Mortinaré - Welcome To The Wormhole

Artists like Peter Golyan don't come around very often. Under his Lank production guise, he has an enviable reputation for producing an enormous body of work, while retaining the twin virtues of innovation and impeccable quality. With a string of releases dating back to 2006, the Lank back catalogue reads like a "Who's Who" of modern leading progressive labels including, microCastle, Proton, Baroque, Boz Boz and Mesmeric. Peter's "Bounce Back" radio show on Proton Radio also delivers a monthly slice of groove-laden music to the airwaves, and a reputation was further cemented with work under the recent Colourblock collaborative name with Forteba and DJ Stone. With an album release already on Proton Music, and a remix album to follow, support has been universal.

Peter now returns to Particles with a new downtempo and electronic production alias, Mortinare. Making its debut on the label remixing Exoplanet's "Circuit and Organism Coalesce" EP, Lank's Mortinare alias now provides a full length album of beautiful soundscapes and a bountiful sound palette entitled, "Welcome To The Wormhole". The tracks comprising this album are akin to the soundtrack to a science-fiction motion picture event, with such themes as inter-stellar travel, distant galaxies, war and hope inferred. The titles themselves are enough to conjure up images and storylines but, once heard, tracks such as: "The Forbidden Planet", "Battlefield Flower" and "One Birth" only serve to heighten this impression. Whispering pads combine with soaring strings and Foley type sound effects to provide a perfect filmic backdrop. Tracks such as "Nuke City" uses a hypnotic piano structure to create an air or melancholy and a sense of regret, while "Bad Communication" has an air of digital static, distress signals and tension.

"Welcome To The Wormhole" is no ordinary album but a landmark in modern sound design and music structure, commanding attention. If Stanley Kubrick's "2001" had a 21st Century soundtrack, it might sound something like it came from the mind of Mortinare. At the very least, Ridley Scott should be knocking on Peter Golyan's door in readiness for a "Prometheus" sequel.

Text by James Warren

1. Welcome To The Wormhole
2. The Forgotten Planet
3. Nuke City
4. Flight 801
5. Battlefield Flower
6. Bad Communication
7. In The Middle Of A Strange Room
8. The Lonely Princess
9. One Birth
10. Offensive