Label: Creel Pone

Creel Pone初期の2006年に一度CD-R化されたSteve Birchallの73年作 [Reality Gates]。3年後の76年にOvation Recordsが再発LPを制作していますが、なんと曲名が同じにも関わらず内容が別モノだったらしく、今回Creel Poneが新たに2CD-R完全版を制作。単独で制作された73年版CD-Rは既に廃盤。



Creel Pone treatment of this set of deep-fried one-man-against-the-cosmos synth-automaton gunk from the distant US midwest - specifically; Bloomington, Indiana - of the early 70s, initially released on / by the “Custom Fidelity Records” label / plant. Starts out with the absolutely piercing high tones / clarion call of “Music of the Spheres” after which we become the (un)willing passengers on Dr. Steven T. Birchall’s mind-trip excelsior, passing through several key lobes of the beyond before zeroing in on the cranial lump responsible for, amongst other things, time itself.

This re-cast, 2017 edition features several pieces of the puzzle missing from the original replica edition: The Ovation / "Zichron Ltd." pressing of the album is now available on a separate disc; which, as it turns out, is a completely different recording / realization of the same five pieces! It's essentially a different record. Then, the only other recorded & issued work by Birchall, "Reciprocals II" for two tubas, is included as a bonus track at the end of the Ovation disc; it's a glorious acoustic exploration of the same electronic timbre-set witnessed across "Reality Gates"

As far as private-press American Electronic Music goes; ten years on, this still rates as one of the absolute apexes, and is an easy highlight of the Creel Pone series; very glad to have this back in circulation.