RADIO DYSTOPIA: _BEYOND THE RADAR_
2004 (CD, 47:55); Statue Records no ID code
Style: ambient-electronic/space-music/post-rock
Sound: HHH 1/2 Composition: HH 1/2 Musicianship: HHH
Performance: HHH 1/2 Total rating: 12 1/2

Radio Dystopia is the singular vision of Kevin Bottorf, a veritable
one man orchestra, playing and programming all the instruments on this
debut CD. While primarily a guitarist, Bottorf is also a dab hand at
keyboards and drum programming. Imagine a space-music
synthesizer-oriented modern King Crimson/Ozric Tentacles hybrid,
focused on developing a science-fiction tale for a movie or
mini-series. Make that band listen to a lot of emusic and jazz, and
you might get a sense of where the Radio Dystopia project exists.
While there are numerous spoken word and low frequency vocal
mutterings on “Beyond The Radar”, this is primarily an instrumental
outing. Otherworldliness is the name of the game, as the music takes
quirky journeys in a slightly-cracked looking-glass universe. Moving
through drones and up-tempo space marches, touching on ambience and
new-age, Bottorf mostly avoids the snooze-fests associated with the
intersection of such genres. With the opener “March Of The Drones” and
the oddball “The Planet Lux-Ptah Lounge” as its main calling cards,
this is a disc for the prog fan in search of 45 minutes of chill-out
time. As such it succeeds admirably.
Steven Davies-Morris

Radio Dystopia – “Beyond the Radar”
By Marcus Pan

When this 8 track self-burned, handwritten track list CD arrived I felt for sure it would be one of the easiest reviews to write. Because I would be given so much fodder to rip into and shred that all I'd have to do is let it flow. Unfortunately...for me anyway...Kevin Bottorff of Radio Dystopia actually has a great handle on music, experiments sublimely with it and, basement or not, Beyond the Radar is quite good. Which means I really have to write a review of it as opposed to make fun of it.

Radio Dystopia is an experimental electronic project, concentrating on minimalism. The sounds provided are typically brighter than your average dark ambient – it's more like happy and illucid ambient, really. You'll find some darker elements, sure, it's hard to create experimental anything without something brooding creeping in. The deep resonant cello (I think) of The Planet Lux-Phan Lounge, for example, a track that brings forth imagery of a more dismal, strange and laid back jazz fusion version of Star Wars' cantina.

March of the Drones clocks in at over seven minutes and starts this electronic exposition. The make-up is light, tappy and while it can be at times complicated it retains a minimal suave. On the same track he mixes up different rhythms with percussion to close it, coalescing brush strokes and tom hits to bring it to an end. Into the Cosmos has a similar brush-stroke-cymbal sound that will keep the track from losing its way, like a beacon leading forward. Spoken word punctuates the minimal musical soundscape with verbiage about...well I'm not sure really. But the voice is soothing somehow and keeps the track from becoming as frightening and dark as it could have been otherwise.

A New Wonder is strange but fluffy. The following Approaching the Now sounds strangely familiar to its predessor but adds a very fast tapping rhythm to the mix. Manick lives up to its name as the loudest cacophony of the Beyond the Radar disc.

I'm rather impressed, really, and many of you know just how hard it is to do that. While I wouldn't suggest handwriting a jacket and sending it to me sans press kit, if you're just hanging in your basement and it's all you have then go ahead. Take the risk. I only suggest you have half as much panache at creation as Kevin does, because if you don't you're going to be told...brutally. Radio Dystopia, on the other hand, is this month's proverbial diamond in the rough.

Acid - drenched masterpiece!

My friend bought the cd from RD(kevin bottorf) himself after listening to his stuff online. I borrowed it from him and listened to it and I thought wow wee wow wow!! It's so different man. I mean this stuff is unique and trips you out. All the little blips and bleeps here and there aren't samples. He does it all himself. And any instrument you hear is him also. Except for the drum machines( it really hard to tell) he plays everything. Way ahead of his time here!! Tripped out to the max!!

I am not a proffesional musician.
Let me tell you more what I feel than what I hear.
Interesting intro.
The background music makes it sometimes difficult to pick up the lyrics.
I find the song, especially the background, very erotic indeed.
Guitar work is laid back but well suited to the song.

