Yahgan - Nomads

Liquid Frog Records: 2021

I could have technically knocked this off a while back, tracks from here also appearing on the double-LP collection of Yahgan tracks Land Of Fire. Considering I'd already covered half the music on that release by that point, however, it felt redundant doing so just so I wouldn't have to do this one later. Besides, it's not like this is an alias of Mr. Giacovino's that gets trotted out often. In fact, this is the last release from the project that I got with my initial bulk-buy so many years back, so I guess we can tick another-

Eh, you're saying I missed one? Well, son-of-a... Looks like I did, another N:L:E & Yahgan 'collaboration', Mystycal Journeys. You'll forgive me for doing so. It was a lot of music to download off Bandcamp back when, some releases undoubtedly slipping through the cracks. Looks like it's nothing more than another of Juan Pablo's ultra-long ambient sessions (two tracks, each twenty-six minutes in length). Maybe I'll come back to it should I do another wrap-around, but yeah, not really something I want to backtrack on.

Oh, and because this is the last solo Yahgan release I'll likely be talking up for a while (ever?), here's the obligatory update on how many more items Mr. Giacovino's put out under this side-project since I bought in. Five solos, another 'remix' session of Tribal Trip with N:L:E, and, most recently, a four-track 'single' with N:L:E called Frozen Soundscapes. So keeping the side-project's flame somewhat alive, which makes sense for one dedicated to 'The Fire Peoples'.

Nomads was the second solo Yahgan outing, though Juan Pablo had done a couple N:L:E collabs' between this and the debut LP. Not much else to say about the lead up to it, other than we're reaching the point in the Giacovino multiverse where new projects were flying aplenty. It's almost a small surprise it took him so long to let Yahgan stand on its own again, given how adventurous he was feeling about his music-making abilities.

And yeah, familiar territory as with other Yahgan releases I've covered. The slightly chilled-out downtempo aesthetic, the suggestive melancholic mood of histories lost, a general calm ambience while taking in subtle sonic splendour of unexplored and untamed sub-Antarctic coastal regions. No, really, Cold Sand (Fishing Journey) is the sort of piece I wouldn't have minded having that twenty-six minute long excursion, gentle oceanic tones and timbre gradually leading to a nifty, dubbed-out rhythm as the hunting action picks up. Shame it's the shortest track on this EP.

The rest of Nomads is nice, sure, but as with so many of the Liquid Frog Catalogue now, the unique tracks are the ones that leap out for me. And since Cold Sand didn't make the cut on Land Of Fire, well, of course it'd stand out. (White Field didn't either, but eh, that one sounds closer to an N:L:E track compared to the rest).

Spiritual Fields - Natural Conscience

Liquid Frog Records: 2021

While it's unsurprising I'd be coming back to the Liquid Frog Records 'verse so quickly within a new letter block, at least it's one that I haven't touched much upon. Aside from his recent ventures into dub techno as O:D:D, Spiritual Fields is probably Juan Pablo's least visited side-project out of them all. In fact, since I bulk-bought his entire Bandcamp catalogue a few years ago (!!), he's only returned to Spiritual Fields once.

Which may not seem like that big a deal – some artists only ever release one album in the same amount of time, much less something under a seldom-used alias. But then this is Mr. Giacovino we're dealing with here, where his Bandcamp page now hosts an additional sixty-eight releases since I bought there. Keep in mind there were eighty-six items available when I purchased what I did (yes, a weird coincidence that we're dealing with reversed numbers here, but stay with me...). That means he's added nearly eighty percent more music to his discography from when I first stumbled upon him via Neotantra, in just a few short years at that. And somehow, in all of that, he's only found the inspiration for one (1) Spiritual Fields album. Hey, man, when that allure of dub techno comes callin'...

In a way though, I can understand why this isn't an alias he felt needed much returning too. Of all his side-projects, this one feels the most redundant. Yeah, there's an obvious nod to the world beaty vein of ambient dub Juan Pablo often dwells in, but plenty of his other music retains elements of that too. And when the general market is well over-saturated with downtempo beats with Far East harmonies, Spiritual Fields doesn't stand out much from the pack either. It's music that remains nicely crafted, as much of N:L:E's work does, but is well traversed paths across the board.

Which is about as succinct a summation of Natural Conscience as I can give. Plenty of flowing pads with spacious timbre, some softer, dubbier rhythms coming and going, and sprinklings of sitars jamming with the trippy reggae melodies. Chaos In Nature towards the end leaped out at me more for offering some punchy beats that skip and stutter rather than do the usual languid bip and bob. It's all lovely sounding stuff, and if this was your first foray into the wider Liquid Frogs Records catalogue, I can imagine being intrigued by what you hear enough to splurge for more. Say, maybe the whole Bandcamp amount?

Not that it's what happened to me, oh no! Like, sure, Natural Conscience was the latest Spiritual Fields release when I did pop on over there, but it was a solid seven rows down from the most recent selections. Surely it was stuff like Space Radio or Ecovillage or Antarctica that had me going gonzo for the whole thing. No, it was all the pretty cover art, I'm sure of it. Sucker for cover art, always.

N:L:E - Mushroom Land

Liquid Frog Records: 2021

The Super Mario Brothers movie tie-in soundtrack that was a few years too early! Okay, that's silly even for me, Juan Pablo clearly more interested in actual fungi realms than the ones found on the other side of city sewer plumbing. I think this was the first one he focused more specifically on one of the more dominant forms of that particular kingdom, prior releases Seeds And Spores and Organic Adventures only touching upon them in broad strokes. Which I guess should provide Mushroom Land with some additional talking points beyond the broad strokes I default to with N:L:E reviews now, but... eh...?

Actually, it has been a while since I last talked up Mr. Giacovino's primary project, at least one that wasn't part of some conceptual mini-series. You'd hope some unique elements would be heard if he wanted to assign these pieces their own fungal-based focus. A few, yes, and since I needn't spend a couple paragraphs going over who we're dealing with, maybe it's time for a classic track-by-track review? Yeah, let's go with that.

Opener Entrance sees N:L:E engaging in another session of ambient drone, with dubby treatments on distant bright synths having me reminded of Kevin Braheny's New Age works. As with much of Juan Pablo's work, he never dips all the way there, keeping things just on this side of tasteful meditation, but the vibe remains.

