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.

Natural Life Essence - Emerged Garden

Liquid Frog Records: 2017

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

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

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

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

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

N:L:E - Ecovillage

Liquid Frog Records: 2022

Not very often we get an album focusing so specifically on the achievements of mankind from N:L:E. Juan Pablo tends to prefer exploring our naturalistic surroundings, from the micro to the macro, realms unconcerned with humanity's presence. Even Yahgan, a direct reference to a people living in the remote ends of Argentina, is more an homage to their nearly lost culture than an exploration of our species' presence in even the most inhospitable clime's.

And maybe its that concern for the often destructive nature of our adaptive abilities that got Mr. Giacovino feeling inspired by something a little more sustainable in co-existing within our environments. Make no mistake: for as remarkable as its been that we've bent mother nature to our will in service of our survival, its come with many fallouts too. No other animal has so radically altered its living spaces for its own benefit to such a degree as humans have. Even the engineering feats of the mighty beaver pale compared to our concrete fortifications. Heck, given how much Earth's atmosphere has changed during the Holocene Epoch, we just might give even cyanobacteria a run for its money! Okay, maybe not. They had a few hundred million years to do what they did, and we'll be lucky to make it to our first million years of existence.

Where was I? Oh, right, ecovillages. Yeah, that's one way we might stave off our inevitable doom. Dwellings making use of natural energy sources like solar power and windmills and rain floods. All good for small scale communities, absolutely, though you'd really have to dig that isolated trad life while you're at it. And hey, given the ever-increasing stresses put upon us by over-stimulation from ongoing world events, unplugging and retreating to the ass-ends of some corner of Earth does sound tempting. Still, take it from someone who did spend a spell living in one of those ass-ends of the Earth: shit gets real boring real fast. You gotta' be quite content with the humdrum life, because there ain't much else that'll get your jimmies rustled. Not for the ADHD inclined, is what I'm sayin'.

Anyhow, Ecovillage. As this is something of a more 'earthly' concept from Natural Life Essence, the music on hand gets quite groovy and dubby for much of its runtime. Saving Water even whips out the melodica for a jam over its ultra-lazy rhythms, while Chant adds some simulated throat singing (I assume, since it doesn't sound much like a sample). Elsewhere, Fire Storm Ritual ups the tempo to prog-psy levels, though retains rather mostly broken beats for its duration, all the while reminding me of AstroPilot in the process (whoo, acid!).

Overall, a generally uplifting, positive vibe is maintained, as though we're bearing witness to a community in high spirits going about their daily activities. Hey, you didn't have to sell the idea of an Ecovillage that hard, Juan Pablo. You had me at 'environmentally sustainable arable society' alone. How's the internet connection though?

N:L:E - Dune

Liquid Frog Records: 2021

Man, everyone gettin' their Dune on d'eez days, eh? Film makers, musicians, video essayists, and the whole lot. I'd like to say I've been getting down with the Dune just as much, but I can't quite make that leap. Like, the first movie from a few years back, I was a little intrigued, but already knowing the bulk of the story, wasn't that hyped for it either. And to be perfectly blunt, Denis' take on the source material looked almost too reverential, really focusing on the world building to an almost fetishistic degree. Say what you will about the Lynch version, but that movie had some real balls in going so gonzo with set design. David firmly putting his signature on it, catch my drift? Does Villeneuve's Dune have any scene as glorious as Patrick Stewart leading a charge into battle with pug in arms? I think not!

Still, that second movie, that would be the stuff. Those story beats got massively butchered in the Lynch version due to a truncated script, but surely Denis would flesh everything out with all the extra time afforded. Wait, it doesn't feature a creepy little girl murdering the Baron? Well, geez, what's the point, then? One of the best aspects of Dune is just how fucked up the source material really is.

Admittedly, I haven't read the books, mostly digesting the lore through video essays and dense fan wikis. My hesitation comes from being unsure whether Herbert's prose can live up to the premise. I sense Dune is one of those novels that's more fascinating in its ideas and world building than it is in actual execution, and perhaps why its long been regarded as unfilmable. Well, whatever the case, I can at least rest easy understanding every Duncan Idaho meme on the internet.

