1. RoedeliusJardin Au Fou
It was probably one of the first times I picked up some listening headphones in Spillers Records in Cardiff, and I was looking for a gift for my best friend. I knew [Hans-Joachim Roedelius’ band] Cluster existed but I was never really a fan – I hadn’t found the time to get into them. So, I didn’t know anything about who Roedelius was, but I was really intrigued by this record. I listened to it and it was absolutely incredible. I bought it for my friend and then realised that I had to have it for myself, so I went back the next day to get myself a copy.
It’s been an important record for me because it was the first time I heard a record that included synth and pianos and percussion and that was mechanical in parts but also very beautiful in others. It was the first time I started to visualise arrangements on different instruments and started to exit the view that everything had its place. The album has beautiful recurring themes that sweep in and out of the record. So for me, I could hear things mathematically but it also made me think about how you can piece music together as well.
It’s beautiful and some of the songs are playful – one of them sounds like the theme to an awful TV cop drama – but it then evolves into these beautiful soundscapes. A song like ‘Le Jardin’ just transports you to this different place. I always want a song that can remove you from your current situation.
