Alex McKechnie - Degrees Of Latitude [1471877 Records DK 001]

Released only recently as the very first outing of the new label 1471877 Records DK is "Degrees Of Latitude", the new album effort created by Alex McKechnie around a core idea of strict algorithmic composition techniques. Based on this approach the former Barbed-member presents a roughly 46 minutes spanning seven track album which is, according to additional information found on Discogs, limited to only 50 copies worldwide. Opening with "Whirligig" the listener is immediately drawn into a crystalline sonic world evoking memories of Wendy Carlos' legendary early Synth piece "Switched On Bach" due to its compositional structure and overall ethereal nature obviously drawing inspiration from Classical and Modern Classical music whereas the subsequent "56th Parallel South" is following a similar, yet more chiming and cascading path which might also speak to fans of frolicking New Age music whilst "Laurie's Beagle" brings forth more sparkling and spiralling, trance-inducing uptempo liveliness for advanced dancefloors despite missing a proper solid beat foundation. Heading down "56th Parallel North" presents a more mysterious and mystical take on stripped down algorithmic composition whilst taking us on a trip back to the 80s vibewise, the cryptically titled "Gamalamalamlom" is as complex, multilayered and slightly esoteric as one might have already guessed from its name whereas "Cuculus" pays homage to the epic scores created by early Synth masters like Jean-Michel Jarre as well as to certain musical paths taken throughout the Krautrock era whilst the closing tune "Seven Of Pentacles" pairs more (Neo)Classical elements with high definition bleeps and a rather rhythm focused approach in comparison to all its predecessors on this album. Beautiful stuff.

Album artwork on Instagram!