Microcorps to drop new album ‘Clear Vortex Chamber’ on Downwards Records
Microcorps (Photo by Agnes Haus)
Alexander Tucker’s experimental electronic project Microcorps will release a new full-length album, “Clear Vortex Chamber”, on 19 September 2025 via Downwards Records. The release follows 2021’s “XMIT” (Alter Records) and 2024’s “Macrocorpse” cassette on The Tapeworm.
“Clear Vortex Chamber” features a cast of collaborators, including Justin K Broadrick (Godflesh, Jesu), Phew, Regis (Sandwell District), Elvin Brandhi, Karl D’Silva, and vocalist JJOWDY. Mixing techno, drone, contemporary composition, and modular synthesis, the album integrates acoustic instrumentation as well such as cello and bass guitar with machine rhythms and processed vocals. “I wanted the album to sit somewhere between machine technology with something primitive,” Tucker says, “where synthetic and acoustic sources become intertwined.”
Tucker developed the album after discarding a year’s worth of earlier work. He credits Karl O’Connor (Regis), Freddy Lomas (Kinn), and James Ginzburg (Emptyset) with helping guide his process. “Making this album really tested me. It was the outcome of a long period of hard lessons and harsh realities, but I had some good friends to guide me along the way and pull me out of the mire.”
Microcorps will perform at All Is Joy, Soho, London on 17 July 2025 as part of the OBLIQUE_FUTURES series alongside Atom Truck and Xylitol. A second appearance is confirmed for 22 November at Brighton’s ACCA supporting Cabaret Voltaire (sold out).
“Clear Vortex Chamber” will be released digitally and on vinyl by Downwards Records on 19 September 2025.
About Microcorps / Alexander Tucke
Alexander Tucker, based in the UK, is a multidisciplinary artist whose work spans solo music, experimental comics, and visual art. He launched Microcorps in 2021 with the debut album “XMIT” on Alter Records. The project marked a departure from his earlier solo releases on Thrill Jockey, including “Guild of the Asbestos Weaver” (2019) and “Don’t Look Away” (2018), focusing instead on modular electronics, altered vocals, and sound deconstruction.
Over the years, Tucker has collaborated with a range of artists across avant-garde, drone, and noise scenes, including Charlemagne Palestine, Grumbling Fur (with Daniel O’Sullivan), and Keith Collins. His 2023 project “Fifth Continent” with Collins was released on Subtext, and his NONEXISTENT trio debuted on Downwards in 2021.
With Microcorps, Tucker explores the boundaries between acoustic resonance and machine precision, continuing his interest in sonic architecture and what he calls “psychoactive environments.”
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