Various - Deeper 01.02

Hed Kandi: 2002

I started this kinda'-annual glance into the Hed Kandi legacy with a Deeper compilation, so it's only fitting that I return to it at some point. Having gotten the second collection, Deeper 01.02, I've now completed the entire series! Yep, only two of these were ever released, making Deeper the shortest series the label ever put out. Unless there was some aborted runs later in Hed Kandi's existence, when their popularity had dwindled down to bupkis.

It's funny that despite all the label's early success in cornering the disco, house, funk, and soul market, their stab at prog never caught on. Not that I blame them for throwing their hat into the pile. When the highest paid, most popular, critically hailed DJs in UK clubland are rinsing dark, dubby house music with a tribal edge, you bet your bottom dollar on the punters wanting those tracks for themselves too. Except that's not the sort of audience Hed Kandi had cultivated. When you think of prog, you think of Very Serious DJs posing, not glamour girls sashaying about. Besides, I think the label had their eyes on that burgeoning 'twisted disco' sound (re: electro house). Can definitely milk some saucy cover art with that concept!

So, familiar names and tunes. The Creamer & K rub on iiO's Rapture is here, which is about as obvious a 'prog house anthem fitting with Hed Kandi clientele' tune as you could expect. Honestly though, it's been a lo-o-o-ong while since I last heard this track, and was pleasantly surprised at how well it still held up. B.P.T.'s Moody is also here, by way of a Pete Heller remix, so not quite as dated as hearing it again a few years after Digweed's Bedrock. Other 'prog' favourites include Danny Tenaglia, Satoshi Tomiie, Timo Maas and... Superchumbo? I can't remember if they were fav's or not.

It can't all be a prog love-in though, not if you want to retain some of the Hed Kandi faithful. Thus, there's a little deep house action from Roger Sanchez, Kidstuff, and Puretone, but by and large, it's the prog vibes that dominate. Dubby basslines, deeper grooves, lengthy run-times, and all that good stuff, even from names I don't recognize in the slightest. Well, maybe Miriam Project, I think I recognize that one. Maybe Stylus Trouble too. Not Goldtrtix though. Or Dirty from Dirty.

And, in a move that makes absolutely no sense from any angle you wish to approach from, Deeper 01.02 ends off with Hardfloor's remix of Circus Bells by Robert Armani. What, pray tell, does acid techno from the '90s have to do with a 'prog' collection from Hed Kandi? Mark claims in the liner notes it was included as a summation of Deeper's manifesto, of a track that “builds and builds”. But... lots of tracks do that? I dunno, maybe I'm just perplexed by the fact that, despite it being rather random inclusion, this track always seems to follow me around.

Doom Poets - Dead Forest

Tech Itch Recordings: 2019

It's been a year and a half since I last talked up Doom Poets on this here blog, and they remain as anonymous as ever. Actually, this project has remained mostly silent as well, only releasing singular tracks to Tech Itch Recordings' annual label showcase RESIST:ED. Seeing as how they (is this a plural they, or singular? Who can say with “distant beings from somewhere in the far regions of our universe”) initially released two albums in such short order, a little recharge had to be in order. When their brand of d'n'b is this dope though, you can forgive some folks on this mudball planet hoping for more sooner rather than later.

Of the few Tech Itch Rec' artists I've checked, Doom Poets' debut Lost Connection intrigued me the most, showing more darkstep diversity compared to others. Why, they even had ambient interludes! ...kinda'. It was enough for me to nab that second LP, Dead Forest, even if it didn't have any Drone Scans of its own. Ah, who needs those anyway, when you got deep, moody numbers like opener Fetus guiding us into album number two?

No, seriously, this track is some vintage Modus Operani Photek business, the bassline an omnipresent rumble while sparse drums clatter and paranoid ambience bleeds between the seams. A little later, Invisible Hand repeats the trick, but with more aggression, while Hexagon smooths the deep minimalism into an easy cruise. Dry Bones keeps things in a moody atmosphere, a twitchy, rumbling bassline over a standard 2-step break the main thrust of the tune as ominous strings carry on. Maybe not so much Photek in substance, but definitely in tone.

