Mindsphere - Mental Triplex: Presence - Mindream - Beyond

Suntrip Records: 2016/2017/2020

Instead of releasing three separate albums over a span of four years, Ali Akgün settled for nothing less than a trilogy magnum opus. Which means, for the sake of brevity, I can knock off three more Suntrip CDs for the price of one review! Eh, you say I'm not doing his artistic vision justice in giving Every. Single. Album its fair shake? Now, now, I know you don't really believe that. It's Suntrip we're dealing with here, a label we're well versed with the ins and outs by now. When I say, “Mental Triplex offers more neo-goa trance music as you'd expect from Suntrip”, that about sums it up, doesn't it. All that's left are some particulars and call it a day.

Actually, that's only true for two of these, which is a relief. Yeah, there's differences between Presence and Beyond, but only if you're versed enough in psy trance's micro genre aesthetics to notice them. The third album out of three though, Mindream, does something I've never heard any Suntrip session do: it's an honest-to-Ra chill-out album! Holy cow, I've heard, maybe, three proper downtempo tunes out of the label's entire catalogue thus far. What sort of favours did Ali have to pull to get the green light on that? Oh, that whole 'I'm making a concept trilogy, one part of which requires some slow time' idea. Not to say there potentially aren't other chill-out CDs in Suntrip's discography, but having gone through more than half of it now, odds are growing ever more slight on that.

What's actually weird about this, is that Mindream is the middle album out of this trilogy. Usually a downtempo disc would be the last, representing the comedown of a heavy night out. It makes sense as a follow-up to Presence, your standard end-to-end round of retro goa from Suntrip. Mindsphere's style is fairly simple, sometimes leaning into regular ol' trance, and never needlessly complicated or overstuffed with excessive wibble. I could see his tunes sharing compilation duty on an old school CD with the likes of Psygone and Bypass Unit.

So Ali follows that with a chill-out album, but instead of going with psy-chill or psy dub as most of his contemporaries would, he goes retro here as well. Like, way retro. I'm talkin' Jarre retro! Not really Berlin School or New Age retro, mind you, most of the tunes on Mindream still featuring squiggly synths or burbly acid straight out of the Megadog era. There's just as much prominence of sweeping modern classical synths and simple pulsing sequencers though, blurring the line of where Klause Schulz and downbeat Astralasia meet.

So where does that leave CD3 of the Mental Triplex trilogy? Out on a limb, if I'm honest, Beyond basically carrying on where Presence left off. It's still retro goa, just more on the trippier, psy side of the genre. Again, perfectly fine stuff, but even less to talk about within the context of the whole package.

Paleowolf - Megafauna Rituals

self-release: 2017

When I first – and last – covered Paleowolf, this was his most recent item, one that stuck with me for years. “If I ever return to this project,” thought I, “this is the album I'll get first!” And sure, it took me many years to actually get around to it, but by g'ar, I was true to my word. He's since released many more albums, including a pseudo-sequel called Cenozoic (all the tracks titles are also megafauna of the paleolithic era), but that's barely scratching the surface of what Scorpio V has done since.

Yeah, there's still Metatron Omega, the dark ambient project that first got him noticed by Cryo Chamber. Seems from that and Paleowolf, he found inspiration from all manner of Indo-Asia-European ritualistic cultures. You got Monasterium Imperi, Shogun's Castle, Gaetir The Mountainkeeper, Grailknight, Forest Of Yore (more of a Celtic ambient thing), and Orkforge. Yes, Orkforge, as in World Of Warcraft beasties! Gotta' get that dungeon synth side-project some sort of wicked-cool handle, right?

Anyhow, Megafauna Rituals. We'll never know with certainty what relationship pre-history humanity had with the largest animals of their era had, but we've made many educated guesses. Paleowolf seems intent on exploring the parts of our psyche that not only saw these massive beasts as potential sources of resources, but on equal footing within the food chain, both the hunters and the hunted, depending on how pissed off you'd make them. Perhaps even drawing upon their instinctive prowess in getting psyched for some pagan dance. A time when there were no need for heavenly gods, for they already walked among you as the lords of your terrain.

Which is why opening with a track like Aurochs seems a little weird to me. If you don't know, the aurochs were essentially the prehistoric ancestor to the modern domesticated bovine. Certainly an important animal in the legacy of civilization, but not one that I'd imagine inspires fear or reverence in prehistoric man. Then again, they were often depicted in cave drawings, so what do I know? Guess when I think megafauna, I'm thinking cave bears and dire wolves and sabertooth cats and megalacerosesesesss. Them auroch bulls were big, but not mammoth big, y'know?

Aside from Totem, which mostly utilizes chants, Megafauna Rituals is broken between two types of tracks: deep meditative pieces, and 'getting hype for the hunt' drumming ones. Unsurprisingly, the pieces with predator titles (Sabertooth, Direwolf) prominently feature the latter, while the ones with herbivore animals (Aurochs, Megalaceros, Mammoth) the former. Surprisingly, Cavebear seems to straddle the two, but I guess how you'd deal with one of them depends on how ornery they are that given day. And yes, there are sounds of the animals within these tracks too, though typically brief, subdued and distant. Like, you're out here celebrating their existence, but you sure don't want them getting near your camp fire either.

As for the rest of Paleowolf, hopefully it won't be another Ice Age before I return to him.

Mondo Grosso - 何度でも新しく生まれる

Cutting Edge: 2017

(a Patreon Request)

All these requests for Shinichi Osawa projects have remained chronologically consistent, each following the next as they came out. Now we're a dozen years later, as though the prior decade never was. I get it though, the time between Next Wave and 何度でも新しく生まれる possibly some of his most publicized work.

The One released under his own name penetrated Western markets, not to mention high profile remix jobs for the likes of The Chemical Brothers, Felix Da Housecat, and Duck Sauce (don't deny it, the Armand van Helden novelty side-project was huge at the time). Meanwhile, back in his home country, ol' Osawa-san was having a remarkable run with a bevy of j-pop singers. I'm talkin' Namie Amuro, Nami Tamaki, and Ai Otsuka! Okay, I don't know if these ladies are the tippest of the top, my knowledge of idol singers utterly bunk, but if Wiki says they're popular, I believe it. Oh, and Shinichi even got involved with one of those Korean multi-person troupes too (After School), because of course he would.

