Sam Watts Releases Cypher

On February 23rd, Sam Watts will release his sophomore solo album Cypher. The 8-track release was never intended to be an album - it started out as a trial of a new virtual instrument - Keyscape by Spectrasonics. Sam was so impressed by the impressive library of keyboard instruments that he was inspired to create an entire album in a new, more minimalist and contemporary style.

As the title suggests, the album explores the idea of numbers and codes. Sam noted that 'each track is composed of blocks of musical ideas that are repeated, moved around and manipulated, or of a single idea or repeating chord pattern that I explore through texture and rhythm. Tetralogy I and II also explore how multiple instruments can combine to create patterns – many of the “heard” melodies and bass lines are actually a combination of several instruments. Using more than one at a time gave me almost infinite sound options to explore and this kind of versatility is what drew me to Keyscape in the first place, and what turned Cypher from a test track into a complete album.'

Listen here