SiJ - The Lost World

Reverse Alignment: 2015

See? See!? I knew there was SiJ in this endless backlog bundle (I've been at since March and I'm only in the 'L's, OMG!). It wasn't some flight of fanciful delusion that I somehow skipped out on the specific artist I raided Reverse Alignment for. Okay, no one doubted my proclamation of innocence in that Ajna review, because few would even care. I cared though, if for no other reason than to confirm my own fraying memories. I had to have scoured for SiJ, because I recall doing so. It couldn't be a figment of my imagination, could it? Like, one of those realistically mundane dreams you're so certain happened it becomes a permanent memory? The cruellest of such dreams I've had are the ones I've unearthed a trove of unreleased Calvin & Hobbes comics. Yes, it's been a recurrent one.

Thing about SiJ is one can be a tad flummoxed over where to start on his discography. Dude's nearly up to fifty releases this past decade, and while I'm sure a good deal of it is just drone experiments, there's bound to be plenty more that's not. Like, did you know he did a cover of Terra? As in, the theme music for Final Fantasy VI Terra? I sure didn't until I did a little poking around his Bandcamp page, and lo', there it was, his interpretation of one of the most lush compositions ever cranked out of the old SNES. Who'd have ever thought a guy appearing on Cryo Chamber would have a Nobuo Uematsu cover in his catalogue. Actually, come to think of it, that 'World Of Ruin' music would work quite nicely in a dark ambient context too.

Speaking of worlds, here is The Lost World. And yes, this is a specific tribute to the Conan Doyle novel, wherein a plateau within the Amazon jungle holds prehistoric creatures. Not to be confused with The Land That Time Forgot, the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel released almost concurrently about an Antarctica realm that holds prehistoric creatures. It was a popular sci-fi idea in the early 20th Century, usually featuring someone getting eaten by a Pleisiosaur, running from cavemen, and a volcano erupting. Heck, even Mickey Mouse had an adventure like that, which was weird considering the cavemen were actual pre-humans in a world of anthropomorphic animals. I've gotten way off track.

What caught me most off guard about SiJ's The Lost World is his inclusion of actual tribal rhythms in the titular cut, Night Near The Shores Of Gladys Lake, and A Fright Sight I Shall Never Forget. It's the most rhythm I've ever heard out of a SiJ album, and makes for welcome thematic variety with the other atmospheric drone pieces he crafts here (always with that distinct fuzzy melancholy). Then it all ends on a total whiplash of an under-produced tropical ditty called At The Falls. Well, under-produced compared to the deep atmospherics of what came before - almost comes off 16-bit in contrast. Say...

P-Ben - Influence

Motech: 2015

I do wonder how 'made' some producers and DJs feel throughout their career. Like, obviously releasing anything with some modicum of success is an achievement in itself, but how high do they set the bar for themselves? When Benjamin Geelen first set out on his techno journey, did he have aspirations to be recognized by the music's Mecca, or just be satisfied with any ol' fame in France? I almost have to suspect the former, and not just because his Discoggian bio name-drops a Jeff Mills set as a catalyst in Mr. Geelen pursuing this particular path of electronic music.

When it comes to European techno, there's generally been two, maybe three, distinct camps that, while finding some heritage from Detroit, are clearly striding out in their own fashion. You'd expect a chap from France would hitch his wagon to the Berliners or Italians (French techno? What is this?), but never underestimate that Detroit allure. Sure, a few early P-Ben singles couldn't help but ride that Berghain minimal bandwagon, but he found room for the more vibrant, soulful tech-house sounds originating from the Michigan city too. After flitting about various European labels (including setting up a couple of his own), Mr. Geelen landed a few remixing gigs for Kevin Saunderson's KMS print. Shortly after, he released this debut album with Motech, and the journey for Detroit recognition was complete. Nothing left to do but bask in the adulation of techno snobbery.

Thing is, I can't help but feel P-Ben's adhered to the Detroit legacy all a little too closely with Influence. There's little I hear that I can fault, but equally little I can recommend for those who don't want more of the same. Which has always been Detroit techno's crutch and its curse, hasn't it? An identifiable style that inspires many, with remarkable room for personal creativity should one indulge it, but insanely strict in keeping things within the boundaries of what it deems pure and true. Some claim Detroit techno can't even be Detroit techno unless it's made by someone from Detroit. Does that include those from Detroit who moved to Berlin, or vice-versa then?

Anyhow, P-Ben takes us through ten tracks of various strains of techno, most of which wouldn't sound out of place at any number of DEMF parties. Fifteen Years There Was Bones, From A South Place, and July touches on the groovier, future-funkier stuff. Good News and Ultimate get more on that bangin' action, though the track Bang surprisingly doesn't; nay, that one goes dubbier, as does Good News. Elsewhere, Analog Trip and Another Way strut the Jeff Mills minimalism, while Old Soul Music and This Song Is The Way offers a couple peak-time anthem options, including a 'house sermon' in the latter. So yeah, all the bases touched, with nary a duff cut among the lot. Just, y'know, coming off serviceable and straight-forward as well, a collection of techno tools for the Detroit faithful. And that's fine, really it is. It's fine.

Skare - Grader

Reverse Alignment: 2015

Yet another indulgence of mine in breaking the chains of digital purchases. Not a huge one, mind, and looking back now, it seems odd that I'd do so with an item out on Reverse Alignment from an act I knew nothing about. Even the cover art, while still invoking that frigid-blue alpine clime' I'm strangely drawn towards, isn't that terribly unique among such things. Maybe just in the context of Reverse Alignment releases, hence it leaping out at me when browsing for more things from SiJ and b°tong? Certainly more than the one with the ruins in a mouldy green, or the one with an obscured dark symbol, or the one with the vampiress in the the red dress, or the one with... y'know, I haven't a clue what's going on with Stratvm Terror's This Is My Own Hell. Something un-right, that's for sure.

Skare is a pairing of Mathias Josefson and Per Åhlund, who've done various works while living around the Stockholm region. Mr. Josefson appears the busier of the two, a discography stretching back to the turn of the millennium, even releasing a few solo items on Reverse Alignment as Moljebka Pvlse (plus other labels like Cold Meat Industry, Greytone, Isoramra, Gears Of Sand, and AudioTONG ...hehe, go on, say that one out loud, I know you can't resist). Some time during the late '00s, the two crossed paths and released a collaborative album as Skare on Glacial Movements Records. Huh, that's an interesting name, I wonder what they have? Ooh, I see there's Rapoon, BVDub, Stormloop... oh my, a CD bundle deal on their Bandcamp too? *sigh* Another one for the bookmark folder.

