Album review: Richard Norris - Elements

Choccies for the Postie!

Every now and again, you stumble across a piece of music that you know is going to be with you for a long time. I must admit as I've got older this seems to happen less frequently, but last week an LP landed on my doormat (literally, nowadays the postie opens the door to our front porch and chuck the letters and parcels in. We've started leaving a tub of Celebrations for him to help himself to as a thank you for keeping going during the various lockdowns!) that as soon as I put it on, I knew it was a keeper.

Off Grid

I think my first exposure to Richard Norris would have been when he was half of The Grid (the other half being David Ball, ex Soft Cell). Their track Flotation was on a mixtape my old musical pal Dan did when he was tempting me over to the way of electronica. Flotation was lovely, but then The Grid hardly put a foot wrong.

I lost track of him a bit - sort of liked some of the Beyond The Wizards Sleeve stuff, but it didn't really grab me at the time.

But I'd caught bit of his more ambient/abstract work in Abstractions Vol. 1 & Vol. 2, which I really did like.

So when Elements landed, and Dan again gave me a seriously hard nod that I should listen to this (he knows me well), I jumped in.

Pitches in an exhibition

And, oh my goodness, he was right. What Norris seems to have done is make an album for me. There's little touches and influences from many electronic artists I adore, beautifully mixed in a rich tapesty of synth loveliness.

It's like an exhibition, or museum piece. Like he's taken little gems of style and sound, and curated them into a collection that shows them off beautifully. Placing them so they metaphorically catch the light just right, and glitter and sparkle.

But this isn't an homage or replaying of old electronic music tropes - he's far too clever for that. Each of these tracks stands up as it's own piece of music. There's a real deft touch in terms of structure and production here. It's delicious.

So, here's a quick rundown of the tracks with a few thoughts from me - but if you like electronic music, you must give this a go. Welcome to your next favourite album... 😉

Earth

I'm a sucker for motorik arpeggios. And this gets straight to business with a lovely Kraftwerkian creation.
Which is lovely enough, but then there's some subtle Global Communication influences in the bass and pads. Those that know me will know that I rate 76:14 as one of my favourite albums of all time. So to feel that colour here works beautifully for me.

Water

Another one of my electronica favourites is Banco de Gaia. This aligns with his work though the vocals, and throws in a nice nod to Salt Tank on the way.

Fire

This one surprised me. I'm getting flickers of Jean Michel Jarre - but that's not the surprising thing. One of my early keyboard heroes was Dave Greenfield from the Stranglers (no sniggering at the back - he did some really cool stuff with synths as part of that band), and I can definitely hear some Greenfield in the vamping on this track. Perfect.

Air

I think this is the only track where I'm not hearing something from my own little treasure chest of electronica memories and influences. It's a little annoying actually, because there's something nibbling away at the back of my mind. It's those key changes. Hmmm.

But it's a lovely wash of a track. Light, and subtle. Layered, but never cluttered.

Space

One of my more recent obsession has been Pye Corner Audio, and that general Ghost Box, hauntology vibe. This brings that to mind.

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So, I already adore this album. Everything about it is just lush, but precise. Even the artwork reflects the music inside. The deep comforting blue envelops you in a warm cocoon, with those geometric patters reflect the precise placing of the sounds. It's just spot on.

Ooooh!

Aaaah!

Mmmmm!

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Thanks for reading!

I am an indie musician, with an eclectic taste in music. If you fancy checking me out (!), then here are some starting points: https://www.flow.page/gribbles

Cheers,

.g