Nevermore

The DiN label, established in 1999, reaches something of a milestone with “Nevermore” (DiN69) as it represents the 100th release on the esteemed British electronic music label. This equates to this, the 69th album on the main DiN imprint as well as 26 digital only releases on the DiNDDL sub-label and 5 Tone Science albums. It seems only fitting then that this release comes from DiN label boss Ian Boddy. Performed live at DiN HQ the performance was videoed and streamed on March 27th 2021 as part of the three day Soundquest Festival. This was organised by ambient luminary Steve Roach and had an audience watching and listening of 1000+ music fans across the globe coming together in these strange days of a global pandemic. This surely inspired Boddy to conjure up a mesmerising tour de force of a live show that shows all his skills and experience built up over a life time of performing. Boddy’s set up was centred around his large Serge modular system supplemented by three cases of Eurorack. Eschewing the presence of a laptop this allowed him to sculpt and evolve a series of engaging electronic soundscapes. Ranging from the spacey and eerie to beautifully pastoral with his Ondes Martenot style French Connection keyboard featured at several points with its hauntingly beautiful tones. Novation & Moog keyboards fill out Boddy’s arsenal of instruments and the video shows him in constant motion playing, tweaking and sculpting the hour long set. In the two rhythmic excursions “From Here To There” and “Nevermore” one can literally hear Boddy build the complex, intertwining patterns brick by brick before launching out with some inspired solo playing that can only really happen in a live performance. Released in a limited edition digipak with beautiful artwork by Wendy Carroll this is music that not only celebrates the work of one of the UK’s leading exponents of electronic music but also the label he has curated with such love and care for the last 22 years.