locust: the plaintive

Suction Records is thrilled to present a new vinyl release of “The Plaintive”, the first new album since 2014 by the legendary, and somewhat underrated electronic project of Mark Van Hoen, Locust. When Suction was formed in 1997, we were deeply enthralled with the UK “listening” electronic scene, otherwise known as electronica or IDM, but besides the obvious icons - Aphex Twin, Autechre, and other luminaries of labels like Rephlex, Warp, and Skam Records - one of our heroes was the lesser known Locust, whose productions were murkier, more hypnotic, and deeply organic sounding. Those early Locust records - released via R&S/Apollo Records - were, and have remained, firm favourites. Pouring through the Locust album liner notes back in the ‘90s, it was the first time we’d ever read of a “techno” artist using modular synthesizers to make modern music. Earlier this year, Locust released “The Plaintive” as a 15-track CD/digital album, part of Touched Music’s “Touched By Silence” boxset, and the CD was sold out in a matter of hours. Having heard Locust’s contribution to the set, we were immediately smitten with the material, which sounded very much unlike the Locust of old, yet absolutely complimentary to Van Hoen’s murky, analog-synth past. Produced intermittently over a 5-year period, the tracks were created with a largely-digital eurorack modular system, alongside a selection of analog synthesizers, notably a newly-acquired Prophet 12 polysynth. While tracks like “If You Knew” and “Out Here” are reminiscent of classic Locust, much of “The Plaintive” shows us a new side to Locust - melodic, playful, and melancholic, with clear nods to the melodic electronic sounds of early pioneers like Cluster, early-Kraftwerk, or even OMD’s late-70s output. For Suction’s vinyl release of “The Plaintive”, we’ve chosen 10 highlights from the original 15-track digital release, housed in a stunning The Designers Republic LP jacket, and limited to 500 copies.