Oh, wait, I'm supposed to be talking about Juan Pablo Giacovino's take with Dune, aren't I? This almost feels unfair, in that a lot of musicians have taken inspiration from Dune, and how can I possibly compare his to them all? It doesn't sound like Toto. It doesn't sound like Brian Eno. It doesn't sound like Hans Zimmer. And doesn't sound like EON. It sounds like... well, it sounds like one of his Caravan sessions, if I'm honest.

Which is fine in of itself, but doesn't really capture the inhospitable nature of Arrakis, does it? So calm, flowing, and soothing, little of the mystery and ominous feeling of wandering a dry wasteland dominated by impossibly large worms, all the while tripping your dimensional space off to spice. No, this feels more like traversing the gentle waves of fine particulate grains gracefully moving across an arid surface of a mild wind, existing between the two extremes of torturous heat and deathly cold. There is still a sense of the grand in N:L:E's ambient excursions, but more like gazing upon the environment from afar, unaware and unconcerned with the turmoil that lurks within its unique surface.

N:L:E - Docking To The New Space Station

Liquid Frog Records: 2020

Hey, remember Natural Life Essence? Boy, sure has been a while since I last talked about an album specific to this alias of Juan Pablo Giacovino. According to my stats, the last was Botanical Adventures way back in December, which, okay, maybe not that long ago, what with a month off between and all. Still, it feels like I've been focusing more on Juan Pablo's other projects than this one as of late. Except Yahgan, that one's been left out on a limb for a while now.

Oh, and I'm kinda' fibbing on dealing with a regular ol' album from N:L:E in this case, even if the title doesn't imply as such. Way back when Juan Pablo started out, he released a three-part series called Space Caravan (chap loves his caravans), which I assume helped him stand out from an overstuffed ambient market. Nothing gets fans of droning synth tones more amped than adding a little conceptualization of the cosmic grande. Wrapped, he moved onto other sonic pursuits like bio-diversity and adventures of polar peoples, generally leaving the space stuff behind. That didn't last long though, returning to Space Caravan with Docking To The New Space Station, a spiritual sequel in concept if not in title. Not much longer after that, he started an entirely new alias for any and all space ambient music on his mind, H:U:M. But that's getting ahead of things. Or reiterating points I've already made. I'm honestly losing track of all this ten months on.

Calling this an album also may be a slight fib, in that three of the five tracks are billed as remixes of the titular opener. I'm not sure how much of a difference that makes overall, but as I've heard in other releases from Juan Pablo, he isn't afraid of exploring different facets of similar themes over genre variations. Just usually those are distinguished as 'Part's or '[Alias] Remix's, not independently titled remixes in of themselves. Well, I guess he was still sussing all these things out – when one has as relentless a work rate has Mr. Giacovino has shown, things like titling conventions tend to be a little fluid.

As for the main near-fifteen minute track, it's got much of what I've come to expect out of an N:L:E Caravan session: flowing, whispery synth pads, some spritely effects sprinkled about, a little arp action building rhythmic momentum in the back-end. And I swear there's a distant woodwind sample that rather reminds me of the opening refrains you hear on many an Enigma album. The Sounds Of New Sun Mix is much the same, but features bell tones rather than arps, the Error Data Solved Mix brings in some simple rhythms, and the Short Transmission Mix is basically the Original Mix at half the length. There's also a final cut of Ending Transmission which really gets on some proper planetarium ambient vibes, just in case you were feeling well sated on all the layered whispery pad work that preceded it.

Spiritual Fields - Dharma

Liquid Frog Records: 2021

And finally we come the last of Mr. Giacovino's aliases, Spiritual Fields. Not as robust as Natural Life Essence or as thematically specific as Yahgan or H:U:M, though I'm sure one can easily glean what musical lane this one likes to travel. I'm kinda' surprised we've already gotten to it this far along in this exorbitant coverage of Juan Pablo's entire music catalogue (up to a certain point), somehow thinking it'd be even further down the road. Then again, I think I've gotten through something like thirty percent of his music now, so time seems about right I'd stumble upon Spiritual Fields.

Funny thing is, if I really wanted to, I could skip most of the EPs of this alias, many tracks appearing on the self-titled album released after. That would, of course, slot any significant coverage of Spiritual Fields way down the queue. I don't think it's that necessary to do so – it's not like there's a tonne of Spiritual Fields releases out there anyway. In terms of reviews, it'd really only save me a couple. Yes, I know between this and Suntrip Records CDs, it feels like a never-ending barrage of the same ol' over and over. I'm sure it felt like that with Lucette Bourdin as well. Or those Neil Young box-sets. Or the In Trance We Trust series. Or the Fabric series. Hmm, speaking of, it is spring again, when my fancy thoughts of Fabric start anew...

