This isn’t the first time I’ve felt compelled to share a release from Touched, but it is the first time I’ve been truly wowed by the effort Martin Boulton has gone to in aid of Cancer Research (and great music).
You can go for the epic end of the scale, and hunt down this wooden CD boxset containing full, new albums by the likes of Future Sound of London, and isolatedmix vets Scanner, Anders Ilar, Autumn of Communion + more, or you can scale it back slightly and get them all on digital (98 tracks). Or, if funds are tight but you still want music by The Orb, James Bernard, HIA, DF Tram, (Ghost), Atom TM + more, then there’s the ‘Touched by Silence The Compilation' featuring a more modest amount of tracks, still all for a good cause. All of the above, featuring designs by The Designers Republic.
I started at the compilation and with just this release alone, you’ve got some of the finest electronic-leaning ambient and ambient electronica of recent years. James Bernard is up there opening up proceedings, before a classic vocal dub track by The Orb, and a hypnotic piece by R&S vet David Morley. I also really enjoyed the DF Tram track, featuring an Orb-esque sample that sounds like an instant classic.