The three track run of actual mushroom music - The Mushroom Guardian, Mushroom Land, and The Red Mushroom - do that N:L:E thing of offering differing styles of a similar musical motif. In this case, ambient version, the ambient dub version, and the psy-chill version, respectively. I cannot deny I was mostly ready to write Mushroom Land (the album) as just more of the same as I've heard from N:L:E for so long now.

Fortunately, things take a more interesting turn in the album's second half. While we're still in familiar sonic territory, at least Nucleus (N Mix) brings the tone down to mysterious realms. Following that with Drought Season (The Mushroom Trip), a track that's quite uplifting in its understated dubby way (it's that lead, harmonic melody, almost sounding like Uilleann pipes) brings welcome contrast to the listening experience.

Mushroom Land finishes similarly to how it started, Mycelium Dream getting in on that Braheny sparkly ambience again, while Spores From Space goes for the minimalist ambient drone, a moment quiet contemplation for the future ahead. Certainly more benign than what most 'spores from space' sci-fi will show us.

Wow, now that I've properly given this album my undivided attention rather than just playing in the background, I've come to appreciate it much more. It's almost like this N:L:E guy is really good at this music thing, and best enjoyed by not bulk-buying his whole catalogue and force-listening to it. Not that it isn't worth it (there's a lot of good stuff for an exceptionally cheap price), just needs smarter consumption scheduling.

Kiphi - Move The Stars Here

Liquid Frog Records: 2021

I surprisingly haven't had many albums from Mr. Giacovino within this 'M' block. Yeah, there was the double session of Macro and Micro Ambient, but I can't help considering those one conceptual album in of itself. Exploring similar facets of the same idea, and all that. As we move into the back end of 'M', however, there's been little since, and glancing ahead, only one more after. Does this mean the bulk of that Liquid Frog Records bulk-buy is also winding down? Eh, I wouldn't count on it, though I'll probably be highly selective in how to approach a few more releases as they come.

Meanwhile, let's touch base with the artist on Juan Pablo's label that isn't Juan Pablo, but his... I'm still gonna' assume brother: Jose, or Kiphi as he goes by. And hey, great timing on my part here, the chap having just released another album this past week called Glowing Universe. Catch the wake of all that Kiphi media hype I'm certain is flooding the internet this very moment! Okay, that's unfair, pretty clear this remains a highly niche lane of music, no matter how much I may say some of it is worth checking out. Just, y'know, don't go and bulk buy the whole darn thing like I did, much less try to write reviews of it all either. That path leads to madness. Not death, mind you, just madness.

Kiphi though, he at least brings something a little different to the table. If you recall, Jose likes his use of arps, bringing more of a trancey, sometimes Berlin-School approach to the music found on Juan Pablo's label. When they collaborate, these attributes tend to be more window-dressing for your typical N:L:E jam, but here we get them front and centre. And as this is his second solo outing as Kiphi (not to mention about half a dozen collab's with Juan), Jose had plenty of time to hone his own craft with Move The Stars Here.

The album's titular opener certainly suggests he's leaving nothing off the table, doing that gradual build both Giacovinos love deploying in their music. Only this time, the synths are bright, cascading, bold, and even multi-layered as things progress further. And what's this towards the end? Brisk rhythms, inching ever so close to the realms of progressive breaks? Geez, with an opening like that, Move The Stars Here must be in for one rollicking ride of an album.

Yeah, not quite. There's still some nice momentum in the following slew of tracks, but it's all subdued in that psy-chill sort of way most of Kiphi's music tends to go. Only mid-album track Feelings and closer track Flying Angels get close to the same uplifting space as the opener does, which doesn't make Move The Stars Here a bad album by any stretch. It's just when you shoot such a significant shot right from the jump, it does leave the listener wanting after.

Natural Life Essence - Micro Ambient/MicroAmbient 2

CYAN/Liquid Frog Records: 2019/2021

Can't have a 'macro' without first having a 'micro'. I mean, you technically could, but generally speaking, folks start with the 'micro' before moving on to the 'macro'. Concepts of 'micro' are so common, it's permeated pop culture far more than 'macro'. Gander: microscope, microwave, micro-organism, microphone, Microsoft. Now try flipping those with a 'macro'. Don't work, do it? Instead we get telescope, or mega fauna, or comedy-sized microphone, or Evil Corpo'. Heck, even in units of measurement, we have micrometres and micro-litres, but no 'macro' variant, just 'mega'.

Even if we are to accept 'macro' as an opposite measurement against 'micro', where exactly does the demarcation end and begin? Size is all relative, right? Typically we take a normal human as the median, everything larger being 'macro', and anything smaller being 'micro', which is fair enough. Sure, its completely biased to our perspective, but we're the ones measuring things to our scale. Should we encounter something more dominate than the scale we use, I'm sure we'd appropriately adjust. Or not, stubbornness one of humanity's defining characteristics.

So where does that leave ambient music? Like, it's easy to point out when something sounds 'micro' versus 'macro' (or whatever specific terminology you wish to utilize) - if I was to play a 36 piece after an Andrew Heath composition, the contrast would be stark indeed. At what point does noodly synth drones pass from the 'micro' to the 'macro' though? Can't help but feel like that's one of those impossible lines to pin down, something entirely subjective to interpretation and perspectives of one's own experience with the music. If anyone can point towards The Perfect Ambient Track That Divides Between The Micro & The Macro, let me hear it!

ANYhow, Juan Pablo released the first Micro Ambient while he was still peddling his wares through CYAN, so fairly early into N:L:E's lifespan. I wouldn't really call the music offered on this album especially 'micro', mostly bright synth pads performed in a minimalist fashion – more meditative than anything. I guess compared to his regular output to this point, it's more pure ambient than his forays into downbeat, but even tracks like Micro-Path and Micro-Lake have enough of a rhythmic pulse to keep these being an entirely lowercase session. They sure wouldn't sound of place on one of the Macro Ambient albums.

You'd think Mr. Giacovino would reassess what a 'micro ambient' album should entail after exploring the 'macro' side of things, and he kinda' does with the sequel. MicroAmbient 2 is certainly more subtle compared to the first, though not without its own rhythmic moments too. Just, y'know, performed in a smaller fashion compared to most other N:L:E music.

Having listened to all these 'micro' and 'macro' ambient session, I find the first is the best, if for no other reason than it feels more like a complete album. Which makes sense, since it was released on a different label than Juan Pablo's own.