Anyhow, Dharma. This was the last of the Spiritual Fields EPs before Juan Pablo consolidated a bunch of them onto an LP (released a mere two months afterwards), three out the four tracks making the cut. And I'm not surprised the one that didn't, um, didn't, as it's strictly an ambient affair whereas the other three maintain a groovy, reggae dub rhythm. Yeah, if there's anything I'd say defines Spiritual Fields among all of Mr. Giacovino's works, its the prominent leap into psy dub's territory. That honestly caught me a little off guard, in that I thought this was gonna' be more world beat leaning, and for sure it has those elements too. Just not so prominent as low end vibes these tracks offer.

As is so often the case, I can't help but think of what each particular track reminds me of rather than how it sounds on its own merits. There's elements of the ambient mix of Dharma that have me thinking of the lengthy, tranquil ambient jams of vintage Fax+ material. Happy Monks [ Rising Sun Again Mix ] gets me vibing to some dubby house via The Orb's jams with Youth. And there's just something about Hard Road [ Hard Journey ] that has me thinking more in line with a Loop Guru jam – maybe it's the flute? Really the only track that feels like a typical N:L:E tune is the main one, though obviously with some gentle chants and dubby rhythms differentiating it from actual N:L:E material. Not by much though.

H:U:M - Dark Matter

Liquid Frog Records: 2021

Back in the summer of '21, Juan Pablo Giacovino released a pair of H:U:M releases simply titled Dark Matter. Only, he didn't title each one distinctly from the other (like Dark Matter II, or such as), creating a glitch in my music library sorting. Thus both Dark Matters ended up in the same 'album' folder, despite being separate sessions.

Or maybe they were all the same session, and Mr. Giacovino sold them separately? Even though each track is numerically titled, it's clear they all flow into each other. Yes, there's a fade between them, but that's more a consequence of the annoying streaming service handicap that doesn't allow for smooth, uninterrupted playthroughs between digital files. You either offer up a single, long track, or do light fades between so they don't abruptly start or end.

And I get that this is a bit of a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' situation. Not everyone wants to hear a thirty-to-sixty minute session of music in one go, sometimes content skipping to preferred sections. It's the sort of feature even Pete Namlook realized was a nice point of convenience for the listener, many of his older, hour-long ambient jams broken up for easy CD indexing. That simply isn't doable with digital files though, always that micro-second gap lurking between tracks. Hence, all the fades. (note to producers: it's very annoying when that digital file fade makes its way to a CD copy, just sayin').

So I assume it went with Juan Pablo's Dark Matter session. He ended up crafting an hour-plus long piece, but figured folks wouldn't be interested in a whole outing, so split things up into ten-to-eleven minute chunks. Why split them into two separate releases though? Or maybe there was just the first one, and he carried on with another shortly after? I mean, the fade between Dark Matter 3 and Dark Matter 4 isn't so noticeable – indeed, doze and you'll miss it. And the music of Dark Matter 4, 5, and 6 is distinct enough from 1, 2, and 3 such that they could be considered two separate half-hour tracks. Why am I micro-analyzing such things anyway? I dunno', just find it interesting how artists present their art, especially in the fickle environment that is streaming services.

Anyhow, Dark Matter 1-3 is the most ambient of the lot, mostly spacious pads gently floating along for all your stargazing needs. The whispiest of effects gradually emerge in 2, while twinkling synths finally add a little rhythmic momentum in 3. If you are listening to all six parts in one shot, you'll definitely hear a tonal shift in 4, with slightly busier elements coming and going throughout 5 and 6. Oh, and be prepared for a vocal sample that will rudely knock you out of whatever state of bliss you're feeling, so abrupt and piercing compared to the general tranquility as it is. Also doesn't help it always seems to appear when you're least expecting it.