As with most of these Technical Itch associates though (or Mr. Caro hiding under pseudonyms, who's to say?), it's all about what they do with the good ol' Amen Break, and once again, Doom Poets don't disappoint. Opener Fetus may have set us off on a subtler vibe, but follow-up Bizon is all boshing darkstep business through and through. Not to be outdone, Black Tenticle and Necrophalus (eww?) head down the tech-step path, hitting just as hard even if their drum programming isn't as complex.

The rest of Dead Forest mostly plays out in similar fashion. A little Amen action (Timeloss, Feather), a little tech-step time (Sober, Skull), and that one track that throws all convention out the window. I've no clue what to classify the titular cut, some sort of massive mash-up of Amen and tech-step into a marching stomper. Like, I know associating advancing Imperial AT-ATs is a complete cliche in this genre, but damn, if it don't sound like mechanical monstrosities are advancing upon your puny hiding spots.

So all good stuff, as has been the case from everything I've heard out of Tech Itch Recordings now. Well, except that one CD from the main man himself, but that was just another one of Mr. Caro's dubstep/trap exercises. Need to get on that actual proper Technical Itch album sometime soon.

Autumn Of Communion - Data Space Bass

Fantasy Enhancing: 2021

I kept thinking to myself, “That's it. I won't be getting anymore Autumn Of Communion albums, because how many more can there be after a 20-CD box-set?” Then they release more, and I think to myself, “Okay, maybe one more, but surely they've released all I've cared to hear at this point. What else could they they release that entices me back?” Then they release something that entices me back – it's a vicious cycle.

Like, how could I possibly resist this? Space! Bass! Orbital mechanics for cover art! A shade of blue! Seriously, showing off inner planet orbits is interesting, but I find it intriguing this diagram includes the orbit of Eros. While by no means a completely unknown hunk of rock, it doesn't get as much attention as other nearby dwarfs like Ceres or Vesta. Still, it was the first Amor asteroid discovered, first orbited and landed upon, and its orbit is tighter to the sun compared to larger Amor asteroid Ganymed, making it an easy fit on this particular diagram. I suppose getting a spotlight in The Expanse helped it gain popular culture cache too.

You'd think after taking in nine albums of AoC music (not to mention Lee and Mick's other musical ventures), I'd have a solid idea of what to expect going into another outing from the duo. Yet I can honestly say I had no idea what I might encounter here. A title like Data Space Bass has me thinking of some galactic funk, or cargo-bay rattling technobass, or deep, black hole dives into the lowest sonic registries imaginable. Not that Lee hasn't shown shown some adeptness at going a little Detroit in the past, but yeah, this isn't a lane typically travelled by Autumn Of Communion.

And nor is it on this album either. In fact, there's surprisingly little deep bass at all, used sparingly and generally in service of whatever ambient techno groove gets going. Why would I expect 'deep bass' at all? Oh, right, because my brain keeps thinking the title is 'Deep Space Bass', or 'Deep Space Network', or 'Deep Space Nine'. Constantly replacing 'Data' with 'Deep', is what I'm sayin'. Brains is so stupid sometimes.

To be honest, I kinda' dreaded I was in for a very experimental album, as opening track Space Ain't The Place opens with bloopy-hissy noises that had me recalling some of the more tedious excursions from IDM wonks. It isn't long before things settle into more traditional space sound effects and cosmic ambience though. And hey, this beat is kinda' funky too, in a dorky sort of way. Follow-up Fukes is more typical of AoC ambient techno, though sounding more spacious than other works. Most of the tracks maintain that mood, with a single thirteen-minute excursion of pure ambient (The Flow Of Telepathy) lodged in the middle.

Even if my weirdly off expectations weren't met, Data Space Bass is still a fun little outing from AoC. Until next time, lads, when the cycle begins anew.

Motionfield - Cryonics

Neotantra: 2021

Now concluding, Motionfield. Well, no, probably not. Dude's still got a number of albums out there that I'll likely spring for at some point or other. Of that initial splurge of four, however, we've finally come to an end.

I cannot deny there's a little struggle in coming up with fresh things to say about Petter Friberg's style of ambient music. For sure it's quite lovely, soothing, haunting, and all those pretty words, and each LP has maintained their own distinct themes, but much of what I've heard has remained rather similar in execution too. It's the 36 or Alphaxone problem all over again, wherein I buy too much of an artist all at once, and exhaust all the talking points I blather on about before diving into music. Guess I outta get to that instead of wasting your time with this blathering about blather.