Grader isn't so much a follow-up to the 2009 album Solstice City, but a gathering of live performances done before the release of their debut. Um, just two of them. Look, Solstice City only had three tracks on it, so it's not like they had a wide catalogue to pull from. And that's beside the point, as the two compositions here are original pieces, bumping the entire Skare discography to five tracks. That's at least one more than a fly-by-night, anonymous synthwave alias!

-5° is a fairly empty track, but that's kinda' the point. Muted clicks, distant drones, and what sounds like someone scraping metal across a violin string about make up the bulk of it's first half. Then things go real deep into the minimalist drone, discordant timbre, barren field recordings, and sparse piano tones, eventually layering to an atonal crescendo. I imagine this is the dread mountain climbers feel when they see an incoming squall barrelling down on their former tranquil setting. -30°, meanwhile, comes off as though we're surveying the aftermath, haunting drones painting a setting of everything turned to a ghostly frozen waste, the screams of the dead ensconced within icy prisons. Man, mountain climbing's some scary shit. Like, I already get nasty vertigo in open heights, but when the weather is just as deadly as the gravity, well...

Gary Martin - Escape From South Warren

Motech: 2015

Sometimes I think I know just how deep the Detroit talent well goes, then I come across a guy like Gary Martin and his Teknotika Records. Dude's been active since the early '90s, and if his name was ever name-dropped among that Second Generation of Detroit talents (you know who), I totally missed it. Nor have I seen his aliases of Gigi Galaxy and Mole People. The lone track of his I have appeared on Rub 'n Tug's contribution to the fabric series, plus a remix on DJ 3000's Galactic Caravan. In fact, the only reason I got this album is because it came bundled with a Motech Bandcamp deal. I could easily have gone on living in ignorance of the man had he not added to the Motech catalog. Maybe I'd have stumbled upon Gigi Galaxy, if I'd kept dedicated tabs on Eye Q, but still, pretty sad on my part that it's taken so long for me to actually 'discover' Gary Martin. Needs a more eye-grabbing name.

I fixture of Detroit's scene he is though, and one that carved a tidy little niche for himself at that. When many of his peers prided themselves on techno purity and such, Mr. Martin saw no qualms in infusing aspects of diva house, Afro funk, and Latin soul into the mix. Heck, some of his earliest singles thread the line between house and techno in much the same way classics like Inner City's Big Life did, and as time went on, the tribal-techno vibes grew ever more prevalent. Well gosh, tribal-techno sounds right up my alley, so why have I not heard of this guy before? Must be one of those 'doesn't license his tracks out for DJ mixes' Detroit purity factors. They can be stingy about such things.

As can be expected of a Detroit techno guy, Gary's released a pile of singles and EPs over the years, but has generally shied away from the album format. There was Viva La Difference in 2002, Mole People 5 in 2007, and finally this here Escape From South Warren from 2015. Oh, and Another Place, though that was more a DJ mix compilation of his stuff up to that point. And honestly, probably a better starting point into Gary Martin's work than Escape From South Warren. Not that this album is without merit. I just feel I'm not getting a proper sampling of what's made him a lasting veteran within Detroit's scene here.

For sure there's plenty of variety. The 'sermon house' track in We Get Down. The squiggly acid tech-house option in My Medicine. The deep 'n soulful cut in I Don't Know Why (ah, the Detroit saxophone, my favourite saxophone). The steady tension builder in Stellar Caravan. The broken funk wonk of Eastward Course (oh God, where's that rhythm come from; I know it from somewhere!). All serviceable tracks, these are. After hearing some of his older stuff though, I can't help but miss the thrilling tribal tempos of yore.

Autumn Of Communion - Autumn Of Communion 6

...txt: 2015

Well, someone lucked out on not one, but two Autumn Of Communion CDs! My patience continues to prove fortuitous (God, I love that word), and with a little more time and pluck, I just might land myself those other older, rarer AoC albums after all. Have any of them possibly come down in price on the collector's market yet? *checks Discogs* NOPE! It utterly boggles my mind that someone paid nearly CA$400 for Autumn Of Communion 3.5. It's just one track! Sure, in a spiffy metal tin, but still.

While it makes skipping out on the AoC Moonstreams box-set that much more cagey on my part, this highlight another good reason to have done so: I'd otherwise have been forced to write reviews for a lot of AoC albums all in a row, and that would get tedious in a hurry, believe you me. Already I'm struggling to come up with much based on these two albums. Imagine if I had to also cover Autumn Of Communion, Autumn Of Communion 2, Autumn Of Communion 3, Autumn Of Communion 3.5, and Autumn Of Communion 3.9. Not to mention Broken Apart By Sunlight Part 1, Broken Apart By Sunlight Part 2, Broken Apart By Moonlight Part 1, and Broken Apart By Moonlight Part 2. And before you point to Neil Young: Archives as proof I could do it, Mr. Young had a far more dynamic and musically adventurous first decade of music making than Lee Norris and Mick Chillage have had together since 2012. There was more to talk about there, is what I'm saying, whereas I can only reiterate so many times how nice Autumn Of Communion's ambient compositions are before your eyes glaze over. I like this stuff, but boy do I need some space between sessions of it.

AoC 6 does focus Lee and Mick's songcraft some, offering up three digestible chunks of music of comparable length. Why, each piece could have tidily fit on one of those charming mini-CDs, a notion I have to assume they realized with the Broken Apart... series just on the horizon. This would also mark the final numerically self-titled album, going out in stark white style.

Autumn Echo 1 has most of the pleasing synth tones and subtle melodic passages I've come to appreciate in AoC's material, but for some reason doesn't stick with me so well. I don't know why. Autumn Echo 2, however, works a nice gradual build, making good use of its near twenty-four minute long runtime, never feeling like its dilly-dallying in getting to whatever point its trying to get to (a charming ambient techno 'peak', is where). Even the lengthy fade out is somehow engaging, almost making me forget there's a third track after. Autumn Echo 3 is on that sentimental, meditative ambient tip, treading close to New Age territory. I've not much else to say about it.

Now imagine me trying to write similar stuff for a dozen more such reviews. Yeah, not happening with sanity intact.

