Various - Disco Kandi 05.04

Hed Kandi: 2004

Right, don't need to get deep into this one. I've talked plenty about Hed Kandi, its various compilation series, the rise, the buy-out, the fall, the continued existence. Heck, I've already dabbled in their disco series twice now, so no need to get more detailed about something as self-explanatory as this.

Eh, before I talk the music, you want to know where Disco Kandi 05.04 falls on the grand timescale of Hed Kandi's lifespan? Oh, somewhere in the middle. I think this was one of the last before Ministry Of Sound came along, doing away with the numerical titles after. Disco Kandi became just another yearly DJ mix series, the first track of this new direction a remix of Fedde Le Grand's Put Your Hands Up For Detroit. As if you needed a more perfect example of Hed Kandi's brand losing the plot under the Ministry's 'guidance'.

Not that everything was flying high while still under Mark Doyle's supervision. Even here, one can sense a bit of struggle in filling out two CDs worth of up-front disco leaning house music. Change was unavoidable by the year 2004, most producers chasing that lucrative 'electro' craze, leaving things like 'funk' and 'soul' behind. There were hold-outs, of course, with many regular Kandi contributors featured across these two CDs. The days of finding hot up-and-comers were long gone though, few future hits makers found on Disco Kandi 05.04.

As always, disc one gives us the mid-tempo garage, exuberant Latin, and soulful side of house, with names like StoneBridge, Basement Jaxx, Funkstar De Luxe, and Joey Negro (as The Sunburst Band here) keeping things in familiar Hed Kandi territory. There's also that Axwell kid doing a remix on Mambana's Felicidad, but is more of a standard, loopy French house rub and anything 'Swedish'. The only track I recognize from elsewhere is Seamus Haji's go with Belezamusica's Running Away, though I can't help but think this is a remix of a cover? There's a fair bit of that going on between these two discs.

Oh yes, we get a couple of such tracks on CD2 (the late-night option), including Mr. Haji having his own go with Last Night A DJ Saved My Life. There's also Soul Central doing rather generic cover of Strings Of Life, a tune that I'll never understand the appeal of (those 'strings' always sound like ass). King Britt is here with a decent little acid boogie number in I Can't Wait (Milk & Sugar on the rub). Armand van Helden is still trying to ride that French house thing with My My My. And gosh, is that a touch of the space disco in opener Solaris from DJ Gregory? Sure sounds like it to me.

Overall, Disco Kandi 05.04 doesn't offer much that you wouldn't have heard before. It's just more of the same from the Hed Kandi brand, but as a slice of fluffy, funky house on a rainy day, it'll do the trick.

Various - Dance Pool, Vol. 1

Sony Music Direct: 1993

I've touched upon Dance Pool in the past. In the way, way, way past. It was a pair of Canadian tie-in compilations called Euro Dance Pool, so if you need to know the history of Sony's dance music offshoot, you can scope those reviews out. Eh, they're buried too deep in the long-ago? Well, I'm not gonna' do another recap here. I mean, it's mostly self-explanatory what Dance Pool was, who it's biggest acts were, their impact on the German mainstream clubbing scene. Just think of all the top eurodance names from Germany in the early '90s, and Dance Pool likely distributed half of them.

So when Canadaland was seeing some positive gains with the music, Sony was right there to capitalize on it, premiering their own Dance Pool offshoot here, Dance Pool. Straight forward enough, but this Vol. 1 is an odd one. Oh, it's got some hits of the day, no question, just not the hits you'd expect from a clubbing label with German origins. I can only assume Sony didn't have full faith North Americans would be as interested in those sounds, so reached out among all its national subsidiaries to fill this compilation out.

Thus you get The Shamen's LSI (Love Sex Intelligence) (Beatmaster Mix) and Sunscreem's Love U More (Album Version). Yes, that version, with that lyric. While those were big hits at the time, they were UK acts, whom folks based out of Toronto and Montreal may not have been as familiar with. To say nothing of names like Bizarre Inc and Rozalla. Actually, I take that back, I'm sure everyone was familiar with Everybody's FREEEEEEEEEEeeeeetoefeelgood by that point. But nay, the only German representation we get here is B.G. The Prince Of Rap, with This Beat Is Hot for the zillionth time. Oh fine, it's the 'hard 'n' heavy' mix, which just sounds like C+C Music Factory.

Forget all that. Dance Pool, Vol. 1 is interesting for how 'of a time' it comes off, catching that weird inflection point where new jack swing was on the outs, but dancehall reggae was on the ins. Thus, you get Shabba Ranks' Ting-A-Ling and Mad Cobra's Flex with Joe Public's Liva And Learn and Cover Girls' Wishing On A Star. And in the middle of it all is Kris Kross' Jump, the rarer Supercat Mix at that, which adds dancehall raps among the bars Mac Daddy and Daddy Mac be spittin'.

And no joke, the tune still bumps to this day. Yeah, it was nauseatingly overplayed when this CD came out, but I dare any DJ to drop this now, and watch the crowd pop off like it was new. Possibly one of the greatest beats Dupri ever produced.

Anything else? C&C Music Factory do show up, as their original producing name Clivillés & Cole, for a ravey cover of Pride (In The Name Of Love). Eesh, and the tune was doing so well, before injecting a gospel version of Bono.

Various - Buckle Up Vol. 2 - The Trancelucent Garage (2021 Update)

Trancelucent Productions: 2005

(Click here to read my original TranceCritic review)

You'd think with such hilariously tacky cover art, Trancelucent Productions wouldn't have been long for this psy trance world. I certainly wrote them off early on, believing they couldn't possibly survive the great Israeli full-on glut of the '00s, especially as more notable, credible labels ermeged on the scene. Yet their Discoggian data shows they lasted as far as 2016, going the digital route like so many others before. The only name from this compilation that remained with the label until the end was Cosmic Tone, though he spent more time on Trancelucent's sister label, Comp.Pact Records. Amazing that the one producer I felt had the weakest cut on here (the Danny Tenaglia aping Elements) would be the longest tenured. He even released an album a couple years ago, with music that sounds... exactly like what's on this fifteen year old compilation. Huh.

That's not to say other acts didn't have fruitful careers in the wake of this release. I've mentioned before Electro Sun carried on for a while, as did System Nipel, but most of the artists featured on Trancelucent's second label showcase didn't amount to much after this. Many a psy-trancer lament the brilliant but brief outing from The Misted Muppet, but names like Aquatica, Systemic, and Noga barely have anything beyond here. That Noga is kind of funny, in that there appears a bunch of Discoggian data mentioning him being part of Cosmic Tone for their first album, then splitting after. Seems such a shame, as Noga's offerings are some of the purest, tranciest cuts among a bunch of tracks with that squawking synth. Not a single album listed though, just a single EP to his credit. Lots of compilation support though.