So Cryonics. This was the most recent record from Motionfield when I went and got a bunch of 'em, though he's since released another one called Injection. That one looks like... synthwave? Well, something future-retro, if the cover-art is to go by. Oops, don't go getting distracted by gaudy, eye-catching artwork, not when I have the pure grey Neotantra's offered in their 'let the music speak for itself' style.

Actually, with a title like Cryonics, I do expect some theme, and the opener instills a proper chilly mood to everything. Mysterious ambient drone shimmers and shatters as sparse, delicate melodies echo into the distant frozen wastes of whatever vista you find yourself upon. Part 2 shifts focus, a burbling acid bassline guiding us out among the stars, all the while the hissing of oxygen tanks remain ever present. A lonesome synth lead imparts a sense of wonder, and gosh, I'm getting serious Starstation Earth vibes on this. Well, the first half of Banco de Gaia's sci-fi epic – doubt Motionfield would unleash some world beat jams anytime soon. Either way, there's some good ol' cryo feels out of these tracks.

But I can't really say the same for much of the rest of the album. I dunno, maybe after Part 2, I thought we might be in for a deep space adventure on a sleeper ship, but the next clutch of tracks feels more grounded, open, spacious, and even, dare I say, warm. A couple pieces, like Part 4 and Part 7, make nice use of field recordings such that your part of a spring melt by way of Biosphere minimalism. Others, like Part 6, Part 8, and Part 9, feature grander synth drones, sometimes layering into an almost aggressive wall of sound. Dennis Huddleston would approve. It's not until final track Part 10 that the ambience turns crisp and cold again.

Not that I want to say Cryonics is Motionfield, erm, going through the motions. Aside from a few tracks though, this is well traversed territory for Petter. One notices such things after taking in four albums of an artist.

Aythar - Cosmic Resonances

Carpe Sonum Records: 2019

Hard to believe it's been half a decade since peak Aythar-Mania. Not that Mr. Tamás hasn't kept himself busy in the interim, but compared to the rush of activity his 2016 generated, things slowed down some. It'd be hard to top that year anyway, not only releasing two highly-regarded albums in Astronautica and The God Particle, but ...txt offering up the pseudo-retrospective Dream Of Stars too, catching folks up if they were just getting on the Aythar hype train (*cough*). He spent the next number of years self-releasing a few items and live sets, but nothing on a proper label. Just give it time, a little more time... you know a Fantasy Enhancing or Neotantra is chomping at the bit.

Or a Carpe Sonum, they'll do too. Only this isn't an entirely new album from Aythar, Cosmic Resonance a self-released debut from 2010. This isn't a re-issue either, not only re-jiggering the track sequence of the original four tracker but excising Part 4 (The Final Cycle) altogether (because it already appeared on Dream Of Stars, most likely).That doesn't leave enough material for a full album though, so Carpe Sonum plucked a few scattered tracks from other releases to fill things out.

Would that make this a compilation then? If all the tracks were dissimilar enough, sure, but a hefty chunk of the running time is taken up by the Cosmic Resonance sessions, lending the whole listening experience a proper album outing. Well, about as proper as hearing a muse separated by seven years of music making can allow. It's more flowing than Dream Of Stars in any event, and that was one darn fine flowing collection of ambient music, believe you me.

Since Cosmic Resonance Part 1-3 makes up the meat of this CD sandwich, let's tackle that first. Part 1 (formerly Part 3) sets the tracks' themes off in fine fashion, pulsing and burbling electronics echoing about as cosmic synth pads glisten and glide about. Part 2 (formerly Part 1) is the heftiest of the trio, clocking in at nearly nineteen minutes in length. It's definitely on that vintage Fax+ vibe of blissy, floaty ambience, never in any hurry to go anywhere, though picking up in tension as elements are gradually added. It eventually culminates in a wash of Berlin-School synths and piano, gently ebbing out in forever echoing bubbly electronics. Part 3 (formerly Part 2) is the 'techno' cut of the three, a sparse rhythmic groove guiding along minimalist synths and tones as heard in the other two pieces. All good stuff, if a little experimental, but the rearrangement makes for a stronger showing of each part's features.

