Space Dimension Controller is Jack Hamill, a British electronic musician whose blend of space disco, electro-funk, acid house, and Rephlex-style braindance earned a great deal of acclaim from the underground dance music press during the 2010s. His bright, tuneful tracks look back to the '80s and '90s for inspiration while remaining fresh and futuristic. Originating from Belfast, Hamill began making ambient music as a teenager under the name RL/VL, releasing the album Chagrin on Hidden Shoal Recordings in 2008. Using tape machines and analog synthesizers, he began recording lo-fi
Boards of Canada-inspired tracks under the name
Space Dimension Controller in 2008. Netlabel Acroplane Recordings issued his album Unidentified Flying Oscillator, featuring remixes by
Boxcutter and Dave Monolith, in 2009.
By the end of the year, his sound had shifted from IDM toward more danceable electro and house, and he released his debut 12" single "The Love Quadrant" on Kinnego Records. EP Journey to the Core of the Unknown Sphere appeared on Royal Oak the following year, and the buzz around
SDC grew. He remixed Fabrice Lig's "Digital Forest" on R&S Records, and the Belgian label signed him, releasing his double EP
Temporary Thrillz. He then remixed
Anthony Shake Shakir's "Detroit State of Mind" on Rush Hour Recordings. He remixed another Detroit techno pioneer in 2011, when his mix of "OFI" by
Model 500 (
Juan Atkins) appeared on R&S. The label also released
SDC's
The Pathway to Tiraquon6, which was billed as another double EP despite containing 11 tracks.
Hamill kept busy touring and recording in 2012, but in 2013 he released Welcome to Mikrosector-50, a sci-fi concept album with narration that was far more influenced by '80s pop and funk than his previous releases. The full-length was preceded by an EP with the same title as the album, containing two non-LP tracks. Following the album, he returned to Royal Oak for a series of dancefloor-oriented EPs titled Correlation. One volume arrived each year between 2013 and 2015. In 2016, Ninja Tune issued
Orange Melamine, a previously unreleased album of
SDC's early homemade experiments recorded in 2008. ~ Paul Simpson