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‘Le Crépuscule’ EP – Electric Supply Station (SBA #027)

For the third in a series of releases from artists new to the label, See Blue Audio welcomes a relative newcomer to its roster, but one who has already developed a very distinctive sound. The artist is Electric Supply Station with the ‘Le Crépuscule’ EP and the twenty-seventh release on See Blue Audio.

Electric Supply Station is Birmingham-based musician, sound designer and composer John Hodgson. Inspired by ‘90s electronica and a love of film soundtracks, he moved from playing bass in local bands to writing his own music and crafting his electronic production skills. Several releases followed, most notably the six-track ‘The Last 10 Minutes’ on Birmingham’s Erbium Records at the end of 2020, and now the ‘Le Crépuscule’ EP for See Blue Audio. The timely is perfect as this latest release has an unmistakably autumnal feel; the music is an eloquent reflection of the change in colours at this time of year from the vibrancy of summer to the muted hues of autumn. Life may have slowed down in anticipation of winter, but it has also created its own rich textile of darker, warmer tones.

John divides his time between composing original music scores heavily influenced by Vangelis, John Carpenter and Trent Reznor to creating the rich and multi-layered tracks of Electric Supply Station. The two are inextricably linked, of course, and each track is designed to take the listener on their own cinematic journey.

As the title ‘Le Crépuscule’ – the French word for twilight – suggests, this is music set in a shadowy realm, somewhere between night and day, winter and summer, joy and sorrow. Over its four tracks, ambient and beatless landscapes are enriched with a multitude of compositional techniques, organic textures and sonic effects. A cinematic quality permeates throughout, but never in a way that is formulaic or contrived.

‘Space That Time Forgot’ with its undulating waves of analogue sound, mysterious chimes and spoken word samples sets the tone and leaves the listener hungry for more. ‘Picture Sound’ follows with its strange echoes and contrasting forces, while the strings composition of ‘The Lander’ acts as an audio vignette and pause for reflection.

‘Le Crépuscule’ concludes with ‘Twinned Peaks’ and the opposite side of the coin to ‘Space That Time Forgot’. Deep pools of sound, spoken words in another language, and piercing beams of synth and guitar complete our passage to another world. Whether that world is real, imaginary or supernatural depends on the listener and the movies they have created in their own heads as the music unfolds. This is the power of Electric Supply Station and the ‘Le Crépuscule’ EP.

Photography: John Hodgson.