The remaining tracks surrounding Cosmic Resonance have more in common with the bubbly, cosmic ambience as heard on other Aythar albums. Despite the thematic disconnect, they're fine either as companion pieces or album padding. Like, imagine if Carpe Sonum had done an AudioGalaxy raid of Aythar tracks, and smooshed them onto a single CD. I can dig it.

The Chemical Brothers - Come With Us

Virgin: 2002

The fourth album from Misters Rowlands and Simons is regarded as something of a well-received flop – enjoyed when released, but leaving little lasting impression upon The Chemical Brothers' wider catalogue. Frankly, they had to try something different, lest they remain thought of as vanguards of a rapidly cratering big-beat scene. Surrender had already started the transition, but that album had enough familiar sonic markers making it more of a companion piece to Dig Your Own Hole than anything drastically different.

So reinvention was necessary, but where could they go? The same place everyone goes eventually: house or techno. In this case, they went with the latter, or about as techno as The Chemical Brothers could reasonably get away with. Something closer to their underground party roots, where the rhythms are repetitive and relentless, no space for big anthemic choruses with rock radio guest stars.

Testing those waters was a test-pressing for the track It Began In Afrika, a tune that I practically knew how it'd go before hearing it once. “Oh, I bet they'll use that vocal sample that says the title, which I first heard in an Ice MC track, then do some tribal drumming along with their usual psychedelic loops of fury. I is so smart!” Having hacked the puzzle (or whatever), I wasn't too enthused about the new Chemical Brothers and let Come With Us pass me by.

Something drew me back to it though, a lingering sense of curiosity of what the album's full length might entail. That initial positive buzz had to be worth something, and latter reactions seem to confirm this is a 'deeper' record compared to their other efforts. Seeing as how it's so dirt cheap on the used market, springing for a copy wouldn't hurt. I've never been led astray by a Chemical Brothers album anyway (even if one in particular was overplayed to the grave).

And the titular opener sets us off in good fashion, a smashing tension builder with a climax of cascading synth sweeps that I'm sure sequenced amazingly with 1.21 gigawatts of laser technology. Not as immediately ear-wormy as their other album openers, but then this is supposedly a 'deeper' album. It Began In Afrika-ka-ka-ka-ka comes next, and it's exactly as I predicted. It's pretty dope too, so fool on me for initially so haphazardly dismissing it because I guessed the ending. Star Guitar was the other big tune off here, a loopy Balearic outing that kind of reminds me of The Field (or is that foretold?). Only two guest vocalists appear, the obligatory Beth Orton featuring The State We're In, and Richard Ashcroft of The Verve on the obligatory psychedelic closer The Test.

The remaining mostly amount to uptempo breaks and techno tracks, the limp acid-fart of My Elastic Eye the only dud among them. Hardly adventurous stuff, but I'm sure it felt nice for these brothers to get back to some basic party jams. It's definitely one of the smoothest Chemical Brothers albums I've heard.

Lucette Bourdin - Colors, Shapes & Rhythm

Fantasy Enhancing: 2007/2021

Well, this was unexpected. Not that I wasn't expecting it at some point – Lucette does, after all, have a couple albums with the word 'drum' in their titles. I just assumed her catalogue primarily consisted of artsy ambient music. Most of her publicity stills have her working in her art studio, y'see, surrounded by paint and canvases; doesn't really impart an image of a lass getting down to the funky jams. Even here, an album called Colors, Shapes & Rhythms, I somehow never clued in that there would be actual rhythms in it. My brain saw 'colors' and 'shapes', and immediately concluded that's all there was to it. Brains is sometimes real stupids.

Going by the chronology of Ms. Bourdin's album output, Colors, Shapes & Rhythms was the first time she implemented beats of any kind. And, um, it kinda' shows. The opening track, Round And Green, is more of a Berlin School approach to the craft, a simple, soft electronic rhythm burbling in the background as Lucette does some synth jamming over top. At twelve minutes though, the piece kind of drags, and I can't say I'm fond of her choice of synths here, their delayed tones muddying the layers of timbre as she plays along. Maybe if she switched the rhythms up some.