N:L:E - Macro Ambient & 2

Liquid Frog Records: 2020/2022

Y'know, when I think 'Macro Ambient', I'm thinking, like... MACRO. Ambient music that's almost the opposite of what its original aim t'was. Synth pads and droning harmonics so upfront and in yo' face, you're almost overwhelmed by it. Nothing so ignorable such that it could ever dissolve into wallpaper music or abstract conceptualization. Ambient so overwrought, you wonder how it could ever be technically classified as ambient music, beyond its beatless nature. So Dennis Huddleston's 36 project, then. Yeah, pretty much.

Was I expecting that going into N:L:E's duo Macro Ambient releases? Not really, no. Of the various sonic avenues I've heard Mr. Giacovino explore now, going something as 'maximal' as the Dreamloops series was never on the radar. For sure he could lay some dronescapes on rather thick, particularly several of his Caravan Of Healing Sounds releases, but to really tug at those heavenly, emotional heartstrings too? As I said, not typically the lane Juan Pablo traverses.

So I was honestly surprised when I did hear something that gets pretty darn close almost right from the jump. Macro Ambient 1 starts with gradually emergent bleepy notes, soon joined by a requisite pad that sounds rather like an ethereal flute or similar woodwind. Really lovely stuff, but also remarkably familiar too. It didn't take me long to remember whear I heard it too, a tune so memorably burned into my membrane from repeated plays. T'was towards the end of Moss Garden's The Fabric Of Sentinel, a dang-near perfect capper on their debut album Understanding Holy Ghosts. Is it one-for-one? Not quite, no, but darn close enough that I can't help but suspect Juan Pablo was at least inspired by it, if only subconsciously (he had to at least be aware of it, given he's come within the orbit of Lee Norris now). Or maybe it's a certain preset common in synths ambient producers use, which just happens to sound dang-near perfect when played in a particular chord sequence.

That's about the biggest talking point I have for Macro Ambient though. The first four tracks mostly build upon that, though recede deeper into the more meditative side of N:L:E's muse, 4 bringing back more of the bleepiness while going extra 'macro' for a climax (re: adds some beats). The second of these two releases surprisingly brings some variety among its four tracks, each track distinct from the other rather than continuations of the same theme. 5 is the most typical of a chill N:L:E cut, but 6 gets almost electro, beats incredibly crisp and punchy compared to his usual dubby rhythms. Almost reminds me of the Subnautica score. Following that is a twenty-two minute long pure ambient outing, nothing 'macro' about it beyond its length, while 8 gets back to more standard N:L:E fare, just on the proper dubby side of things.

I guess between the two, I liked the second one more, just for the variety. But man, the way that first one triggers my memories... So it goes.

N:L:E - Live Outside The City (with Kiphi & Yahgan)

Liquid Frog Records: 2022

Juan Pablo seems to have released every other kind of album, so why not a live one too. Three, actually, recorded over a half-year period throughout 2021. Coincidentally, around the time I believe most of the world was getting more lax about pandemic restrictions, though I haven't a clue how strict they were in Argentina about those.

Not that it would have made much difference for these sessions, as I'm fairly certain they weren't performed to a crowd or anything like that. Rather, Mr. Giacovino wanted to capture the essence of life beyond his urban settings, and what better way to do that than going to the source. Really soak in the ambience of your surroundings, connecting to open fields and unspoiled fauna. And hey, if it helps give folks who'd been cooped up indoors for nearly a year something to immerse themselves in as a bit of escapism from the Strange Days of the last number of months, all the better.

The first, Live Outside The City, features two tracks – or rather, one long track split into two parts. And once again, if you're at all familiar with the works of N:L:E – which I'm very much so by now – this will be well-tread territory. I suppose there is more improvisational work going on than his usual album fare, and even his Caravan Of Healing Sounds had more structure than these, but then free-form music making is the point of these particular pieces. Don't worry about the destination, or even if there is one, just enjoy the scenery as it passes by. Among the gentle ambient pad tones and tranquil field recordings, charming acoustic melodies happily skip about, other times receding for some meditative moments. Somewhere around the forty minute mark of the whole thing, the softest of rhythms emerge but don't linger for long, returning more of those spritely harmonics.

If all that sounds far too mellow, then follow-up Live N' Chill Outside The City ups the pace a little. Yes, despite the name, the addition of brother Kiphi to these sessions brings his use of synth arps to the jamboree, giving everything a little more sense of urgency. It's still all very loose and free-wheeling as far as how these pieces are constructed, but does provide some extra spice to the usual N:L:E caravan formula.

And finally, the third Live Outside The City brings in Yahgan... which is just Juan Pablo under a different alias. At least, I'm fairly certain its Mr. Giacovino – I haven't found any info claiming otherwise, particularly on the Bandcamp page where it would be most helpful. Anyhow, this one offers a 'chilly' excursion compared to the others, with cooler harmonies and crisp percussion. Guess that makes sense, these sessions recorded during his winter. Not that Buenos Aires has the sort of freezing season the lands from which Yahgan's inspired by experiences. Probably another reason why Juan Pablo seems fascinated by the southern tip of his continent. They get snow there!

Natural Life Essence - Linked Environments

Liquid Frog Records: 2019

Welp, it's been over a month, and at least a letter and half since I've written anything regarding N:L:E. Figures I'd be about due for another of Juan Pablo's sessions to crop up, and for sure there's a small pile nigh on the horizon. Before that though, here's a little EP from earlier in the project's lifespan. How early? We're talking pre Caravan Of Healing Sounds early, but still post Space Caravan. He'd already begun spinning off other side-projects like Spiritual Fields and Yahgan, but well before having spent much time exploring them.

Actually, small confession before continuing: I skipped on a Yahgan release prior to getting here, Land Of Fire. A double-LP compilation, it gathered up several of Mr. Giacovino's works under the alias, only offering one new titular track. Having already covered most of the music, writing another review of it would be redundant, and the rest could wait until the original releases came down my queue. I just wish I'd realized what it was before listening to the whole thing, but that unfortunately does say something about having consumed so much of Juan Pablo's output now. Too much of it has slipped into over-familiar territory that I'm having difficulty distinguishing one from the next. Or at least recognizing when I've already heard something.