Point being, he was plenty busy following his last Mondo Grosso album, and didn't seem likely returning to his first project anytime soon. Still, that urge to get back to making music with a 'classier' edge, house on a deeper level, jazz on a soulful vibe... None of that maximal electro-pop that was making him bank, in other words. I guess after spending so much time immersed within mainstream decadence, getting back to a sound with some intimate emotion was growing ever more urgent. Must be why he titled the Mondo Grosso comeback Reborn Again And Always Starting New. And yes, I promise to refer to this album as such for the remainder.

Actually, I'm rather shocked at just how Japanese this album is. Oh, the music is mostly 'western', in so much as any house or soul music in the Land Of The Rising Sun can be. Yet all the featured singers stick to the native tongue, all the guest musicians are local, and the whole presentation feels specifically catered to folks living on the island. Absolutely no hope or pretense of having Reborn... make any impact on foreign markets, a far cry from the early days of Mondo Grosso getting rinsed by American house DJs. Yet if this was a tactful marketing ploy, the trick worked, the record earning Shinichi his highest Japanese chart action ever. Okay, not as high as his singles with pop idols, but you get what I mean.

So ...Always Starting New is certainly a classy album, but I can't help feel almost too much. Despite offering house ranging from deep-tech to opulent disco, with vibrant R&B between, it doesn't leap out much either. The wild swings of genre dabbling heard in those other Mondo Grosso records has been jettisoned for music that's safe and comforting. Which is fine if that's the aim, and I'm sure Shinichi's at an age where exploring such eclecticism isn't as interesting. Just loses some of the unexpected thrill the process, y'know?

Martin Nonstatic - Ligand

Ultimae Records: 2017

The album that broke my 'buy everything Ultimae puts out' streak, for what that's worth. Which isn't much, sadly, but I won't beat around the bush on that factoid. Once I started consistently buying the label's CDs (sometime in the early '10s), I seldom missed a release once it dropped – if not right away, shortly after when I'd have the funds available (or the old Ultimae store would have a sale). Even as my interest in the label wavered, I was still pretty faithful to their output. Right up to Martin Nonstatic's Ligand, which I 'noped' out of without a second's thought.

Obviously I came around to getting it, otherwise I wouldn't be delaying a proper review of it within these paragraphs. Truthfully, I was itching to indulge in another Bandcamp bulk deal, and needed something to round the package out. Besides, maybe my earlier assessments of Mr. van Rossum's work had been too harsh, and he needed a second chance to win me over. Or would this be the third? Fourth? Well, whatever number, there had to be something I was missing to his work. After all, he wouldn't have become such a permanent fixture of Ultimae's recent catalogue if there wasn't. Right?

I guess, but if there's anything in his discography that'll give me that “ah-HAH!” moment, it ain't on Ligand. For sure there's fleeting moments, where I'll hear the kernel of a musical motif begging to get released, but Martin's fascination with glitchy sounds and overbearing reverb effects often snuffs them out before they can pick up steam. And I get it, really I do. It's so easy to get lost in the minutiae of what this particular plug-in can do, or how much delay you can layer on that sound, and absolutely there's an audience for that sort of thing. As for myself though, I kinda' prefer it when a lengthy track actually flows from beginning to end, not constantly be distracted by the technical wibble of modern production tricks.

There's still some things I can take away from this album though. As always, the Ultimae Mixdown™ remains top-notch – I may not be keen on all the glitchy interruptions, but I sure can still visualize them with a good pair of headphones. The backing pad work is generally nice, if at times vacuous. And those few times when something resembling a hook or melody does peak out, not just harmonic tonal dithering, it sounds nice enough. The end of Outermost Structure, for instance, or the subtle arps in Harmonic Mundi, and even the dubby acoustic strumming in Kepler's Laws.

Yeah, if some of these titles weren't a hint, Ligand is a very egg-headed sort of album (Parabolic View, Dendrictic Ice, Methodical Random, etc.). Which, given the sluggish, considered pace of all these glitchy effects explorations, makes thematic sense. Just gotta' be of a particular mindset to get much out of it. Say, one that consumes copious amounts of Autechre.

Astral Projection - Let There Be Light

Suntrip Records: 2017

A rather obvious release in some respects. Whether as praise or damning with faint praise, one of Suntrip's longest-serving narratives is how much of their output pays homage to goa trance pioneers like Astral Projection, sometimes to a fault. So many reviews of their discography – including yours truly – will have some blurb along the lines of “...sounds like A.P.” And while kudos to the label should be given for always looking to promote newer talent, I'm sure the folks at Suntrip had to be itchin' for the chance of luring the real deal into the fold some way.

Trouble was, Misters Nissim and Perlmutter had essentially retired from the studio after their 2002 album Amen. Sure, they could be counted upon for the odd remix job or collaboration, and they remained plenty active on the touring trails. For the most part though, they seemed content in letting their legacy remain as was, uninterested in changing their style to fit in with the then-current trends of full-on and prog psy. Even for a label catering to a sound they'd made their breaded butter with, convincing them for a proper comeback wouldn't be easy. A tit-for-tat remix EP though? Sure, that's doable.

It's funny that Let There Be Light was chosen as the single's title, as only Filteria provides a remix of the old compilation tune. It's certainly a track that's about as vintage Astral Projection as can be, even finding a place on that burned CD of A.P. tunes I made ages ago. So a fine one for Mr. Tzikas to remix as anything from their discography, and since not as well known as some of their others, deserving of a little modern shine. As for what's different, there's more squiggly sounds, and given the sort of beefening of production you'd expect of a contemporary remix. Beyond that, it hits most of the same musical notes as the original. As for the return-rub, Astral Projection take on the track that opened Filteria's Daze Of Our Lives album, Filtertraces. Here they've sped it up, given it that goa trance kick, smoothed out the overall production, and there you have it. It certainly sounds like vintage A.P., I'll give it that.

Two tracks down, but still two more to go on this Let There Be Light EP, neither of which are rubs of the original either. Instead, Morphic Resonance gets to have a go at another oldie in Enlightened Evolution, one of the duo's more bangin' tracks and definitely not nearly as obscure as Let There Be Light. Seems a shame Morphic didn't have a stab at Light, but Evolution does suit his tougher brand of psy better, and I'm sure he was plumb about having the chance to join this particular party anyway. The final track sees Astral Projection giving the lead titular single from Another World a spiffy upgrade. Cool, I guess, but would be cooler if it was something less known. We Are Controlling Transmission, mayhaps?