Another name that always intrigued me off here is Etic, and it appears he's had a very strong career since his Trancelucent debut, five albums to his name, plus a pile of EPs. Then why can't I find any of his stuff on Spotify or Bandcamp? Seems like a heck of an oversight, especially since much of his latter output is strictly digital. Maybe he didn't retain the rights for it, and Trancelucent's been in internet limbo since?

Ah, wait a second, Lord Discogs says Etay Harari, the man behind Etic, established his own label in Digital Nature. Still no Bandcamp option there, but it does lead me to a homepage. Ah, nice, it even has links to all the places you can find their music. Still neither of the two streaming services I prefer, but all the other usual suspects are here: Soundcloud, Beatport, iTunes, YouTube, JunoDownload, PsyShop, Amazo-

Wait a second! PsyShop is still around!? Holy cow, so they are! Man, what fond memories of scrounging for psy from that place back in the day. Wouldn't it be funny if they still had some of Etic's old albu- Oh. My. God!

Erm, anyhow, Buckle Up, Vol. 2. Somehow, it still has that vintage Israeli full-on charm, or it could just be the nostalgia talking.

Perturbator - B-Sides And Remixes, Vol. I

Blood Music: 2018

I should have gotten this other collection of Perturbator remixes and b-sides. Only reason I initially bought Vol. II over Vol. I was because I liked Vol. II's cover art more. If Blood Music is going to keep having sales though, there's no excuse in not completing the set. So here's B-Sides And Remixes, Vol. I, with... I assume is Perturbator's Night Driving Avenger companion? Side-kick? Or possibly nemesis? I'm not sure where she fits in the greater Perturbator lore, all the associated artwork having our motorcycle riding, black leather clad, boss helmet-wearing protagonist out night-avenging solo. Gosh, might she even be a cyborg? She does have a mannequin look about her, but what are those tendrils writhing up her arm and thigh? There's so much wicked-cool possibilities one could glean from this art, but we'll get no answers in this compilation. Unless Dead Astronauts somehow figure into the greater Perturbator darksynth universe. It wouldn't surprise if Gost does.

Anyhow, if you recall my review of B-Sides And Remixes, Vol. II, you may remember I spent more time talking about James Kent's tour than any of the music on that release. I suppose it's because there just wasn't much to say, about as typical a collection of b-sides and rarities as you'd expect to hear from a synthwave super-star. What I neglected to mention was beyond the video game and horror movie rubs, there weren't any actual remixes on that edition, all of them featured on the first volume.

Despite having a full LP's worth of remixes here, Kent hadn't lent his talents out that often. Four of the ten tracks available come from the Dead Astronauts' self-titled EP, where Perturbator did his own stylistic alternate versions on each tune. Probably the most interesting of these is In Disguise, where the original is standard synthwavey synth-pop, while James turns it into a cinematic beatless affair, befitting a grand opening credits scene. Unhappy Woman and These Bones up the tempo more, but B-Side slows the rhythm way down, almost getting into New Beat territory.

These tracks are all well and good, presenting a Perturbator before he really broke out, but I'm sure you're here to hear more of those gnarly dark synths and thrashy outrun beats. Good news then, as the next batch of remixes covers the whole lot! Can't say I'm familiar with many of them – only Mega Drive rings a bell – but who cares when it's got all the Perturbator sounds you've come for? Sorry, Reznyck and Dizkodeath, even the James Kent rub wasn't enough of a bump for your careers. And who is “Slick Moranis”? Lord Discogs lists this Pertubator remix as their lone appearance. Maybe a downtempo synth-pop alias for James to indulge in? It's sure unlike anything else in his repertoire.

James' go with Gost's Behomoth ends things off, which is fine, but now I want to hear that Dance With The Dead rub on Reign In Hell again. Devil horns to the moon!

Various - Breakz & Bass 2

(~): 2003

Track List:
1. Waveform - D-Tox
2. Banco de Gaia - How Much Reality Can You Take? (Jack Dangers Remix)
3. Waveform - Deep Dubz
4. Waveform - The Joint
5. Brainiac - Neuro
6. Polar - Out Of Range
7. MISTiCAL - Spiritual Thing
8. Waveform - Proteus 4
9. Waveform - Drifter
10. Waveform - New Frontier
11. The Youngsters - Slow

So I made a series centred around all the broken beats I'd been AudioGalaxy-ing. Somehow, this second volume survived, while whatever I had featured on the first has completely slipped from my memory, to say nothing of whatever stack of burned CDs I once had unlabeled and tossed in a dusty corner. Looking at this track list, clearly it wasn't a concept with much going for it, but it wasn't my fault. All those breaks and jungle recommendations in the back pages of Muzik Magazine were just so hard to find on the P2P services so many moons ago.

That can't be the whole story though; look at all those Waveform tracks! I must have heard one or two somewhere, and just had to hear more, is that it? Hah, no. I was looking for Waveform Records tracks, and the Mike James project was what happened to turn up with the highest results. I suppose it's a comprehensive summation of his nu-skool breaks side-project, nearly half of his lone album represented here (some obviously pilfered from DJ sets – oh God, that's Hybrid's Kill City coming in on Drifter, isn't it?), plus downright obscure Waveform joints like Proteus 4 and The Joint. Some of it is pretty good for the genre in its infancy, but you can also hear the telling signs of stagnation even this early on, tracks more fascinated with big bass sounds than anything else.

Elsewhere, breaks get extra representation with Brainiac's Neuro, which sounds like it barely missed the cut in the Wipeout: Fusion soundtrack. Also, there's that Jack Dangers rub on a Banco tune again. Hey, I had no idea if I'd ever find a version of it, so you can forgive a little underhanded gathering. Polar and MISTiCAL bring the d'n'b vibes in fine form, so not much else to add there. I'd forgotten Calibre-Intalex-ST Files project went this far back, much less that I'd raided a tune from their Mistical Dub EP

Then there's The Youngsters' Slow, initially the B-side to the Abusive Melody single, then the opening track to their debut Lemonorage album. And here I am using it as a closing track on a 'breaks and bass' compilation. What kind of track even is this? It's quirky for sure, with a hoppity-skippity rhythm and spritely, bubbly synths bouncing along as a backing pad gradually builds the tension. Almost sounds like something that could have come out on old Warp or Rephlex. It doesn't really fit with the overall vibe of this CD, but then isn't your closer supposed to be the last bit of indulgent leftfield music anyway?

