Building on some seriously amazing releases over the last few years - After Dinner, Tiziano Popoli, Arturo Stàlteri, Roberto Musci, Giovanni Venosta, etc. - Soave returns with the first ever vinyl reissue of Steve Birchall’s obscure electronic classic “Reality Gates”. Originally privately issued in 1973, it's an astounding deep dive into the world of 1970s underground / outsider, avant-garde synthesis from the American Midwest that remains fresh and almost entirely singular nearly a half century down the road.

Since its launch in 2017, the Milan based imprint, Soave, has become a widely celebrated vehicle for visionary, historical gestures of music that pursue radical new paths of creativity. Over its years of activity, Soave has largely focused on the work of Italian artists like Giusto Pio, Riccardo Sinigaglia, Arturo Stalteri, Roberto Musci, Giovanni Venosta, and numerous others, but every once in a while they cast their gaze further afield, notably in the cases of their releases by Wolf Vostell, After Dinner, and their latest, the first ever vinyl reissue of Steve Birchall’s obscure electronic classic “Reality Gates”. Long neglected in annals of the 1970’s American avant-garde, before becoming rediscovered and championed by Keith Fullerton Whitman and Creel Pone a number of years back, it’s a wild and wonderful journey into the outer reaches.

Almost nothing is known about Steve Birchall other than that he emerged during the early 70s in the American Midwest - specifically Bloomington, Indiana - armed with some serious gear: VCS-3 (The Putney) by EMS, Ampex MM-1000 16 trk, dbx noise reduction, Spectra Sonics Console, Studer A80 Recorder, Eventide Clockworks, Instant Phaser, Cooper Time Cube, EMT Reverb. His recording debut, “Phenomena / Reciprocals II / Pento-Tholoi”, was a split with Scott Huston, issued in 1970 by the legendary imprint, Opus One, run by the composer Max Schubel, alongside numerous noteworthy recordings by artists like Frederic Rzewski, Garrett List, Joel Chadabe, Randall McClellan, and Barre Phillips. Three years later, he would resurface with a single sided flexi, “Music of The Spheres”, and his lone full-length, “Reality Gates”, before disappearing from view.

“Reality Gates” was originally privately issued by Poseidon Electronic Music Studio in 1973 and then rereleased with broader distribution by Ovation Records (arguably best known via their sub-imprint Black Jazz Records). Soave’s edition perfectly reproduces the latter, following its being almost entirely unobtainable for nearly 40 years. First things first, don’t let the cover or the title fool you. While it might seem like it belies New Age and mystical fare, the album is anything but.

Birchall’s lone full length is nothing short of a radical, full force avant-garde affair, harkening back to the wild early years of electronic studios in the United States and Europe when experimentation was in full force and anything went, rather than embracing more sedate approaches to synthesis that tended to define the 1970s. Blasting forward in its opening minutes with the piercing high tones of “Music of the Spheres”, as the album’s five compositions progress the composer embarks on a cosmic journey of clattering tonality and texture that fully embraces its electronic character, darting toward complete unpredictability, while never leaving behind a sense of carefully considered artistry that defines its totality.

A time bending marvel and a neglected outsider-electronics classic. An absolute killer gem, Soave has once again done a great service by bringing much needed attention to a rarely heard wonder.