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Released in September 2003, Madrid's debut album has drawn industry comparisons to Scotland's Boards of Canada and Norway's Royskopp to describe their warm, psychedelic vibe. While these comparisons hold some water, there is a bigger picture to Madrid’s sound. Darker, harder beats, more complex arrangements - a style that, once you know it, is both comforting and addictive... "We've heard it called 'epic ambient, slo-house from space'," says Christie from his Toronto-based studio. "Anyone making or listening to original electronic music knows it's hard to describe. You feel like you've heard it somewhere before, yet you've never heard anything like it." With backgrounds as songwriters first and knob-tweakers second, Madrid eschews the sometimes cold constructs that other niche genres of electronica impose. "There's definitely a warmth to our brand of electronic," says Perry. "It's easy to get lost in the complexities of working machines. It's a fine line -- although the technology serves as your canvas for expression, you can't lose sight of the human heart. We try to serve up our beats with a hefty portion of passion." Part of that warmth is due in fact to the band's love and strict adherence to using vintage analogue synthesizers. The liner notes of the disc point out that "all sounds made with classic analogue machines". And there's good reason for this. The warm, lush sounds of these early synths can transport the listener places that laptops and modern midi equipment can't. The album dips your toes into a gentle sea of soft-arpegios, rolling bass and stoned-immaculate melodies. Sub-sonar beats burble beneath the surface, as tranquil guitar-slides, shimmering crescendos and synthed-out vocals hover at the surface. Within the world of Madrid there lies a type of innocence -- a real sense that time has slowed down. It’s the type of music that takes you away, reduces the heart rate, and brings up fuzzy memories of summer nights under the stars.