N:L:E & Kiphi - Crystal Vision

Liquid Frog Records: 2022

After kicking off my block of 'C' albums with ten volumes of Caravan Of Healing Sounds, we had to wait until the end of this batch for another item of Juan Pablo's to appear again. Technically, there's two down here, Crystal Vision and Cycle, but the latter was already covered in the consolidation collection of N:L:E and Kiphi material Between Dreams Or Reality. Well, okay, there's one other track on the Cycle single, a shorter beatless version, but doesn't warrant any more attention than what I'm providing in this sentence. The original version is better, and I've done sorted that out. Let's stick to Crystal Vision here, and worry not about redundant releases. I've plenty more music from Mr. Giacovino as it is.

Have to admit, I'm surprised at seeing another 'collaboration' between these two aliases this far into Juan Pablo's discography. I thought he'd fully kept them separate at this point, finding enough distinct characteristics with his Kiphi project (specifically looping melodic arps) such that it didn't need the N:L:E bump helping it along.

Then again, he put out another N:L:E & Kiphi joint just this past December, Lights Between. And another prior in June called Floating Orbs. Hmm, maybe he just likes releasing them around solstices? *checks month of Crystal Vision* Oh, this one came out in May. Welp, so much for that theory. Also, I know I've said it before, but good God is this man ever relentless in his output. My last proper review of one his albums, Botanical Adventures, was late December, and he's added five more releases since. That makes for thirty more releases since I bulk-bought his Bandcamp catalogue! Almost makes me thankful I did buy in when I did.

Three tracks are the main feature of this EP, with alternate versions featured in the back-half. The titular opener certainly imparts visions of shimmering crystals, pulsing bright synths and angelic flowing pads building upon each other, eventually ebbing out for a little gentle piano playing. Follow-up Lifetime ups the energy some, bringing in a simple rhythms and soaring synth work that'll have it nestled nicely within the realms of AstroPilot psy-chill. The tune fades down, and while Ilusion is billed as a separate track, it essentially carries on from Lifetime with similar music themes, going more minimalist and groovy as it does.

And the rubs? Crystal Vision [ Retouched ] brings in an ambient dub groove, Lifetime [ NLE Version ] surprisingly goes beatless (isn't N:L:E the alias with the beats?), and Ilusion [ NLE Version ] extends out with a little Tubular Bells building before going full psy-chill itself. That one at least tracks.

That's another item out of Mr. Giacovino's catalogue covered, then. Still a long way to go before finishing his discography off, but take heart, intrepid readers, there's not a whole lot in the 'D' block coming up. At least, nothing where I'll have to 'cheat' again with a bevy of microblogging recaps.

N:L:E - Caravan Of Healing Sounds

So I took a month off to 'recharge' my creative spark and all that, but to be completely honest, it was also partly in fear of dealing with this series. As committed to reviewing Every. Single. Item. in my music collection as I am, I was utterly stumped in how to approach this run of ten albums from Juan Pablo Giacovino and keep it interesting. Even all those Lucette Bourdin albums were reasonably spaced out enough such that I could approach them from a different angle each time. Spending nearly two weeks on just Natural Life Essence ambient music though? Sorry, I got nothin'. I couldn't even think of a clever 'gimmick', like guest reviewers (real or fictional) or turning the process into some fanciful flight of fictional writing. There had to be something I could do though?

Hey, what about that 'sportsing' survey thing I do on the side? Just write concise, micro-blogging length summaries of each volume after listening to them on a stroll, then consolidate them all here in one fell swoop. Yeah, that can work, and at least keep some writing momentum going during this 'downtime'. Besides, I think everyone, Juan Pablo included, would agree Caravan Of Healing Sounds doesn't need that much critical analysis given to it. It's music mostly intended for background play and relaxing thoughts, right? Um, right... 'mostly'. Turns out this series was more diverse than I thought going in, but let's see how it all shook out regardless.










And that's done and dusted. Time to move onto the rest of my 'C' albums in this blog's never ending conquest of my music consumption coverage. A letter block that includes... hrm, more Suntrip CDs, more Speedy J material, and more N:L:E items. Folks, I promise I have more variety in my 'To Review' pile further down the line!

As for my next 'sportsing' survey, I think I need something with some actual pep to it again, a tried and tested, dependable source of cock-rock music as there's ever been, a band that's always heard at every sporting event you'll ever attend. Can you hear it, the 'THUN-DAH' on the air...?