Autumn Of Communion - Autumn Of Communion 5

...txt: 2015

Over a year ago, Lee Norris announced an Autumn Of Communion CD box-set, Moonstreams, gathering up all the AoC albums up to that point. Cool, as much of their early work is no longer readily available in a physical format, some of which only found for triple-digits in the second-hand Marketplace. Had I not already gotten four of those thirteen releases (!), I would have considered snagging such a collection. Alas, it felt redundant getting double-copies of Polydeuces, Metal, Autumn Of Communion 4, and Broken Apart By Echoes. I resigned myself to holding out hope the remaining nine albums might pop up at a tidier price or, God forbid, succumb to a digital option.

Well, the fates proved fortuitous, as EAR/Rational Music unearthed some unsold AoC albums while clearing out their stock room, and made them available to folks on their mailing list. Hey, that includes me! I'll get on that post-haste and- oh, it's Autumn Of Communion 5, one of the lesser regarded albums of AoC's initial run of albums. I know this because it's actually affordable on the second-hand market, and has never commanded the obscenely high selling prices the previous CDs have. Aside from AoC 4 anyway, though that one likely remains affordable due to still being in print. No one's paying for ludicrous collector's mark-up when one can easily buy an original copy at Carpe Sonum's Bandcamp page (not a shameless plug, I swear!).

Don't get me wrong, I was tickled that I snagged a copy of Autumn Of Communion 5, if for nothing else than proving my foresight in passing on the AoC box-set correct. The music within is fine too, though I can understand why it doesn't get talked up as much as their other works. Three tracks comprise this release, the first of which a whopping thirty-four minutes long. And unless this is somehow your first Autumn Of Communion review you're reading (if so, apologies for a confusing couple of paragraphs), you just know that's thirty-four minutes of spacey, soothing, noodly ambient music. As a thirty-four minute long outing of spacey, soothing, noodly ambient music, it's very nice, and has enough additional elements like spritely synths and shifting passages such that it can keep your attention for most of the duration. If you prefer your ambient music in digestible chunks though, Autumn will likely pass you by.

At a shade under fifteen minutes, Communion is easier to take in, and dare I say a might bit lovelier too. This is more on the meditative tip, with breathing synth pads and relaxing melodic tones that make me want to lazily float down a rural creek surrounded by willow trees. In space! The final track Final Communion is a 're-think' by Stormloop, which has something of an old-school Tangerine Dream vibe going for it. An interesting addition to AoC 5, though doesn't really jive with the rest of the album. Then again, with only two other tracks, how much more is there to jive with?

Death Grips - The Powers That B

Third Worlds: 2015

(a Patreon Request)

Impossible to ignore Death Grips, isn't it? They were among the heaviest hyped acts to emerge this past decade, in no small part due to their on-again, off-again disbanding antics; y'all better get this latest album of theirs, 'cause it might be their last! While I wasn't in a rush to check them out, I figured they were worth a scoping if most of the talking heads I trust with musical opinions were showing interest. Like, if savvy folks were going on about how that one Kanye album was essentially style-biting Death Grips, then there had to be something to this Oakland trio. I've heard all their albums are quite unique from one another though, so where to start, where to start? (Note: this Patreon Request left it to me with which album I'll review)

Most professional reviews recommend all their albums, though for differing reason, while fan lists have them arranged in all manner of random order. The Money Store seems easiest to get, but also feels kinda' wrong, being on a major label and all. Not so sure about that No Love Deep Web cover art being on my blog either. Their latest? How can I critique it without proper background comparison? Fine, I'll go with this double-disc one – should be a good sampling of their stuff.

The Powers That B is essentially two albums, each disc radically unique from its companion. The first, Niggers On The Moon, came out early as a download, and had the gimmick of featuring Björk samples throughout. Eh, I only really hear one, a consistent “ah ah-a” chopped and screwed with over digital hardcore beats (reminds me of Chemical Brothers' Song To The Siren). As for the beats, yeah, they're frenetic and spastic and experimental and Kaos Pad'd to the nth degree, but it all sounds kinda' samey throughout too. Without watching the tracks play through, I honestly couldn't tell when one ended and another began. It's an interesting listen, for sure, but strikes me as something only the dedicated Death Grips fans will get much out of.

As for Jenny Death on CD2, hole Lee bovine...! Now this, this is worth the hype. Just viscera, balls-to-the-wall thrash-punk bedlam, squalling guitars and chaotic drums over forceful, pissed-off shout-rapping from MC Ride. This is the music Liam Howlett probably wanted to take The Prodigy, before all that commercial success neutered his rebellious streak. I know Jenny Death is no more indicative of Death Grips' style than Niggers On The Moon is, but I've no doubt this is as solid an introduction to the group if you're itching to expose them to the undecided.

Hell, even the obligatory 'RnB tune', Pss Pss, is like some crazy psychedelic romp about a dirty festival. And that insane digital hardcore closer of Death Grips 2.0 is greater than anything on CD1. Okay, that Say Hey Kid was amusing, in that it reminded me of another long-since forgotten California rave-rap genre-fusion act: The Movement! (don't O.D., yo').

Toxik Synther - Technocracy Assassins

Werkstatt Recordings: 2015

All these Werkstatt artists are blending into each other. For as long as I've had this EP, I thought this was a Toxic Razor release – y'know, that dude who runs the label. I was even making mental notes about it leading up to this review, a couple talking points about his impossibly high work-rate with so many projects and label management taking up his time, where this particular collection of four tracks fits into it all. Like, the music on here doesn't quite fit the mould of his other releases, less of that rough analog production compared to other items I've covered thus far. And when there's something kinda' different about a release in an artist's discography, that gives me tons of different things to wax the bull about! So I head on over to Lord Discogs to get additional info, submit the CD release of Technocracy Assassins because of course it hasn't yet, then realize Toxik Synther has only two releases with the Database That Knows All. Wait, what?

Ooohhh.... Toxik Synther, with a 'K'. Not Toxic Razor, with a 'C'. Huge difference, that. Just how many Toxic/k's is in synthwave anyhow? *sixty percent of synthwave stands up cheering “yo'!”* I knew it, I'm surrounded by toxins. Keep toxin, Toxics!

Unfortunately for me, Toxik Synther is yet another utter blank in the Werkstatt canon. Lord Discogs has no info, beyond listing his two EPs released on the label. There's no details with the Bandcamp pages for this and Agent Of Technology, save a Soundcloud link. And that leads to a page with three tracks on it, with no updates in three years. For all intents, Toxik Synther came in, released a couple tunes while synthwave was hot enough that any ol' chap or chappette could get material out, then went his separate way into the winds of MIDI. Or this really is a pseudonym for Toxic Razor.

