Ash 14.8 – strom|morts – Malville Superphénix: The Most Dangerous Machine in the World [Ash International

CD – 12 tracks
Release date: 3rd November 2023
You can pre-order the album here

1. Discovering Site
2. General Store
3. Assembly Shop
4. Boilers/Sodium
5. Demineralisation Plant
6. Station Transformers
7. Control Room
8. Steam Generators
9. Reactor/Dome
10. Turbine Hall
11. Uncharted Basement
12. Leaving Site

Superphénix is an industrial prototype for high-power sodium-cooled fast neutron reactors. It is located on the Creys-Malville site in France, close to the Swiss border. It is the largest fast neutron reactor in the world. It is also the world’s largest reactor currently being dismantled. Commissioned in 1985 and definitively shut down in 1998, the plant operated for just 53 months. Numerous incidents, lengthy technical shutdowns, costs, protests and the dangerous nature of the facility led to the nuclear power station being decomissioned. What was presented at the time as the flagship of French nuclear power turned out to be the most dangerous machine in the world.

Using modular synthesizers, field recordings and some guitar, strom|morts take you on an aural tour of the plant in full operation. Discover the nuclear site room by room. From the control room to the reactor, the 12 drone pieces that make up the tour will give you an intense experience.

Mixed by Randall Dunn at Circular Ruins Studio, Brooklyn NYC.
Mastered by Greg Obis at Chicago Mastering Service, Chicago.

Illustrations: Helge Reumann.
Design: Philip Marshall, March 2023.

Thanks are due to FMCA Musique+, Canton de Vaud and Pro Helvetia for their support on this project.