Illum Sphere | Buy Ghosts of Then and Now

Manchester’s Ryan Hunn, better known as Illum Sphere, presses the boundaries of music in his newest release: Ghosts of Then and Now. It shows him taking a dystopian sci-fi approach to music. The entire album gives off a Bladerunner (‘Sleeprunner’) vibe.

Much as the title [track] suggests, you’ll find allusions to the sounds of old by way of shamanistic tempos and divine chorals rife throughout. Still, an eerie discordance via subtle electronic underpinnings serves to remind us that these are merely industrial representations of a past long gone. The vaporeal vocals of ShadowBox and Mai Nestor drive home that the soul of sound follows in time, no matter how it may change.

We know it’s still the first quarter, but feel free to quote us on saying this album will be among the year’s best. I’m personally hoping for a non-vocal feature (e.g. Inter5tella 5555, but far more neo-noir) to illustrate Ghosts of Then and Now.

Tracklist

1. Liquesce
2. At Night (ft. Mai Nestor)
3. Sleeprunner
[audio:https://controlaltdelight.com/Music/illum%20sphere/03%20Sleeprunner.mp3]
4. The Earth Is Blind (Prelude)
5. The Road (ft. ShadowBox)
[audio:https://controlaltdelight.com/Music/illum%20sphere/05%20The%20Road%20%28feat.%20Shadowbox%29.mp3]
6. Ra_Light
7. It’ll Be Over Soon
8. One Letter From Death
9. Ghosts Of Then And Now
[audio:https://controlaltdelight.com/Music/illum%20sphere/09%20Ghosts%20Of%20Then%20%26%20Now.mp3]
10. Love Theme From Foreverness (ft. ShadowBox)
11. Lights Out / In Shinjuku
12. Near The End
[audio:https://controlaltdelight.com/Music/illum%20sphere/12%20Near%20The%20End.mp3]
13. Embryonic (ft. ShadowBox)