Hey, don't snicker at that prospect. There's one tell that makes me suspect as such - okay, beyond the all too similar handle. In much of Razor's work, I've noticed an interest in anti-establishment, corporate-rebellion themes, which makes sense given how much he draws influence from EBM and industrial music. Synthwave, on the other hand, doesn't get heavy with the political too often, its chosen lane typically loving nods to the poppy and fantastical of '80s synth music. Yeah, it can sometimes paint as bleak a future-shock portrait as any John Carpenter score, but more in service of action-packed music than trying to drop Very Important messages about the corruption of the powers that be.

With track titles like Politics Of Deception and War Conspiracy, coupled with knarly EBM grooves, Toxik Synther ain't bullshittin' his stance on the rot that infects our leaders. On the other hand, Psychomancers Of Polaris is pure chipper, adventurous synth-pop, so maybe all is not so bad is it seems to be. 2015 was still such an optimistic time, wasn't it.

Jacob Newman & Devin Underwood - Sending The Past

Carpe Sonum Records: 2015

Man, another pure ambient album from Carpe Sonum Records so soon? Don't I review anything else? Hey now, it hasn't been that short a turnaround. I reviewed Bubble's OI only [checks notes]... Um, only... [re-checks notes, checks actual blog]... Holy cow, it's been nearly a month? Doesn't feel a day past Thanksgiving. Point is, I've covered plenty else in the meanwhile such that it shouldn't feel like I'm getting into a repetitive rut. Stuff like dark ambient, or piano ambient, and, um, ambient techno. Ooh, look, there's some house and synthwave in that mix, plus a few glitchy items too (erm, care of Patreon Requests), so what rut be th'ar, ask I?

This particular album comes care of a duo, Jacob Newman and Devin Underwood. They also make music together under the alias Gapfield, which Carpe Sonum has actually attributed to the digital version of this release, but since it's their names and not the alias on the cover art, I'm sticking with that (Lord Discogs approves). The two also have respectable solo careers, Jacob releasing under his own name, while Devin taking on a Specta Ciera handle. And gosh, rummaging through their respective discographies, I've noticed they too have music out on that dataObscura print. It... it's a sign, that I've noticed this label two reviews in a row. Must... now... buy... from...

Where was I? As far as ambient music goes, Sending The Past plays things fairly conventionally. It's got the spacious drones, the subtle melodies, the soothing atmosphere, though whereas most ambient composers find a lane and stick with it, these two seem to take on a few different schools on a track-to-track basis. Compositions like Light Point, Sequester, and The Elusive has me reminded of all those Andrew Heath albums I've covered, where the ambience is very minimalist as stray sounds and tones permeate the empty, echoing spaces between, whether of piano, strings, field recordings, or those little bloopy sounds from a radio transistor. Mind, Misters Newman and Underwood fill their spaces with more pad work than Heath, but the craft remains similar enough for me to do the name-drop. I'm sure there's other names I could have dropped, but with all those Heath albums behind me now, his style has kinda' imprinted upon me above all others.

Other tracks, however, go more for that traditional long-drone form, though we're never getting into obscene lengths here. The longest pieces - Mist Field and Day Stretch - don't even break the double-digit mark, and Rotations even comes in at a snug two-and-a-half. Overall, I'm getting that planetarium ambient vibe from Sending The Past, what with twee melodies sprinkled about like twinkling starlight. Yet the omnipresent pad drone keeps things relatively obscured and submerged. So, like, I'm watching stars, but from under water. Or starlight shimmering across the blackened waters of a harbour at night. No, wait, those are just squiddies coming up to the surface for their mating dance. Calamari tonight, boys!

Kubinski - Life Boy

Werkstatt Recordings: 2015

I think I'm about ready to tap out with regards to Werkstatt material. Don't get me wrong, I'm by no means turning my back on the synth label, and I'll keep tabs on the artists on their roster I've enjoyed. In buying up so many of their bulk deals, however, I fear I've burned myself out on their general aesthetic. There's only so much anonymous, amateur music production I can take before the novelty of it all wears down, and one thing has become clear, Werkstatt head Toxic Razor takes a 'toss every dart at the board' approach with whom he releases. When he hits that bull's-eye, *chef's kiss*, but I've come across a number of artists hugging the outer ring numbers too.

This Life Boy from Kubinski lands somewhere in those big open spaces between the double and triple point rings, possibly in the eight or nine slot, the dart at a slightly askew angle, as thrown by an individual with at least a half-dozen pints previously consumed. Man, is that ever a specific metaphor. One of the unique things about this chap is he hails from Porto Alegre, a city on the southern end of Brazil. Or Rio De Janeiro, depending on which source you go with (forever battling, are Lord Discogs and King Bandcamp). Regardless, it's cool Werkstatt will give a little shine to what's undoubtedly a completely neglected scene. When we think of Brazilian music, it's hyper-sexual Latin dance music, or whatever quirky jazz offspring has sprung up (there's always a new one every decade). And with regards to electronic dance music in South America, it's always the Chilean tech-haus dudes who get the glory. Kubinski proves there's more music in that region than what gets all the sexy exposes.

Man though, could this album have used another once-over on the production department. We're firmly in chipper synth-pop territory here, with splashes of synthwave for good measure, but I can barely hear Kubinksi's lyrics over the big 'n gaudy synths. His vocals are drenched in echo and reverb, capturing that vintage '80s feel where everything was drenched in echo and reverb, but at least I could understand what those singers were saying, even when obscured by thick accents and broken English. Even on the more stripped-back tunes like Baroque and M.O.V.I.N. though, I've difficulty understanding much of what he's saying. Matter Of Time fares better, where the lyrics are clear and upfront, displaying a Tiga charm that only sparingly peaks through in the other songs. D.Day is also fun, in that the musical muscle behind it is strong enough to override the buried vocals.

I dunno. The ideas are there, but the execution on Life Boy is just off to my ears. I kinda' preferred his previous, pure synthwave EPs. Like, how can you not dig the retro-charm of Blade Revenge, a ninja overlooking a 16-bit skyline? Or Reach featuring a glorious beauty-shot of Saturn looming over a vector grid? *chef's kiss*

3FORCE - The Intergalactic LP

Werkstatt Recordings: 2015

How nice it is getting a Werkstatt release with some meat I can dig into. An artist with ample info available! An actual Discoggian entry! Packaged with a faux-vinyl CDr! Man, I thought those things a gimmicky novelty over a decade ago, and didn't see many of them floating around after their initial emergence – when folks burn themselves a CD, they usually go with the cheapest option, maybe flairing things up with some fancy labelling. Now though, I'm seeing them with greater frequency than ever, mostly from Bandcamp outlets. It's as though labels realize not everyone can afford an actual collector's edition coloured vinyl, so here's a CD approximation instead.