So it goes with Linked Environments. Like, I'm fairly certain this is all original material unique to this four-track album. It's not like I can search these titles out on the N:L:E Discogs page, what with it being incomplete and all (and I can only be bothered submitting so much). Go through Mr. Giacovino's entire Bandcamp page to verify, you say? My dudes, you still have no comprehension of just how much music is on there. He's gone and put out three more releases in the month since I last wrote anything about him! Ain't no way I'm gonna' check Every. Single. Item. on there to make sure I won't be doubling up on Invisible Island or Drilling Worm.

Right, the tunes themselves. Invisible Island (Look Faster) mostly stays in ambient's lane, pulsing synths, shimmering tones, and field recordings of nearby surf and seagulls taking up its run-time. Cell Memory (Plant Cell) starts more minimalist, slowly bringing in layers of subtle arps, some spacious dubby rhythms joining the meditative jamboree halfway through. Despite the escalating harmonics, it doesn't really build anywhere in particular, fading out just as slowly as it emerged. Sand Trip (Little Chant) lays on the world beat vibes much heavier with sitars, tablas, and all the usual instruments you'd expect of a Loop Guru jam. And as for that Drilling Worm, it sounds like it wants to be a jaunty reggae dub outing with New Age flourishes, but for some reason, the rhythms are flatter than I usually expect from N:L:E's works. Guess ol' Juan Pablo hadn't quite figured out that aspect of his production yet. Plenty of time to get there though.

N:L:E - Jungle Stories

Liquid Frog Records: 2021

Not only did we kick off this 'J' block with three items from Mr. Giacovino, but we're now wrapping it up too. Yep, it's a complete Natural Life Essence sweep here, which probably isn't that impressive at first blush. 'J' words remain rather limited in the English vocabulary, much less to title one's album with. I've a few 'journey's, and if I was more of a Jazz Guy, Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 wouldn't stand so alone. You'd think I'd have more 'jungle' releases too, but Congo Natty's Jungle Revolution In Dub is about it. Or was, N:L:E's Jungle Stories now joining this jumping 'J' jamboree.

Wait, why don't I have more jungle releases with 'Jungle' in the title? I'll grant I mostly missed the genre's early wave, not cluing into the scene until it had morphed into the more marketable drum 'n' bass label. Yeah, yeah, you can make technical demarcations between the two sounds, but when it came to shoving CDs onto store shelves, d'n'b was what stuck, looking classier than all the renegade 'wude-boys' artwork adorning jungle releases. Does kinda' make me want to sift through Lord Discogs' marketplace now, seeing what cheapy '90s compilations I can find there. Gotta' be a treasure-trove of them!

Anyhow, this has precious little to do with Jungle Stories from Juan Pablo. Not that I couldn't imagine him indulging in some brisk, broken beat action somewhere in his massive discography – every producer gets an itch for the 2-step or Amen break at some point. Generally though, his preferred rhythmic lane is on the dubby downbeat, with the occasional sprinklings of spritely ambient techno.

So imagine my surprise when he actually brings something... well, not exactly d'n'b, but certainly at a higher BPM than his usual fare. Granted, it's just one track out of four on this tidy EP, but it's one track more than I've heard from a lot of N:L:E in a while (ever?). Epic Land does still skew closer to dub at that, but the beats are energetic enough to pull it ever so near the realms of atmospheric jungle. Lovely sweeping synths and a groovy bassline don't hurt either.

That's about it for 'jungle' related sounds on Jungle Stories. Sun And Shadows is more of Juan Pablo's twinkly ambience, Running Through The Jungle is more of his ambient dub. And Night In The Jungle is something of a combo of the two (gentle ambience, big bassline). At no point, however, do we hear any field recordings of equatorial rainforest fauna. No birds of paradise, no incessant insect chatter, not even a jaguar roar. Man, I know Mr. Giacovino originates from Argentina. Is it so hard to bring a giant microphone to the Amazon? Yes, just as easy as it would be for me to bring one to the Cambria Icefield.

Regardless, a nice little EP here, one I was honestly shocked by its shortness, after all those lengthy Jamming Caravan sessions.

N:L:E - Jamming Caravan / Digital Adventures / Live At Lofi Temple

Liquid Frog Records: 2022

Juan Pablo seldom posts notes or factoids regarding his releases, such things typically left blank on his Bandcamp pages. And I understand why, the music mostly self-explanatory by title alone. Here he was inspired by micro-fauna. This one by space. That one by ancient peoples. Another of space. Sometimes just a free-flowing composition with no particular aim beyond enjoying the process itself. Why bog the listener down with paragraphs of copy when such things are generally moot? It's clear Mr. Giacovino wears his artist's heart on his sleeve – what you hear is pretty much what he intends, no need for obscure, abstract concepts guiding you along the way.

So I was a little intrigued by the fact he included some liner notes for these Jamming Caravan releases. It was clear they were outside his usual norm, cover art featuring images of gear rather than naturalistic settings. Apparently he was just having fun with a few of his synths and such, nothing directly inspiring their use beyond whatever sounds he could make at the time. Maybe not the most luring concept among his many releases, but when you clearly have little filter in what gets uploaded to your webspace, what care is there in why the art was created beyond for its own sake. Surely some folks will like it, if not for the music itself, than for the gear used. Gear hounds love hearing their preferred tech-specs in action!

Oh, I guess I should actually mention what Juan Pablo used in these sessions, since he was so keen on sharing that info. One (1) Korg NTS1. One (1) Korg Volca fm. A Pocket Operator Pro 32 Tonic. Some NTS1 effects. “Many Other FM Virtual Synths.” How cool is that, eh? Eh? Okay, I can't fake that funk, my knowledge of gear rather limited – never got into it because good Lord is that ever an expensive hobby. I'm sure there's some folks reading this who'll be all like, “Pft, what amateur hour kiddie-toys this be, harrumph harrumph”, but scene snobs exist everywhere, no matter your niche interests. Let them be, and have fun with the toys and tools you enjoy.

And as for that all-important musical result of all this jamming? The first two Caravans feature two tracks apiece, each breaching half an hour in length (save Jamming Caravan 2, running a svelte twenty-five minutes). Yeah, these are jams alright, mostly ambient noodling with light pulsing melodies and sparse rhythms. Vintage Fax+ stuff, if you get my drift. It's pleasant enough as background music, but in being so freeform in craft, will likely only hold your attention intermittently before fading off again. The third session, Live At Lofi Temple, at least breaks things up into four parts (most lasting about a dozen minutes), each exploring different facets of the same basic musical motif. Doesn't hurt these lean more into psy-chill and dub than the lengthier outings, always good for keeping the reptile brain entertained, a fussy one to please.

