SEEING IN SQUARES was the first printed EP release of Dr Nigel. 1,000 copies were produced and distributed by various means.
The tracks reflect varied styles but carry a common flavor: narrative electronica. Many of the tracks suggest the need for visual accompaniment, considering the presence of found sound, ambient backgrounds and choices of tone and timbre.
The album was sent to a variety of review sites, and garnered the following praise:
"Dr Nigel's proper sense of the balance between ambient atmospheres and technological confines is fully revealed."
-- Eric Ward, Glide Magazine
www.glidemagazine.com/2/reviews289.html
"Seeing in Squares is trance electronica of the IDM sort, rife with off-kilter beats and lush harmonies. ...When something self-released is this good, it's kind of scary!"
-- Christian Carey, Splendid ezine
www.splendidezine.com/review.html?reviewid=1079802588584454
"After listening to Dr. Nigel’s Seeing In Squares, I have one thing to say for sure. I have a lot of respect for this artist. He has a penchant for breaking a lot of the status quo rules for his seemingly electronic genre. He enhances his sounds with digital clipping at times. I could just imagine his mixing board turning red as he did so.
"This is electronica but not really dance music. He always has a strong beat going on but it’s frequently of an odd time signature—quite interesting stuff. The vocalizations make things even more strange and yes—quite dark. One very interesting tidbit from my memory bank. The late Jerry Garcia had an eponymous solo album, I believe in 1971. The last song, “The Wheel”, one of my favorite of all time, had a very weird and kind of long introduction which featured many noises, albeit probably not electronica, based on the year. When Dr Nigel employed his dark vocalizations it reminded me of Mr. Garcia's sound clip which kept on repeating the liver problem of Dr. Frank J. Lippenheimer. Another influence I’m sure the Dr. had is Kraftwerk.
This was not an easy listen. This 23 minute six song CD took me three sittings to listen in full. The second time I went straight through but I was visibly shaken. Kudos to originality."
-- Levavaran, South of Mainstream
released November 11, 2003
(c) 2002, 2003 Neil G. Larson (BMI)
Remix (c) 2003 Larson/Skoch
Tracks 1-5 Written, Performed and Produced by Dr Nigel (Neil G. Larson) except:
Thomas D. Smith: Bass on "Seeing in Squares"
Kerry Schneider: Vocals on "Seeing in Squares"
Hirotsugu Azukizawa: Krakebs on "A Beautiful Day"
All tracks produced and Engineered by Dr Nigel at Studio Squared (Boston, MA) except Snapshot (B'Angelo Remix), produced by B'Angelo at the Junkyard (Chicago, IL)
Paul Voulgaris: Artwork and Photography
Mastered by Ed Guild and Neil Larson (Cambridge, MA)