Ed. of 300 numbered copies. 'Welcome to the machina. Anla Courtis and RLW skillfully dowse noisome spirits from their stony crags and carve a kind of power electronics opera in so doing. The stunning opening piece is birthed from a complete silence, out of which a shuffling hiss and a wailing drone very, very slowly rise up to a swarming crescendo, only to settle carefully back into the stoic rocky mists. This serves almost as an overture, where the textures and dynamics of the whole are suggested. Further along the way strings scream out their tortured arias over a thickly psychedelic wash of reving reverberation. There is an absolute control and sonic purity in these 6 tracks of crushing musique-concrete that gives the cd an organic light. Even though completely non-rhythmic in nature, there can yet be heard an electronic breath and pulse that coughs this thing into life and reminds that noise can still be sublime. Whether frozen or molten (sometimes both simultaneously), the din bristles with a palpable clarity that tastes so, so sweet. 'Return' winds itself down in a minimal fashion that elevates small sounds into quiet exclamation marks. A tiny scratching that could be an insect losing its husk becomes a major statement; a movement further carried by the intermittent, gurgling whir of the final track. The stone spirits rock! Anla Courtis (ex Reynols) and Ralf Wehowsky (P16.D4, RLW).