Various - Touched By Silence (The Compilation)

Touched: 2019

As I was poking about HIA's extended Discoggian network, I stumbled upon a new entry within their compilation contributions, this here Touched By Silence. B-Theory, is that a new track? I never recalled seeing such a title from ye' olden days. And gosh, look at the killer's row of talent on this twenty-one tracker! The Orb, Lorenzo Montanà, Gabriel Le Mar, Si Matthews, David Morely, Richard H. Kirk... Ooh, Dub Tractor! I remember him from that Ambient Ibiza CD!

Honey, if you think this digi-comp is something, you should see the eleven CD box-set from which this sprung. Full-length outings from FSOL, Autumn Of Communion, Mick Chillage, Scanner, and many more who've been at this ambient techno game for many years. When Touched does a charity drive for Macmillan Cancer Support, they don't mess around.

So the purpose of this compilation is straight-forward enough. Let's get into some musical details then, should the good cause and sweet assortment of artists not be enticing enough. Oh, and in case you feel you're missing out on that aforementioned FSOL action, fret not, for the opening track from Apertures is a collaboration between Brian Dougans and Ross Baker. They apparently have an album in the works, but Lord Discogs has yet to list anything, nor did I spot anything on the FSOL website. It's a moody modern classical piece with echoing pianos and shimmering psychedelics. Tickle me intrigued.

Okay, the acts I do know. HIA is here, and B-Theory... actually sounds like something that might have been released on B12's Firescope print? I mean, both come from a similar heritage, but I'm missing the playful dub of vintage Bobby Bird. The Orb's cut sounds like it could have been on a Youth-contributing album. David Morley's Vertical System does the cascading Berlin-School synth thing. Si Matthews' Nocture does more a chill, pastoral ambient techno thing. Lorenzo does his bleepy, skittery-rhythm thing in Hola Morning. Le Mar goes almost full world beat with Ingo Ito in When The Trees Are Gone. And Dub Tractor's Blo Rlx One is rather Balaeric and dubby, while Mr. H. Kirk's Dereliction is almost experimental, an utterly empty piece with sparse sounds and effects. A weird addition to a compilation filled with mostly pleasant ambient tones, though not unexpected from the Cabaret Voiltaire member.

And if there's anything I have to quibble about Touched By Silence, it's the wild variance in tracks, including how quiet some go compared to others. Yes, even for a supposed assortment of downtempo artists. For instance, The Orb's upbeat dub-house cut is track three, and surrounded by several beatless, blissful ones. Other rhythm-heavy tracks break up the pure ambience along the way, but not in a fashion that seems conducive to a flowing playthrough, rather half-haphazardly sequenced. Heck, many tracks here could be cappers on a regular release.

Again, that's just a quibble, and doesn't really detract from the whole. There's plenty to enjoy from this compilation, even if the Random button seems turned on.

Various - Recycle Or Die (Electronic Mind Music)

Planet Earth Recordings: 1994

You couldn't be a techno-trance label of the early '90s without an offshoot of ambient-leaning downtime music. Warp Records had Artificial Intelligence. R & S Records had Apollo. Suck Me Plasma had Aural X-Perience. Even Fax+ had Seasons Greetings (wait, what?). Naturally, Eye-Q Music got in on that action, Recycle Or Die the print's contribution to the overstuffed spaced-out chill-out market. This would not be some mere ambient or pseudo New Age outlet though, oh no! Recycle Or Die would be a continuum of the German avante-garde, carrying on the legacies of Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, and so forth. Just, y'know, with artists from their own Eye-Q roster and all.

Which artists you ask? Oh, the usual suspects: Ralf 'Soul Of Eye-Q' Hildenbeutel; Oliver F'n Lieb, stalwart Stevie B-Zet, plus Dominc Woosey and Baked Beans. Definitely a strong opening salvo with that roster, but the sub-label's fortunes kinda' sizzled out after. Some more Baked Beans, a little more Ralf (with Gottfried Tollmann), obscurities in Solitaire and #9 Dream, plus... oh hey, MIR. I recall seeing MIR's Welcome Spacebrothers in shops way back when; that human figure on the cover at least.

Anyhow, despite the Recycle Or Die story being short-lived, you cannot deny its first act was one of the strongest for a trance-techno label jumping on the chill-room bandwagon. This particular compilation, released in America for a little cross-continental promotion, rounds up their contributions to the Recycle Or Die launch.

And you couldn't ask for a more perfect pair of opening tracks than two pieces from Mr. Hildenbeutel's debut album Looking Beyond. Follow Me is all meditative woodwinds, soothing pad work, and subtle bleepy electronics, properly steering things just out of the range of New Age into something space-aged (the Techno Age!), while Coming Back... Okay, this one dips its toes into world beat, so not really all up on that German avante-garde the Recycle Or Die manifesto claimed. Still a nice tune, just would fit more snugly rubbing shoulders with Enigma and Deep Forest, is all. Heck, at least those tracks are still immaculately produced for what they are, whereas #9 Dream's Summer Offering really does sound like the sort of thing found on New Age tapes in crystal shops. Is there anything on Recycle Or Die that hints at the techno-trance of its parent label?

You bet your chakra there is! Dominc Woosey's sixteen minute long Stray Dawn, First Light is straight from the big book of Berlin School synth minimalism, subtle arps and breathing synths slowly building to... Look, it's not about the destination with such music, just the journey, yo'. Meanwhile, Oliver Lieb's Spice Diving sounds like the Liebermeister having his own kick at Berlin School weirdness, but filled with all the sci-fi synth sounds anyone familiar with his Spicelab work will recognize (plus pitter-patter conga drumming). And finally, Be-Zet's Closed Eye View does the 'trance as ambient' thing quite common in Harthouse and Fax+ circles. Probably what folks diving into Recycle Or Die raw expected.

The Higher Intelligence Agency - Preform

self-release: 2020

Bobby Bird's been a bit of a busy-body on Bandcamp this (b)last half-decade, slowly releasing his back-catalogue with upgraded fidelity. This has seen the availability of long out-of-print and rare items again, including his collaborations with Pete Namlook and Biosphere. There were a few, scattered HIA items from the project's earliest days that had yet to be re-issued though. I've covered some of these as they appeared on compilations, but others were exclusive to tapes of the original Oscillate shows. Basically a lot of very hard-to-get stuff for completists, unless one was willing to scour Discogs for them. I mean, it's not like these assorted early tracks were available on a tidy collection.

