Welcome to sofacom
Great TV Masts of the UK, Great Lift Journeys of Norwich and more...
alpha seven (Pete Roberts) is an electronic musician and occasional ambient DJ. He combines field recordings with hardware and software synths (including 'home-made' Reaktor ones). Sofacom is the record label.
Comments on alpha seven
- "Beautiful, beautiful stuff" - Gideon Coe BBC 6 Music
- "It's lovely" - Full album review from Electronic Sound
- "Warm, quirky and strangely moving" - The Musician magazine
- "Stone cold classic" - Electronic Sound
Released 27-09-19: Perugia MiniMetro
Download available from Bandcamp or listen on Spotify
The new single continues the theme of music inspired by infrastructure. On a trip to Italy Pete spent some days in the hilly city of Perugia and was inspired by its small but impressive Minimetro system.
The Minimetro’s small automated carriages move through steep tunnels through the Etruscan city and out along tracks into the suburbs below. It's a very chilled way to travel and an inspiring mix of ancient Etruscan history and modern design.
Pete recorded the sounds at the terminus where the cars turn around and used them for percussion and background ambience.
Per i nostri amici italiani
Il nuovo singolo di alpha seven (alias Pete Roberts) prosegue il tema della musica ispirata dalle infrastrutture. Durante un viaggio in Italia Pete ha trascorso alcuni giorni nella città collinare di Perugia ed è stato ispirato dal suo piccolo ma notevole sistema di trasporto Minimetrò.
Le piccole carrozze automatizzate del Minimetrò si muovono in ripide gallerie nel centro storico e lungo binari nelle periferie sottostanti. Si tratta di un modo molto fresco per viaggiare ed un sorprendente mix di storia Etrusca antica e design moderno.
Pete ha registrato i suoni al capolinea dove circolano le automobili e li ha utilizzati per la percussione e il sottofondo ambientale.
Previous release: Selected Early Works
Selected Early Works is a curated collection of rare tracks, carefully remastered. It's available from all the usual places, there's also a limited edition CD available from Bandcamp.
Take a look around...
On this site you can browse the back catalogue, find out about the ambient SOFA club and the sofacom project and a little about Testcard F. We also host the A-Z of Norwich bands which Pete set up in 1994.
Video playlist
Three videos in the form of tuning signals from Great TV Masts of the UK