ARC ~ England

Fleet (2017)

Fleet is the 8th proper album from ARC, the English duo of Ian Boddy and Mark Shreeve who specialize in the Berlin School of progressive electronic music. During the 2000's, ARC often explored other avenues such as adding real drums, or even trying their hand at abstract electronics. For those who like the traditional Berlin School sound, then Fleet will delight. The setup is very similar to their last two CD releases: Church and Umbra. That is to say this is an improvised concert recorded and released for the masses. Fleet was recorded on May 13, 2017 at the E-Scape festival. The album is remarkably consistent, with some fantastic and innovative Moog sequences as provided by the master of the instrument (Shreeve). Other than the relatively dull, yet majestic opening title track (even the crowd applause seemed perfunctory at this point), the remainder of the album could only be considered excellent, with no obvious high points. Easy recommendation for fans of the genre.

Ownership: 2017 DiN (CD). Digipak. Acquired in 2018.

10/18/18 (review)

Umbra (2014)

Umbra is the 7th ARC album, this one also a live recording - coming from the E-Live festival in The Netherlands on the date of October 19, 2013. Again we are treated to a CD packed to the very brim at 78+ minutes of sequencer filled goodness. While ARC have been known to surprise in the studio - such as the drummer fueled Blaze or the moody Fracture - in a live setting they are all about letting the sequencers blast away, while adding all sorts of textures, melody lines, and synthesizer solos on top. At this point in their career, Ian Boddy and Mark Shreeve know exactly what their audience wants, and how to make it happen. And so Umbra goes, with some of the fattest and most dynamic Moog Modular sequences in the business, while setting the table for the various synthesized sounds layered as icing on the cake (including faux choir Mellotron). Berlin School music at its most professional. Some music never goes out of style, and this is one of them. Can't miss item here for fans of the genre.

Ownership: 2014 DiN (CD). Digipak. Acquired in 2014.

8/31/14 (review)

 

Church (2010)

Church was recorded live on November 14, 2009 at Old St. Mary's Church in Philadelphia. Hence the title. You can pretty much presume how this album came about. Mark Shreeve and Ian Boddy arrive in Philadelphia and setup their massive equipment, including the Big Moog (mostly donated by local musicians for the cause - it would seem a bit cumbersome to put a large Moog in the airplane's overhead bins wouldn't it?). They then ask the concert organizer Chuck van Zyl (an accomplished and respected electronic musician in his own right) what they should play. "Oh, whatever you want, I wouldn't dare suggest..." "Well, what would your audience prefer then you guess?" "Well, you know, probably the sequencer oriented material" "Yes, the sequencer stuff. Right. Of course." So if Fracture was ARC's most outside-the-lines album, then Church is smack dab in the middle of the field, giving the title a double metaphor to work with - if one sees a church as traditional that is. So what you get is two long-time masters at the art of the synthesizer, performing 74+ minutes of Berlin School sequencer driven electronic music, played in a church built in 1763. Not sure one could draft a better idea if they tried. Immaculate.

Ownership: 2010 DiN (CD). Acquired in 2012.

9/20/12; 8/30/14 (review)

 

Fracture (2007)

Perhaps ARC should have named Fracture something like Departure instead (and, as luck would have it, the second track is titled 'Departed'). As other reviewers have noted, this ARC album is indeed quite a bit different from its predecessors. The music can be defined as haunting and atmospheric - darkly shaded - with copious amounts of throbbing deep-bass Moog 'beats' (for a lack of a better term). This isn't a classic Berlin School sequencer fest, though one can hardly blame Ian Boddy and Mark Shreeve for trying something a bit different. Shreeve in particular has already proven himself as the king of the Modular Moog sequences with his group Redshift. Perhaps they feel at times an obligation to do nothing but shredding sequencers and synthesizer solos, but then the music is no longer fun when it becomes a job, right? The music on Fracture could easily be background music at a hipster club in Brooklyn or San Francisco. The final track 'Rapture' does finally get down to some serious sequencer business, but only after ten minutes of creepy atmospherics - Sigillum S style (and it closes in a similar manner). I appreciate the effort here to be distinctive, but it remains my least favorite ARC album to date. I know, I know - some people never really evolve. I write that as my knuckles scrape the ground.