H:U:M - Invisible Universe

Liquid Frog Records: 2022

She seems to be an invisible u-ni-verse
She reaches in, grabs hold of your soul
She seems to be an invisible un-ni-verse
The gravity force slowly tears you apart

Mm, no, doesn't quite work out like I thought it would. You know how it goes though. An idea pops in your head, it germinates for a while, contorting into something that makes some kind of sense, even as an abstraction. The only way to know you might have something, however, is to actually commit to the bit, see how it plays out, where it might take you. And for whatever reason, seeing Invisible Universe constantly had me thinking about Genesis' Invisible Touch.

Not just because the two albums are side-by-side within my music library, but something else. Something interconnected. Something that just rolls off the mental tongue. I mean, it's not like I get the same synaptic response with Voyage's Invader, Hollywood Burns' Invaders, and The Prodigy's Invaders Must Die. There's gotta' be something here, between Invisible Touch and Invisible Universe. There's just gotta'!

Oh, the music itself? Well, can't make any kind of connection there. Everybody knows what Genesis' most '80s album is all about, and that's definitely not what Juan Pablo's space ambient side project is. Come to think of it, did anyone from Genesis ever do ambient music? Surly Tony Banks did at some point, being the synth guy in the band and all. His solo stuff doesn't suggest so, running the gamut of prog rock to modern classical. Maybe Peter Gabriel then, on some b-side collection? An artist as eclectic as him must have dabbled in synth doodling.

Right, Invisible Universe. There isn't too much I have to say about it, having already covered the range Mr. Giacovino typically takes his H:U:M sessions. This is basically more of that, consisting of two 'short' tracks at the start, and two very long tracks at the other end (twenty minutes and twenty-five minutes). They do that usual N:L:E 'caravan' thing of slowly building, at times hinting more melody with shimmering synth pulses, hitting a bright crescendo, but generally staying tranquil for the duration. It's all very nice but extremely familiar to my ears by now, even with the cosmic aspect of it. Can you see why I'd be more drawn to a weird tangent into a Genesis song, then? Hmm, maybe I need another go of it?

She don't like losing, this cosmic game
And though she will mess up your life
You'll want to explore that space just the same
And now I know she has that built-in ability
To take all that you see
And now you're falling, falling for her
Deep within her invisible u-ni-verse!

No, no, I'll get there, just give it time. I've got all the time in the world. But not all the self-imposed word count in the world. Ah well, so it goes.

N:L:E - In-Organic Adventures / Continue / 3

Liquid Frog Records: 2019/2020/2021

A threefer! Yeah, as I've said, the only way I'm getting through this massive queue in any sort of timely fashion is to consolidate a few of these mini-series into bulk reviews. Honestly, this will probably only effect material from the N:L:E discography because, well, just look at what I've dealt with already! I'm significantly deep enough into Mr. Giacovino's catalogue now to know how these things go, so all that's left is detailing the particulars. I wager there are still enough proper 'albums' among his releases to warrant individual write-ups of those, but for these mini-series consisting of variations of similar ideas, probably not so much.

Which I feel does In-Organic Adventures a slight disservice in of itself. Far as I can tell based on the Liquid Frog Records chronology of releases, In-Organic Adventures was the first album Juan Pablo titled anything with 'organic', one of his favourite go-to words in general. True, 'Caravan' outpaces it by a wide margin, but it was his Organic Adventures on Neotantra that first clued me into his works, and a search of 'organic' on his Bandcamp page reveals ten more uses of it. That's gotta' have some importance to his larger body of work, the sort of stylistic kick-off that would influence much more after.

Or maybe not. The first of these came out in the earlier half of his musical output, when he was still beholden to what a standard album should entail. In-Organic Adventures comes off less restricted in that regard, a chance for Juan Pablo to indulge in some freeform ambient doodling without much need or care for what comes from the session. This approach to songcraft would be more thoroughly explored on his Caravan series, but we hear it best here first. Well, 'best' being something of a subjective stance, depending on your preference for gentle, pulsing ambience such as this. Three tracks, two of which are close to a half-hour combined, though it all plays like the same piece regardless. It's nice in a familiar way, but that's about it.

Juan Pablo must have felt there was more worth exploring with these sounds, as a year later he released In-Organic Adventures Continue (each track still self-titled, but now four through six). It's about the same length, and while still carrying that semi New Age meditative vibe as the first, there is a little more dubby production and naturalist instrumentation going on, making this session far more lively than the first. Then one year after, out comes In-Organic Adventures 3. The melodies and progression are similar, but are far different in terms of production. 7 is almost shockingly clean, lacking any of the dubby tonal depth most N:L:E tracks have, especially when stood in contrast with 8 and 9. These versions all are more rhythm focused too, but again only in contrast to the previous two editions. I suppose its the most interesting collection of tracks of the three, but Continue has the best balance between them all.

Natural Life Essence - Hidrogenesis / Hidrogenesis 2020

CYAN/Liquid Frog Records: 2014/2018

Took a little longer than usual to find an N:L:E release in the 'H' block, eh? Or not, the Headspace box-set from Urban Meditation artificially inflating how many actual albums I have this go-around. There's just not that many 'H' titled records in my music collection compared to some other letters. Heck, on my initial run eleven years ago (holy cow!), I had just twenty-eight items. That number hasn't even doubled since, and believe me when I say that's hardly the case for other letter blocks ('X' has tripled!).

So Hidrogenesis is the first Natural Life Essence record. The first on his Bandcamp, the first entry on his Discogs page, the first of all-everything. A decade old now too, which means a ten year anniversary version is nigh? Wouldn't surprise me – he did do a '2020' variant, after all – but doesn't look like he's put one out yet. There's a couple [Color] Dots, an Uncharted Land 3, a Random Environments II, a Dune II, and a... Glowing Forest 3? Dang, I didn't even get a Glowing Forest one or two when I bulk-bought his entire catalogue. Relentless, that work rate of his.

