Release data:

[‘ramp] Steel and Steam
CD, Doombient Music, 2011

Again based on and inspired by collaborations with other musicians, “Steel and Steam” sees Stephen Parsick expertly pursue the quest of [‘ramp] through the vast landscapes of energetic vintage electronics, although now all on his own.

The ten tracks on this album are all centered around “bulldozer” sequencer patterns and intense, in-your-face analogue textures with an industrial abrasive, distortive touch and poignant motifs. The great opener “Zeppelin” is an great example of that, while the two-part “Node” starts digging deeper into the core of things.

“Solenoid” even dares to take the next step with slight experimental rims thrown in, but staying an immersive sonic experience throughout. In a way, “Led” again hits the same button as “Zeppelin” with its beautiful melancholic and Vangelis-like flavours (hello again CS80!).
Here, the best ingredients of the retro vaults and an assortment of metallic sounds with a raw edge surface throughout the albums music in a spatial way.

In addition, compared to the previous releases, there’s also a much stronger melodic flavour found in the music. All these elements twist and curl, while occasionally showing similarities with the output of Mark Shreeves succesful Redshift project. It is also with this retro-giant Stephen had the pleasure to record the solid excursions “Puppets” and the four-part title track, that both air a distinct intimacy in their own strange way despite the occasional harsh, distortive and bold blasts featured on “Steel and Steam – part three and four”.

While at times quite demanding, “Steel and Steam” makes a solid and straight-forward statement that will please the vintage electronica fan who is willing to step and look over the hedge of the genre now and then.

“Steel and Steam” is a factory pressed cd-release limited to only 300 copies that (as Stephen clearly stated) will see no repressing nor will it be available as digital download. So grab a copy as long as stock lasts…

Website: www.parsick.com

You can see what reviews I have done of this artist on the [‘ramp] artist page