So Bobby gathered all these stray tunes into a tidy collection called Preform. Aw, now isn't that nice of him.

Three of the eight tracks included here, I already have: W.H.Y. (from Ambient Dub Vol. 2), Harmony Angel (from One A.D.), and Alphanex, which was the name of the short-lived pairing of Bird and Brian Duffy, for the one-off track Planet Hoskins on Ambient Dub, Vol. 1. Not sure why this change was made for this compilation, but whatever, it's great to have that in such spiffy remastered form. Seriously, d'at bass! HIA got its rep from being purveyors of bleepy dub, but back in the day, they squeezed some serious juice out of those low ends. Having a higher fidelity version of Why ain't such a bad thing either. Harmony Angel is fine, but was never one of my 'must hear' tracks on One A.D.

Two other 'compilation exclusive' tracks are on Preform, one of which any follower of the Artificial Intelligence series should know, Selenite. I... kinda' feel like I've heard variations on this track before. Then again, many of WHY's elements were re-purposed into the Colourform track Re-Echo, not to mention bits of Harmony Angel could be heard in Speedlearn. Hence this collection of tracks being called Preform, I guess.

Anyhow, the other compilation track is Genius Island, which appeared on one of those gargantuan charity-driven collections on Touched Music, a quite lovely, spaced-out slice of ambient techno dub (Spectral's chimes help). There's actually an earlier version that appeared on the tape Totally Ambient Groove Volume 2 – Live From Oscillate, but I assume this version was plucked instead since it already had a re-jiggering for a 2014 release.

Speaking of those tapes, the remaining three tracks on Preform all come those sessions, and yeah, these definitely sound like tunes intended for a live audience. Sub Oscillate 2 is little more than an acid techno workout with dub flourishes. Meanwhile, Alien Mind feeds of that ol' school HIA vibe of dancefloor efficiency while working all the pulpy, bleepy sci-fi sounds and samples you can indulge. Juju Love is sillier, though that twisting bleep noise sure harkens to the sort of leads weeaboo trap loves. Interesting curiosos for the HIA completist, but well removed from the minimalist electro-dub that'd mark Bird's later work.

Various - In Trance We Trust 010 - Collector's Edition 1

In Trance We Trust: 2004

I might as well complete the collection, right? Like, I'm only missing a handful of these compilations now. It'll be nice to say that I've a complete set of at least one long-running, on-going series should I show off all my CDs to someone. They'll say, “Boy, that's a lot of CDs, any complete collections?” And I'll say, “Yeah, one.” And they'll ask, “Is it Fabric? Balance? DJ-Kicks?” And I'll say, “No, nothing so prestigious.” And they'll say, “Ah, something more trancey then: Distance To Goa.” And I'll say, “No, not that either.” To which they'll ask, “Well, which one?” From which I'll reply, “In Trance We Trust.” After they'll inquiry, “But.. you dislike Dutch eurotrance. Why that series?” Forthwith I'll respond, “Because it was there.”

The tenth volume of In Trance We Trust's showcase mix series is unlike any other volume in its two-decade history, in that it's a 'best of' double-disc extravaganza! Look, it was the mid-'00s, when two CDs worth of music could still be considered a hefty amount to take in. The Black Hole Recordings off-shoot had been in operation for six years by the time it hit number 010, so I'm sure they felt the time was right for a little summation on their catalogue. Good thing too, considering the first creeps of trend-chasing decline would rear its head in the follow-up volume two years later (thanks, 'electro' house!). Say what you will about this early era of eurotrance, it at least knew what it was and made no apologies for it.

Like, I know I'm gonna' be in for breakdowns – oh lordy, are there ever breakdowns – but I don't hate these so much. I think I've just trained my brain to tune the naff bits out, and enjoy the elements that I do enjoy. The pumping rhythms, the spacey pads, the plucky riffs, the energetic leads, and, yes, even the occasional overwrought supersaw anthem, if tastefully done. Things still feel like in a state of flux in this period of eurotrance, the subtler, classy tunes still rubbing shoulders with outright cheese. And heck, even the cheese sometimes hits on those guilty pleasure endorphins the best of eurodance nails every time. Plus, the production isn't all unbearably bricked, which is nice. Ooh, I can hear the air between the beats!

As this is a 'collector's edition', there's no big spotlight on a guest DJ handling the mix, but Cor Fijneman does handle the CD2 set. CD1, meanwhile, isn't even mixed at all, making this the only disc in In Trance We Trust history to offer full, uncut tracks. I'm assuming these are the tunes that didn't fit in Cor's set, but still deserved highlighting of the label's history.

So lots of familiar names throughout, but one glaring omission stands out to my eyes: Fictivision's Ringworld. That's, like, my favouritest track from this label ever! No, I'm not just saying that because of the single's super-unique cover-art. It's a good trance tune, I swear!

Various - Big Dirty Beats 2: Bigger Dirtier Beats

Moonshine Music: 1999

Here's an audacious proclamation: Big Dirty Beats 2 may very well be the last, great big beat compilation ever made. Yeah, the genre still had some life in it for a number of years after, and the big players in big beat kept releasing albums for decades longer. Heck, there may even be a few solid DJ mixes scattered about in the 21st Century from said big players showcasing some extra longevity in the old girl. Plus, how can I make such a claim without having heard every big beat compilation released after this one? Honestly, I don't even know of any such releases from after the year 2000, nor am I anxious to trawl the depth of Lord Discog's tomes in search of such items to prove my audacious proclamation.

Yet I confidently make it, for a few reasons. One, the genre itself truly was on the outs shortly after this CD came out. As mentioned, the Fatboys, Chemical Bros and Propellerheads of the world could still make hay from it, while the soundtrack business remained quite lucrative. That was about the extent of its market penetration though, the top spots already filled, and little to no room for newer cats to stake a claim. Besides, there was a new-fangled sub-genre of breaks gaining positive underground cred; a nu-er 'skool', if you will. Sorry, big beat, but may as well make a name in that scene instead when Junkie XL is getting all the plush scoring gigs.

In my books (and my blog), what makes a great compilaton truly great is not stuffing a pile of recognizable hits and names and calling it a day. It's unearthing overlooked gems that properly represent whatever your CD's theme is selling. Unfortunately for big beat, such occurrences had grown exceedingly rare by the turn of the century due to the above factors. Even this series from Moonshine never made it past its second volume, but if Big Dirty Beats 2 was to be its swan song, it was a heck of a way to go out.

