Genre: Dub
Description: International Observer

The chief perpetrator of the International Observer experience is keyboardist, songwriter and producer Tom Bailey. Following the extraordinary success of his synth-pop group The Thompson Twins, production and writing work for the likes of Debbie Harry, and the ambient techno of his Babble project, Tom was lured to New Zealand.

New Zealand culture has a long history of appreciation for reggae and dub, along with more recent blends like hip hop. This, along with NZ's balmy climes, created the perfect inspiration for Tom's exploration of the dub artform he had deeply loved since the seething post-punk infatuation of the music in the late 70s.

Early in 2002, having amassed enough material for a boxed set, Tom set about pruning the oevre down to an ideal International Observer primer, called 'Seen'. While he attempted to keep the wraps on this absurdly tasty release, it was somewhat inevitable that previews were sneaked out of seclusion, resulting in extensive radio play worldwide and eager members of the press corps frothing at the mouth for IO morsels. It's been called the lushest, deepest, most caringly crafted dub-a-tronic exploration ever released, a cunning experiment in melodic instrumental dub that, without losing its edge, makes for the most gorgeously seductive meditative listening experience.