Mutek regulars and other electro fans probably already know the name Tim Gowdy. In addition to the four albums to his credit, he’s also worked as a producer and studio technician on dozens of records. Therapy with Colour is a rather special project, created in real time during a tandem performance with visual artist Laura Buckley. It’s based on Gowdy’s self-hypnosis sessions with the Nova Pro 100 Light and Sound Machine, an invention designed to promote relaxation of the mind and meditation.
Listening to this album is an adventure that can be likened to a journey beyond consciousness. The intermittent sounds we hear at the beginning of the title track evoke a rain of light that calms our brain and prepares it for the experience that follows. Then, room after room, repetitive rhythms help us to clear our minds, as echoes of a probe, descending ever deeper into our cerebral universe, resonate. The strokes heard at the beginning of “Up CTRL” seem to be those of a broom that collects the negative dust that has accumulated in our thoughts, before the ascent to the surface begins, guided by the techno rhythm that suddenly comes to life. “Excavating Air” then marks the return to the waking state, and to the everyday life we’re more ready to face.
Constellation Records’ recent foray into electronic music is proving conclusive. After the records of JOYFULTALK and Markus Floats, this one from T. Gowdy is another success. Its techno rhythms, more suggested than imposed, make it a work that is aimed less at dancefloors than at our dancing neurons, which emerge soothed.
