Nick Sutton’s 11-minute score for a short film called Transmission has been expanded by the talented composer in the form of his first full-length album. Transmission Original Soundtrack is a meditative, often unsettling work.
The album opens, appropriately enough, with “The Screen.” Sutton builds a real sense of foreboding in these first five and a half minutes. It’s not a traditional overture in the sense that it doesn’t summarize the full scope of the album. But it does succeed in setting a stage for the dramatic 32 minutes that follow.
“Calming Waves” is an early highlight. It works first as a balance against the earlier, more intense pieces. It also showcases Sutton’s aptitude for layering together multiple electronic music ideas at once. There are enough ideas in this track for two or three pieces of music. Somehow, he makes them work together.
“The Bunker” follows, pushing us back into the darkness that pervades this album. And then “Torture,” every bit as ominous and powerful as its title suggests.
Sutton has produced a grand, challenging work. Do not mistake this for ambient, or even dark ambient. This is serious electronic music produced by a young artist with a bright future.
Speaking of which, Sutton has also announced the release of his wide-ranging Six Various Compositions.
Among the EP’s highlights are “Cryp (For Circuit Bending and Bells)” and “Split Me (For Electronics).”