[CP 199.25 CD] H.J. Langlie; CMOS Recordings

November 2025 release; compiling both LPs issued on "Modulator" H.J. Langlie's Balboa, CA-based CMOS imprint (1980's CMOS-1; "The Computer Driven Synthesizer" & 1982's CMOS-3; "The Imaginary Symphony Of Balboa... A Child's Theme and other selections by The Computer Driven Synthesizer" - unclear if there is/was a CMOS-2; there's certainly no trace of it, anywhere). The appearance of this set as the 25th in the, often, divisive 199.XX "Vetoes" program comes with some amount of controversy (several Cabal members wanted it to be the, still forthcoming, compendium of "Erotic" Synth LPs, but I pushed back) but ultimately it's a watershed moment for the sub-series; we've mostly stopped bickering around the 'True Nature Of Art' & have started embracing one another's pecadilloes & odd embraces of 'Taste' that often make any group-project such an impossible proposition. 

While the LPs in question do offer a take on a branch of the storied "Moogsploitation" lane, the novel approach of delineating floating-point digital control (via bespoke software running on a TRS-80 32k Level II Computer) over analog systems (Moog Model 2090 MicroMoog Synthesizer) is the defining/driving factor. What breaks these apart from the legion is that they consist entirely of original material (in this way they resemble those great Chris Swansen LPs; see [CP 110-110.5 CD]) & that the pieces in question are a sequence of largely Impressionistic & occasionally microtonal work that, much like the storied Glenn Williams set (see: [CP 208 CD]) have an air of envisioned Composerly academic/hierarchical legitimacy that feels unwarranted (these are in fact Langlie's only known forays into music; the copious liner notes would lead you to believe he was a major visionary, in league with Mendelssohn, et.al).

While "TCDS" forges a fairly straightforward path through romantically-tinged SATB writing (often at a delirious clip that reminds of David Borden's contemporaneous "Music For Amplified Keyboard Instruments"), "TISOB" pushes a more fully realized sound taking in spacious arrangements & the kinds of "Mystical" writing associated with folks like Hovaness & Gurdjieff. The occasional dash of Concrète / found-sound only adds to the allure; the whole thing is dripping with the exact "One Man Against The World With Computer And Synth" energy we're always going on about. This Creel Pone replica edition comes in the familiar 6-lane booklet, coated in myriad details from the LPs & pieces in question, presented on two discs (the TRT is a respectable 87.5 minutes) at the usual "Mid-Line" price-point.