Forever Alien is the third studio album by Spectrum. It was originally released in August 1997 by Space Age Records and has long been out of print on vinyl.
After the band's preceding EP Songs for Owsley moved away from guitar-oriented music and towards electronic music, Forever Alien furthered this approach considerably, as Kember aimed to create a predominately electronic album that sounded organic and analogue in style. The record is dominated by vintage analogue synthesizers, including the EMS VCS 3 and EMS Synthi AKS. Kember had become fascinated by the synths as he felt they presented him with more musical possibilities than guitars. The resulting album fuses psychedelic music with influences from the 1960s electronic music of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. The track Feels Like I'm Slipping Away from the album was released as a single and Forever Alien was a modest radio success in the US and also received acclaim from critics. Musicians such as Helena Hauff and Ekoplekz have since cited it among their favourite albums. Will Carruthers (ex-Spacemen 3) joined Spectrum on their 1997 tour in support of the album.
ORBIT066LP Double LP on Heavyweight orange vinyl re-mastered by John Rivers at Woodbine Street Studio especially for vinyl release for RSD 2020
ORBIT008CD CD edition in jewel case with yellow tray
Track Listing
Feels Like I'm Slipping Away
The Stars Are So Far (How Does It Feel?)
Close Your Eyes and You'll See
Delia Derbyshire
Owsley
Forever Alien
Matrix
Like.....(Kember, Sutcliffe)
The New Atlantis (traditional, arr. Kember)
The End" – 5:14
Sounds for a Thunderstorm (For Peter Zinovieff)
Liquid Intentions
Sine Study