Robin Storey and Andrew Diey
New Cult of the SunMoon
~Reviewed by Saint Petrol
 
Robin Storey of Rapoon, and Andrew Diey of Black Faction and Foreign Terrain, collaborate on this amazing double-CD set.  The journey begins with a voice that says, "We live in a universe that has no beginning in time, no ending in time, no edges in space, and nothing for a Creator to do." From there, the mystery, chaos, and expanse of the universe is emotionally expressed and articulated in this music.  Of course, the music can only appropriate pieces of what any of us know and feel of the universe, specifically of what Robin Storey or Andrew Diey felt moved to record; however, this assemblage-gumbo of audio-sights and sounds is easily big enough to get lost in for a long, long time.
 
The first disc, or "Sun Phase" of the set, shimmers brightly, glistens,  and is full of meandering, even comforting rhythms.  I made an experiment of listening to the Sun Phase disc only in the daytime and the second, "Moon Phase" disc only in the night time for a while.  The experience of this made it almost unbearable to listen to the "Sun" disc and night, and the "Moon" disc in the day.  The chuckling, fastidious, wry rhythms of the Sun disc are all wrong at night for me now!  The "Moon" disc is so wet and full of cave-life, I'm surprised it doesn't "splat" when I put it in the CD player.  Where the Sun disc is gloriously courageous and tenacious, the Moon disc is everything that nightmares, and crimes, and rituals, and lives saved in the middle of the night are made of.
 
It isn't possible to recommend these discs highly enough.  I've been a longtime fan of Robin Storey anyway, so listening to this disc only strengthened my convictions as to his genius.  As has become usual, the cover and liner art are by Storey himself.  Once again, the artwork is impeccable, tactile, highly emotional, and visually engaging. The collaboration with Andrew Diey was an extremely fortuitous one for those of us who like to feel music in our bellies, bowels and brains, instead of just our ears only.  I hope these two collaborate again, but if not, we have two completely satisfying discs to enjoy until we forget to pretend we comprehend time.
 
Track Listing:
Disc One (Sun Phase)
Sun Phase 01 - 11
 
Disc Two (Moon Phase)
Moon Phase 01 - 06
 
More about Andrew Diey:  http://www.alchemyaudiolab.com/index1.html
Robin Storey website:  http://pretentious.net/Rapoon/
On Soleilmoon Recordings:  http://www.soleilmoon.com/
 
02/10/03