Bochum Welt reissues classic 1996 analogue electro album ‘Module 2’

Bochum Welt’s classic 1996 album Module 2, originally released on Aphex Twin’s Rephlex label, is being reissued on vinyl with five bonus tracks via BMG.

Bochum Welt – a combination of the German word for ‘world’ (welt) and the name of a high-powered astral telescope –  is the stage name of Italian electronic artist Gianluigi Di Costanzo. Di Costanzo has been releasing boundary-pushing electronic music since the ’90s, his first single for Aphex Twin’s Rephlex label, ‘Scharlach Eingang’ (1994), made such an impact NME ran an article speculating Bochum Welt was an new ghost project by Aphex Twin himself.

Di Costanzo’s first album Module 2, a collection of his first recordings, was originally released in 1996 and followed by another Rephlex release Robotic Operating Buddy, nominated in 2009 as a top 15 electronica albums by The Wire and a string of acclaimed albums in the years since. Other collaborators throughout his expansive career include Drexciya’s Gerald Donald and Nine Inch Nails touring member Josh Eustis.

With its new vinyl reissue, Module 2 is set to compel new audiences with its timelessly futuristic sound and five previously unheard tracks. For the uninitiated, lovers of Kraftwerk and Aphex Twin will find themselves well at home in Di Costanzo’s analogue electro soundscape. Opening with the moody ambience and acid squelches of ‘Extra Life (Take 2), the album moves effortlessly between light and shade, offsetting brighter melodic pieces such as ‘Electro 1 (Knightsbridge Mix)’ (inspired by the influential Sheffield electronic music scene of the early 80s), with the more brooding, darker techno sensibilities of tracks like ‘Mechanique’ (of which we get both studio and live versions).

Over thirteen peerless tracks, Module 2 invites us to explore a full spectrum of electro possibilities: the extraterrestrial groove of ‘Extra Life’ (another track with two excellent versions on the album) coexists with the dreamy night ride pads and delays of ‘Asteroids Over Berlin’ and the crunchy lo-fi beats and pensive synths of ‘Paths’, whilst ‘Over Time’ closes us out with captivating moody ambience.

The imprint of Di Costanzo’s analogue explorations continues to be felt with every generation and no doubt this reissue will inspire a whole wave of discoveries. Module 2  is a bonafide ‘cult classic’ –  a feast for analogue aficionados, fans of Aphex Twin’s broader universe and any lover of underground electronic music and its history. Essential and absorbing listening and a must for all vinyl collections!

Bochum Welt says: 

“Listening to the original tape recordings for this album, I found some alternate versions and unreleased tracks. Among the unreleased ones, ‘Electro 1’ is a look back at the Sheffield melodic electronic music scene; ‘Extra Life (Take 2)’ is a version with more ambience and delay tips than the original; ‘Over Time’ is a tense and dark soundscape at the end of the album. Any part I was playing with a synthesiser was digital information that I programmed into my Macintosh. The results were lo-fi electro tunes made using my own sounds and analog gear. It’s the first album I made for Aphex Twin’s and Grant Wilson Claridge’s Rephlex Records, plus 5 bonus tracks”.

 Available to buy / stream here

Module 2, vinyl reissue tracklist:

SIDE 1

1 Mechanique

2 Radiopropulsive

3 Path

4 Avtomaticesk

5 Extra Life*

6 B2 (Live in London, 1996)*

SIDE 2

7 Asteroids Over Berlin

8 Mechanique (Live at the Rocket, London)*

9 Electro 1 (Knightsbridge Mix)*

10 Lunakhod

11 Extra Life (Take 2)*

12 That’s Mutuality

13 Over Time*

(*previously unreleased)

by Damion Pell

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