Right off, you know you're in for something better than the norm, as the CD opens with not The Wiseguys' huge hit Ooh La La, but their lesser hit Start The Commotion. Okay, the tracks are practically the same, but it at least shows Moonshine thinking outside the box. At the other end of the CD is Lunatic Calm, LC001 (Neon Ray Mix), and if you're drawing a big ol' blank on that tune, that's just because you never looked further into Lunatic Calm's discography post-Metropol. The only other 'star acts' here is Omar Santana and Cirrus, with their future video-game staple Time's Running Out, but I'll allow it, as it's a dope tune. (also, Afrika Bambaataa, but his cut isn't much of anything)

The remaining seven tracks feature acts with barely any Discoggian presence, offering up a variety of breaks that are as big, dirty, and dope as anything the stars of the day made. *chef's kiss*

Various - Beyond The Machines

Infonet: 1993

Looking at this CD sure brings back memories. Oh, not for any particular sentimental attachment to the compilation itself. In fact, I only recently came across this, during my last and final splurge on Bandulu material. Nay, what triggers the ol' nostalgia endorphins with Beyond The Machines is remembering how enamoured I'd get with such mysterious items like this.

The cover art some strange blend of manga and pulp comics. The track list consisting of such bizarre, unconventional names like Syzygy, Sulphuric, and Thunderground. Even the title hinted at music taking things to a totally different level of electronics, beyond whatever the original Detroit future-fetishists had in mind (to say nothing of the bouncy, poppy euro-dance that was the limit of my knowledge back when). Given the opportunity, Beyond The Machines could have been one of the seminal releases in Teenage Sykonee's developing interests and tastes, opening a whole unforeseen world of sonic possibilities. More realistically though, it'd probably get stacked along such compilations like Tone Tales From Tomorrow Too and The Sound Of Zero And One, techno collections just a tad too off the beaten path for me to 'get' as a dewy-eyed teenager.

Many years older now, and with a vast database of neigh-limitless knowledge at my fingertips, Beyond The Machines is a mysterious item no more. I know who Bandulu is. I know who Syzygy is (and truthfully, one of the main reasons I sprung for this along with the additional Bandulu material). I even know what Infonet is, and that this compilation was a showcase for the label's budding artists. Erm, not many of them stuck around longer than this CD, while one of them had already been making a name for himself in Detroit before (Eddie Fowlkes, who's I Wanna Know is definitely on that 'Detroit guys wanting to make Chicago deep house' tip). Subterfuge's Liquid Poetry reminds me of those way-early attempts at trance you'd hear out of non-Frankfurt regions of the deustchland, while Rev 1's Chochillics and Sulphuric's Better Come Together offer up the acid business.

Really though, Beyond The Machines is mostly about Bandulu and their various side-projects (Thunderground, Koh-Tao). Even the Syzygy track, Meditation, is rather Bandulu-ish, with its loopy nature and all, though quite trancey and mellow compared to the proper techno workouts the Bandulu-proper cuts offer. The opener Thunderground cut, Illegal Rush, inches closer to the domain of trance as well, while the track Amaranth could almost be a New Beat tune, what with its sampling of the synth arp from My Mine's Hypnotic Tango. Not so sure about those tinny trumpets though. As for the Koh-Tao cut, bluesy country-twang in dub is the last thing I'd have expected to hear, but here we are.

The dated quality of these tracks unfortunately does overwhelm much of Beyond The Machines, which leaves the CD more a curioso or completist item of interest. Bandulu did have a unique sound, but it's better highlighted on their albums than here.

L.S.G. - The Best Of L.S.G. (The Singles Reworked)

Superstition: 2004

I can't recall if folks thought it at the time, but it did seem the L.S.G. era of Oliver Lieb's career was over. You usually don't do a 'Best Of' collection if you figure there's still more in the tank for a project. By the year 2004, however, the signs were aplenty that times were a'changein'. Chief among them, L.S.G. was soon to be homeless, the label Superstition unable to adapt with the ever-shifting trends in clubland. They tried getting in on that digital download thing with a run of L.S.G. singles re-issues, but it wasn't enough. Thus a finished album following The Hive went unreleased, and Lieb moved onto other things. Say, that minimal techno thing is catching on, how about that? Ah well, at least Superstition lived long enough to let Lieb do a 'remix album' of all the tunes that helped make the label one of trance's taste-makers of the '90s.

And honestly, I don't think an L.S.G. 'best of' could have worked as anything other than a 'reworking' of all his singles. The easy, lazy thing to do would be to just slap them all on a disc, maybe force a continuous mix out of it, and call it a day, but ol' Oliver had taken the project through many different paths over the decade of its existence. How could one's muse be satisfied with how the original works sounded after gaining so much experience in the studio since? I'm sure ideas and re-imaginings had been sloshing in his brain for a while (especially during the Into Deep sessions, if the final result is any indication), forming sonic links and chains among his various tracks. True, there's always been signature markers that let you know you're dealing with a Lieb production (the gated synths, the impeccable drum programming, those claps), but why not sum it all up in one uber-album retrospective?

Folly for me, I didn't 'get it' when I first threw on The Singles Reworked. Maybe I was more enamoured by the second disc holding all those non-album L.S.G. tunes, in my clutches for the first time and all (Hearts! Transmutation! Blueprint! Fragile (Gravity Fools The Magician Remix By Vapourspace)...?). Or maybe I was just so unfamiliar with all the reworked tunes that I couldn't appreciate the changes. Aside from My Time Is Yours, The Train Of Thought and Netherworld, none had appeared on an L.S.G. album. For a while, I thought it all cool and neat sounding, but cribbing just a bit too much from Into Deep's aesthetic to stand out as its own unique thing. As I said, folly for me.

But yes, time and repeated plays has provided enough perspective such that I hear The Singles Reworked as more than just a 'best of' remix record. It truly is an album unto itself, just with familiar melodies in a different context from their original conception. Think of it like an 'unplugged' session, except still very much plugged in.

Creedence Clearwater Revival - The Best Of CCR

Polytel: 1993

According to Lord Discogs, this was the most comprehensive collection of Creedence Clearwater Revival ever released to that point. For sure there'd been multiple 'best of's and 'greatest hits' albums following the band's break-up, 1976's Chronicle, Vol. 1 the definitive one for many years (with John Fogerty bellowing into a microphone on the cover). That one alone contained twenty of their songs, some of which you haven't even heard! Okay, you probably have, but didn't quite register like their stone-cold classics like Bad Moon Rising or Fortunate Son or Run Through The Jungle or Lookin' Out My Back Door or... a whole lot others you may not recognize by song-title alone, but instantly do the moment you hear a specific guitar chord and vocal.