Anyway, Hidrogeneis first came out on CYAN, the label Juan Pablo had made his home before they shuttered doors in 2020. It's kind of funny going this far back into his musical development, half expecting his style to not be as fully formed as later works. For sure it's not quite as developed or daring as Bioluminescent Forest or Ecovillage (two totally random examples!), much less the albums that got him that Neotantra bump (Organic Adventures and Dune, for the record). Having so thoroughly digested at least half his catalogue now though, I'm impressed at how solid for a debut this album is.

Right from the jump, Mr. Giacovino shows his hand in fascination for all things micro-organism, titling his opener Moss and all. It's a fairly meditative piece with harmonic bell tones and field recordings, a gentle melody soon sliding in while soft dub rhythms burble in support. Like, if that isn't the N:L:E stylee in a nutshell, then what have I been listening to this past year?

Things also play out in similar fashion as most of his albums, slowly building upon earlier elements such that it feels like you're listening to one long, transitional compostition. Well, if it weren't for all the fades between tracks. Seriously, m'man, just make a 'single mix' version available too!

Maybe he realized this was an issue as well, releasing a twenty-minute, twenty-second long version of Hidrogenesis, in 2018. Well, mostly just the first four tracks in a condensed, restructured form, and sans the low, rumbly bass dubs as heard in Underwater Caravan. A nifty addition if you wanted to hear Moss, Acid Fog and Swamp uninterrupted. As for the back-half of Hidrogenesis, it's even more ambient than the first, harmonies even subtler. Ooh, this could use that 10th Anniversary rejiggering treatment, I wager.

N:L:E - Gaia

Liquid Frog Records: 2022

Yay, a new letter! Boy, it felt like forever fumbling through the 'F' block. Like, did it take longer than my first run through my 'F' albums over a decade ago? Well, yes and no. Yes, in that it was one more month to do it, but there was nearly double the amount of reviews written in that first batch. Want some numbers? Of course you do! 56. That was the O.G. block, which included a complete coverage of Ultimae Records' Fahrenheit Project compilation series, plus the original Fabric On A Budget, not to mention that Final Fantasy VII box-set, where I detailed each individual CD.

By contrast, this run of 'F' albums featured 32 reviews, which... Okay, that's actually pretty impressive in its own right, even if a hefty chunk of them were Fabric CDs as well. This run also had five varieties of albums with 'form' in its title, compared to just one in the initial session. Stand proud with whatever laurels you've earned, 2024 'F' album reviews!

Okay, that was a fun divergence into statistical bollocks. What do I get to kick off the 'G's with? Oh, another Natural Life Essence album. Well no wonder I wasted all that word count up there.

I really feel like I'm almost picking on poor Juan Pablo now. Not that I'll have anything bad or mean spirited written about his music – I still enjoy hearing what I'm playing at any given time. As he's remained so musically consistent for much of his output though, I'm all but tapped out on fresh angles detailing his usual stuff. Like, there's a few concept sessions down the discography that I'll have some unique talking point for (I hope...), but for standalone items such as Gaia...?

Well, I can at least highlight what leaped out at me in of itself. Lots of field recordings in opener Intro, which makes sense. He didn't dawdle that long before introducing some rhythms, the first instance of such emerging in the back-end of the titular second track. Was quite impressed how, despite its lengthy eleven-minute plus runtime, the rather minimalist The Happiness Of The Simple kept me engaged for its duration. It's that ever-so gradual build in harmonic tension, teasing things out just enough to feel you're on some sort of journey, even if the destination doesn't feel as important as taking in the scenery passing you by. The Chant Of Welcome gets dubbier, which I'll never tire hearing from the N:L:E camp.

And then Gaia loses me in the second half. Again, there's nothing fundamentally poor about the music here, and if this is one of your earlier explorations of Mr. Giacovino's works, will likely sound quite pleasant and all. It's just old hat for me now, and not much different between this and any other number of his naturalist ambient dub outings. Not the best sign when I'm more anticipating the next CD to review over engaging with what I'm currently listening to.

Natural Life Essence - Forms Of Life (Other Versions)

Liquid Frog Records: 2019

When I saw this was subtitled Other Versions, I thought I might have another skippable item from N:L:E on my hands. Not that there wouldn't be something worth talking about here, but with so much still to get through in this discography (just... so much), cutting corners has become a must. I figured if these were just remixes, I could refer back to them whenever I got around to covering the original tracks proper-like.

After checking through what material of his I did have, however, I realized I didn't have the original tracks! That... couldn't be right? I bought his entire catalogue as it existed on Bandcamp, they had to be there! This being an earlier release, there weren't many options they could be hiding, yet sleuthing through the comparatively scant items available, I found nothing. Could there be *gasp* other Natural Life Essence albums out there, that didn't even reside on his crowded Bandcamp?

Indeed there is, though far as I can tell, this is the only item that exists as such. I can understand why it wouldn't be among Juan Pablo's own catalogue though, one of those 'label rights' things that makes redistribution of one's own music at times a sticky situation in streaming circles. Heck, that might even be why he went about releasing this particular EP, artists doing 're-recordings' or 're-masters' or 're-mixes' that skirt around rights technicalities.

I have no idea if this is the situation surrounding the original Forms Of Life as it appears on Ovnimoon Records, but then I don't know much about that label to begin with. They seem to have a lot of material though, one of those multitude of psy trance labels that sprung up in the past two decades, and still going to this day. I can't say I recognize much of anyone on their roster though: a lone AstroPilot item here, a LemonChill there, and... yeah. Still, they were releasing CDs for a spell, so can't be all netlabel bunk, can it? Haha, oh, if you think that, then you really don't know psy trance labels very well.

Anyhow, I can't be bothered doing a compare-and-contrast between the original Forms Of Life, so here's what we get with Other Versions. Lapse (Little Snail) (Lucky Return Mix) does the N:L:E spritely ambient thing with a little pulse of a rhythm that invokes something more mysterious and Middle Eastern. Liquid Frog (More Rain Mix) does... Hey, that's where Juan Pablo got the name for his self-release label, isn't it! Cool. The track gets closer to the realms of ambient dub, which is pretty much a brand standard for N:L:E even this early in the project's lifespan. Nomad Dragonfly (Tranquil Wind Mix) is the most interesting of the lot, if you like your pure ambience with nice field recordings, sweeping synths, and deep meditative tonal harmony. And finally, Symbiosis (Insects Gathering Mix) gets back to the spritely ambient style as heard in Lapse. Yep, all par for the course.

