is Phosphene, and Projection faithfully duplicates the psychedelic feel of early Floyd while adding to it a lysergic injection of post-Orb and Future Sound of London electronica. Cluster could even be used as a reference point to describe what Cavanagh does at certain points throughout this quirky disc. Some of Cavanagh's songs are simply charming - in the Barrett sense - and some are genuinely psychedelic pop. "Cosy Sphere" has great lyrics ("You look at me like I'm made of glass/With diamond eyes to cut me down to size"), an addictive groove, and a heart-stopping wheezing Farfisa sound that instantly transports you to 1967. Then there are the ambient pieces ("Souterrain," "This Is Not a Woodstove," and "The Ship of Sunrise Burning") that draw on more purely electronic influences with stroboscopic washes of synth and organ, similar to Eno's Another Green World vignettes and the precious electro-folkpop of Cluster's middle period, particularly Zuckerzeit. The disc concludes with the ambient jig "Wild Wind." Very droney and plaintive, the piece sounds as if it's based on a traditional Scottish Highlands melody and makes for an appropriate coda to this impressive set of songs. Very engaging and compelling, Projection resists any attempt at definitive classification. Like Eno, Cavanagh's music is both eccentric yet oddly accessible. And like Eno, though you probably won't play it every day, there will be those times when you're irresistibly drawn to the sheer strangeness of the man's vision and his wholly original musical vernacular." - Aural Innovations 
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