N:L:E - Botanical Adventures

Liquid Frog Records: 2021

You can see how these Natural Life Essence releases kinda' run into each other now, right? This is the third one I'm doing with light green cover art (forth if you want to include the album on Neotantra). All of them featured some sort of naturalistic theme (woods, wetlands, etc.) and came out all within the same year of each other.

Mind, Juan Pablo is quite relentless in his rate of output regardless. I bulk-bought his Bandcamp discography thirteen months ago and he's released an additional twenty-five items since! That's nearly two releases per month! Man, imagine if I'd waited a year to do such a deed – I'd be buried in N:LE and Kiphi and H:U:M and Yahgan, more so than I already am. And while I haven't disliked anything I've covered thus far, it can't all be mint material, can it? I dunno' about that, but considering the reason I did bulk-buy was because I couldn't decide off any particular few sampled, it would be one Hell of a ratio for an artist.

The other thing though, is after a dozen items thus reviewed, I'm starting to hear Mr. Giacovino's sonic tricks and such. And hey, that's not such a bad thing, artists having signature styles and all. If falling back on a successful formula makes it easier for him to keep the creative fires burning, that's totally fine. Unfortunately, it makes individual albums difficult to stand out from the rest, familiarity leading me to believe I've already heard certain ideas explored. I honestly thought as such as Botanical Adventures played out, but comparing it to the last N:LE item I reviewed, Bioluminescent Forest, revealed that not to be the case in the slightest. Hmm, maybe I needed to go all the way back to W:O:O:D to confirm?

I mean, you can forgive for thinking there's some mighty familiar sounds going on. Fluid Transportation has those spacious, flowing pads and dubby melodies gently growing in prominence, the sort of sound that's about as definitive N:L:E as anything I've heard. Then the beat emerges, treading similar ambient dub grooves as- no, wait, all that digital spittering and sputtering in tandem. Huh, that's new. Mind, it ain't a touch on Tipper's digital manipulations, but certainly something unique.

Still, the rest of the album plays out in typical fashion as I've come to know N:L:E albums. The calm ambient pieces that make for lovely meditation music, the ambient dub cuts bringing some rugged contrast to the gentler tracks, the multiple versions of a track showing off either side of Juan Pablo's muse, and that one outlier tracks you didn't expect, in this case drum 'n' bass! Actually, Photosynthesis just barely could be considered as such, the 2-step rhythm and bassline working in spite of itself as the rest of the track is almost too happy and chipper for the totally serious d'n'b scene. Like, imagine if Banco de Gaia did an uplifting jungle tune.

N:L:E & Kiphi - Blurred Milkyway

Liquid Frog Records: 2021

Juan Pablo may have set up a specific alias in H:U:M to explore the space music side of his muse, but he wasn't quite there yet when he released this. Only one month away, in fact. Not that this was the first time he set his sonic sights to the outer cosmos, the three part Space Caravan series making up a tidy chunk of the early Natural Life Essence discography and all. This was his first return to something specifically spacey though, and I'm assuming after completing this three track single, Mr. Giacovino realized, yep, he's got more in the tank for this style of sound, so lets create a whole new alias for it.

I also kinda' 'hummed' and hawed about even doing this one. I've got a lot of Liquid Frog Records material now, maybe even more than Suntrip or Cryo Chamber (!!). Do I need to cover everything? Not really, especially if they're single-song releases. There may even be items down the line which are just re-uploads of prior material, as I've discovered with some of these N:LE & Kiphi tracks. Plus, I've already established a release has to be at least twenty minutes long for me to consider it a proper item worth review, right? Eh, you say I've already broken that rule? Oh, right, that Daniel Pemberton Silent Sky thing... that was barely ten minutes long. Okay, fine, ten minutes is the absolute minimum ...which Blurred Milkyway easily breaches. Ah well.

Actually, this one lasts nearly half an hour, with two versions of the main track, and a lengthier ambient 'b-side' in Deep Breath. Not that the original Blurred Milkyway wasn't ambient in of itself, but as this is partially a Kiphi joint as well, that means we get some nice, rhythmic synth arps joining in on the flowing pads and shimmering sprinkles of spritely synths. Deep Breath is basically the same, but stretched out to a languid pace, the Kiphi arps in no hurry to move along. Much like when actually watching the Milky Way move across the night sky.

