bitley™

Ralph Lundsten is a world-famous electronica composer who you should know about. He is very much a living legend. Not "only" for his music; also for his unique home styling, his pink villa outside Stockholm, Sweden and his marvellous studio housed in the same villa - The Andromeda Studio. He started making music with synthesizers as early as 1958. Beat dis! Some of his instruments were designed according to his inner dreams about instruments, by as far as I can recall, a finnish technician who never had built an instrument before. Many people mention Dr. Robert Moog (R.I.P.) as a synthesizer pioneer. And that may be true of course. Most notably for the always stunning Minimoog synthesizer, perhaps. But synthesizers were here before Moog's instruments. Ralph Lundsten probably invented some of the first instruments. Search the internet for more info - his autobiography is online, at least in swedish.

Neurobash is a band consisting of a couple of cool young fellas, among those my long time internet friend Daniel Brandt - also known via the forum 99musik as "Oberfunker". He works as a graphical designer, but he is also a very creative science fiction fan, writing novels and concept albums. Neurobash and Daniel are here on Trig if you want to check them out separately; check among my friend lists and you'll find them. They started making music as a band in 2004.

For a better resume, check the myspace link:

http://www.myspace.com/thenakedmoon

This is also where to go for hearing previews from the album. I'm currently checking it out and my first two favourite tracks are Fragments Of Home (with its fantastic & fresh feel & fun vocoder) and Goodbye Stardust (with its wonderful synthesized harmonies, reminiscent of & better than Pet Shop Boys & Trevor Horns partially ambient-sounding work on their Fundamental album).

The album is just released - I'll for sure grab it as soon as possible.

Luckily for me, I have come to communicating terms with Ralph, and I have visited him in his magnificient house. So I'll tell you what I'll do - I'll try to hook up a meeting with him so I can purchase the album from him directly & perhaps also play him a few of my Aurora Borealis tracks. If I dare. Do I? : )

Anyway. Make sure to visit their Myspace site and listen to the tracks.

This feels fresh - it's like they've helped each other to find one another's best sides. It's the best I've heard from Neurobash and it's the best I've heard from Ralph Lundsten in a couple of years. He sometimes delved into the idea of creating orchestral-sounding music; nothing wrong with that, but I like his music best when it's obviously synthesized and electronic.

I'll round up with a salute to them all & a very thorough wish for the best, I hope this album will gather success. They are planning some live performances together with a japanese artist (read more on their Myspace site, again) and I think that sounds highly interesting.

Neurobash & Ralph Lundsten on Myspace

- Bitley, aka Patrick Fridh