As for 3FORCE, hoo boy, is this ever a crazy one. Consisting of three members, brothers Dmitry & Alexey Goncharenko, plus Andrey Novikov, the players involved couldn't have had more differing musical backgrounds if they tried. The Brothers Gonch' have a tidy career going as Gancher & Ruin making a sort of ...2-step hardcore? The beats are all 'dssh ck-CHATCK dssh ck-CHATCK', like the build of a vicious Ed Rush & Optical tear-out – it's pretty unique, all things considered, though like most hardcore, tiring after a while. Mr. Novikov, meanwhile, makes spacious ambient soundscapes and light psy-chill as Eyescream, even getting nods from the likes of Simon Heath, SiJ and Carbon Based Lifeforms. Naturally, these musicians on complete opposites of the music spectrum decided they had chemistry and made some synthwave tunes together. I couldn't have made that up if I tried.

So right off the bat, 3FORCE (gotta' be capitalized!) has a leg up on many synthwave acts out there, in that they're already established producers with some songcraft chops behind them. Not that their backgrounds have much to do with the genre they decided to tackle, but it at least gives their tunes a polish that often lacks in many synthwave releases. I usually don't mind the amateurish nature of this scene, but man, is it ever a treat when you get something as slick as the stuff this trio offered up in their debut album, The Intergalactic LP.

And yeah, this eight-track album pretty much follows the standard synthwave tropes. Hot, outrun tunes to open up, some slower jams in the middle for those late-night cruises on a neon-drenched boulevard, the necessary, intermission 'chill-out' cut that could work just as well as a closing credits theme, and the reflective finishers as we race towards our climax where we fight aliens in space DeLoreans. Or something.

There's plenty of sounds on display too, from your usual synthwave synths and pads, to cheeky samples and chiptune bleeps and blorps (Intrusion, Celestial Squad), to piano interludes (Nuclear Sunday, Intergalactic). And damn, some fine-ass rhythms and basslines to boot. All that's missing from this album is a dope narrative the best synthwave artists provide. Perturbator may still be the gold-standard in this scene, but with a little more focus (and promotion), 3FORCE could challenge that mantle.

Porya Hatami & Darren McClure - In-Between Spaces

...txt: 2015

You'd think after a dozen years of doing this, I'd know how to avoid the aftermath. Indeed, I've done everything in the How To Avoid Post-Festival Flu handbook, and yet I still get hit with some bout of sickness after coming home from Shambhala. To be fair, the dusty farm environment makes it a challenge even under the best conditions. Not only do you have some twenty thousand souls kicking up dirt, but also all the cow-patty particulates that populate the pasture year-round. Wearing a handkerchief or bandana for cover helps, and I even take things a step further with medical masks when I know I'll be working in a super-heavy dust area for a while (those parking lots get it bad). Throw in the killer combo of extreme temperature changes (oh God, the heat this year!), and all around tom-foolery and chicanery that comes with any music festival, no matter how 'responsible' one remains, and yeah, it's no surprise folks come away from them feelin' the flu, even veterans who should know better. Or maybe I just get an allergic reaction to the being back in the rat-race so soon after a week out. Yeah, let's go with that instead!

So coming back, feeling down with the sickness, but still having to drag my sagging ass to work, you can forgive my lack brain power for a brief while following Shamb's. Getting the ol' writing juices flowing again sometimes takes a little effort, a little inspiration, a little kick in the cerebellum-butt. On the other hand, it's nice to ease back into things with a little sonic fluff, musical cotton-candy that doesn't require much in the way of actual analysis and critique, an album where I can spend the bulk of a review waxing on about anecdotal bull before getting into the meat 'n grits of the CD. Yes, this here In-Between Spaces from Porya Hatami and Darren McClure will do nicely.

I've gone over Mr. Hatami's work a fair deal now, and you might remember Mr. McClure from such collaborative projects like Memex. I honestly forgot he was a part of that though, and I wrote the review of that album with Lee Norris only a year ago! For a brief refresher, Darren's something of an abstract ambient journeyman, and possibly came into association with Porya either via their time spent in Japan, or their works released through Inner Ocean Records (because I gotta' give Canadian labels all attention they can get).

In-Between Spaces is a modest little collection of ambient pieces, only five tracks long, ranging from seven to twelve minutes in length. It's all very minimalist with soft, glitchy effects and static fuzz warping distant pianos, pads and field recordings. At points, I'm surprised just how natural some of these effects sound. Like, is that actual rain fall in Summer Rain, or treated static? Sends me into sweet, soothing calm of mental contentment, either way, as does the rest of In-Between Spaces. Mmm, recovery sleep...

Ott - Fairchildren

Ottsonic Music: 2015

Ott (no relation to NHL player Steve Ott) reminds me of that super-dependable rock band that can always churn out quality music that tickles my earholes just right, but for whatever reason never inspires me to dig deeper and further, much less wax the hyperbolic purple as I dance to his architecture. What rock bands, you ask? Oh, geez, put me on the spot, why don't you? Like, I kinda' wanna' say Coldplay, the most traditional of all milquetoast name-drops, but there's better options. Maybe The Strokes, or The Killers. Yeah, let's go with that: Ott is The Killers of psy-dub.

I liked Skylon a great deal, still have it in the regular rotation. and when Ott reissued his discography on his own print, you bet I snagged up a copy of his debut Blumenkraft. For some reason though, I was only mildly interested in hearing a follow-up. Maybe I was feeling psy-dub burn-out at the time, coming across too many artists that were only emulating the style Ott and Shpongle had popularized. I needed a little absence from it, and boy-howdy did Ultimae and Altar provide a good excuse to do so. Ott also appeared in need of a little diversification in his songcraft, but when I heard he chose to go the road of dubstep, I promptly 'NOPE'd on Mir, and didn't look back. Which was stupid, of course, but you cannot begin to appreciate just how over-saturated dubstep had become in the year 2011, especially in my hub of the world. Just... brutal...