Another feel I have to this music is :
I also think this song will go down very well in a love scene
where one of the two partners are uncommitted,
and the committed one knows it.
The Lady has a beautiful voice well suited to this song.
Slow haunting melody defining a person with a blue mood!

Please rate my review as you see fit.
Good song - I quite oenjoyed it.

Ch®istoffel.

I like the way the background vocals support the lead. And the base as lead guitar seems to add to the etherial feel to this song. The arrangement is super. It sounds to me like a scene from the "Phantom of the Opera" if they ever did an updated version.

Radio Dystopia: Beyond The Radar

Beyond The Radar is the mostly electronic debut by Kevin Bottorff: with Roland, Yamaha and Alesis instruments and devices, the guitarist adds synthetic rhymes over reverb’d loops and effects that cater to a distinctly otherworldly concern. “Into The Cosmos” is quite the spacemusic exercise, its reined-in dynamics integral to a now decades-old style. The “Lux-Ptah” track sustains a quirky melody which suggests tutorship under Wendy Carlos (the Queen of habitually quirky, classically-derived melodies). A jocular bent is espoused by “Against Time” and its three-note blippy motif, and sappy, randomly-cued FX. “A New Wonder” brings to mind a great many soft-EM tracks that reside somewhere between new age and ambient, its sequential “snowflakes” a hallmark of 1980’s synthesists like Suzanne Ciani and Richard Burmer. An industrial m.o. is plied on “Monick” with processed vox, electric bass, and shimmering DX-like tones with sharp, pointed ends. “Lost In A Winter’s Dream” is a cool knock off the chillout block, its tranquil air effecting smooth, slowly shifting timbres that belly-crawl over a rhythm-less canvas.

first heard about Radio Dystopia whilst on my travels through the fellow musicians on Soundclick, and was highly impressed with the work I downloaded.

'March of the Drones' is a completely unique sounding electronica piece, with some brilliant drum patterns, and minimal but impressively intelligent sonic blips, whispers and notes mutating amidst the constant beatings. Lots of nice echoes and reverbs with notes bouncing off each other in a more confused than orderly fashion. A definite good opener that brings to mind Jaga Jazzist, Red Snapper, a very dizzy Orbital and maybe hints of Ozric Tentacles for pure oddness. In fact, imagine if King Crimson were a little more electronic minded, I think this is the sound they would emit.

'Into the cosmos' features spoken word outings and drifting sounds, staying mostly on one theme and hypnotising us well. 'The Planet Lux-Ptah Lounge' is a highlight, with some very warped sounds, giving you the impression that your brain is slipping out of your ears, and completed by some lovely vibraphone style sounds and jangling rhythms. 'Against time (The Chase)' is the darkest track thus far with LFO style bleeps and wiggling notes in the background causing disarray. 'A new wonder' and 'Approaching the now' are more very Crimson-esque pieces, with masses of reverb on the guitar notes. 'Manick' reminds me of The Cinematic Orchestra and Amon Tobin, and closer 'Lost in a Winter's Dream' is a beautifully ambient piece to chill you out thoroughly yet still dragging you in for one last journey.

A very impressive album here with plenty for the electronica and spaced out prog rock connoisseur.

Uploaded to Aural Innovations: July 2004

Radio Dystopia is a one man project of Kevin Bottorff. He plays guitar, bass, keyboards, and drum programming. The equipment he used on these recordings includes Yamaha electric guitar, Roland GR-1, Digitech RP-1, Digitech Space Station, Boss DR-770, Yamaha DD-6 and DD-9, Roland TR-505, Korg D8 digital 8 track recording console, Roland electric piano, Alesis AirSynth, cheap Casio keyboard and cheap electric bass. The CD begins with the slow and spaced out March Of The Drones. I like the way the percussion track builds up and strange lines are layered in. Into The Cosmos, one of the best tracks on here and played on Aural Innovations radio, is a really nice free floating space journey. Against Time is a fairly fast drone with strange Casio like synth lines played over the top as well as other synths. It gets you going. A New Wonder is sort of a new age sounding number. Manick ends the CD and follows the formula of many of the other tracks with some programmed percussion and layers of synths played over the top. Not bad!! Looks like this will be released on Statue Records later this year.

