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Jake Stephenson — Space Is High
(Fruits de Mer strange fish twenty seven, 2005/2025, 3CD / 2LP)

by Henry Schneider, Published 2025-05-11

Space Is High Cover art

Jake Stephenson was a prolific UK trance / psytrance / ambient producer and musician born in Hersham, Surrey in 1962 who passed away after an epileptic attack in 2005. Over the course of his short 43 years he recorded music under many names including Optic Eye, Alien Mutation, Dr. Psychedelic, 3rd Eye, Lunar, Crystal Moon, Ganja Beats, White Star, Optica, Shamanic Tribes on Acid, and his own name. Now 20 years after his passing, Jake’s brother Silas, Swordfish (Astralasia), and two of Jake’s musical partners (Brian Trower and Matt Hillier) pulled together and remastered a curated selection of Jake’s compositions for this Fruits de Mer retrospective of his more chilled and blissful tracks. Space Is High is available as either a limited edition double LP (300 copies) or a limited edition triple CD set (200 copies) that includes some additional seriously spaced-out recordings. In addition, a minimum of £2 from the sale of each set will go to the Epilepsy Research Institute, as well as a contribution to the Stephenson family. Space Is High is certainly a departure for Fruits de Mer, who have been releasing psych, krautrock, prog rock, and acid folk in various forms (covers of classics, long-last gems, and new music) since the label’s inception. The Fruits de Mer promo only contains the double LP tracks, but without the 35-second “Glow” as there was simply not enough space with the first eleven tracks consuming 80 minutes. The first disc of the 3 CD set matches the promo with the missing track at the end of CD3, capping off the 15 additional CD tracks. Now to the music... Even though Jake used sequencers, analog synths, digital synths, disembodied voices, and electronic percussion, his music is definitely not Berlin school. Instead you hear moody, introspective soundscapes powered by simple sequences, cascading crystalline textures, glissando synths, and driving rhythms for down tempo space and trance music, with occasional dub leanings. As Space Is High is a retrospective drawing from his various incarnations, the music is quite diverse, but with common threads running throughout the album. Jake was probably one of the UK’s least known, yet one of their most talented electronic musicians. The tracks on this album hold your interest throughout and certainly do not sound derivative of his contemporaries or his predecessors. Space Is High is a worthy addition to anyone’s collection and sure to broaden the musical tastes of any Fruits de Mer aficionado.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases, 2005 recordings

Related artist(s): Jake Stephenson

More info
http://www.fruitsdemerrecords.com/jake.html

 

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