Activate the Prime Memory with ProtoU

ProtoU returns with the first full-length release since Anomalies, back in 2019. While her previous collaborative works such as Back to Beyond (with Alphaxone), and Metta (performed with Dronny Darko) have been grand explorations with her signature blanketing textures of sound, Memory Alpha is solely ProtoU, and fans of the project will delight in the playground of morphing synths and field recordings.

We are given an oblique narrative canvas of sound, at the beginning of this album, a peeling of the miasma of the imagination with the slow creep of the synth pad, and mere moments later are greeted with a distorted artificial voice declaring the commencement of the simulation. Throughout the remainder of the album, we are given snippets of layered atmospheric sounds - mechanical and digital artifacts of unknown origin and purpose, while the droning brilliance of ProtoU’s layered sound design approach carries us along the currents of subconscious languor, with narrative hints of computer-aided artificial enhancement, maybe even consciousness storage, but just as the doldrum science fiction precis implies, the hypnotic droning from ProtoU lulls us into a quiet sense of submission, and we merely waft with the eddies of the textured pads.

Fans of ProtoU and the Cryo Chamber palette will love this album, and for new listener who enjoy this album, I invite you to listen to previous ProtoU offerings, as you will undoubtedly find more sounds to enjoy.

Memory Alpha releases in CD Digipak and digital formats on March 1, 2022 and can be purchased on the Cryo Chamber Bandcamp page.