I grew up on the likes of Tangerine Dream, Peter Baumann, Adrian Wagner and Kraftwerk so I like to think that I have a handle on electronics based music and the 'conceptual arts’. That having been said I also try to avoid albums claiming a high concept like the plague as they are normally no more than the masturbatory fantasies of a lonely child.
I first heard 'Sunrise, Catalonia (7:14am)’ and 'Tempertantrum (11:36am)’ as two sides of a single and loved what I was hearing so I was ready and anxious to hear what Alan McNeil and his collective of chums had managed to present in a full length form and so – heart in mouth – I cued the CD in my PC tray and waited to be astounded. And 45 minutes or so later I took a deep breath and realised that the world was suddenly quiet and empty and promptly cued the sucker up again and enveloped myself in the world of Engine 7’s newborn. This is absolutely bloody wonderful.
Musically this combines electronics with strings, guitar, beats and noises but it is completely organic in the way that the music is presented as an ebbing and flowing river of a day and when the music changes from the bliss of 'Me But Perfect’ to the rhythmic irregularity of 'Obsessive/Complulsive’ or the angry, Floyd-like explosion of 'Tempertantrum’ there is no sense that this is programmed – this is being played by humans who understand emotions and feelings as well as their vehicles for music.
There are elements of many other pieces in here – if you wanted to be unreasonable you could point to a number of 'borrowed’ sounds – but they occupy a point in the music where they absolutely belong – where there is no sense that the musicians have stolen others ideas, just that they work where they stand.
For once the concept is borne out by the reality of the music and we are treated to music of a high standard as well as an album that wraps you in its arms and promises never to let you down – this is music to grow up with.
