Woden

This September 2012 finally sees the first release of the Archdrude’s thirteen-year-old sonic monolith WODEN, one enormous meteorological cloud of music originally conceived as a vast and atmospheric 72-minute-long follow-up to his Ur-vocal masterpiece ODIN (released Oct. 1999), then temporarily shelved in favour of the LAMF release. Featuring field recordings from around Avebury and Silbury, and even ‘showcasing’ the Yatesbury bellringers of 1998, WODEN is mainly composed of the Drude’s performance upon his VCS3 Putney synthesizer, its teak box exhibiting highly sensitive microphonic qualities that set it apart from other synthesizers. Mellotron 400s of course wreak sentimental havoc in the closing stages of the disc, as the VCS3 does battle with a good old Wessex downpour. 13 years old it may be. Rendered obsolete by today’s music? Hardly. WODEN is a highly useful meditative aid, but it’s even better for gaining access to the Underworld, the vast weather formations of sound guaranteeing that Hel’s doorway remains open for 72 minutes at a time.