“it’s amazing what you can find with a quiet mind…”
"Reissued after being unavailable for nearly 20 years, inside a quiet mind remains a cultural taonga, a musical time capsule that sends the listener hurtling straight back to the earliest flowerings of the New Zealand rave scene. The best electronic album ever made in this country". - Grant Smithies, Sunday Star Times.
Originally released in 1998 through Kog Transmissions via a very limited CD run, we’re proud to present for the first time digitally and on vinyl one of New Zealand’s most acclaimed electronic albums.
A modern electronic classic and a forgotten gem no more, this is an album that holds an important place in NZ electronic music history.
Stepping through deep house, glitch and techno, and originally made across bedrooms in Auckland and Brisbane, inside a quiet mind isn’t a collection of songs, it is a complete album, and one which was created as such. Across 11 songs and over one hour, it is a journey across an electronic spectrum, and one which is best enjoyed in full.
Created inside the thriving electronic scene of the late 90’s, 'inside a quiet mind' is an album which wears it’s influences proudly – the electro/synth heavy Detroit sound, and the minimal-techno of Basic Channel and Maurizio. As Denver McCarthy himself matured and grew from his late teens to early twenties, so did his sound.
“You will be tinkering away with a sound, a chord, a rhythm, and then something will catch your attention, something that sounds good to you. From there, it’s just a matter of adding more elements until you get what occurs to you as a finished piece.
You can feel the anxiety build as the song unfolds, and you wonder whether or not you will be able to resolve the piece and bring out what needs to come out for it to be something worthy and memorable. I have recorded so many songs, but only a small percentage I actually like and stand the test of time.” - Denver McCarthy (micronism)
'inside a quiet mind' has been lovingly remastered by Chris Chetland, one of the founders of Kog Transmissions, and who handled the original mastering.
“Somehow or another, Chris managed to make it releasable 20 years ago, and now he has given new life to the album by a further smoothing of the edges, and polishing it to a level of shininess where it even sounds good in my ute”. - Denver McCarthy (micronism)
credits
released July 21, 2017
concept + images + crystallisation by micronism
drum programming + sound fx on dissolution by urban works
mastered at kog transmissions by chris chetland, pete collins + david fisher
re-mastered at kog transmissions by chris chetland
original cover art pat hammond
reworked cover art by jaime robertson
‘inside a quiet mind’ was created in bedrooms in Morningside, Kingsland, Mt Eden (NZ) & Brisbane (Australia). Made over 2 years from 1996 to 1998 on outboard equipment & computer free.
Gear list:
Roland TR-909
Roland TR-606
Roland TB-303 Bassline
Roland MC-202
Roland JX-3P
Roland CR-78
Roland Juno-106
Korg A3 Effects Unit
Korg Wavestation
Korg DDD-1
Korg Poly-800
Boss Heavy Metal HM2 Pedal
Yamaha TX81Z | Vintage Synth Explorer
Tokai Overdrive Pedal
Sovtek Small Stone
Casio CZ101
Akai DR4
supported by 63 fans who also own “inside a quiet mind”
I didn't realise breakbeats and ambient techno could go so well together, but Skee Mask achieves awesome stuff on this record. humongouslomghonogoufungus
supported by 57 fans who also own “inside a quiet mind”
A truly remarkable album! I'd like to add that this is one of very few albums that I think truly sound better on vinyl, as it only enhances the intended experience. Every little bit seeps with atmosphere, like watching a dystopian, heavily grainy, space movie with ships surveying distant planets. That goes for the artwork as well, to which I'm sure everyone can agree, is the perfect marriage of both sound and visualization. Here's to hoping there'll be a 2846! Trisska
Meticulously designed but not without emotional pull, Jacob Ohrberg's subtle electronic music sounds like a dream of a distant dancefloor. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 1, 2023