Electronic pioneers System 7 (Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy) return with a new album, Flower of Life. The duo lean more into the house side of their music on this record, with a fresh and positive sound. Hillage has been involved in multiple genres over the decades, recording with Soft Machine and joining Gong in the 70s. He also worked with Simple Minds in their early career. Giraudy crossed paths with Pink Floyd too. now the pairing are back to make sure the living room is shaking with some chunky house beats.
The album opens with ‘Still Wind’ which sounds psychedelic at the very start, before the beat comes in and transforms the track into a tune for the dancefloor. It has an almost menacing buildup before changing again into this world music vibe. And it works really well. A strong opening track. The title track is next, and it’s a great piece of house music. It’s upbeat, it’s energetic and it even has some guitar parts at the end of the track that just really add to the positive feeling the track gives off. ‘La Catrina’ is like a 90s house track, the synth feels like it’s taken straight from some early Chemical Brothers album. Then the guitar comes in later and adds a prog element to it. it’s a cool track.
‘I Want More’ starts with an intro that sounds just like Pink Floyd’s ‘Let There Be More Light’, especially that bass line. Then the beat picks up, the echoing synth ringing in your ear. It’s rapid. It would fit perfectly at a warehouse just off the M25 in 1990. You just feel entranced listening to it, and then at the end it turns into a monster, the whole piece just picking up again. Great track. ‘Beulah’ starts with this subsonic synth pattern, before the beat lifts off and some reverberated guitar joins in. Once again, the build-up on this track is brilliant. Then it tones down in the middle, just the synth chords before the beat comes back in. The dancefloor is electric for this one. ‘Firewheel’ is quite an ambient house track, not carrying as much intensity as the others. It’s still a good track, making use of an industrial sound to lift the song.
‘Atmosphere’ is a beat thumping, bass pumping hardstyle tune. The beat will have your head moving, the rhythm pounding into your mind. This would be euphoric on a dance floor, lights flashing at you while the beat goes on. Also, I must point out that all the tracks have been lengthy so far, most of them over 6 minutes, which is great for an electronic album. It would work well as a set for a rave. ‘Transceptor’ is next, and it starts off very peacefully, almost like new age music. Then the synth starts to come through. Then it blasts off, the whole track opens up to the rhythm going rapid. We have leaped from ambience to trance, and in no time at all. It feels like it could be matched with a chase scene in a late 90s sci-fi film. It’s solid. ‘Bonjour’ is the final track, and it’s only just under three minutes. It combines guitar with a repeating thudding beat, and it does feel like an outro, the swan song. The chords ring out as the song fades away. There is a bonus track too, a System 7 remix of ‘Dubby Signal Chain’ which is a long piece that really champions the ambient electronic genre. A soft synth progression paired with some ambient sound effects throughout and guitar to add to the effect. A strong rework.
System 7 have not lost their touch with this one. Flower of Life is a great combination of ambient house, trance, techno and even prog, Hillage and Giraudy have outdone themselves. definitely an album that should fill the rave dancefloors (and hopefully I will be there).
System 7: Flower of Life – Released 17 April 2026 (A-Wave)
