Tag Archives: Castles in Space

New music – Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan: Industrial Growth (Castles in Space)

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posted by Ben Hogwood, with text from the album’s press release.

Industrial Growth is the new long player by Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan. First emerging in 2020, Gordon Chapman-Fox‘s WRNTDP project explores the modernist utopian aesthetic of the UK’s post-war new town development programme through timeless retro-futurist electronic music. Encompassing the programme’s progressive optimism and the dystopian echoes of its failure, the project has since explored a compelling range of connected ideas and resonances across a prolific body of work.

Expanding on the ambient excursions of earlier material, Industrial Growth augments WRNTDP’s scintillating soundworld with profuse volumes of distortion and dissonance, across arguably the project’s darkest LP to date. With sleek, engrossing synthesis, Kraftwerkian odysseys, proto-kosmische and uncanny atmospheres, the album dramatically confronts the spectre of societal decline. A stark, unflinching evolution for the project, it retains the civic mystique of WRNTDP’s best work while adding an increasingly uncompromising spirit.

“My music has been getting heavier and heavier over the years”, says Chapman-Fox. “As my music often reflects my feelings on the outside world, this is very much a visceral response to our current times. There’s always been a darkness to my work, but this felt like the time to unleash it all”.

A captivating record filled with murk and menace, Industrial Growth hints at hidden undercurrents and insidious forces, as Chapman-Fox reveals: “The ‘growth’ of the title isn’t about economics, this is something far more organic, eating away at our society.”

With the brutal, glowering sturm und drang of album opener This Machine, there’s the immediate sense of a gauntlet being thrown down. The discordant dread, jackhammer rhythms and searing white noise of this opening make for a monumental statement of intent. The track segues beautifully into The Wire, a passage which evokes the cyclical reprises of Kraftwerk’s Trans Europe Express, with Chapman-Fox reiterating and reshaping abiding musical themes and ideas.

A pervasive gloom hangs across the tracks Warrington Bank Quay and Heavy Industry, yet there’s still a sparkling beauty to be found at the heart of this music; an irrefutable sense of motion, dynamics, the use of light and shade. Chapman-Fox describes ‘Heavy Industry’ as a “rare moment of light” in all this. Evoking John Carpenter composing an iconic soundtrack theme for a lost public information film, it’s a stirring, resplendent highlight.

The album progresses fearlessly, from the eerie machine music of ‘Parkside’ to the hypnotizing industrial kosmische of Post Industrial Policy – like Chris & Cosey collaborating with Klaus Schulze – and into the melancholic dark ambient mist of Astmoor. Closing with the sublime, noise-contorted havoc of Industrial Unrest, Chapman-Fox ends an immense, foreboding album with one of his most discordant tracks to date. It’s a thrilling climax to an intransigent, hard-hitting work that bravely and cathartically contends with the adversities and injustices of our contemporary moment.

The majority of the album is part of a suite that was commissioned by Roadburn Festival for their 2024 edition in Tilburg, Netherlands. The studio version has been in gestation since then, with tracks being further honed on a tour of the UK.

The album is complimented on Bandcamp by a bonus remix of the lead track This Machine by TVAM. “I’ve worked with Joe from TVAM in the past. We grew up in the same area, and he’s an absolute joy”, says Chapman-Fox.

Designed by Chapman-Fox, the artwork is complemented by Michael Cooke, whose illustrations have appeared on the WRNTDP albums Districts, Roads, Open Space and Your Community Hub. Michael grew up in Runcorn and much of the artwork is based on his first-hand experience of living in the town.

Published post no.3,025 – Tuesday 22 September 2026

Switched On – Danalogue: Teleportations (Castles in Space)

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Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This is the first solo LP from Dan Leavers, a founding member of The Comet Is Coming and half of Soccer96, better known as Danalogue.

That name implies a healthy sense of humour, though there is a serious point behind his debut, too, as the press release informs us. “Conceived as a continuous, journey-based piece, Teleportations is a warm, playful and immersive album that transforms endings, grief and personal upheaval into a vivid science-fictional voyage of escape, healing and renewal.”

It taps into a musical upbringing or enormous variety, while being inspired by a number of Science fiction sources, including “astral travel, theta brainwaves, collective consciousness, the artist Jean Giraud, the writer Ernst Bloch and the film maker Miyazaki”.