And so she does in follow-up Rhythm Cube, though it's hardly revolutionary stuff. Frankly, it seems like Lucette acquired a library of drum loops without quite knowing how to utilize them to their full potential. This track lines up disconnected loops one after the other, with little in the way of logical bridging. A distant, dub techno pulse eventually gives way to a standard hip-hop shuffle, followed by a lazy jazz jam, finishing off with tribal drumming. Carrying through it all is a rather atonal synth drone that while isn't bad, doesn't really mesh with the differing rhythms.

Two tracks deep, and I was ready to write Colors, Shapes & Rhythms off as one of Lucette's weaker outings, an artist simply exploring new tools. Then third track Oval Opal Vocal comes in with some lovely angelic choir pads and a soft, dubby rhythms like a gentle heartbeat, and oh my. I think she's figured it out, by g'ar! Well, maybe not quite, Res Stars Over Pyramid and Lumpy Blue Lines still rather clunky in their use of drum loops and synth doodling, though I think it may be the intent in the latter, if the title's anything to go by. Still, Polygons Of The Future is pretty cool in an ambient techno sort of way, and closer Square Prints On Black Sand's minimalism maintains a nicely mysterious atmosphere, even if it too drags some at over fourteen minutes.

Can't really claim Colors, Shapes & Rhythms is essential Bourdin though. Lord Discogs says it never got an official release on a label, so as mentioned, likely just a freeform, exploratory outing from Lucette. There's bound to be a couple of those in a twenty-CD box-set.

Various - Coercion Of Deities

Neotantra: 2021

After twenty-five releases in a mere two years, Neotantra felt it wouldn't hurt to put out a little celebratory compilation summing up their (then) current catalogue. One track per release, ranging from four minute long sonic doodles, to twenty minute long dronescapes. As you can imagine, there was no physical production of Coercion Of Deities, just a Bandcamp exclusive at whatever price you wish to donate. A label sampler then, which I don't normally bother with. If I'm browsing your print, I'm already convinced of the musical product to check out all the proper releases on offer. That's just me though, so if you've just started wondering what the deal is with Neotantra, this is a handy introduction. That said, I ultimately got this for two reasons.

One, I was curious about some of the 'missing' albums from my collection. For sure I've bought quite a few of them, eleven CDs out of the twenty-five (well, technically fourteen, but one order of three was lost – does that make Blue Mountain, Organic Adventures, and Soul Offerings even rarer now?). Generally I'll take in a few audio clips before I decide if yet another Neotantra release is worth dumping my cash into, and if I like what I hear, I buy in. I know, what a shocking habit.

Some stuff I wasn't so immediately convinced on though, so let them pass. Not that they were poor releases or anything, but my music budget stretches only so far, and would rather spend on items I'm immediately sure of rather than might have to 'work to get', if you get my drift. With Coercion Of Deities, I can at least sample what I missed, maybe reconsider down the line. And yeah, stuff like Mind Over MIDI's blissy, calm ambient of Subdivision, or the reflective lowercase field recordings of Bålsam's Sunshower, or even the New Age leaning Pleochroism 2 from Juta Takahashi, even if is a bit over long... all stuff worth scoping further. The more musique concrete experimental stuff though, like Interconnected's Sockelgeschoss or Myoptik's Borgon Plinth, not so much. Personal preference and all. Still, if I want to complete the Neotantra set, I'll have to get them, won't I?

Yeah, that's the other reason I wanted to show off Coercion Of Deities. The cover art is a collage of all the album covers, nicely displaying the gradient colour scheme each batch of releases used. I may only like a select few, but gosh, won't my CDs look weird on the shelf with a broken scheme? I can't have Mick Chillage's Epinaz pink go into Motionfield's Signals purple without Bålsam's Soul Offerings magenta bridging the gap!

Not that this was some insidious manipulation of marketing on Neotantra's part, oh no. I'm positive they simply came up with a nifty thematic idea that helps their releases stand out in a rather niche yet overcrowded scene like ambient techno. I'm just astounded how effectively it triggers collector's FOMO in doing so.

Terror Cell | Layer 3 - Coding Sequence

Tech Itch Recordings: 2020

Feels like forever since I last talked up anything from Technical Itch's label. Well over a year, by my blog's logs, but perhaps this is for the good. The drum 'n' bass from this print is so often relentless in its audio assaults, one needs a breather between sessions. Or I do, in any event. There are some hardcore deebee heads out there that do nothing but eat, breathe, and shit darkstep and all its permutations. Hardcore to the last.

