iNFO - Parallel Realities (Touched)

[dcom]

iNFO's latest album on Touched, limited CD & digital - absolutely exquisite. Extremely highly recommended.

[Extralife]

It took me a little while to get sold on iNFO, but after his last two albums on Moatun and now this beast - he is definitely buy on sight for me.  Really scratches that itch for golden era crunchy IDM.  Can't recommend this one enough.

[dcom]

Quote

iNFO is one of the project names used to release some of the output of Michael Robinson of Sheffield England. I won’t try writing some sort of bio here as our own Anne Jackson—who consistently has her finger on the pulse of great electronic music—has done a fantastic job here. Her iNFO profile from February 2024 is well worth reading and gives great insight into iNFO/Michael, but in short, Michael is a well established DJ for many years, and since releasing his own music, has been making a solid reputation for quality, intelligent, and creative electronic music.

I first discovered Michaels music via the Still Here release on the L50 label and was suitably impressed, but his debut on Touched Music is a stronger and more cohesive album. Influences here, to my ear, are varied with sounds that would be at home on old The Black Dog and Plaid releases, whilst other elements remind me of Autechre or Gescom.

Parallel Realities fits into that niche of music that lends itself equally well to being techno, electro, Detroit influenced and IDM all at the same time. There must be something in those Sheffield waters, with it being the home of many great electronic artists, and of course Warp Records, who were key to delivering so much of this type of music from the early 90’s onward. iNFO is contemporary future music, which builds on past giants.

Parallel Realities is a whopper of an album, and if you’re a fan of IDM and some or all of the artists mentioned above then this is for you. iNFO uses well-crafted rhythmic elements, with floaty pads and strings to build and depict his vision of some dystopic parallel universe, outer space music, the soundtrack to read great science fiction books to. Across the nine tracks we are treated to what with repeated listens will become a future classic.

One thing I’ve picked up is on most tracks there are these sounds, which are not exactly percussion, nor normal synth sounds, but more like thematic sound effects. Organically crafted themes, and details making the sound or noise aspect of iNFO music as important as the melodic or tuneful part. It is clear some great organic audio gardening to develop these special sounds has been undertaken, great care and attention to detail then on how to place them into mixes.

Parallel Realities sounds fresh and modern whilst also evoking fond memories of what the early 90’s IDM music scene felt like, that sensation of discovering some new artist, with their own take on the concept. A fresh sound palette on which they drew new inspirations, and this is what Michael brings with each release. iNFO delivers music which is simultaneously timeless and classic but also honors the past without kowtowing to it.

The tracks on this release show such carefully constructed rhythms, with no hi-hat out of place, and each rhythm synergetically adding to the establishing layers of sound to create something much greater than the sum of its parts. I have repeatedly had that old sensation of younger excitement which is harder and harder to find as I get older, no wiser but maybe sometimes overwhelmed with the amount of new music available. Not unlike hearing early Autechre for the first time, and asking who’s behind this, they’re very smart and talented.

I would love to hear a live performance of this album and/or other iNFO material. Whilst my home speakers are not too shabby, nothing beats hearing music like this on room vibrating live sound systems, whether in clubs or concert halls, or smaller gig venues. This is music for darkened rooms, fancy lights and interesting projections. Thank you very much Mr. Robinson for the excellent music, it is clearly evident the level of effort you put into crafting this release. He is clearly very talented with strong music knowledge, to be able to craft such an impacting release which compliments the past without sounding like any sort of pale imitation. I’m already looking forward to the next release, but also delving into the iNFO back catalog, of which there is a lot to be explored on his own Bandcamp page.

I have to say, hats off to Touched Music label again, for continuing to consistently deliver quality electronic music. The world would be a much quieter and less interesting place without the excellent curation of releases. The iNFO album is released on a limited edition CD and digital, which can be purchased from the Touched Music Bandcamp page.

It is worth checking out the iNFO Bandcamp page here where Michael has kindly delivered a number of inexpensive and “name your price” releases, including a single called “Parallel Realities” which must be designed to accompany this album as its rogue spin-off asteroid.

Igloo says things.