What’s the music like?

This is a really enjoyable album, and fulfils Leavers’ wish to make a positive, warm-hearted record. This one has a cosmic tint to it, as well, with a number of the tracks making room for semi-improvised thoughts that are given just the right amount of room to breathe.

Showing off his versatility – though not for the sake of it – Leavers includes a slow, yacht-rock inspired jam (Far Beyond The Sun) and colourful, funky poolside house (Moebius Triptych) in the album’s early moments, allowing room in the latter for more extensive synthesizer noodling. Arrival At Rho Ophiuchi could be the theme to your newest sci-fi binge, while postlude Earth Remembrance Day is a deep blue ocean of sound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HvuDDxA15I Theta Wave Convergence is especially good, a warm bath of minimal keyboard riffs tripping along on the deeper side of house, the synths bubbling just beneath the surface. In fact the Danalogue house credentials are strong, as the ebullient Onto The Next Dimension shows.

Theta Wave Convergence is especially good, a warm bath of minimal keyboard riffs tripping along on the deeper side of house, the synths bubbling just beneath the surface. In fact the Danalogue house credentials are strong, as the ebullient Onto The Next Dimension also shows.

Does it all work?

It does – and proves equally enjoyable when enjoyed in snippets or in one single span.

Is it recommended?

Enthusiastically. A reminder that electronic music can be a lot of fun, delivering more endorphins than we have a right to expect from a debut album. Music to put a smile on the listener’s face!

Listen / Buy

Published post no.2,946 – Monday 13 July 2026

Switched On – Field Lines Cartographer: Apeiron Anxiety (Castles In Space)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Mark Burford, aka Field Lines Cartographer, writes on the Bandcamp page for this release:

According to the 6th century Greek philosopher Anaximander, ‘apeiron’ is a state of primal chaos. It is the limitless, undefinable everything from which all is created & the essential form back to which all will ultimately return. Apeiron constantly & infinitely creates the building blocks of everything, including all states of opposition such as heat & cold, dry & wet, only to then destroy & remake it all anew in a boundless, eternal cycle.

It seems that humanity in the 21st century is living in a type of apeiron with our social, political, technological & economic structures. One crisis is seemingly resolved only to be replaced with another. Alleged enemies become friends, only to return as enemies again. Technology creates solutions, but the unintended consequences of its application create a new set of problems to be surmounted. We seem to be living in a permanent state of uncertainty & flux. This creates a type of undefinable, constant anxiety. Nothing is certain & the cycle of creation & destruction of threats, fears & challenges remorselessly continues. We live in a state of perpetual confusion, the ebb & flow of humanity’s own apeiron.

What’s the music like?

Rich in colour and content, while being deeply immersive.

Uncollapsing steals in but rich in ambient content. A Summoning starts with darker colours but opens out beautifully, giving the feeling of an event about to happen, with movement in the middle ground but long arcs above. The Wave That Breaks Us is a deep, meditative piece, with sonorous tones and a rich, pulsing bass drone that gradually takes over.

These tracks of subtle but intense activity are complemented by the likes of Dying Embers, an immensely reassuring album closer.

Does it all work?

Yes – and is best experienced as a single entity. These long form compositions are ideally paced and beautifully scored.

Is it recommended?

It is. This is ideal foreground music for either end of the day, where its treasures are most fully revealed.

Listen / Buy

Published post no.2,733 – Saturday 29 November 2025

New music – Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan – Public Works and Utilities (Castles in Space)

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adapted from the press release by Ben Hogwood

Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan – the one-man retro-futurist electronic project of Gordon Chapman-Fox – has announced his sixth album, Public Works and Utilities. It will be released via the Castles In Space label on October 10, alongside a new compilation, titled Appendix I, which rounds up the tracks from three Warrington-Runcorn EPs on one handy CD.

Public Works and Utilities is the sixth Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan album in less than five years and continues to explore new towns and the demise of the post-war consensus. This time, Gordon’s gaze falls on our public services that have been starved of cash or privatised since 1980.

“It seems ridiculous in hindsight for a developed country to have packed up and sold off vital infrastructure such as power, water or the rail network,” he says. “Forty years down the line, and all of these vital industries are barely functional. Their prime function now is to drain cash from our pockets and into the bulging wallets of shareholders.”

