The Conet Recordings were shortwave radio transmissions reportedly sent by intelligence agencies to spies in the field. They were compiled by Akin Fernandez and released on Irdial Discs in 1997 gaining a cult following from artists like Jeff Tweedy, Cameron Crowe and, significantly, Boards of Canada.

When it comes to eyesix, the comparison with Boards of Canada has crept up again and again, not just because of the use of these recordings, but also because of their mutual use of extra-terrestrial ambience.

Jason Dowd, the man behind the eyesix moniker, is much more than a fanboy however. ‘Conet Communications Workshop’ shows Dowd combining ethereality with trip hop, to create songs that straddle the border between wilderness and metropolis.

From the get go FM 6.06_601 sets out the intention. It feels like we’re floating just above Earth, as Conet radio waves bounce between nearby satellites, the disembodied voice eerily rhythmic as it states number sequences alongside a softly sounding maraca.

From then on we pass along through a variety of different landscapes. Trealtop is supported by an incessant drum line, with starry droning ambience, which then gives way to a clutter of bird calls and laughter in the naturally sounding Bru na Boinne.

Eyesix produces music that is addictive, in that it by no means intrudes or pushes anything on the listener, but rather soothes and establishes the idea of life and movement. At the same time Arecibo Observatory, named after the Puerto Rican telescope, looks again to the sky, as a lonely beat and wavering drone describe the solitude of stargazers.

Throughout this album nothing is as consistent as the celebration of nature. This compilation of songs is drowned in the sound of enjoyment and observation. Waiting, a collaboration with Bearhead from 2013, makes use of chiming guitars to create an absorbing and incendiary cacophony.

By the end of ‘Conet Communications Workshop’ it feels like you’ve listened to something brilliant, without gaining a real sense of what it actually was. This album is so minimal and natural that you’re almost forced to go back for another listen, and then another, just to commit eyesix’s phantasmagorical interpretation of reality to your memory map.