ALBUM NOTES:

Fantasmatron is an album of vocal pieces released on the Sonoluxe label issued in a single print run of 1000 copies. The album was first mentioned by that name in a diary entry posted in April 2011, but in fact had slowly taken shape over the previous seven months, having begun life as Lamplowdownlowland. Progress on the album had to compete with other priorities including overseeing reissues (for Esoteric/Cherry Red and EMI) and preparing material for live performances included a projected tour in November that unfortunately never took place.

The album sold out in July 2019.


CURRENT AVAILABILITY:

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Available for purchase as a digital download here in the Dreamsville Store.


IF YOU LIKED THIS ALBUM, YOU'LL PROBABLY ENJOY:
Dreamshire Chronicles, Captain Future's Psychotronic Circus, Swoons and Levitations, Stereo Star Maps,
Golden Melodies of Tomorrow, The Alchemical Adventures of Sailor Bill, Fables and Dreamsongs


BILL'S THOUGHTS:

"The closest I can come in an attempt to describe the music it contains is 'neo-psychedelic' pop-rock with a subtle hint of twisty electronica. (One clue is in the album's title:- a combination of the words 'fantasy', 'phantasm' and 'electronic.')
It's a melodic, 99.9% vocal based guitar and keyboard driven album with plenty of colourful textural details and semi-surreal twists and turns."
_____

"Fantasmatron? Ooooh, darling! Pop via strange antennea...Crystal Set music for sensual supermen, erotic noise for sexy sailors and sailorettes, big blue dreams for dig it now, kids, rough and tumble for the refined of mind. Be there with it, or forever be square!"

"Lampdownlowland": "a rather emotive track for me too...It attempts to capture those moments of quiet melancholy sitting in front of a fire on a cold winter's night when our thoughts turn to matters of mortality and the poignant beauty and suffering of the human condition. Ghosts of the past, distant memories, a kind of universal garden of eden from which we have all been, too soon, expelled."

FAN THOUGHTS:

neill_burgess:

"Just had my first listen to Fantasmatron, and I have to say I am blown away. This is the album I've wanted Bill to make for years (even if I could not have defined what I wanted before hearing it!).

"While still recognisably a BN album, to my ears it goes somewhere new, combining some of the spikey instrumental pieces we've heard previously with matching, edgy vocals. In some ways, it could be seen as a successor to the similarly "experimental" vocal album Golden Melodies, but whereas that had pastoral instrumentation the music here is more avant-garde rock...
So, from me it's definitely a big thumbs up from the first listen - well done Bill!"


steve lyles:

"I am absolutely blown away by Bill's new album. I love the atmospheres and "feel" of this music...I find myself getting huge emotional surges as I am listening....no drugs required - just me and the music and it's a chemical romance. The track "Signal Destinations" is so truly epic...it's like a 21st century hymn...as I have thought hundreds of time before with Bill Nelson's music...just how does it get better than this ?...and then it does...extraordinary..."


BobK:

"Must say, I am blown away as well. This well and truly hits the spot.

"I suppose you could describe the album as a collection of melodic, almost trippy, tunes. The word 'ethereal' springs to mind. Has hints of Golden Melodies and Fables about it and a suitable amount of strangeness. There are so many beautiful melodies here and some great stuff going on behind the top line melody, (listen on headphones!).  

"What more can ya say? Bill sings wonderfully, some terrific guitar playing, beautifully produced and mastered and loads of jolly nice weird blippy noises.  I love it!"


alec:

"I'm all about Fantasmatron lately. Can't get enough of it. Can't make up my mind what my favourite track from it is!"


Holer:

"Holy crap! This one caught me completely by surprise. It's nice going into a new BN record with absolutely no idea as to what to expect. Honestly, I thought it was going to be another trippy instrumental record, which would have been more than alright with me, but POW!  So much more!

"I enjoy all of Bill's releases at some level, but every few years, he releases an album that really makes a statement - Sailor Bill, Golden Melodies, the Mazda trilogy, Non-Stop Mystery Action, among others. I think Fantasmatron is one of those records. Another classic, and one of Bill's weirdest pop albums to date! Hey, that's a GOOD thing!"


Chimera Man:

"Everything Changes with the Weather": "is simply gorgeous and I can't stop playing it...
I do love it when Bill hits us with a laid-back vibe (is that adjective still in use?!), a sumptuous melody line and a really rich sounding composition."


JohnR:

"My favourite albums from Bill's recent output change with time, but there is still one that stands out for me as the No. 1, and that is Fantasmatron. It's got everything, including my favourite spine-shivering track - "Everything Changes with the Weather".


Andre:

"Art is Long and Time is Fleeting": "and your voice is untouched by time. Your voice sounds as warn as it did 40 years ago!"

"Fantasmatron, to me, has got to be easily the best Bill Nelson has put out."

"It kills me, because something like "Everything Changes with the Weather" should be all over the radio. We live on one strange planet!"


Serge Ruel:

"What an absolutely superb fusion and development of your musical avenues. Wow, am I ever so glad to be around to hear this...a dream come true."


Alan:

"Once again, Bill takes us along on his musical journey through new regions in Nelsonic lands. Like so many of Bill's albums, this one has its own personality."

"Definitely one of my favorites. If you don't have this one, do yourself a favor and buy it now."


Returningman:

"My own favourite (and choosing one is not an easy task) is the album I just keep returning to - Fantasmatron. In my eyes (and ears) it is Bill's most rounded and complete set of musical statements in many years."

"Like a fine wine this album gains depth with age (and playtime). Worth digging out the headphones for this one as there is lots of stuff deep in the mix.

"Most artists of a "certain age" recorded their best work many moons ago. Bill seems to be in a golden phase of his artistic career at present, and is releasing some absolute gems."


novemberman:

"Fantasmatron instantly hit me as exceptional. I didn't want it end!"