But time has passed, as has the dubstep fad, and when I heard his fourth album Fairchildren being hailed as more a return to the tasty sonic soup that made his first two records such standouts, I had no problem diving back into the Ott fold. Erm, and it seems he's found himself a new toy to tinker with in glitch hop. I don't mind the stuff, but God can it ever grate when a producer overdoes it with the random sample wankery, which Ott succumbs to in Harwell Dekatron. So much directionless wibble – I need my wibble to have some momentum, y'know (Eat Static does the wibble good).

That's just one track of eight though, and aside from brief dabbling in Ship Is Not A Child, things don't go that wonk anywhere else on Fairchildren. Instead, we get bouncy psy-dub rhythms, cavernous dub echoes, vocals and instruments played, plucked, and plundered from lands far and wide, with just enough fun, wibbly, trippy effects keeping things cruising the psychedelic avenue to the dawn's morning light. Or through the afternoon heat on the beach. I've only seen Ott live in the latter setting.

And yet, I actually find myself just as dumbfounded in talking this music up in any specific detail. It's an Ott album, and if you know your Ott music, you know exactly what what you're gonna' hear. Won't deny it's that consistency I slapped my hard-earned bones down for though.

Kriistal Ann - Cultural Bleeding

Wave Records: 2015

Kriistal Ann can't remain in synth obscurity. I'm sure experts in coldwave scenes or darkwave scenes or 4AD scenes could point to '80s talents that exuded pure Gothic charm and dread, tut-tutting that Ms. Michailidou isn't anything new. Maybe so, but in our contemporary times, such music remains ultra-fringe. Hearing any vocalist with such distinct flair is even rarer, thus how can Kriistal not leap out of a black-n-white YouTube video like the spectre from The Ring, dragging you into some pagan autumn ritual by graveyards and cathedrals.

I feel like it's only a matter of time before a major label exec comes sniffing around the Werkstatt Recordings offices, hearing upon the easterly winds of a dark muse surrounding herself with undeniably low-grade production standards. They won't care that it's part of the music's appeal, the bare, brittle rhythms and out-of-tune synth strings adding to the cold, Gothic aesthetic Ms. Michailidou has crafted into her own fiefdom. They'll ignore the fact she's already four solo albums deep with the Greek print, not to mention her work with label head Toxic Razor in Paradox Obscur and Resistance Of Independent Music, plus François Ducarn in Sine Silex. All they'll see is a female talent generating some underground buzz, ripe for exploitation if they can just mould her to fit their schemes. Yeah, good luck with that – save a sudden revival of The Crow or The Craft franchises, this brand of ultra electro-Goth ain't generating dollars anytime soon. And even if it could, studio-sleeking it up will only ruin that which makes it so intriguing in the first place. We don't want our coldwave sounding so fresh and so clean - it's gotta' be deep in the muck and dirt, making you writhe with the worms. Wait, why am I talking like I'm some expert on this scene? I've barely dipped a pinkie toe into these icy, black ponds reflecting pale moonlight.

Anyhow, Cultural Bleeding is Kriistal Ann's third album, and her only solo outing not released by Werkstatt. Oh no, my ridiculous scenario came true! Heh, no, this was put out by Wave Records, a Brazilian outfit. How they came into contact with a Greek synth/cold/dark/industrial peddling the same sort of sound, I haven't a clue – Hell, I didn't even know Brazil had such a scene going for it!

The material on Cultural Bleeding is slightly better produced than her outings on Werkstatt, but not drastically so. There's still the bleak atmospherics, claustrophobic electro rhythms, and grand Gothic, operatic words of Kriistal's voice, selling lyrics like “This is the end of things; Now at least, I know the truth”, and “Once more an ancient tragic, bard recall; In boldness of design surpassing all”, and “Je fais le deuil d'une fleur; Repousses le sort; Et te dis lalala”. There's even a track sung in ancient Greek, Αντιγόνη! It honestly makes about as much sense as her broken English to my ears, but Kriistal doesn't sound any less entrancing in the language.

Wednesday Campanella - Zipangu

Tsubasa Records: 2015

As I listened to my third Wednesday Campanella album (their first proper LP), I was struck with a curious quandary: just how important are lyrics in my music? I'm not talking about whether I need them or not – obviously a guy who listens to a lot of 'techno' doesn't require much more in the vocal department than some looping sample of downed systems. And that's not to say I'm anti-vocals either. There are plenty of lyricists I vibe on for their metaphors, similes, witty wordplay, fun phonetics, and singing cadence, artists I'd never have enjoyed if I didn't dig on the words they manifest. By the same token though, I don't necessarily need to understand the lyrics either, as I've taken in many an ethnic chant and foreign language with no greater appreciation of them other than they sound good in a their musical context. Heck, there's even a number of English singers out there where I may know the language, but have a difficult time understanding their words (death metal growlers, vocoder robots, Jamaican toasters, Jon Anderson of Yes).

So when listening to the opening track of Syakushain (rebel leader of the Ainu against the Matsumae clan), it just sounds like a charming, peppy traditional throwback tune with woodblocks and KOM_I rap-singing along. I had no idea she was actually doing something of a Japanese nightlife tour (I... think?) until watching the video with translated subtitles, and I found myself enjoying the tune more with that added context. On the other hand, the song Ra (sun god of Egyptian lore) also has an elaborate video with subtitles, but I'm not sure what the song's actually about beyond just a big, anthemic pop song. The subtitles also revealed more English words than I initially picked up, on account its mixed in with equal amounts Japanese, and KOM_I's brisk, accented singing makes it difficult for my stupid anglophone brain to keep up. I know the words, but don't glean any deeper meaning from them.

Thus, I'm generally reduced to enjoying what I can from Wednesday Campanella on 'dumb levels' again. Ooh, Uran-chan, that's got some cool juke production going on for it, and a neat spacey vibe too, which makes sense since I hear Astroboy in there (Uran-chan is 'Astrogirl'). Medusa (oh come on, you know who she is) is a fun j-pop house romp, while nifty guitar licks in Wright Kyoudai (flyboys) almost lend the tune a Japanese-Balearic vibe.

Yet, I also feel producer Kenmochi Hidefumi's trying just a bit too hard in fusing contemporary EDM with traditional Japanese songcraft. Could have done without the trap in Chohakkai (a Saiyuki character?), the mah-ssive, overblown snare crashes of Nishi Tamao (Google's got nothing), and he really, really, really loves abusing the stutter effects throughout – even BT would suggest pulling back some. Still, Zipangu is nothing if not a diverse album, which is more than can be said for most contemporary pop riding dance music's jock. Great videos too.