For most, twenty chart toppers was plenty, but throughout the '80s, more and more 'best of's made their way to the markets, squeezing more songs in thanks to the additional space the burgeoning CD market offered. Eventually it seemed twenty-four to twenty-six songs became the gold standard of just how much CCR folks were willing to indulge in, but it's never enough for the record labels eager for another round of recycling.

Thus along came this double-disc Canadian collection in 1993, featuring twenty-eight songs in total. That's all of Chronicle, Vol. 1, seven tunes from Chronicle, Vol. 2 (which focused on the band's best non-charting songs), plus the song Bootleg (or as John says it, “Boo-lay, boo-lay-ay!”). Then a couple years later, the Pacifica nations got a whopping thirty-four song collection called Keep On Chooglin', while the European nations upped the ante with thirty-six songs with CCR Forever. Geez'it, did the band even have that many in their whole discography to warrant this?

Barely. True, seven albums in a half-decade of activity ain't nothing to scoff at, though their final record Mardis Gras barely counts (John Fogerty certainly doesn't, though the few songs songs he did write for that disaster made the cut here; the cover of Gene Pitney's Hello Marry Lou too). By the time we've finally gotten to Fortunate Son deep into CD2 though, I'm feeling well tapped-out on CCR. Yet one disc isn't enough either. Yeah, we get the full eleven-minute version of I Heard It Through The Grapevine there, one of the few recorded instance of hearing this band jam in an era when jams were all the jam, man. CD1 ends though, and you realize you haven't heard Born On The Bayou yet, or Walk On The Water, or I Put A Spell On You... Guess this needed the 2CD treatment after all.

What, a review of the actual music? Oh come on, you know how all this goes! CCR have been classic rock staples since there were classic rock stations. For sure their unique brand of 'swamp rock' stands out from the crowd, but you already know that because you've had their songs swirling in your head the moment you read those song titles. Truly timeless tunes.

Various - Best Of 2002

Muzik Magazine: 2002

Looks like I had one of these left over. Wish I could say I was excited about returning to the magazine that left such an imprint upon my own critiquing habits, but I've said about all there was to say among all the other prior reviews of their free CDs. Even worse is, despite this being a 'best of' collection of Muzik's choice cuts of the year 2002, it feels so underwhelming compared to their older releases. Something about Best Of 2002 doesn't spring with the same vitality, as though an uncertain dourness had permeated clubland. I look at this track list, and honestly only recognize a couple tunes that could be considered classics nearly two decades on. I know Muzik prided itself on going against the grain and all but DJ Marky & XRS's LK, really? Couldn't clear the rights to any High Contrast jams for your nod to the emergent liquid funk sound?

The first half of this disc always passes me by with a lukewarm 'eh, it's fine' sentiment, with a rather dry Stanton Warrior rub on Time Deluxe's It Just Won't Do opening things up. If your eyes glazed over at the mention of that track, I wouldn't blame ya'. Following that, you get the proggy James Zabiela rub of Röyksopp's Remind Me, which feels more like an excuse to throw in Röyksopp' tune while giving one of Muzik's favoured DJs the extra shine. Again, it's fine, but the best of what 2002 had to offer? Ils shows up at the third position for the requisite nu-skool breaks contribution and if that was the best on the genre's that year, small wonder if collapsed into stagnation so rapdily as it did. It isn't until Kosheen's Hungry pops up that something resembling a proper timeless 'hit' is felt, yet the discourse around that group's long been testy.

And before I went any further in assembling mental notes for this review, I wondered, what was the best of 2002? Who were the movers and shakers of that year? I know my own collection of CDs is the furthest thing from any sort of definitive snapshot but gander at a couple albums: Sasha's Airdrawndagger, Ladytron's Light & Magic, Drexciya's Harnessed The Storm, Stylophonic's Man Music Technology, High Contrast's True Colours, Groove Armada's Lovebox. Not a single tune from any of these could have made Muzik's Best Of 2002? Heck, Legowelt's rippin' Disco Rout appears on two CDs of mine from that year! (note: Coldplay's A Rush Of Blood To The Head came out, if you want to know what the real sound of popularity was at the time)

I know it's an unfair comparison, especially with licensing and all, but it's hard believing tracks from Daniel Diamond, DJ Vitamin D, and X-Press 2 were the best of what 2002 had to offer with clearly stronger tunes available elsewhere. Whatever, at least the emergent Akufen, Vitalic, and post-Emerson Underworld get repped in this compilation.

U2 - The Best Of 1980-1990

Island Records: 1998

Probably the most obvious item to have in one's music collection, if you've ever only been a passive fan of the biggest band out of Ireland. And weren't of buying age when their most famed albums were being released. So me then, by the late '90s. Those big hits of the '80s just kept playing on the radio, see, even cautiously appearing on classic rock stations now (then). Reminding folks of a different time in the band's lifespan, before all the weird, artsty, 'electronica' stuff took them over and oh, wouldn't it be nice to have all those '80s songs in one, handy place? Man, the 'Best Of' compilation market was such an easy game back then.

Thing is, it was about time for U2 to compile their greatest hits. The band was two decades old into their career, and while as globally popular as ever, perhaps starting to see some strain in their ambition. No, best to reflect on all that came before, the stepping stones that got you to wear you've gotten, and isn't it handy that there's enough material to divide each decade up into two separate releases? Especially for those who felt U2 lost the plot as the '90s wore on? Not me though, I was entirely ambivalent about it!

But yeah, this one was a no-brainer when it was announced, for me and several million other souls - so many classics all in one tidy place! Pride (In The Name Of Love)! New Year's Day! Sunday Bloody Sunday! The Big Three off of The Joshua Tree! A couple more off The Unforgettable Fire, including The Unforgettable Fire! There's even something off their first album, I Will Follow, which makes sense since that jam is quintessential U2 of the '80s, a strident rocker with wonderful melodic overtones. Amazing that they made that so early in their career. The only album not represented here is their sophomore effort October, at least officially. The titular song does appear in 'secret song' capacity, which I guess makes sense since the record never spun off any popular singles. Didn't want to totally forget it though.

So a straight-forward 'best of' collection from U2, but that's only nine songs, and there's still a bunch of space left on the CD? What else can we put in there? Hey, how about a B-side from The Joshua Tree, and make that the lead single for this? Yeah, that's the ticket! Not gonna' lie though, I kinda' despise The Sweetest Thing because as a 'new single' intended to remind the world of U2's '80s glory, it was ridiculously overplayed. Matters weren't helped when it seemed like all their music sounded like that in the following decade.

