Second Circle, the dance-oriented sublabel of Music From Memory, is slowly picking up speed again – this time with music made among friends. Kommune, a short-lived trio consisting of George Thompson, Kyle Martin, and Jonathan Nash, was active only between 2014 and 2015. The individuals involved are well known in various formations: Nash as Jonny Nash (Melody As Truth, Land Of Light), Martin as Cassini Division or with Brain Machine, Thompson as Black Merlin. Three producers who approach electronic music with open ears and a skilled hand.
With Oast, they’ve transformed their individual brilliance into collective hypnosis. Four epic tracks, ranging from 17 to 26 minutes, unfold into dubby ambient, subtly insistent techno, and simmering synth psychedelia. Everything is improvised, yet never arbitrary. This is music born of analog machines and years of practice – played by three masters of their craft.
What’s particularly impressive is the sensitivity at work: even hints of acid avoid cliché, and the TR-808 doesn’t sound retro but like a meditatively pulsing sound of the now. Oast is less an album than a state of being – and proof that improvisation, experience, and trust in the process can yield exceptional club music.
Oast