Hide And Sequence - You Should Have Destroyed

Werkstatt Recordings: 2015

I want to see this movie. That is what Hide And Sequence really wants to make, right? The artwork for this remix EP is far too lush for any ol' collection of alternate takes. His other releases suggest a narrative of sorts, the usual cyberpunk tale of androids coming to grips with their humanity or overthrowing their oppressive existence (y'know, that ol' chestnut), but, mang', just look at that art! Even without hearing a single synth note or space pad or vocoder lyric, you have an entire six book epic worked out in your head, don't you. Sure, synthwave is replete with such iconography, but something about this one pushes things to another level, beyond what's required to grab your attention (ie: '80s cars, neon colours, sci-fi spaceships). There's a saga to be told by this lone figure in a digital wasteland, and damn don't I want to discover it.

Lord Discogs doesn't have much information regarding Hide And Sequence, this EP his lone entry, plus a few, scattered compilation contributions. It's kinda' maddening just how behind the ball The Lord That Knows All is when it comes to synthwave releases. Like, I get it, it's a scene that's overflowing with amateurs, one-offs and bedroom producers self-releasing their stuff through Soundcloud and Bandcamp. It's difficult keeping up with it all, not to mention has more of a younger following compared to the median age of Discoggian contributors – this scene would rather chronicle their music collecting through outlets like Reddit rather than a record database. Maybe it'll all find its way to Discogs too, but Yet Another Synthwave Track doesn't seem to have as much entry priority as all those Detroit techno white labels.

Anyhow, there's more info over at Hide And Sequence's Bandcamp page, so here's some particulars. The project is helmed by Australian Jason Taylor, and first emerged in 2013 with a free mini-album called The Fall. He then released a longer album with Werkstatt Recordings called Resurrection, followed by this remix EP You Should Have Destroyed. He's since released a few more items, moving closer to the realms of film scores than straight-up synth pop. Ooh, nifty t-shirts too!

Two new tracks appear on this EP, the titular opener which does the Carpenter-ode thing, while No Place On Earth has a foreboding air about it. These remixes, though, hot damn! Tundra turns My Darkest Fear into a gut-wrenching futurepop New Beat thing. Hexamoten reworks Resurrection into a menacing, electro-gothic outing (are those Blaster Beam effects on the lyrics? Sure sounds like 'em), while Syntax coerces the same tune into a subtle, poppier New Beat vibe. Meanwhile, even Werkstatt boss Toxic Razor couldn't help but add his touch to one of HAS' tunes, his Beatbox Machinery rub on Perfect Lie making for a chipper synth-pop outing. Nicely adds some levity to all the futurepop melodrama in these lyrics. Yet, even those, I find quite lovely, especially the digitized words in Resurrection. Movie version of these songs, now!

Ghostface Killah & Adrian Younge - Twelve Reasons To Die II

Linear Labs: 2015

Aawww yeah, you knew this concept was too good for just one album's worth of material. It was clear as a desert day that Adrian Younge and Ghostface Killah had great chemistry together, that they should work together on another project. So they reconvened a couple years later to tell another tale about twelve ways to die, this time with Ghost's old partner in prime, Raekwon. For the spirit of Tony Starks (Ghost's mobster alias) could not completely rest, his soul still trapped in those vinyl records his body was cremated into, waiting to emerge again should some poor sap spin them once more.

Fast forward a few years, and while tales of the Ghostface Killah taking out members of the DeLuca family in Italy persist, it didn't impact their syndicates across the globe, including a stronghold in New York City. As the '70s took hold and inner city black communities started gaining more influence, one man rose through the ranks to create his own mob fiefdom, Raekwon's character of Lester Kane in this tale. Gee, the Chef playing a mafioso type? Who'd have thought!

Natrually, a turf war breaks out. One of Kane's raids lands him a treasure trove of stolen goods from his enemies, including the legendary records said to hold the spirit of the Ghostface Killah (who's been idling away watching events unfold – this is technically a Ghostface album, so things are mostly told from his perspective). Also captured is Logan, the woman who betrayed Tony Starks to the DeLucas, plus her son who just may be his illegitimate child. When the DeLucas retaliate, however, they wipe out Kane's family too, urging Rae' to strike a deal with the devil: he'll release Ghostface from the record, and in exchange for gaining his power to exact his revenge, the spirit of Stark will take over Kane's body, killing him in the process.

Considering how tied the two have been throughout their careers, the symbolism of Ghostface and Raekwon merging into a single being to do dastardly deeds seems appropriate. In a surprise twist though, Ghost' reneges on the deal, instead taking over the body of... his own son! Hey, this still is a gothic horror tale, in the end!

*whew* Quite a recap there, and if it seems I skimmed over details, I didn't that much. Twelve Reasons To Die II is shockingly short as an album, barely a half-hour long. I was honestly slightly disappointed I didn't hear more from Rae' on this, nor was I too fussed with the guest rappers (mostly playing roles of each crime family's goons). Still, Adrian's score of blaxploitation funk and spooky soul remains ace, playing all the instruments, at times sounding like vintage RZA with Ghost' riding the beats. A couple more tracks of Ghost'kwon (Rae'face?) enacting their revenge would have made this better, but it's still a gripping ride nonetheless. Not sure where they can take the story after this though, if Starks is resurrected and all.

36 - Sine Dust Versions

3six Recordings: 2015

Wait wait wait!!! Dennis Huddleston released a single with Saturn on the cover!? Yeah, guy, a mini-series at that. Awww, man, it's like 36 knows me or something, my one true weakness for any artwork. Can't say I would buy the vinyl of Sine Dust or Tomorrow's Explorers though, if anything because they're already out of stock and jacked up on the open market now. At least I still get to hear tunes off those records on the bonus CD of Black Soma, but I cannot deny those Sine Dust copies do look exquisite.

While crafting the four tracks of that particular EP, Dennis made alternates, mostly as a means to explore various ideas or paths on each before settling on the finished versions. Not that this is a unique thing musicians do, especially ambient ones, but unless they're the sort who'll release every and anything that strikes their muse, it isn't often they'll make such works available. Given how immaculately produced 36's finished material typically is, I'm surprised he's even letting us hear his alternate pieces, but I guess he figured there was enough to differentiate them from the originals.

Either that, or he just wanted to show off more Saturn porn, which I'm totally fine with. I mean, just look at that beauty shot, the golden globe hovering in space so majestically, its rings stretched out and enhanced. Yeah, I don't think that's an actual Cassini photo, probably a composite. Plus, if you stare really closely, you'll notice concentric lines encircling the planet, as though the light from the background stars are being warped by gravitational forces. In fact, the whole top half of this picture looks more like painting smudges. It's all quite subtle, the sort of thing you won't notice unless paying attention. Hey, kinda' like where 36 takes his music with Sine Dust Versions!

