Pitch Black: Rude Mechanicals (Remote)

The electronica duo of Mike Hodgson and Paddy Free who are Pitch Black were in the vanguard of New Zealand sound and vision performances in the 90s, so much so that you'd love to see them release a CD/DVD, which would make a good deal of sense.

But it is also testament to their sensibilities that their internationalist music has an innate visual quality to it.

This album for example, their fourth studio release, conjures up dream states in its astute amalgamation of dub reggae and spacey electronica, from the haunting South of the Line which opens proceedings through the outer/inner space drift of Bird Soul and the pulsating and bottom-heavy Sonic Colonic, to the atmospheric outro track Please Leave Quietly.

Pitch Black here also invite in discreet vocalists: Kp on the roiling boil of the title track, a soulful Brother J on 1000 Mile Drift, and a barely audible Tracy Z on that final track which suggests waking up in the shuttle and watching the sun rise over Saturn.

So, still hitting a mid-point between dub, trip-hop and an astral flight, this mighty duo boil with energy and ideas, and with vocal tracks in the mix they should sweep up a whole new audience.

Another ear-opening gem from Pitch Black . . . and now for the feature-length DVD perhaps?