Various - Inti

Suntrip Records: 2012

And this is the last of the Suntrip CDs among my 'I' albums. Final tally: six, which may not be that much, less than ten percent of the whole she-bang I bulk bought from the label. Sure felt like a lot though, perhaps due to having a dangling 'H' album lodged in there, or so many bunched up towards the end of this month. We're also dealing with a compilation here, which is nice, those usually offering a little more variety than your standard artist albums. Yeah, there's typically a central theme, but different muses, different gear, different approaches, and all that fun stuff. And, if you're the sort that likes coincidental symmetry and such as, Inti came out just before K.O.B.'s Identity Mash, which, if you remember, was the first 'I' album I covered from Suntrip. Ah, the neocortex abides.

Aside from that, there isn't anything especially significant about Inti beyond what it is – that being the yearly Suntrip compilation. I suppose there's some talking point about this coming out in 2017, a strangely lean year for the label (the aforementioned Identity Mash, a single from Astral Projection, and a concluding trilogy from Mindsphere all they put out). Guess it's a good thing they loaded this compilation up with all of their then-current hottest acts!

Actually, I don't know how accurate that statement is. I know for certain that the usual artists most folks considered Suntrip's core of its old guard (Filteria, E-Mantra, Ra, Khetzal) aren't present. Still, that Crossing Mind fella', he'd been a steady compilation contributor for much of the '10s, plus two albums out by this point. Okay, he counts, even if this was one of his final appearances with Suntrip (and ever).

Having spent more time with this label now, names like Morphic Resonance, Triquetra and Celestial Intelligence are definitely familiar to me, and even supply some of my favorite cuts off here. Morphic's Varese Dream affirms my enjoyment of his high energy brand of psy, Celestial's Distorted Visions gives me a glimpse of their sound being less soggy, Triquetra get two tracks, both still on that strictly reverential goa vibe, and Crossing Mind's Entropy... hey, chill breaks! Well, for a little bit at least.

The familiar out of the way, let's check out the un version of that, starting with Ovnimoon. Okay, he's far from unknown, but I've sparingly come across him over the years. He does a goa too. Jagoa's Perverse Polymorph goes way darker though, really touching on that period when psy started leaning way more sinister. And at the way opposite spectrum is Sykespico's Glimmers Of Sunrise, coming off like a long-lost cut off Paul van Dyk's Seven Ways. Hey, that's, like, my favoritist PvD album! Guess I approve of this track too, even if its at total odds with the rest of the compilation. Oh, it's the final track? Well, alright, its a suitable 'in search of sunrise' closer for a compilation titled after the sun.

K.O.B. - Identity Mash

Suntrip Records: 2017

For as instrumental as Filteria was in establishing Suntrip's early success, I sure haven't had much opportunity to talk about him thus far. I'm halfway through this exhaustive catalogue dive of the goa label and- Eh? You say I'm still not? Let me check that! *checks that* Sonofa... Okay, I'm almost halfway done, and barely scratched the surface of Jannis Tzitkas' output, the Filteria album Daze Of Our Lives the lone record of his I've talked up. And it looks as though I'm still putting off material from his primary alias, as the item currently slotted here is from his alternate alias, Kind Of Behaviour, aka: K.O.B.

It isn't a terribly robust alias, mostly appearing here and there on compilations where Jannis wanted to stretch a little further into the realms of proper psy, not just goa-leaning psy (or neo-goa psy-goa goa). It'd been a few years since the last Filteria album, and Suntrip seemed to be on something of a downswing in ye' olde year of 2017, so maybe the time was right to explore this other aspect of Mr. Tzitkas' muse, while the chance was there.

And what is the K.O.B. stylee? Ah, I just said, more psychedelic trance than his other stuff. Which means less emphasis on obvious melodies, more emphasis on wild sounds, and more gradual builds to whatever climax each track has going for it. So, a bunch of random wibble, then.

I kid, but its undeniable Identity Mash may take a bit more effort to get into than Jannis' usual fare. Which is fine if you're down for that – its a vibe that works at certain times, particularly later in the night, preferably surrounded by a forest. I'm sure there was only so far Filteria could go treading into headier, trippier waters before it started sounding like something completely different. Mind, it's not a huge departure in sound. The acid may sound a little squawkier, the sci-fi noises may have more prominence over synth leads, and the basslines may have a little more grit in them, but it's still mostly the same songcraft as heard in other Filteria productions. Rhythms continue being the driving force for these tracks, as they should be, clearly peak-time tunes for when the psychedelic substances start doing their fun little tricks on your brain matter.

Still, the old 'Suntrip Critique' does pop up, Identity Mash being yet another record that doesn't vary much throughout its playtime. At least, that was gonna' be my final assessment until Cousin It (2017 Mix) crops up near the end. Oh man, this is the sort of twisted, deep psy I would have liked to hear more from Jannis' supposed 'darker' alias. Just an unnerving sinewy pad, escalating rhythms, and subtly building acid. Very much at odds with Suntrip's typical neo-goa, at least until the label started dabbling more in dark trance after the turn of the decade. Shame there wasn't more like it on this album.

Natural Life Essence - Emerged Garden

Liquid Frog Records: 2017

And back again with Mr. Giacovino. It can't help but feel a little start-stop with my current queue, doesn't it. I'll go on a mini-run of covering something outside the usual releases from N:L:E or Suntrip Records, maybe even a box-set or entirely different discography for a spell, then we're right back with the Big Two within this alphabetical run. And no matter how many additional CDs or Bandcamp releases I've added since to spice things up, here we are again, always. I guess it technically has been over a month since I last talked up anything from the Liquid Frog files, but that's more due to needing a small sabbatical a couple weeks back because... well, I'll touch upon that at a more appropriate time.

I know this makes it sound like I've grown bored by all the ambient dub or goa trance, but only from a writing perspective. Coming into each release with a unique angle is what makes this blog stand out from all the generic, A.I. driven music coverage currently flooding the interwebs (I hope!), and that gets challenging when one feels every possible angle has been covered in previous reviews. Yeah, there's the dry particulars for each item, but damn if I'm gonna' let the algorithms trawl my prose for their use without a fight. At the very least, I hope I give Gemini an alliterative aneurysm the same way Captain Kirk kills computers with logic circles.

