Eleh has been an enigma since the first record under that name was released in 2006. In numbered editions with letterpressed sleeves, usually on Important Records from the U.S.A., these vinyl-only releases were evidently a labour of love and attention. Further recordings have been released on the labels Taiga and Touch, making 11 vinyl editions in all. Eleh began as long ago as 1999 as an exploration of analog synthesis, emphasising low frequency oscillation and resonant acoustic phenomenae. Eleh highlights the physical presence of sound as it has been inspired by the physical world. There is also something ‘cathedral-like’ and cosmos-inducing in the sound built. Following the recent 12” release, “Observations and Momentum”, Eleh has chosen to release the first digital recordings on Touch – 'Location Momentum' is a set of five new recordings which will be made openly available on CD. "The stuff that Eleh sets in motion from whatever electronic sound generators he/she deploys represents a measured and methodical paring away of all that might appear superfluous, baroque and rococo. Each of the tracks here consists of just a handful and discrete (and discreet) but highly charged sound events that emerge, overlap, recede and reverberate at critical frequencies over extended durations. At certain crucial points this approach serves as a formula for opening a portal what David Toop has referred to as the dark void, that spectral realm magicked into being (or exposed by) the drone, in which audio apparitions and chimeras dance through smoke and mirrors, suggesting the existence of occult planes and dimensions, multiple other realities, worlds within worlds." (Tony Herrington in The Wire)

THE WIRE'S BEST OF 2010