Chris Wood / Albert Sapsford - Pristine

https://pharmafabrik.bandcamp.com/alb...
Pristine is a long-distance collaboration between Cape Town–based architect and musician Chris Wood and Johannesburg electronic composer Albert Sapsford. Developed throughout the years surrounding the global lockdown period, the album grew out of isolation, uncertainty, and the need to “rise above” a world abruptly stripped of normalcy. For both artists, creating sound became a way to process internal and external turbulence and to reclaim clarity.

Working solely through exchanged files and without any spoken communication, Wood and Sapsford shaped a sonic landscape where architectural sensibility meets psychic exploration. Modular synthesis, exploratory piano work, and layered electronic textures form the core of the album. Themes of transcendence, emotional struggle, and renewal permeate the material, reflecting the duo’s attempt to navigate a suspended, otherworldly moment in time.

Chris Wood, a classically trained musician and architect, brings decades of experimentation—from early post-rock and electroacoustic work to deep dives into modular systems and alternative tunings. He is also a long-time Pharmafabrik collaborator, contributing to the Fabriksampler series and releasing the albums Palimpsest (2004) and Misoneism (2006) on the label, alongside various compilation appearances.

Albert Sapsford, known for his software-based modular synthesis and algorithmic composition, channels themes of psychic reality, transformation, and inner confrontation. His work often probes the darker undercurrents of contemporary life while seeking pathways toward renewal.

Pristine embodies a shared search for a future state of wholeness—a place where opposites meet, where doubt gives way to presence, and where listening becomes an act of crossing into the beyond.

Pharmafabrik
PFCD046 - 2025
www.pharmafabrik.com