Subterranea [CD]

Bartholomew - Subterranea [CD]

Newcastle-based electronic artist Bartholomew returns with Subterranea, his most personal and cinematic release to date. Arriving on Lunar Module, a new CD imprint from Castles in Space, the album delves deep into emotional terrain -- fusing generative electronics, orchestral flourishes, and raw sonic textures into a poignant meditation on instability and resilience. Following 2023's Moorbound -- a love letter to the Newcastle Town Moor -- Subterranea marks a turning inward. While Moorbound found grounding in the natural world, this new record confronts internal architecture: the disquiet of mental health struggles, personal upheaval, and the ever-shifting nature of equilibrium. Across nine tracks, Bartholomew -- real name Chris Bartholomew -- draws on his background in theatrical composition (Barbican, National Theatre Studio), marrying cinematic storytelling with a palette that recalls the emotional resonance of Hans Zimmer, the granular textures of Tim Hecker, and the stark minimalism of Ben Frost. The result is a body of work that's as vulnerable as it is technically accomplished. The seeds of Subterranea were planted after a shared bill at Newcastle's Cumberland Arms with Gordon Chapman-Fox (Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan). Impressed by the raw demo material, Chapman-Fox brought the project to Lunar Module, a label whose mission -- charting inner worlds and emotional topographies -- was an ideal fit. 01. Primordial_x000D_ 02. Terroir_x000D_ 03. Memorial_x000D_ 04. Land Fracture_x000D_ 05. Riverbed_x000D_ 06. Worm Knitting_x000D_ 07. Terrarium_x000D_ 08. Rooting