Sven Torstenson – Drugs Vinyl LP

Description

Sven Torstensons notorious Drugs is a loopdiggas fever dream, bursting with breaks for days and featuring possibly the most iconic cover of all library musics cult classics. First released in 1980, its now a hyper-rare and seriously sought-after electronic album full of experimental soundscapes and samples just waiting to be flipped. Its both terrifying and terrifyingly good. So much so, its been brilliantly sampled by Kendrick Lamar and Chance The Rapper.

The sleeve describes Drugs as containing “the newest dimensions of electronic sounds. Dramatic underscores for all problems of todays life and society, at the border between reality and delusion. Thats pretty spot-on. The fast moving Euphoria is an incredible, unignorable opener. Its loaded with disorientating effects and really needs to be heard to be believed. Its followed by the gorgeous Soft Hallucinations, containing quiet, meditative and beautiful sounds as the title suggests. One listen and youll want to live in the warm embrace of this beatless, harmonic gem. Sinister squelchy synth stabs dont distract from the sheer beauty of the tracks main (gentle) thrust. They only serve to elevate its trippy magic.

Next up, Sky Moves agitated and repetitive rhythm makes it an intense listen but with a broad melody that will appeal to many. Destroyed Dreams utilises a muffled church organ and it sounds heavenly to begin with but it gradually invites increasingly distorted elements. Yes, youve had trips like this, were pretty certain. Mental! Talking of bad trips, never have they sounded so good as Horror Trip; this fractured drama-synth just needs some some dusty beats to hold it up get involved.

Floating Illusions almost sounds like a beatless Spiritualized bomb from the early-mid 90s; melodic, synthy, church organ-drenched. The mournful, dramatic Lost Chance pulses along on a bed of acidy synths whilst The Morning After is the sonic equivalent of the extreme fear and doom experienced in the aftermath of the previous nights carnage. Whilst somewhat uncomfortable listening, again, its pretty compelling thanks to the myriad effects being expertly utilised. Fascinating. The sprawling, fragmented Random Thoughts is described as containing confused melody phrases yeah, pretty much sums this one up.

The B-Side is ushered in by Heroin and its as sketchy as you might think, all mysterious minor chords with a dominating but not overbearing bass refrain. Next up, the dream-like synthy fanfare of Night Trip climaxes after a few minutes of dramatic, ecclesiastical sounds whilst Day Trip layers its melody over a repetitive rhythmic base.

Next up, one of the REAL highlights makes itself known. Absolutely not to be missed, Dealers Corner is all shifting tenors from quiet to hectic and back around again. The hectic parts are like a totally synthed-out-the-eyeballs jazz-funk collective wigging out with the latest electronic toys from 1980. This one totally SMOKES.

The dramatic Sad And Hopeless is appositely replete with dissonant, minor church-organ chords whilst Riding Pegasus uses a creepy ostinato bass melody to create irrational bleepy menace thats ripe for sampling. The penultimate track, Hopeless Chaos is another disorientating trip, a bleepy confection of sounds and phrases whilst closer Goin Mad is all electronic percussion with an unpleasant rhthymic feel and irritating melody. Music to annoy your partner with!

Established in Munich in 1965 by Gerard and Rotheide Narholz, Sonoton introduced library music to Germany. Initially intended to cater to the countrys new TV market, the library also provided an avenue for Gerhard Narholzs astonishing musical prolificacy, and soon became a haven for a wide range of European composers and musicians. In 1969, Sonoton struck a deal with the British label Berry Music for international publishing rights, exposing its catalog to a worldwide audience; when Berry was bought out by EMI in 1973, Sonoton transitioned into a full-fledged international label, with successes in the library and commercial fields and many innovations to its credit. Now a worldwide operation with hundreds of producers and composers under its employ, Sonoton nonetheless remains an independently run business still helmed by its founders a remarkable achievement in an era when nearly every other major library has been absorbed by a multinational conglomerate.

The audio for Drugs has been remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring this release sounds better than ever. Cicely Balstons expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the original, iconic sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.