If you find yourself in need of picking up the pace (it's not like the universe will last forever or anything), the Fast Star Mix adds a beat. Okay, it's about as slow as a prog-psy rhythm gets, momentum not much brisker than the original Blurred Milkyway. It's also rather deeper than the main cut, lacking the flair of twinkling synths, which really sells that feeling of being lost in the gaze of the darkest portions of our galaxy.

Speaking of, I cannot deny some envy of Juan Pablo's perspective in star gazing. Alpha Centauri, the Southern Cross, the Magellan Clouds, Eta Carinae, Omega Centauri, the Coalsack Nebula... so many object I've never had a chance to see, forever in his night sky. I know, I know, I should just make a trip to the Southern Hemisphere if I really want to see them. I still am overdue for that Kerguelen Island voyage...

N:L:E - Bioluminescent Forest

Liquid Frog Records: 2020

When I think of a 'bioluminescent forest', I think of the out-wordly foliage of those Avatar movies. Which, y'know, makes one-hundred percent sense, since the alien world of Pandora does feature all manner of indigenous fauna that glows in the dark. It's like James Cameron wandered the woods of an outdoor psy trance party and thought, “This, but naturally grown.” Come to think of it, ol' Jim's been fascinated by bioluminosity since at least The Abyss, a movie featuring an entire underwater realm of beings bespeckled in shimmering lights emitting from their metabolisms. I'm sure its his motivating factor in all those deep sea dives, hoping to stumble upon a true Atlantian civilization hidden within oceanic depths so far uncharted. Eh, we've done an adequate job surveying the abyssal plain thus far – ain't much down there after all.

Where was I? Oh yeah, Bioluminescent Forest. I bring all that Avatar business up because the Pandora forests are what I associate with such a title. Why, then, is the cover art of Natural Life Essence's album so drab and grey? I mean, it's a nice picture of a meadow at dawn, but hardly a forest, much less of a bioluminescent variety. Then again, there aren't any naturally occurring plants that glow in the dark as it is, so it would be a heavy ask for Juan Pablo providing cover art of such a thing. Plus, given the track names of this album, the cover art does make more sense. One doesn't think of shimmering lights when reading titles like Cold Thick Fog, Night, and Rainy Day. Methinks the theme may be a bit muddled here.

The first half at least sets out as it means to, The Autumn Ritual opening with some nice field recordings before settling into a nice, dubby jaunt of glittering synths and groovy rhythms. I wouldn't call this psy dub, but it does remind me some of Sync24's works, just without the added acid. Follow-up Tree Reunion slows things down, even invoking some Amazonian rain-forest vibes ...a vibe I just realized has been noticeably absent from Mr. Giacovino's work considering he resides in South America. True, Argentina ain't equatorial, but y'know what I mean.

Anyhow, as the album plays out, I can't help but feel we're mostly exploring similar ideas over various styles. The three-track run of Night, And, and Day lasts well over thirty-five minutes, and is practically the same musical piece, just progressively more minimalist and ambient. It's neat after a fashion, but rather feels out of place among all the other tracks, especially since the almost chipper reggae-dub of Cold Thick Fog precedes it. More than that though, many of the backing, whispery synth pads sound like they're in the same key, leading to the whole album sounding rather samey throughout. Still, hearing the gentle pitter-patter of percipitation in closer Rainy Day as gentle synths bip and bop about, how can I have negative thoughts about Bioluimiscent Forest? I simply cannot.

N:L:E & Kiphi - Between Dreams Or Reality

Liquid Frog Records: 2020

And now we're introduced to Mr. Giacovino's trance alias, Kiphi! Okay, I use the word 'trance' very loosely here, as there's little on this album that could be considered full-bore club trance or flailing under the stars psy trance. Maybe its more prominent on the 'solo' Kiphi albums, of which there's a handful, but from the few samples I've taken in, it doesn't seem so. Rather, Kiphi is the alias Juan Pablo uses when he makes music with synthy arps and multi-tap delays, tricks of the trance trade for sure, but also quite common in spritely ambient techno and atmospheric Berlin School (and, er, some New Age too). Trance-inducing, yeah, but not really trance.