Okay, that's one more song, but dang'it, there's still more space. What to do, what to do... Oh, screw it, throw in four songs from the Rattle And Hum project at the end, that should be enough. Not like anyone listens to CDs the whole way through anyway.

Kevin Yost & Peter Funk - BeatKilla: 2

i! Records: 2008/2015

I'm feeling a little stupid right now, but... Kevin Yost is also Peter Funk? Like, I know for certain Kevin Yost exists, as I've done a retrospective on that chap's work. Somehow I got it in my mind that Peter Funk was a separate entity, perhaps a collaborator who'd bring in some proper jazz solos to supplement Kevin's deep, deep, smooth house grooves. It never once occurred to me that I should, y'know, click on that 'Peter Funk' link within Lord Discogs' archives, just to see what his story is. Couldn't escape it with this BeatKilla series though, getting equal billing with Kevin on the cover and all. So follow the 'Peter Funk' link I did, and there's a healthy assortment of singles, plus also has an alias of... Kevin Yost? Wait a minute..! Peter is Kevin? Kevin is Peter? Finkle is Einhorn? That... actually explains a lot!

Okay, it doesn't explain much of anything, this revelation not really some great industry secret. I just assumed a thing, the Lord That Knows All showed me I was incorrect, and now I know better. *a shining light from heavens glows down, angelic music is heard* It's not unheard of producers to create multiple aliases, and to 'collaborate' with their aliases. I guess since Kevin's most successful pairing is with Funk (hah!), he essentially merged the two into a proper, singular alias of Kevin Yost & Peter Funk. At least for the purposes of these BeatKillas.

And whatever is BeatKilla? A series of singles Kevin Funk released throughout the '00s, is what. Lot's of them, in fact, so much so that he consolidated them into not one, not two, not three, not four ...okay, three compilations. I picked the second volume of these for the sole reason of there being a cute pooch on the cover art. Aww, just look at him, ain't he a darlin'? Who's the pweshus beatkilla'? You are, you are!

Unfortunately, while these tunes may be dubbed 'beatkilla's, they kinda' lack much in the way of thrilla's. Not that I should have expected it, Peter Yost forever (and a day) a deep house guy through and through. Even if few of the techier tracks in this collection leaped out at me as highlights within his larger discography, they still served their purpose in providing that unmistakable smooth, ridin' groove with occasional flourishes of jazzy solos. Also, a fair bit of tribal drumming too, popping up at weird points throughout this mix.

Yeah, as a DJ set, BeatKilla 2 is only functional at best, keeping the vibe moving while showcasing tunes, but not so concerned with rising tension and all that rot. Yet they fit far better together than as separate entities, the Bandcamp version of this only supplying the unmixed tracks, with all the lengthy DJ-friendly intros and outros you can handle. Why the digital release didn't also include a the mix CD too, I haven't a clue. It was done for his best of Fundamentals, after all.

Gas - Nah Und Fern: Pop

Mille Plateaux/Kompakt: 2000/2008

(a Patreon Request from Omskbird)

One of some dozen ambient albums you're supposed to have, particularly if you're not a fan of ambient music. Naturally, as someone who considers himself a connoisseur of the genre, such a consensus had me a little skeptical of Pop's adulation. It's no small task in paring a scene as long lasting and expansive as this one down to a select few Must Haves, the standouts demanding something truly unique to stand out from the glut of releases.

So when I gave Pop a whirl, I thought to myself, yeah, there's some nice sounding tones, looping samples into an otherworldly atmosphere one can easily lose their headspace in. Isn't this a style already covered by the likes of Zoviet France and Rapoon though? Maybe so, but I'm sure folks checking out the fourth Gas album on the basis of a glowing Pitchfork recommendation weren't the sort to have delved into industrial ambient's back catalogue. Still, I couldn't help but wonder why it was Wolfgang Voigt's project that got such attention from the indie sect, and I could only surmise it being out on Mille Plateaux, a label already gaining hipster cred from its clicks 'n' cuts series of glitch releases. Throw in the cheeky concept of this being a 'pop' album, so named from the choice of orchestral samples being on the lighter side of the music, and you've crafted quite the cocktail of indie swoon.

Such knee-jerk dismissals on my part should have no bearing on how this album holds up though, with plenty of time and distance from initial reactions. To which I say, for the most part, I enjoy this, and even manages to stand distinct from countless other ambient records released since that emulate the otherworldly warmth crafted here (and believe me, there's been plenty). I could leave the first two tracks off Pop, in that those clicky-hissy noises that serve as a pseudo-rhythm do nothing but grate on my senses, almost token throw-away glitch sounds required of a Mille Plateaux release. What are those anyway, money counting machines pitched way up? Just lay the layers of looping drone on me like a warm blanket, Wolf-mang!

Or hey, offer up some of those dubbed-out rhythms, though I'm glad to hear Mr. Voigt found a way to change those up some too, having grown a tad stale by Königsforst. Thus Pop IV features a looping rhythm that cheerfully bounces with an echoing bell tone. Elsewhere, we have the 'classic' Gas dub techno rhythm for the final fifteen-minute closer, lending the track a surprisingly grand atmosphere following all that drone. Pop music indeed.

Could I recommend other ambient albums over this? Yeah, probably, but if you're just getting your feet wet, Pop is as good of an entry point as any for getting a feel of the genre's myriad styles. I have no contention in seeing this appear on 'Best Of' lists. Just, y'know, don't act surprised when I don't include it my own mythical 'Best Of' list.

Gas - Nah Und Fern: Königsforst

Mille Plateaux/Kompakt: 1998/2008

(a Patreon Request fro Omskbird)

I must admit, when I got this Gas box-set, my initial plan wasn't to review these CDs in chronological order. Nay, I thought it'd be cheeky fun to do the original request first, Königsforst, then come back to the rest in my usual alphabetical order. For sure I'd make it clear these review copies came from Nah Und Fern, but my OCD wouldn't allow me to do it in any other order. Or something.

When I threw Königsforst on for the first time, however, I came to the quick conclusion that I was gonna' have to hear the rest of the Gas catalogue for context. Yeah, I'd heard Pop in the past, but something led me to suspect that wasn't enough. And if I'm to play through Nah Und Fern for 'studying' purposes, I may as well get those reviews done while I'm at it too.

As an aside of quirky factoids, when I ripped the CDs to my harddrive, they all did so as part of Nah Und Fern, except this one. I get why that would have happened with Gas, significantly different compared to the Mille Plateaux version as it is. Zauberberg did have a slight change too, one of its tracks extended compared to the original, but surely the digital version included this change as well. Like, I'm assuming that's why Königsforst defaulted to stand-alone info rather than the box-set, and that re-reissue is more current than Zauberberg's. Ah, I'm dawdling.