The originals were some of 36's most focused pieces of melancholic music – I'm sure I mentioned as such in regards to the titular track which also appeared on Void Dance. The associated tracks on the single generally followed in Sine Dust's mould, and so it goes with Versions too. Only in this case, tones and melody are drawn and stretched out such that each composition is turned into lengthy pieces of drone, sometimes doubling their runtime in the process.

On one hand, this definitely falls more in line with the type of ambient you'd expect of a space music outing, especially with a lonely Saturn against as stark, empty black backdrop. Whereas the originals could melt your heart, these may leave you feeling lonesome and cold. Hell, the ghostly vocal of Sine Dust is essentially non-existent in its Version counterpart, though Sun Riders Part II (Version) does retain some moving moments in its droning timbre. I wouldn't recommend this EP for anyone other than 36 followers though, which was the intent behind releasing it anyhow – offering a glimpse of different angles Mr. Huddleston's takes his musical ideas.

Neon Droid - Ordinary Neon

Werkstatt Recordings: 2015

This is such an '80s name, I'm surprised no one else had already snagged it up when that decade started its fashionable resurgence over fifteen years ago (!!). 'Neon' goes without saying, such flashy, functionalist lighting almost synonymous with an era of hyper-consumerism. As for 'droid', I remember the cartoon Droids from the '80s. In fact, I had an issue of the Marvel Star comic, where they did an obligatory crossover with Ewoks (Artoo saved everyone from a falling boulder with his legs, so don't tell me the Prequels made him over-powered with gimmicks). Of course, robots have existed as a concept for much longer, but it wasn't until Star Wars that they earned the additional handle of droids, carrying through the decade that followed. And one made of neon (somehow), well, the only way to make this more '80s sounding is in the font. Neon Droid didn't disappoint.

Since no one was using the nomme de plume, one Zoltan Gabor took it as his own a few years back. He also had a prior alias of Blasta, self-releasing a digital LP called Invasion Of The Cyborg Ninjas, featuring a cover that's about as '80s clip-art cheeze-mo' as you'd expect of such a title. Seems ol' Zoltan's refined his approach some for his Neon Droid output, though a couple tunes were reused from that effort into his debut album here.

If all this has you thinking Ordinary Neon is little more than a generic synthwave release, please, you should know I'm pickier than that. This is a genre flooded with bland homages, retro rehashes, and soggy songcraft, requiring more than obvious nods for me to bite. And the opening titular track at least does that, a slower, funkier jam with vocoder action that's the sort of tune everyone keeps hoping Daft Punk will make (let it go, it ain't happening). It's enough to get my attention at least, while follow-up Aurora works a groovy space-synth vibe with a strong synth-n-piano melody. The guitar action in Countach comes off too try-hard for my taste though.

Some decent synthwave tunes follow in Moon and Proveland (ooh, acid!), then Dominion introduces something I haven't heard much from this genre: the d'n'b 2-step break! I'm... actually surprised this rhythm is so rare – you'd think 'outrun' dudes would be all up in that hi-octane pace.

If that didn't throw me for a loop though, then Legacy Of Skye sure as Hell did, an honest-to-God prog-house track in synthwave's clothing. It's got the chuggy rhythm with building minor melodies, mid-song breakdown introducing an uplifting hook, then goes on an extended melodic tangent before bringing everything back for a proper finish. It's also nearly ten-minutes long, which is the correct length for a good prog-house tune of any era. Right, it's not a genre-defining example of prog-house, but to have a well-crafted slice of the stuff on an album like this, who'd have guessed? Makes the final run of standard synthwave cuts all the more fun.

Lorenzo Montanà - Nihil

...txt: 2015

Now this is just ridiculous. Twice this has happened now? In the same backlog, no less?? Right, I won't deny I slightly gamed the results in this occurrence. I only realized I had a pair of albums titled Genesis after noticing them both slotted together, a funny coincidence things turned out as such and nothing more. When I decided it was time to start a KMFDM collection, however, my cursory research in where to dive led me to Nihil as an option, a title that struck me as curiously familiar. Oh yeah, that's because I'd recently sprung for a Lorenzo Montanà album called Nihil. What are the odds of that going down? If this blog focused on death metal and bleak drone, pretty good odds I'd say. Mr. Montanà don't play that way though, ambient techno with a modern sensibility his primary lane. For sure you could abstract some darker themes out of his various works on Fax+ and Psychonavigation Records, but that he'd go full “Latin nothing” never seemed an option where Lorenzo was concerned. That's dark ambient's domain, yo'.

Just as well, then, that Nihil is about as close to the realms of dark ambient as I've ever heard Lorenzo go. We're not talking Cryo Chamber levels, of course, but there is much emptiness in the music crafted here, about as pure an ambient album I've heard from Mr. Montanà, though he apparently went this route a year prior on Carpe Sonom Records too. Nihil comes care of ...txt though, released shortly before Lorenzo completed his time trilogy of albums with Psychonavigation Records, making him among an elite few producers to have music on four of the most prominent Namlook-inspired labels of recent history. Only one missing is Databloem.

As a debut piece for ...txt, Nihil is a rather unassuming collection of compositions: five tracks long, some breaching fifteen minutes, others barely scraping by in nine. Having primarily digested Lorenzo's IDM-leaning sounds, I have to say I was taken aback by the near-complete lack of rhythms throughout the album. Opener AfA has its first four minutes doing the space-drone thing, before long joined by a lonesome woodwind, with subtle synth leads finally giving the piece some momentum. Sprinkles of soft percussion is heard in the distance, but that's as far as rhythms go here. Elsewhere, tracks like Lake Of Vagli and Goqui opt for pure ambient drone, the former rather foreboding and menacing, the latter more tranquil and relaxing – a little Berlin-School melody in the latter-half of Goqui don't hurt either.

Then there's Arabesque Mist, with meandering, slightly askew ambience that has me thinking SAW II Aphex Twin, but with additional acoustic guitar strumming. And Geometric Quantum, finally offering a little rhythmic backbone for its burbling, dubby synth leads to cruise over. It then switches pace midway, going Berlin-School for the remainder. Or '90s Fax+, whichever you feel is the more Proper-Vintage take on this sort of sequenced, modulating, bleepy space-chill music.