SION ORGON

Close friend and collaborator with Thighpaulsandra, Sion Orgon's own music appears to arrive from the same portal responsible for H.P. Lovecraft's fantastic visions. Imagine some of Delia Derbyshire's explorations teased into new shapes by a sunspot and you might be close to where this man has landed. His debut album, 'Orgonised Chaos', featuring a collaboration with fellow Welshman Dafydd Morgan's equally enticing Stylus, was amongst the few treasures to have surfaced in 2004. And the album he completed for us in 2008, 'The ZSigmundy Experience', includes collaborative material with the late Sleazy, Thighpaulsandra, Mike Edwards (Jesus Jones' singer), Frank Naughton (Rocketgoldstar and ex-Uziq) Gaz Williams (Rocketgoldstar), The Grangetown String Ensemble, The Chung Chinese Ensemble and many others; once more illustrating, quite clearly, that Sion's universe is very much a healthily jumbled place. At present, Sion is working on his third album and, in the meantime, remains closely involved with activities both at LTCo and the related Fourth Dimension label via his mastering and production work on a number of releases.

More news on the third album soon.

Review from Judas Kiss magazine

Sion Orgon "The Zsigmondy Experience" CD (Lumberton Trading Company) Written by (anon d.)
It took four years but here it is, the second album by Coil friend and associate coming from a family of teachers and boxers: Mr. Sion Orgon! When I heard this album would come out - on the very great label Lumberton Trading Company (who gave us great albums by Thighpaulsandra, Faust Live, Andrew Liles, Michael Gira and the likes) - I was pretty excited about that and purchased a copy right away. Why do I mention this? Just to make sure that I am writing from the biased fan point of view and not from the neutral position the reviewer should be in.

Every new album from any member of the Coil community causes darn great expectations and, not only in my house. Though by now even the last of the last should have understood that none of them is Coil, neither can fill the void Jhonn Balance left when he fell. But the spirit definitely is in there and, not just somehow but literally! Sleazy himself is credited for writing and voice manipulation on the track "I'm In Black Out", a frisky piece of glam rock.

But now what is this about the (Sigmund) "Experience"? Internet research does not really give a clue about it. There are the following worth reading a little further: Richard Adolf Zsigmondy, the Austrian chemist, Nobel prize laureate, inventor of the ultrafine microscope using the Dunkelfeldprinzip? Then there is Emil Zsigmondy the (Austrian) pioneer alpinist and the Zsigmondyspitze, which was his fatality? Or did Sion just spend some very impressive days in the Dolomite Alps where he may have stayed in the Zsigmondyhuette (Zsigmondy's Hut)? Not a single hint is given, neither on the sleeves nor on the various net appearances... Anyway, the music ranges from glam rocky moments - no big surprise as he played with Rocket Goldsar for a few years and, Frank Naughton also plays on the album – to soundscaping drifting away, to pop avant-garde, to electronica per excellence, but always with an extravagant touch? Meanwhile the "installations" are framed by a very nice vocoder treated choir that reminds me a bit of Air's better moments, maybe that is the "experience" he refers to? Anyways it's great music with a lot of strange animals ("Brazen Strange fish") flying around and a lot to discover between the sheets. For instance "Paper Wings" could also have been written by Jonathan Spaceman and "Skins on the Sky" (my personal favourite) is the Krautrock I always dreamed of. A little dose of THC may be helpful to dream yourselves into Sion's walls of sound, which sure took a long time to sound exactly the way they sound now. If you look at the synth porn section on Golliwog Farm homepage you get an idea of what I mean: Pure art!

All in all this is a nice album and, I don't mean nice, the little sister of shitty! No, this is nice, actually very nice and definitely miles above anything you find in your local mega store of the super smashy hits; worth a check-out and not for die hard Coil aficionados only. BTW I liked this one far better than the latest NWW. But that s just my personal two cents... thank you for your time.