The Beam b/w In the Shadow of the Skylon

by The Simonsound

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James Loftin The simulated monorail ride and the awesome sound effects. Favorite track: The Beam.

Bart Furp Raymond Scott reincarnated?

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
10" crystal clear vinyl version of 'The Beam', comes with two sided colour map.

Includes unlimited streaming of The Beam b/w In the Shadow of the Skylon via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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£9.99 GBP or more
Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Additional PDF of map that comes with the physical format.

Purchasable with gift card

£0.99 GBP or more
Limited edition 'Pilot Pack'
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Extremely limited version of 'The Beam' includes 10" colour vinyl, two sided colour map, sew on 'The Simonsound Transit Authority' Pilot patch, 1 of a kind 1/4 inch tape loop, mini booklet, Monorail ticket, all housed in a beautiful letter press printed sleeve.

Includes unlimited streaming of The Beam b/w In the Shadow of the Skylon via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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	1.	The Beam 08:11	info	buy track
	2.	In the Shadow of the Skylon 03:58	info	buy track

about

A fantastical Monorail journey in sound

This latest release from The Simonsound is a radiophonic ride aboard the imaginary 'SS Mk I Monorail', taking in five out of this world destinations along the way. Board the Monorail and be whisked to Outer Space World, Underwater World, Inner Space, Robot World and The Land of Myths and Beasts.

Like a souvenir record from a mid century World’s Fair, ‘The Beam’ follows in the footsteps of early electronic composers such as Raymond Scott, Tristram Cary and Tom Dissevelt.

The release comes with a two sided map showing the route of the monorail journey with a description of each world and a brief history of the Monorail. Exploring the more experimental aspects of previous work, 'The Beam' is a carefully crafted electronic collage mixing Buchla, Moog and EMS synthesisers, with tape manipulated percussion and acoustic sources.

The B-side, 'In the Shadow of the Skylon' is an oscillating ode to a long lost London landmark and futuristic structure created for the Festival of Britain in 1951. Hovering over the South Bank like a UFO, the Skylon pointed into space like a sign post for what was to come. Sadly the Skylon never got to see the future it aimed to represent as it was torn down at the end of the Festival by a petty Conservative government. ‘In the Shadow of the Skylon’ celebrates its short optimistic life.

credits

released August 1, 2013

Written and produced by Simon James
Artwork and design by Emily Macaulay at Stanley James Press

'In the Shadow of the Skylon' was commissioned by Nick Luscombe for Musicity.

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The Simonsound Brighton, UK

thesimonsound.com

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