In 2012, Lee Gamble dropped a pair of releases for Bill Kouligas' excellent PAN Records imprint: the chopped-up jungle of Diversions 1994-1996 and the unpredictably experimental Dutch Tvashar Plumes. Both albums showed off Gamble's affinity with early UK dance music styles, yet they also demonstrated prescience, as the producer seemed to be peering into the near future. This double-LP is the result, expanding on the aspects revealed by Gamble's earlier efforts and pushing the boundaries of his ever-expanding oeuvre.
With KOCH, Gamble employs a more introspective and personal brand of electronic music. The first pair of sides feature extended passages of almost glistening ambient drone; only the ping-pong percussion of the minimal "Oneiric Contur" is devoid of any extended washes of tone. The second LP begins with the quirky yet engaging "Voxel City Spirals," which parallels the equally transfixing "Ornith-Mimik," which brings about the flip side. Rounding out the proceedings is some tempestuous techno set atop a contrail of delightfully nocturnal emanations. Once again, Lee Gamble has managed to produce an effort right in PAN's wheelhouse, pairing idiosyncratic experimentalism with dance floor styling, and it totally works.
(Pan)With KOCH, Gamble employs a more introspective and personal brand of electronic music. The first pair of sides feature extended passages of almost glistening ambient drone; only the ping-pong percussion of the minimal "Oneiric Contur" is devoid of any extended washes of tone. The second LP begins with the quirky yet engaging "Voxel City Spirals," which parallels the equally transfixing "Ornith-Mimik," which brings about the flip side. Rounding out the proceedings is some tempestuous techno set atop a contrail of delightfully nocturnal emanations. Once again, Lee Gamble has managed to produce an effort right in PAN's wheelhouse, pairing idiosyncratic experimentalism with dance floor styling, and it totally works.