It’s been almost ten years since System 7’s chillout project has released anything, so obviously something in the mind of Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy felt that now was the perfect time to reactivate the project and create something new with Mirror System.
In true old style, the album also features Alex Patterson from The Orb, someone who has worked with Hillage many times since the early ’90s. So it’s time to strap my cosmic hat on and venture forth towards the stars.
The album starts with a suitably Hillage out-there cover of Ry Cooder’s opening theme for Wim Wenders‘ film Paris, Texas. Whereas the original is known for its spacious desert sound, here we have big booming synth notes and flying arpeggiated keyboards rolling along beneath a reworking of the classic guitar line.
“Avenue Of Lights” sets the tone with huge deep bass notes and rolling synths that give an element of ’70s Tangerine Dream, and after a while a stunning melody begins to kick in with Hillage’s guitar chords creating a similar atmosphere to David Gilmour’s guitar work on “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”. When the beat hits in you can almost see the people beginning to dance at some tribal gathering somewhere. Parts of the synth lines remind me of the new keyboard maestro Kebu. Minimal vocodered vocals happen and get lost in a dream somewhere.
“Sunrain” is a take on the Manuel Göttsching track from his album New Age Of Earth and could be seen as tribute to the musician who passed away in 2022. The track doesn’t stray too far from the glorious melody of the original piece and reminds us just how important Göttsching was in paving the way for later ambient dance and trance artists in the whole construction of the music. Listening to this transports me back to when I first heard the original many years ago and how in awe I was of it and how it was created.
“Happiness Is A Cigar Called Hamlet”, with its title taken from the old ’70s TV advert, has what sounds like Hillage playing acoustic guitar before big bass notes and a rim-shot rhythm move the piece along. The original ad had “Air On A G String” as its background music and I’m assuming this is referenced somewhere in the track, which is the albums heaviest guitar piece so far. “High Field Cloud” has a kind of progressive rock ambient feel in its opening, with the sort of sounds that Geoff Downes uses on some of his solo work away from Yes. The track feels as light as a cloud as synths swirl away, taking the listener to the point of high vibrations and then letting them drift there for a while. “John Vain” has a kind of melancholic feel to its keyboard riff and Hillage taps in again to his inner Ry Cooder for some of the guitar parts as the track expands out into the cold desert night.“Sonora Desert Edge (The Abyss)” is an extra track that has Allen Ginsberg reading his poem recorded by Barry Miles in 1971 while Mirror System create a lush soundscape beneath to take his words up to the heavens. This all plays into the expansive theme of the album that hints at travel through vast unpopulated places where only the elements seem to dwell and make sure they let humans know this is their domain.
Well, its been a long wait, but worth it to hear a new Mirror System album; it’s good to wallow in the vast aural landscapes that they create. Lets hope its not another ten years until the next one.-Gary Parsons-