After quite the flurry of artist-driven activity, Tech Itch Recordings seemed to slow down some, mostly putting out ambient 'white labels' from Mark Caro while the world figured its shit out. It looks like they're finally getting things rolling again with a slate of new CDs on the way, so that's nice. Just hopefully not too much all at once, as there's still material from before the gap commenced that I'm just now finally getting to.

Among the last of these items – maybe the last, if catalogue numbers are to be believed – is this pairing of Terror Cell and Layer 3, Coding Sequence. Neither have major Discogs presence, lacking names on their bios, which fits with Tech Itch Recordings' anonymous manifesto. At least they have pictures in their profiles. Layer 3 appears to have released a pile of DATs with MP3s throughout the '00s, while Terror Cell put out a few sporadic items in the early '10s. I kinda' get the sense these cats are more DJs than producers, and they have apparently done a few tag-team rinse outs at Tech Itch parties. Still, not a whole lot to go on for a superlative bio paragraph, so let's stop wasting time and get right into the music.

And it's definitely darkstep, as you'd expect from artists on Technical Itch's label. I mean, there wasn't much surprise from the last two acts I covered (Voyage and Doom Poets), so why would there be here? Mr. Caro has a finely tuned style, and the d'n'b producers he's taken on generally match that style. The basslines bash, the Amen Breaks crash, the 2-step rhythms mash, and the paranoid sci-fi samples smash. Not necessarily in that order.

While opener Beacon keeps things mostly on the atmospheric vibe, TC & L3 don't waste much time coming in with the aggro, follow-up Embryo about as vicious and nasty as this stuff gets. And geez, Coding Sequence doesn't let up, each subsequent track seemingly ramping the pressure up. It obviously doesn't, as I'd be spent before mid-album (some drumstep detours help), which is a testament to their production skill in hitting you just hard enough to keep wanting more. Wow, never thought of darkstep as sadomasochist.

Things do relatively wind down by albums end, the final clutch of tracks more standard ol' school tech-step. Can't deny this leaves my lingering impression of Coding Sequence a little weaker than it should. They're fine tracks, just may have been better served spaced out some. Can't really complain.

Motionfield - A Clear Horizon

...txt: 2019

Here we go. No more of these loose, conceptual, 'music for its own sake' albums from Motionfield. A clear theme, with a clear musical journey in mind. I kid, of course, Mr. Friberg's discography filled with such releases. It was just a coincidence that the first two I happened to check out from his project weren't. Jury's still out if Cryonics will fit that bill, but alphabetical stipulation has put that one just a little further down the queue.

Actually, claiming A Clear Horizon has a clear theme may be a bit of a stretch, as we're still dealing with a mostly ambient drone album. Still, the cover art is stark in imagery, port-side industry obscured by fog invoking all sorts of melancholic thoughts. The associative photography is no less bleak in its grayscale, though the inlay does offer a distant sunset, a bit of blood orange piercing the muted blues. Or is it a sunrise? Mmm, pretty sure the former. And ooh, what's this written? A special thanks to Gier Jenssen and Peter Kaulmann? Aw dawg, does this mean A Clear Horizon is gonna' get down to some classic Fires Of Ork vibes?

Well, no, but I do detect some Biosphere influence, if not in structure, then at least in tone. The titular opener offers a low hearbeat of a rhythm as gentle, gradual layers of synth pad drone paint a tranquil, if chilly atmosphere. If that does get your Substrata memories triggered, I don't know what will. Follow-up Ominous starts appropriately enough with the sounds of cold wind whipping through desolate frozen vistas, soon joined by another sustained synth pad, though broken and disjointed, as though even music itself is turned brittle by the environment. Golden follows suite with the subtle songcraft, another track slowly building tension with harmonic timbre, some field recordings and soft pitter-patter rhythm maintaining a languid momentum.

