Contours is Manchester based artist Tom Burford, a man with a studio full of Moogs, oscillators, drum machines, controllers, synths and a wooden xylophone- at least, that’s his live set up. I was lucky enough to see him play live in Manchester last month, at Soup in the Northern Quarter, where he supported Marconi Union.* From the moment he took to the stage and flicked the “On” switches, he was in constant motion, head nodding, wrists and hands suddenly turning knobs and flicking faders, a blur of movement. From time to time, once all the machines were doing what he wanted them to – raising waves of sound, loops, drones and crunchy rhythms – he’d move to the side and start playing a Malian balafon. The mallets on the wooden blocks adding a very organic, melodic sound to the broken beat/ ambient music that was coming through the PA.

Elevations is a seven track electro-acoustic album that operates somewhere in the spaces between ambient, minimal, Fourth World, and broken beat. Recorded with various friends guesting on different tracks, it works as one continuous piece, just as Tom’s live show did. Moving through several sections, organic and alive with possibility.

Opener Bike Shed , featuring Yadava, starts out slowly, a long fade in over clanks and keys, the buzz of a synth and washes of sound, the influence of Jon Hassell’s primitive / futurist blend of electronics and acoustics transplanted to the north west of England in the 2020s. There’s chirrup of birds / fluttering frequencies, which could be field recordings or studio creations. After several minutes Elevation 1 skitters in, with friends Abel Selaocoe and Ada Francis credited, and what may be an oboe floating around, plus some violin. 

Elevation 1 segues into Elevation 2, the balafon now picking out a woodblock melody. Melodic percussion dancing over the drone. The violin comes back, gnawing away and creating some tension. On Elevation 3, things suddenly strip down to a repeating two note riff, with Abel and Rebekah Reid playing their parts – whatever they may be. Tom’s wobbly Moog wanders in, and then drifts out again.

Balafon C reverts to the electronic, with a synthetic sustain now the bedrock. The Malian instrument picking up the lead. This is the longest track on the album, over eight minutes, that unfold gradually and organically. Tom and Sammy Singh blending the electronic and acoustic naturally. At around six minutes it shifts slightly, with everything becoming more intense and percussion gathering pace. 

Tom grew up in Cumbria, surrounded by fell and lake, and the album’s title, Elevations, reflects that mountainous landscape. The album’s sonics though are from much further afield. The global / Fourth World / futurist influences have their roots far beyond the Lake District. Track 6, Pots, begins with talking drums and rattles, pots and pans maybe. This one was created with Abraham Parker, but I have no idea what any of the extra people credited do. The mystery of who plays what adds to the general feel of enigma that exists throughout the LP. There’s a single, muted trumpet line – another nod to Jon Hassell – and again it’s a long track. One in no hurry to get anywhere too quickly. The horn, synths and percussion play off each other, summoning some otherworldly jazz.

The closer, Arp Phase, is a fluid arrangement of criss-crossing sequences, swimming around so that listening is like being submerged in a deep analogue sea. Surfacing as the fluctuations and oscillations rise and fall. The machines giving the impression they’re running themselves, that they’ve gained sentience, before finally fading to a stop.

*Adam is being modest here. He didn’t just “see” Contours. He provided DJ support – Rob

Contours’ Elevations can be order directly from Music From Memory. 

You can find more proper, on point, prose from Adam Turner over at his own brilliant blog, The Bagging Area. Adam is also part of the admin team at the mighty Flightpath Estate.