I guess it's clear my thoughts and feelings over Königsforst are lukewarm at best. I thought it at least interesting upon first playthrough, with Königsforst V being a definite highlight in invoking some actual emotion out of my brain. Plus, those stereo-pan kicks in Königsforst II did a remarkable job of keeping me entranced while all those dronescapes droned on. Unfortunately, I couldn't shake the sense I was listening to music as concept over music as engagement. Par for the course with experimental music, especially on a label like Mille Plateaux, but given the endless adulation Wolfgang Voigt's project has generated over the years, I wondered if I was missing something (not the first time I've had an issue with Gas).

Yet, I found those older albums more interesting than this. The raw exploration of Gas and the conceptual journey of Zauberberg simply struck my cerebellum better, whereas Königsforst just felt like Wolfgang going through the motions. Here are more orchestral samples stretched and layered into dronescapes, here are more dubbed-out beats emanating from the deepest parts of the forest. This album certainly encompasses all the elements you'd expect out of a Gas record, and does occasionally reach the lofty heights the project's decades-long praise has generated. Still, it's mostly carried by One Neat Trick. A rather clever one but at three albums deep now, not showing much in the way of evolution. Not that it needs to either, just I need to hear something more from the project get more invested in it.

Gas - Nah Und Fern: Zauberberg

Mille Plateaux/Kompakt: 1997/2008

(a Patreon Request fro Omskbird)

It didn't take Wolfgang Voigt long to figure out exactly what this Gas project could entail, so by the second album, he was feeling a little more experimental. Yes, experimental upon the already experimental nature of these looping, ambient-techno dronescapes. There's only so much one can do with the basic concept, and while it may be fine for some producers to keep recycling the same songcraft in different keys, Mr. Voigt did find a way to mix things up some in his sophomore Gas album, Zauberberg (named after a German book called The Magic Mountain - I know nothing about it, beyond it being a Very Important novel in the world of German novels).

Rather than maintaining one consistent mood throughout an LP's running length, he opted for a contrast, Zauberberg growing ever darker and bleak as the album progresses. Then, the ray of light at the end, knocking you out of your insular, depressive mood. Man, what kind of stroll through the woods must have Wolfgang had if this was the inspiration for his second Gas album? Incidentally, the original cover art for Zauberberg does a great job reflecting this atmosphere, what with its stark reds and blacks. It's a shame that art wasn't retained in some form for Nah Und Fern, even as a little booklet. Like, did Mille Plateaux own original rights to the photography? It is quite striking, especially for a label most famous for being purveyors of clicks 'n' cuts. Mmm, naturalist imagery, in an unnatural way.

Beyond the incremental tone shifting of the album, what struck me most about Zauberberg is how much felt space there is between the layered, droning strings and distant, muffled rhythms. I get why Mr. Voigt may feel the earlier Gas pieces weren't so reflective of the project's whole, the rhythms in the debut album more pronounced and direct compared to subdued, heartbeat throb of a bassline that'd define his later output. Now this is Art, none of that 'techno' nonsense! I keed, I keed...

Seriously though, by Zauberberg IV, the steady beat is almost completely muted, with a sombre, dissonant string section that reminds me of horror music. Following that, Zauberberg V actually gives its muted rhythm more prominence, but it's such a commanding marching beat with an almost equally distant strings, it feels like I'm watching a zombie WWII army move over German hills (from a safe distance). As Zauberberg VI plays out with eerie tones and drones, I can't help but wonder if I'm instead listening to a proper dark ambient project. Well, aside from that never-ending techno kick piercing the murk.

All is not forlorn and bleak, however, as Zauberberg VII ends the album on one of those pure angelic ambient drone pieces straight from the books of... Okay, not really New Age in the strictest sense, but man, don't that blissy tone give me all the tranquil feels. A real soul cleanser, after the dark, dank paths the previous few tracks took us.

Gas - Nah Und Fern: Gas

Mille Plateaux/Kompakt: 1996/2008

(a Patreon Request fro Omskbird)

Technically, this was supposed to be a review request for the Gas album Königsforst, originally released on Mille Plateaux way back in 1998. I sniffed around for a decently-priced copy, but as you can imagine, such a CD isn't cheap to come by these days. I could have sprung for a digital copy instead, but in my searching, I noticed the Gas re-issue box-set Nah Und Fern had come down to a reasonable price, and thought to myself, “Eh, why not?” Thus, I'm now reviewing the entire catalogue of Mille Plateaux Gas albums, as released by Kompakt. So... not quite the original albums, but I'll get to that ...right now!

Yes, of all the Gas albums to be tweeked for the box-set re-issue, the self-titled debut saw the most changes. Two tracks were replaced, one for perhaps the better, the other not so much, depending on who you ask. Hey, at least the rest of Gas was retained, which is more to be said for the more recent Gas re-issue box-set titled Box, wherein Gas was completely jettisoned in favour of inclusion of the Oktember EP released during the original run of Gas albums. Of course, with the subsequent release of additional Gas albums following Box, there's always a chance another Gas box set could emerge which will bring back the original version of Gas. Heck, maybe even throw in the original-original Gas EP, Modern, released on Profan, though Wolfgang Voigt has made it clear that sound is too far removed from where he took the project for revival consideration.

And what, pray tell, is the Gas sound that has made so many slightly pretentious sorts quiver in their headphones? Drone ambient, mostly, though done in a rather clever way, wherein mood and memory are invoked more than the usual abstract sound paintings the genre aims for. Why, there's even techno beats on some of these tracks, though minimalist and heavily subdued and dubbed out, such that they reverberate from distant locations obscured by dense forest and fauna. Wolfgang has stated he wanted to capture the feeling of wandering through the woods while indulging psychedelics, and I must admit, hearing these cavernous beats with embers of melody over looping drone does remind me of taking the back paths between stages at outdoor music festivals. You recognize the base details, but they're all mushed into an unending wall of sound, only trace musical elements coming through.

As for the replaced Gas III, I'm not surprised the original was taken out, almost a conventional dub techno track compared to the layered tones the other tracks featured. Instead, Gas III does the pure, crackly dronescape thing, with a sporadic, slowed string pluck. Quite reminds me of the few items I've heard out of the Slaapwel Records camp, though about a fifth the running time. Still, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if some of those musicians took inspiration from these Gas pieces. The ones without the techno beat, anyway.