In describing 'what happens' for each subsequent track, I feel I'll just be repeating myself. Much like Signals though, there are enough sonic differences between them that things don't go repetitive while listening. Visions goes gentle and peaceful (with a little added movie dialog, yay!); Home brings back the heartbeat ambient techno rhythm, with added static fuzz; The Drift gets in on some of that Silent Season dubby timbre; Rest allows its synths to sweep rather than drone; Without Wind gets back to the industrial desolation, distant echoes of a port working in cold clime's.

Yeah, 'chilly' is a good way to describe this outing from Motionfield, especially in contrast to the warmth of Luftrum. I'd get those feels even without the cover art, though it certainly does wonders in getting you into that frame of mind. Not that I doubted he'd be apt in this style of ambient, what with previous albums titled The Sound Of Snow and Northern Lights. Not to mention that Cyronics CD, sitting in my 'To Review' queue. Gosh, are those mini-icicles hanging off of it?

ACE TRACKS: January 2022 ...and an EMC Update

I repeat myself but seriously... wow.

True, this was an eventuality – there was only so much pre-2012 music I had in my collection to begin with – but it's still astounding that I accomplished this. I've seen a few attempts at the daft idea of reviewing one's entire pile of records or CDs, but almost never anyone accomplish it. Maybe Mark Prindle, before he retired his website? He certainly was thorough with artist discographies. I recall a few text-based websites way back in ye' olden Web 1.0 days, which were more useful as databases before Lord Discogs changed the game. A more recent trend of 'a track review a day for a year' certainly seems to have gained traction within the podcast-o-sphere, but that's not really the same.

I suppose it comes down to how folks consume music these days, most sticking with streaming. Could you imagine someone trying to review one's entire Spotify Favorites collection? Man, folks smash those little hearts like they're nothin'!The era of having a physical collection continues to dwindle down to niche interests, and of those who do, how many develop an itch to actually write reviews of everything they have? Not bloody many, I wager. No, Rate Your Music doesn't count. Well, maybe a little, if you're one of those 1,000+ word review 'blurb' types.

And I ain't finished, oh no. There's still plenty of music in my 'To Review' pile, plenty more on its way in the mail, plenty more to discover, new and old. All the same, it's nice having another arbitrary box checked off on my 'Blog Goals, I Guess' chalkboard. Meanwhile, here's the ACE TRACKS from January, the final batch from my pre-2012 collection!


Full track list here.


MISSING ALBUMS:
Neil Young - Chrome Dreams II
The KLF - Chill Out (I refuse to call what's been recently released proper Chill Out)

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 9%
Percentage Of Rock: 0%
Most “WTF?” Track: The Trans'pact stuff, especially lodged among Enya, as alphabetical stipulation decrees.

Wait...! Neil Young is missing!? Oh yeah, THAT whole thing. Time to address the elephant in the room.

So I've cancelled my Spotify subscription. This isn't some knee-jerk reaction to *all that* - I've been considering it for a while now. Believe me when I say I was a huge supporter of the app when it first launched in Canada, but in my mind, they've done little since to improve conditions for musicians relying on their service, especially when they've had ample chances to do so. And it's not like they aren't flush with enough cash to do so, doling out one-hundred million dolla' bill exclusivity rights to podcasters. Meanwhile the Discovery algorithm wasn't very useful for my interests, there was that one time they splattered every button, feature, genre, and playlist with Drake's mug (we're not a monolith culture!), not to mention a bunch of behind the scenes stuff that's about as icky as growing corporations get...

So if there's all this rot, why now, when everyone else is doing it, and not before? Honest and truly, Neil Young no longer being on the platform was the proper nudge I needed.

Ultimately, what I want is a means of having my entire music collection available to me anywhere I go in the world, easily streamed in high resolution through my phone. I also know that's not bloody likely anytime soon, so music streaming services are the alternative, even if most of them pay dick. I could justify Spotify's meagre crumbs by the fact I generally only streamed music I'd already bought and paid for elsewhere, whether through Bandcamp or getting CDs. And while Spotify didn't have all the music I've gathered, they had enough... until now. Mr. Young may only take up about 3% of my total collection, but he's still an artist I play a lot (so says my scrobbling data). If he's not on Spotify, what point is there in me staying with the service? None no point, there is. So long, Spotify, then. I'll keep my account for a couple practical reasons I'll get to, but for the most part, I'm done with them.