Yahgan & N:L:E - The Forgotten Civilization

Liquid Frog Records: 2020

Can't go long into a new month without another item from good ol' Juan Pablo dropping in again. Okay, that's unfair, sometimes several weeks going by before coming back to the Liquid Frogs Records catalogue. Just seem to be in another one of those 'several in a bundle' runs, like back in April. And hey, at least we're returning to one of his more intriguing aliases, Yahgan. Haven't touched upon one of those releases since, gosh, January? Let me check... (*clickity-clickity clack*) Oh my God! It's been ten months! I mean, thinking eight months wasn't anything to sneeze at either, but holy cow, really goes to show how long it's taking me to get through all this – as if we didn't need another reminder.

As for forgetting which month I reviewed Antarctica, I can only assume I associated the frozen album with the one obligatory snow day we had in January. Now that I recall though, I trudged through the stuff while listening to another N:L:E release, one of the Caravan Of Healing Sounds. And yes, the Rocky 4 soundtrack would have been more appropriate, but what're y' gonna' do?

As for other non-musical factoids surrounding this particular release, The Forgotten Civilization was the second album Mr. Giacovino put out with the Yahgan banner, though I wonder if he was uncertain it had much clout to stand on its own yet, tagging it with his N:L:E handle in support. It had been a couple years since he debuted it with Yahgan's Land E.P, I guess, an absolute age given Juan Pablo's relentless output. Give the polar themed project a little extra brand recognition.

Actually, I can hear why he may have returned to Yahgan at this point, as Mr. Giacovino was already going through something of a minimalist ambient excursion. He'd debuted the Caravan Of Healing Sounds series just the year prior, plus an album called Micro Ambient in between (which turned into a mini-series in of itself). Feelin' that subtle vibe, is what I'm sensing, and drone tones with an arctic theme have long been fertile ground for exploring that.

Speaking of exploring, I'm guessing archaeological expeditions of the southernmost end of South America is the loose theme going here. Cannot deny closing track Unknown Citadel (Submarine Encounters) does impart a sense of desolation, wandering ruins like... well, not quite an Atrium Carceri outing, but edging rather close to Cryo Chamber's domain. Be an interesting twist, f'sure.

The others, meanwhile, captures more the gentle awe of the realm, less about the loss one might feel in realizing whatever peoples did dwell here have long since gone. The gentle grace in traversing The Forgotten Temple at the start. Maybe seeing their souls dancing about in the more melodic pulses heard in Wandering Forms. Subsuming oneself into an underwater trove of hidden relics in Deep Waves. Ah, that descent into something more ominous with Unknown Castle makes better sense, following this sort of journey.

N:L:E - Floating Garden

Liquid Frog Records: 2021

This was bound to happen sooner or later. An artist releasing this much music in such a short time span, mostly sticking to a dubby, downtempo and ambient aesthetic for his works, can't help but repeat themselves here and there. And that's fine, musicians exploring different facets of similar themes and all. How many blues singers or folk warblers basically rehash the same song structure over and over (not to mention the banal repetitiveness of pop country). What I hadn't counted on was hearing nearly a carbon-copy of a track!

Or at least, I thought I did. I swear, the opening track to N:L:E's Floating Garden - A Green Sunshine - I've heard before. Granted, it's sometimes hard parsing out which minimalist ambient piece differs from another, especially after the amount I've already heard from Juan Pablo. Towards the back half, though, a gentle, harmonic tone ebbs in and out, putting you into a meditative trance. It then has a rather abrupt fade-out at the end, but then starts right back up in follow-up track Nice Light For My Plants. It carries on for a little while, receding again for another round of ultra-calm ambient, then re-emerges later on. And damn if I haven't heard this exact sequence with that exact harmonic tone used elsewhere in Mr. Giacovino's catalogue.

Thing is, I actually checked the releases I've thus far covered, and didn't come across it again! Granted, I wasn't sifting through every track minute by minute to confirm – that's well over thirty items, including ten Caravan Of Healing Sounds. My autistic ticks only take me so far before giving up on some obsessions. Still gave it as good of a skim as is deemed sensible, and nope, didn't hear that sequence elsewhere. Did I somehow Mandela Effect myself into this? Maybe I happened to play Floating Garden out of sequence sometime in the past couple years since I bought the N:L:E discography? Really and truly bizarre.

If this all seems like a wild tangent, well, that's because I'm reviewing another Natural Life Essence album. There really isn't much else I can say about them beyond what particular style Juan Pablo opts to explore on a particular release, Floating Garden going deep in the lowercase ambient field indeed. Gentle melodic tones, relaxing field recordings, and all that tranquil stuff. Like one of his Caravans though, he does bring some dubby beats towards the end for Rain In The Floating Garden 2, then gets a little peppier with them in closer The Happiness Of A Floating Dandelion. Given they are the shortest cuts on this seven-tracker (titular piece runs over sixteen minutes), it's clear they're not a primary focus for Floating Garden. More like bringing you back awake in case you dozed too deeply for the past hour.

This definitely is one of the calmest albums I've heard from N:L:E. At least, I think it is, from recent memory. Man, this discography dive is already two years old...

Spiritual Fields - Fields Of Light

Liquid Frog Records: 2018

Wow, it's actually been a legit two months-plus since I last did a release from ol' Juan Pablo (which means he's released four more items during that period!). I'll grant half that time was taken up by vacations, and at least another third from the return of Fabric On A Budget. Still, any time I can put some space between these endless N:L:E items is a bonus in my books. Not that I've developed a distaste for them, just sometimes you need thoughts on an artist to marinate in your brain before diving into them again. Recharge the talking points, come fresh with new perspectives gleaned from real world events.

So getting back into the Liquid Frog catalogue anew, ready to tackle any and all items waiting alphabetically in my queue. Ooh, it's one of the Spiritual Fields items, the least active of Mr. Giacovino's side projects. Not only that, but this is the first such release he used the alias for, coming out quite early in his musical development. In fact, if the little blurb on the Bandcamp page is to be believed, Fields Of Light was crafted before he even started putting stuff out as Natural Life Essence. Okay, it states “an oldie rare crazy track”, but one doesn't typically call a tune of theirs such a thing unless it was made in the before-times of a career properly starting off. And since it doesn't quite mesh with whatever you currently are making hay off of, here's a unique handle for it so it's distinct from your main output. Maybe file that name for future reference, if something else strikes the muse feeding off of it.

