Main

Welcome return for Robert Hampson with the first Main album in seven years, new on eMego. Hampson founded Main with Scott Dawson upon disbanding Loop in '94, and while their initial releases still bore traces of their space-rock origins, the goal was always total ecstatic abstraction, and by the time of the Hz series, completed in '96, they'd pretty much achieved it. Main's music has been called many things: industrial, noise, isolationist electronica, dub, drone; the truth it, it's all and none of those things, especially now. For Ablation, Hampson - whose long-standing interest in musique concrete and acousmatic sound has seen him work closely with the GRM - has enlisted the help of Stephan Mathieu, who contributes Farfisa VIP 233, Ebowed Phonoharp, radio and treated percussion to an already formidable arsenal of analogue electronics, treated guitar/piano and layered concrete sounds (Boomkat). There has been a recent surge in activity from Robert Hampson, with all manner of solo recordings and performances popping up. It's only logical that he reactivates his beloved Main project. As we all know, Main laid the foundations during the 1990s for much of the love of abstract guitar treatments in electronic music throughout the 2000s. Hampson has teamed up with Stephan Mathieu to create a stunning new album. On Ablation, Mathieu adds extra tonal color and an obscure rhythmic palette to Hampson's exacting treatments and detailed use of layered concrète sounds to create an emotionally-charged and fascinating work. Old fans of Main will not be disappointed, and neither will new followers of experimental audio. Packaged with images by Grebo Gray with layout by Dave Coppenhall, and expertly mastered and cut by Rashad Becker, Ablation is a highlight for the spring 2013 season. Robert Hampson (analogue electronics, concrète sounds, guitar, piano-treatments) and Stephan Mathieu (Farfisa VIP 233, e-bowed phonoharp, radio, percussion-treatment).(Editions Mego)