Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom - "The Days of Mars" [2005]

I first heard tracks from this album on the Charlottesville, Virginia-based radio show, Download, hosted by Jason Haag, better known as DJ AudioRapture, heard weekly on radio station WNRN 91.1 FM, from 12-2 AM and has a free online stream that can be heard HERE: CLICK ME!!

The show features the best in electronic music, be it techno, trance, electronica, etc. Hearing this show was a breath of fresh air in a sea of utter mediocrity on the radio airwaves. Haag's show introduced me to MANY new artists I never would have otherwise found, and also played some better known favorites of mine that are never played anywhere else. From Boards of Canada to Paul van Dyk, from Moby to Monolake, from Ulrich Schnauss to Infected Mushroom (the last 2 I thankfully were introduced to through here) this show covers all the bases, and even in the first track of each program, pays tribute to an electronic great from the past (i.e. Kraftwerk or Jean-Michel Jarre).

Gonzalez and Russom hit the spot when I first heard them. Rich analogue synth textures and a wash of sequencer-driven backdrops gave me goosebumps and cast my mind backward to evoke comparisons to Tangerine Dream. This duo is too unknown and underappreciated in my opinion, and that is why I offer them for your listening enjoyment here. Dark and sinister, yet invigorating and refreshing, the music this duo produces is both unique and classic, bringing forth a nostalgia for the technology of days gone by, yet fits remarkably well against other more modern electronic forms.

Here is a very good review I was able to locate:

It's hard to tell exactly where NYC duo Delia Gonzales & Gavin Russom fit into electronic music's grand scheme; their work references '70s electro-boffins Tangerine Dream and Brian Eno, but also deftly encapsulates the current state of urban electronic composition.

Major players in both the NYC art-electronics circuit and the DFA's gradual diversification process, Gonzales and Russom had already carved out a name for themselves in film, sculpture and performance art circles before they unleashed the blissed-out and brilliant "Casual Friday" under the moniker Black Leotard Front. The mighty synth-burner "El Monte" followed, and before long the buzz was fully substantiated by loads of press and inclusion on the label's now legendary #2 compilation. This brings us to Days of Mars, a bubbling hot collection of modern electronic craft created on arcane technology by a pair of soulmates who still believe in the ideals of art over logic. It's a leftfield masterpiece, equal parts krautrock precision and late-night trance-rave chilldown; given the opportunity, it could be this generation's answer to Music for Airports.

Though the album is rife with pulmonary warmth and glowing effervescence, it's hard not to picture two people running around behind giant banks of analog electronics, trying to patch the whole thing together before it disintegrates in a heap of feedback and fuzz. Gonzales and Russom's compositions are fraught with feelings of beauty and dread; their grooves stretch out over abandoned highways and industrial wastelands, but ultimately wind up smack dab in the middle of Greenwich Village. Thankfully, the duo left their artier sensibilities back at the studio, allowing "Black Spring"'s billowing electron-glam to float over the dance floor like a raincloud of joy, sprinkling the writhing denizens with glitter and PCP. "Rise" does exactly that, gradually spiraling toward the heavens as its ten-plus minute lifespan ticks away, Gonzales and Russom heaping layer after layer of oscillating electro drones atop its already shimmering bedrock. It's intensely joyful but speechless, personal but emotionless, and absolutely sublime despite its dogged reference points. If this truly is the year in which the unfashionable becomes fashionable, the movement has found its power couple -- and its living soundtrack.

The biggest obstacle Days of Mars faces is the challenge of fitting it into the electronic zeitgeist. It could be a glorious live spectacle, or it could all go to shit amid the clatter and wheeze of malfunctioning oscillators and Super-8 movies projected onto the duo's backs. However, regardless of what place it eventually claims in history's grand scheme, one thing is certain: Days of Mars is a defining moment in electronic music. Here, at long last, the form's splotchy tradition and vibrant future meet in a laser-guided moment of liquid crystal intoxication. -- Jason Jackowiak

I encourage you to give this album a listen. Be prepared to be taken on a fantastic aural voyage of richness and depth. Both otherworldly and innerworldly, Gonzalez and Russom create soundscapes of alien lands, as well as a pretty great soundtrack for a dark inner journey. Highly recommended, to fans of Tangerine Dream, VoLt, and many "Berlin School" acts. A lesser-known gem in the electronic world!

----Opening and closing notes by FlowerJewel

Source cited:

Splendid E-Zine

Tracklisting:
1. Rise (11:15)
2. 13 Moons (13:32)
3. Relevee (12:56)
4. Black Spring (12:58)

Total Time: 50:41

Stay Tuned For More!!!!