For more information you can visit the Radio Dystopia web site at: http://www.soundclick.com/radiodystopia.
Email at: kevinbottorff@yahoo.com.

Reviewed by Scott Heller

Statue Records out of Lomita, Calif., announces the release of Radio Dystopia's "Beyond The Radar"
featuring multi-instrumentalist Kevin Bottorff, who resides in Bartlesville.
"Beyond The Radar" is an album that defies categorization and is the end result of hard work from this musical visionary. Although, an instrumental album, with some spoken word samples.
"Beyond The Radar" borrows from genres such as Electronica, Psychedelic Rock, Jazz-Fusion and Progressive Rock. Blend these styles together in an eclectic way and you get an idea what Radio Dystopia's world is like.
Bottorff is Radio Dystopia and performed, recorded,produced and wrote the music all himself for "Beyond The Radar". He uses electric guitar, guitar synthesizer, electric bass, keyboards and drum programming to create this intoxicating yet fresh sound.
According to Bottorff, each of the eight songs on this album has it's own identity and Radio Dystopia successfully pulls off this dramatic tour-de-force of instrumental brilliance. Enigmatic titles include, "March Of The Drones", "The Planet Lux-Ptah Lounge", and "A New Wonder".

RADIO DYSTOPIA: Beyond The Radar   CD£
Oh, now this is getting silly - another CD that is simply awesome but which I couldn't describe in detail without still being here this time tomorrow. Musically, it's just so addictive, and has strong elements of Gunther Schickert (the cyclical guitarist), Gottsching, Namlook & La Neu!, all trapped in an ambient heaven, as its seven tracks and forty-plus minutes of music illustrate. The electronic drum rhythms are eavy, crunchy and resonant, where featured, while that cyclical spacey guitar work swirls around, although the presence of some red hot electric guitar soloing only adds to the mighty effect. The sound is always taken up with a myriad layers and textures, rhythms and samples, and in many ways, you could almost imagine it being a UK-based, Krautrock-influenced answer to something like Arthur Loves Plastic. The tracks are all consistently excellent, instrumental and full of guitars, rhythms, bass, electronics and synths, but decidedly in a "parallel-world-meets-Krautrock" style of things. A fantastic album it has to be said, and well worth your investigation.

A good sense of timbres and its melange; good sense of orchestration, mixing concept, using of FX devices with taste; an "Un-catagorisable" style, slightly associated with early Cocteau Twins; it is a compound mirror of your mind from various sources from Steve Reich to Klaus Schulze

volumous expanse of esoteric vibes...nice drumlines and deep overtones...conscious music for the masses...bring ot on...cheers!

This was way too cool. Trippy,spacey, whatever you wan to call it. Floydish in some aspects, a creative journey this was.

I think this is one of your best pieces, so far. Reminds me of some of the minimalists pieces in documentaries. Adams,Cage, and Reich I believe. Keep it up, you'll go far!

Wow, I really liked the chaos at the intro, then a total 360 into some trippy jazz feel, then ending it with an industrialish melt down. I'm really digging this. You seem to have the skill for the mixing of elements.

Nice mix! I can totally see a space/sci-fi thing going on here. The echoes are really cool and the bass fits in perfectly. Overall an excellent mix.

This captures the libido and gets the blood flowing. Has a unique quality about it. Almost gets on my nerves, but in a "good way"! Provocative piece you have here. The mixing is on the spot. GOOD WORK!

I like the premise of this piece and the sounds you pick do evoke a winter storm for me. I really like the repeating rhythmic figure and I like the idea of layering the more melodic part in and out. I do like going back to the theme at the end. A very enchanting piece that drew me in.

This really sounds like a long snow storm. The repetition and "greyness" come through, as well as the "feeling of quiet" that the snow brings. It makes me feel like I'm totally separate from the world and can hear inside myself only.

I like this piece a lot and I think it really holds up to your description of what you are going for. Nice GTR work and cool percussion.
Nice production as well.

Like a mad clock ticking away "Forever".
Moody, dragging your feet, depressed and angry.
Good creative message. Good writing and sound effects.