Anyhow, let's talk up Natural Life Essence again. Emerged Garden, erm, emerged early in Juan Pablo's music career, about the point things really started ramping up for him. Not quite at the point where he adopted an acronym for the project's name, but early enough such that he was still in a feeling-out process of what the music could entail.

This is quite apparent in the opening twenty-one minute long track Echolocation, which plays about with a lot of field recordings and sample manipulations that's more reminiscent of early Orb dub jams at their noodliest. Yes, even some of the 'stoner humour', what with included bong bubbling and gurgling noises, though no quirky dialog added. The rhythm is about what I've come to expect out of N:L:E's forays into ambient dub, but again, early days, still finding that rhythm.

I honestly find the two pure ambient pieces on this four-tracker the most interesting of the lot. They send me to such a tranquil headspace, it's hard disliking them on a vibes level. Polinization also runs some twenty-plus minutes, but captures being out in a blissy garden full of sun rays and gentle winds so wonderfully, it comes quite the shocker when the pads simply cut out midway through. Like waking up from a near-complete doze, maybe from some unwelcome insect landing on your forehead. Ah well, it's gone now, back to swaying in a hammock. And now you're getting into some lucid dreamspace in closer Liberation (Flying Free). Napping never felt so needed.

Dance With The Dead - B-Sides: Volume 1

self-release: 2017

Yep, I've still got Dance With The Dead material too. Man, have I ever been burning through a lot of those bulk-buy bundles this past month. Something about the letter 'B' artists just love utilizing in titles. And you'd think, having reached the B-Sides of Justin and Tony's band, I've finally come to the end of their discography. Like, how can there be anything more after the also-ran tracks from their back catalogue? If I was reviewing their stuff in sensible order, that would be true, but no, there's still One (1) more album I've yet to cover. Talk about timely.

Incidentally, having snagged all their stuff off Bandcamp, you'd think getting a b-sides collection would be redundant. After all, aren't such songs the extra cuts you'd find on the backside of singles or bonus tracks off albums? Traditionally, yes, but we're in a brave new world of digital now, where obscure cuts are easily available with an artist's entire library. Instead, b-side collections serve the purpose of rounding up wayward releases that have appeared on label compilations or guest features on other artists' albums. So more like rarities and such, but B-Sides: Volume 1 has a nice ring to it nonetheless.

That said, I'm wondering if this compilation of songs should mostly be called 'rare and unreleased', as by Lord Discogs' count, barely a quarter of them have appeared elsewhere. And the ones that have, hoo boy, are they ever Dance With The Dead at their absolute best. Pumping Outrun rhythms, bright synth riffs in overdrive, and Tony's impossibly epic shredding in spades. I mean, if you're gonna' get a feature on any ol' synthwave CD, you generally want to send your best shit for all to hear, get them intrigued to hear more. Hell, it worked on me, though it was that remix they did for GosT's Reign In Hell that got my curiosity piqued. Hey, why isn't that on here? Or any of their remixes, for that matter? Huh, guess they gotta' save some stuff for Volume 2.

So this volume may or may not have many unreleased songs, since I've no way of confirming so few of them actually appeared on other compilations. Oh alright, I could dive deep into the ditches of the synthwave compilation scene, but dear God, do you have any idea how stupidly vast that is, with so few folks having actually gotten any? I'm not surprised Lord Discogs has many supposed gaps in this info.

What I can tell is B-Sides: Volume 1 does seem to be in chronological order, the band's earlier emphasis on the metal side of things quite prevalent in the first run of tracks. There's a couple slower songs too (Stoic, Blood Moon, Surrender, They Only Come Out At Night), which confirms to me many of these are just unreleased tunes that didn't make an album cut. Which does make the lengthy fifteen tracks of this kinda' ironic, what with most DWtD LPs quite svelte and tightly sequenced.

Natural Life Essence - Wave Bio Generator

CYAN: 2017

Hm, been a bit longer than I anticipated coming back to Natural Life Essence in one form or another. Maybe going through his entire Bandcamp discography won't be as repetitive as I initially thought. *glances tenatively at the rest of 'W'*.

When Juan Pablo was starting out nearly a decade ago, the bulk of his releases were through CYAN, a free netlabel out of Germany primarily run by Jaja and Marco Köller, which they released their own material through. It was successful enough to lure in a myriad of other artists though, including Natural Life Essence with the album Hidrogenesis. This particular album, Wave Bio Collector, captures about the middle of that run. Which probably also explains why Juan was still using his original alias, not adopting N:L:E until he went fully independent. Hopefully these introductory paragraphs for future Natural Life Essence reviews won't be as boring as this one.

So the music. Looking at track titles, I thought I was in for something super-heavy on the field recordings side. Frogs And Toads (Hipnotic Swamp Choir); Geckos Tangled Trip (On A Confused Turtle); Spiders Trip... While there are samples of forest and swampy critters scattered about, it isn't the album's primary focus. Heck, that 'Swamp Choir' features more chattering birds than croaking reptiles within its peaceful ambient drone. Follow-up Snails Caravan (Snails Down The Mountain Dragonfly's Point Of View) mostly carries on the tranquil ambience with some added buzzing dub treatments, a simple rhythm of tribal drums and... a regular drum kit in a hall? Well, whatever, they gradually emerge with some added melodic bits, then abruptly ends on a hard fade-out. I only point this out as being odd because no other track just... ends like that, most quite content with a gentler fade. Makes me wonder if this was some weird production or upload flub.

Anyhow, the rest of the album mostly carries on in a typical world beat slash ambient dub sort of way. Mosquitos Trip On Train (Green Train Mix) has a fun little groove about it, and includes the requisite last train to the deep forest samples. The aforementioned Geckos Tangled Trip gets even groovier into the reggae dub bounce, while Slugs Caravan (Caravan Is Approaching) opts for more of a meditative vibe. Spiders Trip, meanwhile, does the multi-part thing, the first sticking to pulsing Berlin-School ambience, the second bringing in funkier ambient techno rhythms. Think I rather prefer the beatless version. Finally, Climbing Leaf (Hipnotic Petalum) features more synth pads, tranquil samples, and gentle, echoing rhythms. Really selling the feeling of a wide-open nature, 'tis.

