Digitalis

One of the most exciting and original producers of psychedelic music in the mid- to late 90s, Seb Taylor began playing the guitar in a death metal band at the age of 15, inspired by such groups as Ministry, Nine Inch Nails and 808 State. He started recording electronic music around 1994 and the next year had his first release, ‘Repeater’, as Digitalis on Roost Records, which was followed by two releases as Shakta, ‘Lepton Head Pt. 2’ (Celtic Records) and ‘Amber Mantra’ (Psychic Deli). In 1996 he signed to Dragonfly Records as Shakta and released the single ‘Cosmic Trigger’/‘Spiritual Beings In Physical Bodies’ to accompany his debut album, Silicon Trip, the following January. The album was well received on the trance scene and over the next year Taylor performed at parties in the UK and around the world. At the same time he continued to work as Digitalis and during 1997 released the single ‘Rapid Eye’/‘The Mind Gap’ on 21-3 Productions, and contributed the tracks ‘Double Helix’ and ‘Chaos By Design’ (as CBD) to that label’s All Boundaries Are Illusion compilation. In the same year he also produced the track ‘3rd State’ for Matsuri Productions’ Let It Rip and continued to work with these two labels in 1998. For Matsuri he recorded the Soma Junkies EP and the track ‘Teleprescence’, which was released on Forever Psychedelic, while 21-3 included ‘Not Human’ and ‘Waving Not Drowning’ on their compilation Elastic. Taylor also records as Somaton for Phantasm Records and has released an album, Future Memories, and a single, ‘Monogatari/Mutate And Survive’. He works in a slightly different area of the psychedelic techno sound under each pseudonym. Silicon Trip presents straightforward powerful, four-on-the-floor psychedelic trance characterized by excellent production, well-balanced arrangements and funky riffs. His work as Digitalis moves away from melodic-sounding, modal riffs to concentrate on abstract psychedelia and often rather metallic textures, combined with more varied rhythms that incorporate breakbeats and elements of drum ‘n’ bass. Taylor is distinguished from the majority of artists in the field of psychedelic music through his original choice of sounds, his arrangements and considerable production skills. He has also recorded material under the name Biotone, and has released material on Indica, Inspiral and Phantasm.