(Photo by Michaela Olexova) A year on from the release of his debut album, “Insubstantial As Ghosts”, the London based experimental electronic artist BArTc is to issue a seven track companion piece entitled “Ghosts” tomorrow.

His debut album, “Insubstantial As Ghosts”, plus much of his brand new companion piece “Ghosts” were recorded in early 2021 while the UK was in lockdown. ICR label owner Colin Potter, himself a well known figure in the experimental genre as a member of Nurse With Wound and sound engineer, heard some of Barton’s work and offered to release it, handpicking several of the tracks that subsequently appeared on the debut and mastering both that album and “Ghosts”.

“Ghosts” features two reworked tracks from the project’s debut (“Energy Field [long]” and “Malleus Incuss Tapes [inner ear mix]”), plus five further pieces recorded around the same period. “Ghosts” mixes layers of analogue synth, dark ambient drones and experimental work combined with field recordings.

The release was mastered by ICR owner and Nurse With Wound member Colin Potter and is available digitally via bandcamp and in a very limited Bartefact edition with handmade and numbered artwork from tomorrow on.

Here’s the video for “Energy Field [long]”.

About BArTc

BArTc is London based experimental electronic audio visual artist Jason Barton. BArTc is comprised of the symbols for three chemical elements – Boron (B), Argon (Ar) and Technetium (Tc) – while also giving nods to both Hungarian composer Béla Bartók and his own surname.

Initially inspired by instrumental electronic records in his father’s record collection by Tangerine Dream, Vangelis and Jean-Michel Jarre, Barton gravitated towards underground industrial icons such as Coil, Einstürzende Neubauten, Chris & Cosey and Skinny Puppy while in his teens, before digging deeper into the work of early German electronicists such as Cluster, Musique concrète pioneers Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry, plus the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. He cites sound recordist (and Cabaret Voltaire co-founder) Chris Watson as a key influence.

Having collected synthesisers and made music (both alone and with friends) for several years, Barton subsequently started the project Less Than One to create accompanying videos that he began posting on Instagram. It has led to commissions from the likes of Daniel Avery and Alessandro Cortini.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Genre/Influences: Experimental, Ambient, Industrial.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: This is the debut album of London based Experimental, Electronic solo-project BArTc, which is driven by Jason Barton. The name of the project is taken from the chemical elements Boron, Argon and Technetium, but is also a wink to Hungarian composer Béla Bartók.

Content: The work is the perfect offspring between Industrial-, Ambient- and Experimental music. The songs are driven by constant, repetitive loops, which are comparable to the noise of a rotor. Buzzing sound waves invite the listeners to enter a mysterious universe. You sometimes will notice a kind of fragmented vocals while a few tracks are driven by a rather slow cadence.

+ + + : If you’re into Electronic minimalism resulting in an explicit Experimental result, this is an album, which will definitely appeal for you. The sound formula is rather simple, definitely repetitive, but interesting and sometimes fascinating. “The Isotopes Of Yttrium” is a really great cut; it’s a little bit more elaborated and especially the slow rhythm injects something extra to the track.

– – – : The repetitive sound formula becomes rapidly predictable, but this project has something particular and it all sounds like there’s more potential inside than what came out.

Conclusion: BArTc stands for an accessible format of Experimental music.

Best songs: “The Isotopes Of Yttrium”, “Malleus Incuss tapes”, “Francium”.

Rate: 7.

Artist: www.ohm2223.com

Label: www.icrdistribution.com

About BArTc

BArTc is the London-based experimental electronic and audiovisual project of Jason Barton. The name is built from the symbols for three chemical elements, Boron, Argon and Technetium, and nods to both the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók and Barton’s own surname.

Barton has cited the instrumental electronic records in his father’s collection by Tangerine Dream, Vangelis and Jean-Michel Jarre as a starting point, followed in his teens by Coil, Einstürzende Neubauten, Chris & Cosey and Skinny Puppy, and later by Cluster, the musique concrète of Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry, and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. He names sound recordist and Cabaret Voltaire co-founder Chris Watson as a key influence.

After several years of collecting synthesisers and recording, Barton started the project Less Than One to make accompanying videos, which led to commissions from Daniel Avery and Alessandro Cortini. Side-Line covered the debut and its first track “Malleus Incuss Tapes” in July 2021, and reported in December 2022 that BArTc would issue the 7-track EP “Ghosts”.

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BArTc is a London based experimental electronic one-man project (Jason Barton). Out in September is the project’s debut full length “Insubstantial As Ghosts” containing 14 dark atmospheric soundscapes. ICR owner Colin Potter, himself a well known figure in the experimental genre as a member of Nurse With Wound and sound engineer, heard some of Barton’s work and offered to release it. He has handpicked several of the pieces included on “Insubstantial As Ghosts” and also mastered the album.

Initially inspired by instrumental electronic records in his father’s record collection by titans such as Tangerine Dream, Vangelis and Jean-Michel Jarre, Barton soon gravitated towards underground industrial icons such as Coil, Einstürzende Neubauten, Chris & Cosey and Skinny Puppy, as well as digging deeper into the work of early German electronicists such as Cluster, Musique concrète pioneers Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry, plus the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

Barton has cited sound recordist (and Cabaret Voltaire co-founder) Chris Watson as another influence, adding: “I have always loved environmental sounds and often carry a field recorder on my travels which I use to create texture in my pieces. I build layers to create something abstract yet strangely beautiful, mixing source material, organic and experimental sounds plus field recordings that are heavily distorted with various effects. For me, creating music is a form of meditation, and to lose oneself in an improvisation is a wonderful experience. I just need to remember to hit record!”

Much of “Insubstantial As Ghosts” was recorded in January 2021 while the UK was in lockdown. Barton: “I participated in an annual Instagram music making challenge, where artists post a short piece of music every day using the hashtag #jamuary2021. Recording my contributions at the same time every evening (22:23), I amassed many minutes of music and ideas. Some of these were expanded to become tracks for the album or inspired further recordings through the dark winter nights.”

Check out the 3rd track on the album: “Malleus Incuss Tapes”

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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