So the base elements are all solid enough, but if I must quibble (and I must, since the title of this blog implies I will), the rhythms do come across rather flat and plastic at times. Like, this album could have used another pass on the mixdown. It's far from a deal-breaker, but if you demand immaculate production, you may not get as much out of Wave Bio Collector .

Faex Optim - Look Around You

Carpe Sonum Novum: 2017

Not gonna' beat around the bush here: Faex Optim is influenced by Boards Of Canada. Like, very influenced, to such a point that you could convince a layperson they're the same act. They're not though, Faex Optim the works of one Wesley MacDonald, who, despite also residing in Scotland, is not part of the Hexagon Sun commune. Or maybe he is, but on their super-secret members list, one that even Wiki or Lord Discogs isn't aware of. To sum things up within this first paragraph, if you like Boards Of Canada, you should like Look Around You. Heck, I'll reach for it sooner than I will official BoC media like Geogaddi or Twoism.

And some Boardsy uber-fans may be snarking, “Why should I settle for someone who just sounds like Boards Of Canada, when I could listen to the real deal?” Um, maybe because 'the real deal' aren't really making music anymore? One (1) album in the past seventeen years isn't exactly a robust modern catalogue. No wonder some out there would start making their own hauntology Boards music, dissecting and distilling the duo's attributes to such a point you couldn't tell the difference in a blind test. I'd totally believe there's a robust 'BoC-tology' scene out on the internet by now, sharing music on forums like twoism, with splintering among its participants between soft-synth emulators and purist analogue performers, using only the vintage gear Michael and Marcus utilized.

Clearly Faex Optim is someone who's been deemed worthy of carrying on the Boards brand of music. I've seen no blowback for him being so faithful to their sound, no irate claims of style-biting, riding coattails, or ripping off. Carpe Sonum Records had enough faith in him to release a debut album called Tris·kai·dek·a·pho·bi·a (heh, numerology ...of course), and continue to do so, another out just a couple years ago now (Look Around You was released between the two). Given that the label had an unfortunate incident with another 'heavily-influenced by BoC' producer early on, it's nice to see they didn't lose the faith with this micro-scene.

I feel like I'm doing Mr. MacDonald a disservice by going on about the idea of Boards-influenced music rather than talking specifically about his Boards-influenced music. Really though, is there much else for me to say? I could tell you Irn Bru features lazy trip-hop rhythms, warped backing synths as though played through decades-old over-dubbed tapes, and a charming lead as performed on a half-working kid's organ. Then you'd go, “well that just sounds like a Boards Of Canada tune you're describing”, and I'll be all like “I know, right!?”

The only way the comparison could not be ninety percent on the nose is if I was talking to someone who'd never heard of a Boards Of Canada tune in their life. I know they're out there, folks who's first exposure to this sound will be Faex Optim rather than BoC. Can't see them reading this blog though.

Lucette Bourdin - Glimpses, Vol. 1

Dark Duck Records/Fantasy Enhancing: 2017/2021

A couple Lucette albums were released after her passing, but so shortly after, they were likely already in her vaults (such as they were), just needing a little extra attention. This one though, came much later, half a decade later in fact. Was there some yet undiscovered trove of music from Ms. Bourdin out there, that took so long to be unearthed? Mm, not really, no, at least no more so than any of her works remained relatively obscure. Rather, this is a 'remix' album of Rising Fog, handled by Dark Duck Records regular (head honcho?) Stephen Philips. Fair enough, but seems a little odd to include it within a box-set of Lucette Bourdin's works. Was it included just to hit that magical twenty CDs cap? Guess it makes more sense than if they were to include the 2014 retrospective CD, Retrospective, in this Retrospective Box Set (2005-2017).

Still, if you didn't have your handy-dandy Discogs cheat sheet on hand (or are a hardcore Lucette Bourdin fan), you wouldn't know Glimpses, Vol. 1 was a remix album, at least not as presented here. Nothing on the CD's slip case mentions as such, no additional credit attributed to Mr. Philips, just the same track list as the Rising Fog CD. And yeah, if you listened to the whole box-set in one fell, chronological swoop, you may have noticed some similarities between the two, such that you'd make the assumed link without realizing the track lists were identical. Also, that'd be mighty impressive, making such a connection between CD6 and CD20, with that much droning ambient music in between!

Come to think of it, how does one remix droning ambient anyhow? No, I'm not talking about turning it into a trance track or a tech-house track or a darkcore nu-glitch complextrostep track. I mean, remixing ambient into ambient. Like, I know it's doable, otherwise I wouldn't have Glimpses, Vol. 1 in my hands, but it still strikes me as a dubious proposition. I've heard 'alternates' and 'versions' of ambient pieces, though usually composed by the same artist on their own work. Unless the internet has somehow pulled an unnecessarily strange hoax, I'm pretty certain Lucette Bourdin and Stephen Philips are different individuals.

It also means I had to interrupt my planned 'go into every CD in this box-set cold' for a basis of comparison between this and Rising Fog. Okay, that's not such a big deal. I'm honestly just kinda' dawdling at this point because there isn't much I have to say about Glimpses, Vol. 1. These tracks definitely are different compared to the originals, in that they feel more stretched, layered, and drone-tone as ambient music. The Rising Fog pieces were already rather mellow to begin with, but had some progression of melody among them. Stephen mostly strips that out, melody losing itself in dense layers of reverb and timbre. As ambient goes, it's all quite nice and relaxing, if a bit formless. The concept interests me more than the execution.

Wanderwelle - Lost In A Sea Of Trees

Silent Season: 2017

Another significant item from Silent Season's 'let's shake shit up' period. Not only was Wanderwelle's debut among the first forays into LP vinyl releases, but the first to try original artwork too. Okay, I've already said that on the Gathering Of the Ancient Spirits album, but that was a whole two years ago, which in 202x time, may as well be half a decade. Still, I bring it up again because all things considered, Lost In A Sea Of Trees was a major item when it came for the label. Maybe not Pacifica significant, but certainly up there.

Which leaves me feeling just a tad disappointed by it, if I'm honest. I still vibe on it, but Gathering Of The Ancient Spirits was my introduction to Wanderwelle, and I like that one more than this. With more attention paid to soft, mythical tribal percussion, the duo's sophomore effort had a remarkable affect upon my headspace, transporting me to a place and time upon Polynesian islands that never really existed. Lost In A Sea Of Trees attempts this too, focusing on the darkened woods of old Europa, but the music adheres to minimalist dub techno aesthetics just a little too rigidly for me to get those same feels.