This anger continues to power Gordon’s desire to make Warrington-Runcorn a statement for the here and now, with the themes more relevant than ever, rather than an exercise in rose-tinted nostalgia. As the epic, 18-minute album closer will attest, ‘The People Matter’.

“This album very much came from my live shows,” says Gordon. “A lot of these tracks were designed to be performed live, and you will have heard quite a few of them if you’ve seen me live in the last year.”

As a result, there is a certain rawness, not to mention an almost upbeat danceable quality. The atmosphere of the previous albums has become fused with an urge to get you to move your feet.

The full tracklisting of Public Works and Utilities is:

1. Swift Safe And Comfortable

2. Sunset Over Stanlow

3. 800 Yards Down At Ince Six Feet

4. Water Treatment Works

5. Renewal And Regeneration

6. The People Matter

Released on the same day as the new album, the compilation Appendix I brings together three Warrington-Runcorn EPs onto CD for the first time, bringing together some of the more esoteric elements of the world of musical new town planning.

Building A New Town from 2023 moved the reference point of Warrington-Runcorn back from the synth-drenched late-’70s to the more post-psychedelic, folk infused world of Mike Oldfield and Pentangle. The four tracks are guitar-led, but retain Gordon’s mix of optimism and sinister atmosphere.

The next EP, A Shared Sense Of Purpose was the lead single from last year’s Your Community Hub album, and released in both 7” and 12” versions. This CD takes the single edit from the 7”, and adds the bonus tracks from the 12” – including a remix from the legendary Vince Clarke, and a another guitar-led folk remix of the title track.

Lastly, Overspill Estates adds four songs taken from the sessions for Your Community Hub that didn’t make it onto the final album.

Listen to Appendix I

The full tracklisting of Appendix I is:

1. A Fresh Dawn For North Cheshire

2. The View From Halton Castle

3. Solid Foundations

4. The Cornerstone

5. A Shared Sense Of Purpose (Single Edit)

6. A Shared Sense Of Purpose (Vince Clarke remix)

7. Oakwood

8. A Shared Sense Of Purpose (1973 version)

9. The People Of The Town

10. All Mod Cons

11. Open Green Spaces

12. All You Need In Five Minutes Brisk Walk

Published post no.2,655 – Friday 12 September 2025

Switched On – Hawksmoor – An Aesthetic – Experiments In Tape (Lunar Module)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

To quote the Bandcamp guide for this release, “James McKeown is a Bristol-based musician known for his innovative approach to music production and sound design. With a passion for combining modular synths with layers of live bass, guitars and experimental techniques, McKeown has carved out a niche in the electronic music scene, captivating audiences with his unique sonic explorations.”

An Aesthetic is a series of ten pieces taking the concept of hauntology further than before, and “into a liminal space of sonic saturation”. This is done through layering the wow, flutter and warble of tape artefacts, creating a unique sonic landscape.

This, then, is music for blank tape – but in a thoroughly intriguing compositional process, released on Lunar Module, the new Castles in Space CD imprint.

What’s the music like?

As the above implies, otherworldly and haunting. This is music to accompany a film where all is not quite as it seems, and where images suddenly rear up in front of the camera. That at least is what is threatened by Aesthetic II, whose bright tones are compromised by a claustrophobic atmosphere.

Aesthetic III is both oppressive and weirdly comforting, a wall of sound that feels like a massive duvet round the ears by the end, while Aesthetic VII is more ominous still. Aesthetic V crackles but settles into one of the most ambient tracks of the ten. Aesthetic VIII is the longest of all, the D-120 of the selection (for TDK fans!), and a wobbly but winsome track, with a rather beautiful chord progression that recurs at regular intervals. Aesthetic IX has the broadest melody, almost a spiritual in its plaintive quality, while the concluding Aesthetic X is a satisfying exploration of the bass range.

Does it all work?

It does – the ten pieces form a kind of suite that can be easily experienced in one sitting, and the lack of digital correction is appealing.

Is it recommended?

It is. An Aesthetic is a fascinating set of collages and inventive sound pieces that fit well together, creating an atmospheric whole. Not for all moods, that is for sure, but a consistently rewarding listen.

For fans of… Flying Saucer Attack, Pram, Bvdub, My Bloody Valentine

Listen / Buy

Published post no.2,583 – Wednesday 2 July 2025