Magical and unforgettable, SOMA’s second album The Inner Cinema stands apart and outside of the musical mainstream. Since its 1996 release the album has developed a mythical reputation and is spoken of in hushed and adulating tones among acolytes of atmospheric and electronic music. Expelled from its fiery crucible, this dark jewel of sound, this soundtrack of the mind, has lain in the soft earth awaiting rediscovery.

At the time David Thrussell was obsessed by the testosterone bravado and haunting alienation of ‘spaghetti-western’ theme songs. Pieter Bourke brought the other-worldly atmospherics of Arvo Pärt and King Tubby, plus his percussive and sound sculpting skills to the mix. Together, on a diet of blood-plum sago, Fortean Times and lingering smoke fumes, they concocted their Dadaist brew. The opening track Stygian Vista provides the perfect introduction to the holographic labyrinth of sonic textures, fluid metabolic rhythms and breathy washes of timeless melancholy that follow.

On The Inner Cinema you can see an obvious rejection of late 20th Century cold materialism. The music celebrates passion, heroism, drama and emotion. ‘We immersed ourselves in hot-blooded Spaghetti Westerns, the lore of ancient and lost civilisations and bizarre sex and sacrifice rituals’, declares Thrussell. ‘We live this shit while making an album and then return to our day-jobs at the bank and the dog-pound.’

Representing the culmination of several years of intense writing and recording together the album contains a diverse and sonically adventurous collection of songs which somehow manage to form a cohesive whole. Bourke views The Inner Cinema as a turning point in his career. ‘I remember it being a wonderful period and it certainly felt like a high point at the time, in terms of the songwriting and the production’ Bourke recalls. ‘I am extremely proud of this SOMA album and it remains one of my favourite pieces of work.’ Now is your chance to (re)discover this prized jewel of electronic music.

‘The Inner Cinema is an album which will never find its equal.’ Gothic Magazine

‘Ennio Morriconne meets Luis Bunuel for a showdown in the hot noon sun.’ Rolling Stone

‘The Inner Cinema is an album which shows a strong love for details but which nevertheless always manages to keep some form of unity.’ Auf Abwegen

‘What this Australian duo have been producing in the past with records like ‘Hollow Earth’ and ‘The Inner Cinema’ can be called a milestone of modern sonic sculptures. Both musicians have managed to combine elements of trip hop, drum n’ bass and jazz with warm keyboard sounds and loops like hardly anybody else.’ Black Magazine

‘The second CD of this Australian duo is really a wonder, because it crosses all musical boundaries without looking like a patchwork-carpet. Soma; this means intelligent electronica in perfection.’ Orkus Magazine

‘This is a movie turned into music. This is something for people who walk through their lives with seeing ears.’ Westzeit Magazine