Saying that this album 'feels off' isn't really a detriment either, Misters Bartels and van Dulm specifically crafting the music to create a sense of unease. Indeed, ancient forests of their homeland often imparted such unnerving imaginative tales, which seems at odds with Silent Season's usual manifesto. Yeah, we have our own dense, untamed foliage in the Pacific Northwest, but little of the fearful folklore associated with it. Our forests are not cavernous domains filled with the vile and abhorrent, but a primal, purer place, where concepts of civilization are simply subsumed by towering pines, flowing ferns, and thick mosses. You are not consumed by it, but merely merge with the nature surrounding you, becoming part of it. At least, that's how the hippie, mystical sorts in the region tell it (not to mention those who've lived here thousands of years prior).

Guess you gotta' be here to truly experience it. Point being, when I get 'lost in a sea of trees' out in the hinterlands of British Columbia, it doesn't come with feelings of apprehension, but wonderment. And Silent Season's many releases expertly capture that feeling.

Anyhow, opener The Starry Night does a good job setting the mood, a gentle pad lead riding on subtle sounds and soft rhythms. Things go more mysterious on Where The Wind Howls and Through The Meadow, while we get into more ominous dub techno territory with Lured By An Unsen Presence. We actually stay in this vein for much of the remaining album, only lifted out of the darkened woods with closer The Domovoi. In all, a neat sonic jaunt through foreboding terrain, but for me personally, not as captivating as I was hoping for. I've taken far too many forested trips, I guess.

Mohlao - Landforms

Silent Season: 2017

This album feels like Silent Season going back to its earliest dub techno roots. No, earlier than Pacifica. No, earlier than the first Wandering Compilation. I'm talking those initial digital singles, before they added Pacific northwest artwork, giving the label its distinct style. Back when dub techno was more a hot trend than a way of life, erm, a brand to build a label out of. And while Silent Season wouldn't outright abandon the sound, more elements of ambient and melody would continue creeping in, such that the more clinical mid-'00s style became a mere afterthought.

In the back-burner the genre was kept though, such that when Silent Season started feeling that vinyl itch, it made sense to release techno tools of this sort in the format. There was even a ten year anniversary roll-out of numerous vinyl, letting folks know they were serious about providing fresh material for the black crack fiends who'd been clamouring for the format. Naturally, I skipped out on all these because I don't buy vinyl, yet held out going digital just in case Silent Season opted for a CD option at some point down the road. That still hasn't happened, and I guess I'm just deluding myself into thinking it ever well happen – this label isn't really known for its re-issues. Very well then, some digital buys of items I've missed, then.

And Landforms from Mohlao felt like a no-brainer for yours truly. Artwork reminiscent of Ultimae's forays into geological porn, dorky track titles like Rotar, Neptune, and Vector, a relative unknown I get to discover. The man behind Mohlao, Samuel van Dijk, has a few aliases under his belt, VC-118A leaning more Detroit, while Multicast Dynamics treads into abstract ambient drone. So behind these and Mohlao's dub, you have a nice trifecta of techno from mister van Dijk, none of that trendy business bosh.

We even get a taste of the experimental stuff with opener Rotar, where a bunch of drippy, minimal sounds slowly emerge over the course of two minutes. The arrival of a subdued rhythm just adds to the sparse arrangement, this track all about the noises that are barely there. Follow-ups Voltool One and Neptune do more to get things moving along, but even then these are dub techno tracks more as tools than music.

Some traces of backing melody do make their way into this album in tracks like Vector and Outline (ooh, big synths!). This mostly alternates between pure dub techno works, and while not bad, doesn't really do much to ignite this album beyond an exercise in functionalism. I cannot deny this left me a little wanting, Silent Season releases typically offering more than that. Like that titular closer, that's the sort of floating headspace dubby techno I wanted to hear more of.

I dunno. It just feels weird coming away from any release on Silent Season with such lukewarm feels. There's 'returning to the source' but maybe it's not best going all the way back.

Tosca - Going Going Going

!K7 Records: 2017

So everyone went crazy over having an official Kruder & Dorfmeister album released this past year, as if the two had never made another record since The K&D Sessions came out many a moon ago. Meanwhile, I'm sitting here all like, “You do know Tosca is a thing, right? Heck, their early albums were very much in the classic K&D vein.” “Yeah,” they'd say, “but what if the two hadn't split for so long, what would they have ended up sounding like as the years go on?” Again, Tosca, right there! We know exactly what it would sound like because Richard Dofmeister's been steadily making music since. Maybe there'd be some stylistic variation, but given how smoothly Rupert Huber slid into the role of frequent collaborator, I wouldn't warrant much. I dunno, it just boggles my mind that Richard's on-going music career continues to be overshadowed by what he did with Peter a quarter century ago.

Anyhow, Going Going Going is the most recent Tosca album, released four years ago as of this writing. It's quite the time-skip for yours truly, in that I'd mostly settled in with the duo's earlier output, Dehli9 that last album of theirs I'd gathered. Richard and Rupert had gone on many musical explorations since then, some hailed as good, some hailed as not so good. Maybe I'll check out some of those to verify (whoa, does Outta Here ever feel influenced by Random Access Memories), but I heard positive buzz over this here Triple-G album, talks of 'return to form' and all that malarkey. Enough of a reason to scope it out for yours truly, so let's have at 'er.

And the first thing I noticed about Going Going Going is just how brisk it is. Tosca were never shy in upping the tempo in their tunes, but a number of tracks on here are almost treading into house territory. There's certainly a lot more 'four-to-the-floor' rhythms offered than I'm used to hearing from the downtempo duo. Many of these tracks even build in such a way that would serve better in a live performance than sitting at home with tea and crumpets. Like Supersunday, a tune that starts nicely mellow with the sort of piano playing as found on the bonus disc of Dehli9. Soon it starts echoing upon itself, a steady beat emerges, supporting synths and sounds are gradually added, and gosh, do I ever feel the boogie-bounce by track's end. Weird that they have an overlong, dubby outro for such a groovy tune though.

