Simon Heartfield has long been a fixture in the electronic underground, with a career stretching back to the early 2000s. His new LP, The State of Social Movement, is out this week.
About his new release, Simon said: “[I] wanted to combine some dancefloor, electro, and techno elements with more abstract soundscapes.” With that in mind, “[I] used just about every bit of studio gear, even the ancient Yamaha RS7000 plus bits of guitar. I was aiming to make it suitable for home listening with the track you could drop in a club.”
Chris Adam, who records as Broken Atoms, kindly agreed to review the LP. Please take some time to have a read below. You are also welcome to read a conversation between Simon and I last year.
Techno treat at Radio City Social
And, if that wasn’t enough, Even Butterflies Make A Sound is delighted to be promoting Simon, fresh from supporting the legendary System 7, at Radio City Social on Saturday, 5 May 2025.
Supporting him is Andrew Wright, aka Kontort, who is a regular collabotor of Broken Atoms. Sergio Vilas, alumnus of Tresor (Berlin) and Turnmills (London), and another friend of this blog, will be bringing his groove on. AND. We welcome the return to live music of Umberto Santini, aka u5aint (Science GAP). All this for a paltry £6.50 (for limited advance tickets). Get yours, here, today!
What more could you ask for? Fantasic music in a cool bar with the best lagers, beers, porters, and so much more on tap.
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Simon Heartfield and Kontort live sets at Radio City Social
LP review: A Journey Through Sound and Movement
Chris Adam
Chelmsford resident Chris Adam explores the intersection between soundscapes, atmospheres and glitched-out beats, and experiments with electronic music.
Simon Heartfield continues his deep dive into intricate sound design, blending the raw energy of club-focused techno and electro with more abstract, textural explorations.
There’s a clear sense of world-building here (whether intentional or not) charting a journey from warmth and nostalgia to something colder and more fractured. By the end of the album, we’re offered a final, tentative resolution.
There’s a clear sense of world-building here, charting a journey from warmth and nostalgia to something colder and more fractured
Chris Adam
The album opens with ‘There Is No Division’. It sets the tone with skittering percussive glitches and rolling delay trails, which immediately evoking early Warp Records aesthetics. Dub techno chords drift in and out of focus, and a heavy 909-type kick is joined by a deep, rolling sub-bass. This balance between momentum and introspection becomes a defining feature of the record.
‘Inner Ascent’ follows, where a grooving Rhodes riff spirals into dubby delay lines, enveloping the piano in swirling ambience. Beneath it, claps snap through a noisy mist, while dissonant FM bell tones add a slightly off-kilter, dreamlike quality. The track feels both nostalgic and uneasy, as if trying to recall a lost memory.
With ‘The Book Spirits’, Heartfield shifts to something lighter but still enigmatic. A playful yet mysterious arpeggio dances over a subtle, skipping rhythm. There’s an almost mythical quality to it, though one where a narrative remains just out of reach.
Machines at Work
By ‘Folded Seven Eight’, we’re back in more mechanical territory. Pulsing drones and weighty dub techno textures create a sense of forward motion. Unpredictable bursts of sound – bleeps, reversed delays, and flickering percussion – bring the track to life like a machine constantly recalibrating itself. The drum sequencing here is especially strong, shifting effortlessly between tension and release.
‘Pale Descent’ takes a more cinematic turn. Its cosy, grainy chords float over a bed of analogue interference, reminiscent of scanning through distant TV and radio transmissions. There’s a feeling of beautiful unease, something intangible flickering between the static. The track conjures images of vast, neon-lit cityscapes, where the line between past and future has been blurred beyond recognition.
The Hidden and the Forgotten
‘Last Words on Earth’ is one of the album’s more hypnotic moments, its cascading arpeggios unfolding with the kind of crystalline precision often associated with modular synthesis. The slow build feels as if time itself is expanding and contracting around the listener.
‘Oak Ridge’ delves into history, referencing the ‘Secret City’ where atomic bomb research was conducted in total secrecy. The track reflects this hidden world through more glitching percussion and precise, clinical FM bell tones. Evoking sterile laboratories, the hum of undiscovered technology, and ancient lab VHS tapes – the slight buzz of underground sodium lighting. There’s an eerie sense of detachment from progress here.
‘The Eyes of the Evening’ pushes us back into a more dynamic space. Once again, a driving 909-like kick and sparse tom patterns build a polyrhythmic groove, reinforced with industrial textures. A floating sawtooth lead cuts through the haze, evoking the sensation of soaring above a vast clouded metropolis.
The closing track ‘Bell Seven’ eases the listener back to the ground with a smooth, undulating arpeggio that intertwines with gentle piano chords, offering a sense of resolution. There’s a lingering question in the air – a sense of transition rather than finality.
A Reflection on Movement: Social or Otherwise
At its core, The State of Social Movement feels like a meditation on progress, both technological and societal. The early tracks carry a warmth, a sense of organic motion, before shifting into colder and more mechanical spaces, reflecting themes of industrialisation, control and extreme urbanisation shaping our world. The final moments hint at an alternative path but leave the listener to decide what that might be.
It’s this balance – between groove and abstraction, nostalgia and unease – that makes the album so compelling.
Chris Adam
It’s this balance – between groove and abstraction, nostalgia and unease – that makes the album so compelling. Heartfield’s use of vintage hardware and modern production techniques creates a sound that feels timeless, sitting comfortably alongside the likes of classic Warp-era experimentalism while carving out its own identity.
Final thoughts
Whether taken as a club-adjacent record for deep listeners or as a soundtrack to shifting landscapes, The State of Social Movement is an engrossing listen from start to finish.
Simon Heartfield releases The State of Social Movement on Machine Records on 4 April 2025.
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