It also seems he wasn't terribly certain this alternate alias could stand on its own, hitching it to Natural Life Essence for the bulk of its initial run. In fact, if Bandcamp release dates are anything to go by (and it's about the only thing I have to go by on chronological data), this particular album was more a compilation of prior singles, soon after followed by a proper solo Kiphi album called Eternal Molecule. Wait, does this mean I can skip on Random Touch, Twilight and Cycle down the line? I mean, if it's just the same tracks as appearing on this here Between Dreams Or Reality, it'd be highly redundant on my part to review them again, right?

Well, there is a slight difference with Twilight and Cycle, in that only one version from each of those appears here. Cycle is the older of the two, indeed the first N:L:E & Kiphi item released. And as mentioned, it's a pulsing ambient piece with synthy arps and chord progression that wouldn't sound out of place in a pumping trance tune. Much of it fades back for a more prominent melodic lead before heading into a synthy crescendo. Cool stuff, and certainly better than the Ambient Reform version which seems to take the peak and break it up with drone intermissions. Interestingly, Juan Pablo grabs the Panoramic Mix of Twilight rather than the original version for this album, which isn't much different beyond the spritely, bouncing synths getting more focus. Meanwhile, both tracks from Random Touch - Guide Star and Random Touch - make the cut for Between Dreams Or Reality. One's more Berlin School in its opulent synth work, even throwing in some rhythms, while the other is way more chill.

*phew* That's almost the entirety of Between Dreams Or Reality discussed, and I haven't even touched upon the titular track yet. Tracks, actually, as two versions bookend this album, the opener a more upbeat version, the closer a blissier option. The only other track I can tell is unique to here is Kindred Spirit, which is about as close to the realms of trance as Kiphi gets. More prog-psy, I guess. Will be interested to hear whether such a groovy vibe appears in any future Kiphi items, as Mr. Giacovino is more than adept at it.

N:L:E & Yahgan - Antarctica

Liquid Frog Records: 2022

What, you thought I was done with Mr. Giacovino? It's only been two months since I last talked him up, a not-insignificant gap of time for sure, but not so long as to grow forgetful. I only just started this discography back in early June, and we've a long way to go indeed before finishing it off. Hell, that Lucette Bourdin box-set took nearly two years to complete, so ain't no way we're wrapping up Natural Life Essence and all his various aliases in due haste. There will just be alphabetically imposed lean times, is all, just as I'm sure there will be with all those Suntrip CDs. I'm sure...

This particular release has a little something extra to talk about though, in that it features both N:L:E and Yahgan, Juan Pablo's project that references the peoples native to the southernmost tip of South America. Naturally, music with a more frigid, arctic theme tends to follow this handle, but sometimes you gotta' get in a little extra pep with those vibes – keep the toes toasty with the tap-dancing, and whatnot. At least, that's what I assume is going on in combining the two projects for this release: a typical N:L:E jam-out, but with something thematically colder than his usual assortment of earthly sounds. I feel like we're cutting the differences between all of Mr. Giacovino's projects down to the slimmest of margins here.

I can't deny having some difficulty discerning the difference between N:L:E and Yahgan with these lengthy pieces. Antarctica features two twenty-minute plus tracks, and a 'bonus' cut of ten-minutes. The first, Antarctic Sun, does capture the feeling of a brightening dawn emerging over a frozen wasteland, chilly pads and glistening synths sparkling layer upon layer. With plenty of time to stretch things out, the piece is well past half-over before a dubby bassline and soft rhythm joins the chill party. Beyond some backing pads growing more prominent, however, Antarctic Sun doesn't really shoot for a rousing climax. Would seem out of place for such a generally tranquil track.

By contrast, Glacial Night keeps things strictly on the down-low and mysterious, the only hint of rhythm being sparse synth heartbeats. While there are similar elements at play as in Antarctic Sun, they're performed so subtly, it truly does impart a feeling of being locked in eternal night. Right, we're not talking dark ambient levels of dread, the shimmering nature of Juan Pablo's music providing too much relative bliss. Think more the twinkling of southern stars, or glistening ice on iceberg-clogged waters. There is a build of rhythm towards the end of Glacial Night, as though the long twilight is coming to an end, but doesn't amount to much on the whole.

Speaking of icebergs, Wandering Icebergs (Hypnotic Trip Mix) closes this album out, though it's just more of the same lengthy, loopy ambient pulses we've heard already, with some added echo and field recordings for flavour. It's fine, just feels like the 'bonus track' its designated as.