Name: Exploratorium (Expanded)
Brand: Exploratorium

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

IP074

Colour

Black

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music US

Limited edition

Release date

2023-03-31

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier US

Orchard

Tax rate US

Sales:8.875

UPC / Barcode

761971507416

Total Cap

Black LP

Artist

Exploratorium

Genre US

Electronic

Label US

Independent Project

Originally released in 2006 as a mini-CDr in a limited edition of 300 signed and numbered copies, this immersive selection of solo recordings by Savage Republic, Scenic and Independent Project Records founder Bruce Licher finally gets the expanded reissue treatment. The three original tracks—recorded in the summer of '97 on a cassette 4-track—are now accompanied by a fourth instrumental that ventures into atmospheric electronic territory. The bonus track was composed on an old Roland SH-2000 synthesizer Licher found while living in Arizona; it is, rather fittingly, named 'Number 09'—an homage to the Beatles' most adventurous piece of experimentation. Exploratorium reclaims equal fondness for the natural and the industrial: taking its name from Licher's fascination with the San Francisco science museum, this solo project's mission is an exploration of sound that feels scientific and transcendental at the same time. This thoroughly inquisitive approach is made all the more clear—and intriguing—by the unexpected pairing of the original three tracks with 'Number 09'. Whereas 'Peak', 'Going Home' and 'The Penstemon Field' eagerly play with stretching the role of guitars and bass, 'Number 09' takes its cue from the hypnotic synths of the Human League's 12" from 1979 The Dignity of Labour and sets off for an unconstrained sonic trip that goes from the jarring to the meditative. Having such different soundscapes on the same EP might look bewildering at a first glance. Together, these four instrumentals actually make for a most entrancing experience. "I always wanted to take people on a journey", Licher says, "and that's one of the reasons why I don't do vocals of my own—what you can say through music, through the instruments, is much more interesting". The music of Exploratorium blurs the boundaries between Licher's cinematic work with Scenic and the early recordings of his UCLA days, which led him to start the Independent Project Records label in 1980. It's a mesmerizing blend of ambient and post-rock, noisy shoegaze and pastoral melodic structures, droning avant-garde and soundtracks at their most sparse and yearning.

Exploratorium (Expanded)

Music US