Ownership: 2007 DiN (CD). Acquired in 2012. Downsized in 2026.

9/16/12; 8/29/14 (review); 2/24/24

Arcturus (2005)

Arcturus is ARC's 4th album, and represents their live concert as performed at the Hampshire Jam 3 festival on October 23, 2004. They're back to a duo, with an impressive array of analog synthesizers, most notably Mark Shreeve's big ole honkin' Moog Modular. Ian Boddy brings along most of the more modern equipment to make it much easier to accomplish what they need to accomplish. On Arcturus, ARC are square-on mid 1970s Tangerine Dream style. If you're the type who can't be fed enough of Phaedra and Rubycon - and apparently I would fit in this category - then Arcturus is going to satisfy your hunger. Incredible sequences provide the foundation for the layered atmospheric synthesizers that sound like Mellotron, echoed Rhodes piano, and sundry other vintage sounds (many of which are sampled, but honestly, the effect is the same). And nobody does the throbbing fat sequences of the "Big" Moog like Mark Shreeve. He's second to none in that field for the modern era.

Ownership: 2005 DiN (CD). Acquired in 2007.

2/2/07; 8/28/14 (review)

 

Blaze (2005)

Blaze, ARC's 3rd album starts with Rhodes piano and... could it be? Yes, a real drummer (provided by Carl Brooker). It seems the duo of ARC are paying homage to the late 70s pioneers who mixed their Berlin School electronics with real drums ala Klaus Krueger (Tangerine Dream / Edgar Froese) and Harold Grosskopf (Klaus Schulze / Ashra). Sequencers and Mellotron follow, and yee-haw, we're in Force Majeure territory in mere seconds. Half the tracks are sans drums, and all of these are atmospheric and pulsating, somewhat similar to the first half of Radio Sputnik. These tracks setup the more dynamic and rhythmic drum plus sequencer compositions that are devastating when presented in this manner. In particular 'Klangwand' and 'Pulse Train' deliver a powerful collection of analog synthesizers along with driving percussion. Another essential album from ARC.

Ownership: 2003 DiN (CD). Acquired in 2005.

2005; 8/27/14 (review)

 

Radio Sputnik (2000)

ARC's second album, Radio Sputnik, is a live outing from the Alfa Centauri Festival in The Netherlands (recorded March 21, 1998). It is also their debut release on Ian Boddy's own DiN label. The concert features, as one would expect, songs from their first studio album Octane including 'Steam', 'Who Walks Behind You', 'Octane', and 'Relay'. Only 'Turn and Face Me' from the debut is omitted, but they add four other tracks including their landmark 'Arc-Angel' track.

ARC's music continues to be squarely in the electronic Berlin School tradition. No surprise there given that Mark Shreeve heads up what I consider one of the finest bands in the style with Redshift. The first half of Radio Sputnik is more atmospheric with pulsating sequences, while the latter half is more heavily geared towards the classic Redshift sound. The concert is entirely improvised, so there are many shifts and changes throughout each composition – not just the usual static monotone sequences. 'Arc-Angel' is one of their finest pieces ever, with incredible rapid fire sequencing all over, and choral mellotron layered on top which creates an extraordinary listening experience. Closing with 'Relay', arguably the finest track on Octane, puts this album in the indispensable category. 

Ownership: 2000 DiN (CD). Acquired in 2005.

2005; 8/26/14 (review)

Octane (1998)

The ARC legacy starts with Octane, the debut studio album from this fruitful Ian Boddy and Mark Shreeve collaboration. This is an album for those who like the classic Berlin School scene similar to other like-minded bands such as AirSculpture, Radio Massacre International, and Redshift (a band, incidentally, which Shreeve leads). Heavy on the analog keyboards, especially sequencers, and mellotron (sampled according to Planet Mellotron). The best cuts are, not surprisingly, the more heavily sequenced ones - and those would be the title track and 'Relay'.

Ownership: 1998 Something Else (CD). Acquired in 2005.

2005; 8/25/14 (review) 

8/25/14 (new entry)