Richard Garrett, Robot Sculpture

It is a surprise to learn that the beautifully haunting soundscapes conjured by electronica maestro Richard Garrett on his latest recording venture Robot Sculpture started life as algorithms and constraints in an audio package. The postproduction and overdubbing required to then translate these pieces into the aesthetic artforms that they are now must have been an enormous undertaking.

In parts the album is not unlike Clint Mansell's soundtrack work for films such as Pi and Requiem for a Dream. The many textures come from an arsenal of instruments, some sampled, some live work. Guitar tones vary from metal through Mike Oldfield to the delicate acoustic.

As an example, walking bass and delicate piano petals pave the way for hip-hop beats and crowd cheers which pick up where Miles Davis and Easy Mo Bee left off, whilst pulsating accordian is a foil for more intricate rhythmic piano and guitar interplay. But this is where Richard Garrett betrays himself by sticking to the easier path of guitar shredding which bastardizes the perfectly lovely piano line ... in this case, it just needed an acoustic, man. A short surreal Zappa-esque baroque whimsey is sharply followed by unearthly minimalist piece like John McLaughlin's intro to Aura. These experiments are extended for some time before returning with an Irish jig (Welsh surely?) and another track with elegantly phrased chorus-FX guitar. Synthetic drums are glaringly wrong in only a few places, and I would urge swapping those channels with a rerecording of live drums. Maybe Richard's chum One-Worder Marco Anderson fancies a bash?

However, overall, this album is a great achievement as a solo project, displaying some excellent playing and superb programming and mixing. In a musical world dominated by overproduction and electronic prostitution, here we find a wonderful sensitivity for what is enough, what is suitable and what is right.