That settled, where to next? Amazon Music? Nah, I already pay for Prime, and don't need to add to that bill. Apple Music? Seeing as how I have 0% Apple products, I think not. Tidal? Kinda pointless for blogging purposes if anyone in my readerbase doesn't have an account (no free streaming, even for sharing audio clips). Besides, something about them still rubs me the wrong way. Like, it's almost too celebrity focused, pushing their high-profile artists because they have invested shares in the app. Let me put it this way: if any of these streaming services are gonna' jump on a superstar-endorsed NFT bandwagon to the detriment of its user-base, I can totally see Tidal being the first.

I guess that leaves me with Deezer, the Yahoo! of music streaming services. Been around longer than most, is serviceable in what it provides, mostly forgotten but spoken of fondly by those who still use it (*cough*).

So I gave Deezer a trial run, and quite liked how streamlined everything is (no fuss, no obnoxious muss). The desktop app is kinda' janky, but the website interface is mostly the same and runs smoothly. Mobile app works nice as well. Decided to port over all my ACE TRACK playlists, and unfortunately discovered it caps out at 2,000 tracks, effectively splitting my Ultimate Master List into three. Ah, whoops?

That hiccup aside, I think Deezer's the one I'm going with for now. All future streaming links will be through Deezer (where a Bandcamp one isn't available), as well as all future ACE TRACK playlists. Since the Ultimate Master List would be too cumbersome to maintain in a split state, I'm retiring it. Also, all current Spotify links will remain, as I have no desire spending hours replacing them all with Deezer ones, and will use Spotify as a third option if there are none for Bandcamp or Deezer.

Yeah, despite having a comparable library, some things just aren't available on Deezer but are on Spotify (damn you, American Movement In Still Life). However, in doing my library transfer, I discovered quite a few albums on Deezer that I never found on Spotify. Let's look at those albums now!

FOUND ALBUMS:
Alex Theory - Saturn Returns
Alien Project - Activation Portal
Bandulu - Redemption
B.G. The Prince Of Rap - The Time Is Now
BKS - Dreamcatcher
The Black Dog - Temple Of Transparent Balls
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - E. 1999 Eternal
Carl Craig - Landcruising (altered edition titled The Album Formerly...)
Deep Forest - Deep Forest
Der Dritte Raum - Spaceglider
Dogon - The Sirius Expeditions
The Dust Brothers - Fight Club
Dusted - When We Were Young (altered edition titled Safe From Harm)
Emiliana Torrini - Love In The Time Of Science
Escape - The Futurescape
Frankie Bones - Computer Controlled 2: Live In California
Fun Factory - Nonstop! The Album
Grooverider - Mysteries Of Funk
Jefferson Airplane - Platinum & Gold Collection
John '00' Fleming - For Your Ears Only
John O'Callaghan - Something To Live For
Kon Kan - Syntonic
Lab 4 - None Of Us Are Saints (playlist)
Motorbass - Pansoul
N-Trance - Electronic Pleasure
The Oak Ridge Boys - A Higher Power
Opium - Pain(t)
Quadrophonia - Cozmic Jam
RZA as Bobby Digital - In Stereo
Sven Vath - Contact
Sven Vath - Harlequin – The Beauty And The Beast
Supercar - Futurama
Supercar - Highvision
Tom Middleton - The Sound Of The Cosmos
Wu-Tang Clan - 8 Diagrams
Various - Absence Of Gravity
Various - Audioworks V1
Various - Empire Records: The Soundtrack
Various - Grooverider Presents: The Prototype Years
Various - In Trance We Trust 021: Adam Ellis
Various - Influence 1.1: A Hardtrance Experience
Various - Massive Passive
Various - Organism 02
Various - Rave-Trance 2001 (as This Is Dream Trance Anthems Volume 2)
Various - Techno Nights – Ambient Dawn (playlist)
Various - Trance To Planet X: Influence 3.3
Various - Trancespotting II
Various - Trancespotting III


Not to say these might not be on Spotify now, they just weren't when I looked when doing reviews for them. Still, quite a list, eh?

*whew*

Has this ever been a wordful. Maybe I should have split this into two different posts, but wanted to get this out of the way. I'm not going to try and convince anyone to do as I've done, as your listening habits are your own. Just know if you feel Spotify's getting too sketchy for its britches, there are options.