Tracks like Export Import, Wo-Tan, Tommy, and Amber November play out in similar fashion, while tunes like Hausner, Friday, Loveboat keep things closer a trip-hop tempo, even if the beat stays steady. Disco, then? Or funk? Eh, I wouldn't go that far, though I could see some of these tunes working in a retro, nu-disco space-funk sort of set. There's plenty of musicianship going on such that Tosca wouldn't feel out of place with the classics.

Various - Fabriclive 93: Daphni

Fabric: 2017

*cover art brought to you by FabricLive's “beautiful carnivorous vegetation” period*

I did not expect this. An entry in Fabric's long-running series so close to its conclusion, already hitting the dirt-cheap discount bin? Why was the seller so anxious to be rid of it?

Well, this isn't a traditional DJ set. Daphni constructed something more like a live PA outing, mixing and looping house and techno rhythms into a continuous whole. Even then, calling Fabriclive 93 “continuous” is a misnomer, tracks often leading to a moment that abruptly switches into something different. Not in a 'mixtape' fashion either, the sonic palette too singular for that, which makes sense given these are all Daphni productions on display. It's why I'm getting my 'live PA' vibe, playing out in sections, drum loops coming and going without much mixing between them, plenty of points for beatless melodic indulgences.

It's all rather erratic. Any time things start shifting into higher gear, letting a dope retro-techno groove gain momentum, it's lost, only for something just as interesting to take its lead, rather than build from it. Things do get better as the CD plays out, but towards the end, I find my interest drifting, the promise of proper payoff so continuously snatched away. It's an interesting approach to a Fabric set, I must admit, but for those weaned on a traditional DJ rinse-out, this unorthodox approach can be a turn-off. I suppose we shouldn't have expected anything less from the one-time Manitoba.

Yes, yes, (or Ye Ye?), I know Daphni is Dan Snaith, most famous for his indie-darling project Caribou (he'll always be Manitoba to me!). Daphni was his outlet in getting back to the clubs, initially a side-project for material that didn't fit with Caribou, but eventually a primary alias for DJ tours. His debut album as Daphni was well-received, and I gave Ye Ye Ace Track status as it appeared on Get Lost 4. By 2017, Dan was dusting Daphni off again, and Fabric allowed him to spring-board back out onto the scene. Everything on here was fresh material when it came out, a solid third of the tracks featured in Fabriclive 93 getting expanded versions on the album Joli Mai later that year. Did some of them ever need it.

Why didn't' I just say all this from the start? One, everyone does the bio blurb at the start, so here's a different approach (seems appropriate). Two... ah, I actually forgot specifically who Daphni was at first, leading me to go into this set mostly blind. The name was familiar to me, but I resisted doing the research before the listening, as pure an experience as I could get – I didn't even look at the tracklist. When the odd set construction had me scratching my head, I relented and asked The Lord That Knows All what the deal was. Then, it all clicked, and I enjoyed Fabriclive 93 a little more, such as it was. Wanted to share that experience, yes?

Cosmic Replicant - Echo Light

Melusine Records: 2017

Y'know, I'd almost forgotten that Cosmic Replicant was a psy guy. Which seems silly considering how many of his albums have come out on Altar Records, a psy-chill label through and through. I suppose it's because my initial introduction to him was not strictly psy, Mission Infinity leaning closer to the realms of ambient techno and all things robotic. Then he started releasing dub techno EPs, and pure ambient long players, showing a far wider range of musical interests and influences than his first few psy albums would have suggested. So you'll forgive me for being a little stunned to hear a regular ol' psy-chill and prog psy outing such as Echo Light, thinking Pavel had moved on from this and all.

It does leave me wondering where this album actually fits within the greater Cosmic Replicant discography. Sure, Lord Discogs says it came out in 2017, but that was two years after his last outing with Altar Records, Pulsar Activity. That album was more a return to prog-psy after Mission Infinity, but considering he followed it with Landscapes Motion (the dub techno one on Pureuphoria Records), I can't help but figure Pavel was already exploring other sounds in the intervening years. Did he have these tunes on hold for some future date? Or was this a favour to the relatively young Melusine Records, a little extra suitable content for their catalogue? Speaking of, hoo-boy, but did E-Mantra ever find himself a home there.

Some of the tunes on Echo Light had appeared on other compilations, but for the most part, this is all original material. Nothing too fancy about it either, fairly standard as far as psy-chill and prog psy goes, but Cosmic Replicant always was among the stronger producers in this field, especially when stacked against his Altar Records brethren, making his lack of CDs downright criminal. Seriously, The Nature Of Life really deserved a hard-copy option.

I wouldn't go so far as to say this album is as good as that one though. As mentioned, Echo Light basically hits all the usual markers this genre offers. The chill opening cuts, the gradual build in tempo as the album plays out, including some tasty slow breaks coupled with a groovy basslines and spaced-out synths (so good in Drop Sens!). By the time the proper prog psy shows up mid-album, we're well warmed up for some steady beat action in Road To Home, with synths gradually building layer upon layer. It's honestly just 'Prog House Techniques 101', but if it ain't broke, etc.

Puls Of Life ups the tempo about as high as Cosmic Replicant ever goes (it's almost goa!), and an ambient piece finishes off Echo Light. Yeah, at only eight tracks, this album breezes by, with little in the way of surprises or genre dalliances. I wouldn't go so far as to say Echo Light is 'half-assed', Pavel still quite good at making psy-chill and prog-trance. Just don't go in expecting anything else of it.

Damon Wild - Cosmic Path

Infastructure New York: 2017

Damon Wild is the man behind Synewave, a very important label in the world of acid techno. While the Stay Up Forever posse were the main drivers of the sound in Europaland, Synewave kept the acid strong Stateside, all the while paying the usual homages to Detroit minimalism (as one must when making techno in America). The label had its niche, but because New York City wasn't really known as a techno-town, it never got quite the same exposure as the big prints out of the mid-west. So they kept chugging along, and Damon kept releasing records, on his own and as part of numerous collaborations, including with The Pump Panel. Yeah, that Pump Panel, though he didn't have a hand in their most famed remix. He was involved with their breakout single Ego Acid, so there's that.

Yet in all his years of releasing records, he seldom went the LP route. That makes some sense, the brand of techno he produces not really fit for the album experience. Still, sometimes a chap has more inspiration for a concept that just can't be sated with a 12” or two, so in the year 2017, nearly two decades after his first album Somewhere In Time, Damon Wild released his fourth LP, Cosmic Path. At this rate, he'll hit album ten by the mid-21st Century.

