Alan Davey - Captured Rotation

Hawkwind bassist flies alone

This is a welcome remaster/reissue for Davey’s highly regarded mid-90s solo album, which has been unavailable since the winding-down of the Hawkwind-owned Emergency Broadcast System label. Davey has two modus operandi: full-on psychedelic assaults and dreamy, hallucinogenic wave sequences. Often underpinned by Arabic flavours, both styles are densely packed with kaleidoscopic, Technicolor sounds. He’s always loved the Arabic imagery, he says, particularly ‘the Fry’s Turkish Delight TV adverts, the Arabian Nights cartoon during The Banana Splits Show…’ The heavier numbers, such as opening track The Call (featuring then-bandmate Ron Tree on vocals) are full of explosive, interstellar energy. But it’s in his more understated instrumentals that Davey’s multi-talented musicianship really flows. Never Come Down and Higher Than Before are acid-fuelled, hypnotically-recursive trips that avoid the sterility of some electronic music, thanks to the way his melodically rhythmic bass winds its way through the synths. Though the passage of time and technology has given the widescreen spacescapes of Captured Rotation a more modest, lo-fi feel, Davey remains an inventive and imaginative composer. He deserves more regard and attention than he currently receives.

Voiceprint | HAWKVP 40 CD

Reviewed by Ian Abrahams
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