Cool then, some pre-N:L:E material, which should be solid enough if Juan Pablo felt confident to release it regardless. Wait, it's only two tracks? Well, one, as this honestly comes off like an extended jam session like so many of those Caravan Of Healing Emotions did. Combined they do break the twenty-minute mark though, which is enough music for me to come up with something worth writing about ...I hope.

Heck, Fields Of Light Part I almost reminds me of a Caravan session, in that it uses similar, sweeping synth pads performed in an exultant fashion. There's also a lot of busy, dubby rhythm going on, mixing things up here and there in a freeform way – honestly sounds rather like playing about with sample packs, but it's all nicely crafted regardless. There's barely a pause between the two tracks, an ambient fade marking the start of Fields Of Light Part II. The longer session, there's more interesting sounds and melody on display here, but it does kinda' meander about too, in that classic post-Orb sort of way much ambient dub did. Like, you know the more dithering portions of Orbus Terrum? That, but without the eventual conclusion those tracks eventually arrived at. Hell, Part II seemingly ends at various points, only to start right back up again for a few minutes more.

N:L:E - Ethereal Land

Liquid Frog Records: 2021

Another N:L:E mini-album with four self-titled tracks, but surprisingly not part of an ongoing series. Or maybe the various [Blank] Land items in Mr. Giacovino's discography are a series in of itself? I've already done an Uncharted Land - heck, basically kicked his catalogue off on that one. There's also Wetlands, Mushroom Land, Fungus Land, and even Yaghan's Land and Land Of Fire, over on the Yahgan side-project. Lot of Lands, is what I'm sayin'. Which would have made for a handy 'cheat' if they were all titled Land Of instead. Could have consolidated everything into one lump of a review, like all those Caravan Of Healing Sounds. Oh, you bet your bottom dollar I'm gonna' do the same with a few more series scattered about the Natural Life Essence catalogue. Gotta' cut corners wherever I can with so many odds n' sods.

Ethereal Land is pretty much a stand-alone though, which is surprising in of itself. Juan Pablo hasn't shown much hesitation in dropping sequels to these short-form concept albums, especially when each track is self-titled and numerical. Even some of his earliest works like Emerged Garden and Wetlands have seen follow-ups in the time since I bulk-bought everything off Bandcamp. Which was, what, a year and half ago now? Huh, doesn't feel a week over fifteen months. That isn't to say he won't come back to the Ethereal Lands at some point, I'm just surprised he hasn't yet. Maybe he felt all that was worth tapping into this concept was fully explored in this singular session?

Wouldn't surprise me, as a generally ambient excursion, Ethereal Land isn't charting terribly different sonic avenues as I've heard in so many other N:L:E outings. I'm actually more surprised it is so strictly an ambient one, most of Juan Pablo's outings under this banner typically featuring some dubby beatcraft among all the layered synth pads. Then again, having any sort of rhythm section would likely clumsily contrast with the whole concept of ethereal music in the first place, so just as well he didn't bother with it.

And what sort of ethereal soundscapes do we get to indulge in this four-tracker? Ethereal Land 1 gets heavy with the field recordings, distant synth tones lazily doodling about, more prominent pings and pulses piercing the tranquil state of things. Ethereal Land 2 does have more momentum going for it, the bell tones approaching something actually rhythmic while voice pads ebb and flow for a while. After that, it's similar territory as 1. Ethereal Land 3 almost entirely does away with melodic harmony, letting the water-logged field recordings do the heavy lifting as the subtlest of drones do their thing in the background. Ethereal Land 4, meanwhile, jettisons the field recordings in favour of layered synth pads and sci-fi sounds. Yep, it's the ol' 'leaving terra firma for upper astral' play again. Seems to be a running theme for many of these N:L:E sessions. Can't blame 'im tho', an effective ambient concept as it is.

Kiphi - Eternal Molecule

Liquid Frog Records: 2020

Oh, wow, a side-project from the Giacovino family that I don't have to submit to Discogs! Yeah, there were already a number of Natural Life Essence items within the Lord's tomes before I started adding a bunch more, but all the other aliases like Yaghan or H:U:M or Spiritual Fields? Forget it. For the most part, Kiphi's fallen under that banner too, but lo', this solo 'debut' from Jose was already in the database, which saves me the hassle of doing the deed myself.

Eh, why am I even bothering with such a time-consuming process as archiving the entirety of Liquid Frog Records' catalogue? Shouldn't Juan Pablo take care of that business? Well, maybe, but remember, I have this 'thing' where I'll only review something if it has an entry with Lord Discogs. If I must submit the release myself to maintain that standard, then I must, even if it's one as extensive as this one's turned out. Still, I cannot deny, had to cheat a little on that Caravan Of Healing Sounds series, in that I totally skipped adding any at all. Maybe I will, latter in life, when I have nothing better to do, but yeah, not really in a hurry to start on that. There's plenty other N:L:E releases to deal with than a dozen long-form ambient pieces.

Which Eternal Molecule definitely is not. Before I realized Kiphi was a different Giacovino, I still noticed the project paired with N:L:E brought something slightly unique to the music, mostly in the way of arps. This album was released shortly after the consolidation of Between Dreams Or Reality, the first one standing apart from Juan Pablo's contributions. If Jose was gonna' make his mark, this was the prime opportunity to do so. Something that couldn't be mistaken for another Natural Life Essence joint.

He succeeded there, though only in the slimmest of margins. Folks unfamiliar with the nuances of downtempo music likely wouldn't notice (or care) how the music on Eternal Molecule skews slightly more psy dub than ambient dub compared to the bulk of Liquid Frog releases. For yours truly though, it was enough of a difference such that I was more engaged with Kiphi's material than I have been with much of N:L:E's works as of late. Over-saturation of a particular artist's style tends to do that.

There's noticeable elements reminding you these are still tracks produced in the same studio and emerged from similar creative processes, just performed in a different way. Don't think I've heard a digital vocal sample manipulated this groovy in opener Temple Of The Sun, for instance. Or a downbeat acid jam flirt this closely to vintage Delerium as heard in Ulthar. The more ambient pieces though, like Beyond Thoughts and Holistic Source, while nice, don't deviate much from other N:L:E works.

One thing did catch me by surprise though, something I heard little obvious reliance on: arps! Eternal Molecule's kinda' better for it, too.