WORLD IN GREYSCALE & ATOMIC AUTUMN – AILSA CORAL CDs (Kurchatov Records on Bandcamp)

‘World in Greyscale’, the 30-minute title track, dark and deep music, is based on a simple repetitive and unwavering beat which is used as a backdrop to layers of synths to create a chilled atmosphere. ‘Sepia’ follows a similar pattern although I found it to be more melodic and less dense; Jerry Kranitz accurately describes the music as “electro hypnotic chill-out dance beats and floating space ambience, augmented by Alisa’s breathy vocals”.

“Atomic Autumn”: No longer space rock or psychedelic, Ailsa’s focus has turned to electronica and, it seems the music of Klaus Schulzeand the Berlin School is an influence. The theme of “Atomic Autumn” is Igor Kurchatov’s determination to use atomic energy for peaceful purposes; a sample of Kurchatov’s speech in 1959 is used on the album. ‘Physics First (F-1)’ is an unwavering wall of sound with vocal, but the album really takes off on the 18-minute soundscape ‘Atomic Autumn – The Weapon’ with ghostly echoing vocals and extended synth passages.