Paused in Cosmic Reflection

by The Chemical Brothers, Robin Turner (Primary Contributor)

Paused in Cosmic Reflection is the definitive story of The Chemical Brothers. Told in the voices of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, with contributions from friends and collaborators, it is fully illustrated with 30 years of mind-bending visuals.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography

336 pages, Hardcover

Published October 26, 2023

Reviews

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who prefers the early four albums, this book does a great job of capturing that era of The Chemical Brothers career. The early days are described really well and we learn how some of those tracks and collaborations were made. Although I’m less interested in the albums between Surrender and Hanna, I was slightly disappointed that the second half of the book really skips over the latter part of their career and has a greater focus on the visuals from their live shows and album artwork instead (although that’s interesting still).

I would have loved to hear more about their Battle Weapon bsides, or how the instruments they used changed with each album. They do talk about dusting off old synths on more recent albums, but further details aren’t revealed.

This book is worth a look for the visuals alone, and anyone interested in the early albums will be happy. Maybe their more recent work speaks for itself? Or there wasn’t much to say? But there’s definitely room for an expanded edition in the future, perhaps after the next album arrives.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything a Chemical brothers fan could want is all in this book. A visual treat

[🌶 peppersocks 🧦 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reflections and lessons learned/the content of this book made me feel…

That this excellent digital music output still requires a lot of work! But when a passion like this is present, why not - the classic fans of music making music through a love for it all… and a great one for anyone with an interest in the tech side too

[Jonathan Wade · Rating 5 out of 5]

A belter. A really great definitive story of the chemical brothers. Needs to be read with music to hand as you get some really in depth discussions on how some of their tunes were written and some great insights from collaborators. Cracking book, smashed this in a few days.

[Forrest Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok so I’m gonna gonna do that, it’s decided.