Naturally, I knew none of this going in. I only got this CD because I spotted it in the Ultimae Records shop, and thought it an interesting item based on cover art alone. Ah, the ol' impulse buy classic, never gets old. Thus I thought I might be in for some spaced-out goodness, and we do get that of a sort. I just wasn't expecting Cosmic Path to be so resolutely Detroit minimalist. Then again, Ultimae does host some Ostgut Ton records too, so I shouldn't be that surprised techno of this sort is there.

Still, I couldn't help but be surprised by how tracky this album is. It starts fine enough, opener 1242 all ominous drones and bleepy sounds, then Aquarius takes us off with a good thump of a rhythm, bassy pings and pongs echoing from deep space, and retro-futurism pads setting you off on cosmic bliss.

Following that we get a lo-o-ong stretch of that aforementioned Detroit minimalism. Looping techno beats, bleepy spacey sounds and not much else. It certainly sets a suitable mood, but feels like I'm listening to a run of warehouse tools. It isn't until track ten, Light that something resembling melody returns, thanks to more spacey backing pads. A couple tracks later, Space Race goes electro, and final cut Friday's Orbit slows things down some. Unfortunately, when so much of the preceding album is dedicated to faceless techno functionalism, such variety is too little, too late.

These aren't bad tracks, many of them reminding me of Planetary Assault System's recent offerings. They'd probably be better served as a continuous mix though, as most techno of this vein does.

36 - Black Soma

3six Recordings: 2017

Obviously this was an instant-purchase for yours truly. Mr. Huddleston taking his 36 project ever further into 'space music' territory after the Sine Dust sessions? Just inject the music straight into my occipital cortex! That wasn't enough for Dennis though. He had to go ahead and include the Sine Dust and Tomorrow's Explorers EPs in with Black Soma as a bonus second CD. My God! Those two are super-high in my “Records I'd Buy For A Record Collection I'll Never Have” list, and now I have them in a physical format anyway? Sure, it'd be nice if their original artwork was included with the inlay, but I'll still take 'em.

Before getting into those extras though, let's get into the album proper. As mentioned, Black Soma is something of a continuation of the space inspired EPs that sprung off from Void Dance and shut up, just take my money already. Or is this following on from themes set up by Lithea and Dream Tempest, what with the similar artwork? Seriously though, this is a bit of a different focus 36 has taken from before, most of his albums generally all about those mood setters and emotional gut-punches. While this one hardly lacks in those departments either, there's more of a sense of place and imagery going on here, ambient music less about the abstract atmosphere than it is painting a setting. Or at least, so long as you read the track titles. Who knows what wayward themes you could conjure without some guiding hint.

So while the titular opener mostly features choir pads among 36's usual string and pad tones, follow-up Black Sustain flows on that with, well, sustained pad drones, gradually building and escalating with opulent grandeur. Never one to hold back out from the gate, that Dennis. Black Halcyon goes for the sentimental jugular, with a touch of piano that just might have you reminded of the opening of that Orbital track. Black Shore features the sound of waves lapping upon the beach. Black Sun and Black Future imparts something of a reflective tone, contemplation of our place in all this emptiness. Black Sleep is pure tranquility, while finale Black Cascade shimmers like several points of light washing down on you.

And... it's over, just like that. Aww, was just getting warmed up. Fortunately, there's that tasty second CD to detail, though in some ways I feel like I've talked about this a bunch already. Sine Dust and Sun Riders both had extra love when I covered Sine Dust Versions, though Tomorrow's Explorers is all original music, including one of his longer pieces in the titular cut. Wish I could say I was equally enraptured by these tracks as the Sine Dust ones, but the more traditional use of string pads, and even a little Berlin School action, leave these feeling less effective in reducing my soul to a puddle of melancholic-goo. Hey, if that's the 'worst' criticism I can give this album, how can anyone complain?

Vector Lovers - Pale Blue Star EP

self-released: 2017

Martin Wheeler is... back? Wait, when did that happen? I saw no big promotion for new singles, not even drive-by blurbs when I was diving into Soma Quality Recordings a couple years ago. Then again, it's not like his iPhonica album got a tonne of attention either. Indeed, I only knew he'd released that record when I was browsing about the Vector Lovers Discogs page. So it was again, with his latest album – or rather, soundtrack – but I'll get to that in due time. What I discovered, however, is it was self-released, which naturally led me to give a slap of the head, realizing in all this time, I never bothered to check if there was a Vector Lovers Bandcamp page.

There certainly is, and it looks like Mr. Wheeler's kept himself active even if Soma or any label isn't supporting his stuff anymore. Not super-busy or anything, about an EP a year since iPhonica, but it's enough to keep the Vector Lovers name out there for those who can't get enough of that sentimental electro stylee. If he's even still doing that. When I looked at some of these singles, I couldn't help but wonder if he's moved on from the anime influences and into more proper sci-fi, and maybe even some synthwave. While the Vector Lovers sound was never exactly '80s retro, it wouldn't take much to make that leap, should Martin fancy himself such a step.

So Pale Blue Star is the first EP I'm digging into here. And yes, it's 'pale blue star', not 'dot'. I know you keep seeing 'dot' in that title, keep hearing 'dot' in your mind (probably in a Carl Sagan voice) but your brain is lying to you. For one thing, that dot you see in the cover art is actually the sun as seen from the surface of Mars. As for the blue, that has to do with the Red Planet's thin atmosphere, where- ah, whoops, getting all astronomy geeky in here again. Just remember that it's 'pale blue star' in the title, not 'dot'.

As for the music, it's definitely more upbeat than a lot of Vector Lovers' album orientated tunes, but then his EPs have typically been aimed for the dancefloor. Not that the titular opener will have you bustin' your sickest moves or anything, an incredibly atmospheric slice of... prog, I guess? I'd technically call this EP a tech-house one, but man, if Pale Blue Star doesn't have you floating out among the stars (or dusty alien skies), I really don't know what else to say? There is a slight undercurrent of post-apocalyptic desolation here, rather like the vibe of his Afterglow album (or Boards Of Canada's Tomorrow's Harvest, if you must), but in that traditional, melancholic Vector Lovers way.

The remaining tracks play out in similar fashion, with Alphaville switching things up with a broken beat, and Android Nightlife getting more on that robo-boogie vibe. Good stuff, all round.