Jeannine Schulz - Humble

Polar Seas Recordings: 2022

Now there's a word that's kept me down all my life. Why couldn't I have been born with total narcissistic tendencies, throwing myself out there without a care in the world of how others think of me, deluding myself into believing everyone needs me in their lives? No, I had to be born a humble person, appreciating the positive reinforcement I receive for my creative efforts, but never actively seeking them. Humbleness may sound good for the soul, but is damn near disastrous for marketing. Unless... you can parlay that into its own form of marketing! Certainly worked for a couple famous philosophical folk, but could it in this day and age, where sociopathic influencers rule the world? Heck, I'd accept that challenge, but y'know, humble to a fault and all.

Anyhow, Jeannine Schulz. Can't find much info surrounding this German artist, but she managed herself a fairly steady musical output this past half-decade, a Bandcamp catalogue consisting of some fifty items to date. Granted, many of them are two-to-four track releases of minimalist, abstract ambient music seldom breaching twenty-minute lengths, but there are a few scattered albums about her discography too. Three of those have appeared on Polar Seas Recordings, this here Humble being her second effort for the Toronto label. That's... about all the background I have on this release. Talk about your humbleness.

As said, this is some very minimalist music from Ms. Schulz, though not without its intuitive charms. Opener Home mostly offers what you'll hear from her quite succinctly. Lots of analog churning and fuzz, a gentle tone echoing and flowing through the layers of dubby static. Eventually soft acoustic guitar strums take the lead while resonate pad drone wraps everything together. It'd almost make for the perfect closer on most albums, but we're only seven minutes deep into this forty-five minute long album.

Variety, then. Does Jeannine toy with this formula some? Ichi, The Wind Blows Over The Earth, Resting Place, and the titular track let the more melodic side of this sound carry forward. A Certain Mood And Moment and Presence go more for abstract drone. gm and I toy around with analog effects. Everything's spaced out enough so it doesn't feel like we're spinning wheels with any particular approach to her songcraft. We're still dealing with very subtle sounds though, so differences between pieces will boil down to just how much attention you're paying to it. Which sometimes defeats the purpose of the 'abstract sonic wallpaper' music ambient music of this sort intends to be.

That Home could have closed Humble wasn't just a one-time thing either - every piece was like that. Like, upon my initial playthrough, I kept thinking the album was already wrapping up after each track. Some of that may have to do with how disarming they are, putting you in a sense of ease such that you're content with your listening session. Great for sleepy-time, then.

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.

Urban Meditation - Headspace V

Carpe Sonum Records: 2022

Here's a tiny morsel of information I haven't touched upon yet, in that I only just discovered it. Apparently the whole Headspace collection wasn't released as a one-shot within a big ol' box-set. Initially, it trickled out over the course of a few months as digital items on Urban Meditation's own Bandcamp. Once all five were out, they were consolidated into a single release, finally culminating in the physical medium made available through Carpe Sonum Records.

See, if I'd been following Charles' music from the start, I would have known this, likely subscribed to his Bandcamp or whatever. But no, I follow Carpe Sonum, so didn't learn of Headspace's existence until they put the box-set together, which is where you'll find everything now anyway. So redundant info all around, which is par for the course whenever I get deep into covering Every. Single. CD. of a box-set.

Thus we come to the end of the Headspace saga, and what a journey it's- Wait a minute! It's already over? Feels like I just started! Oh, right, it's that whole 'actually writing a review every single day' thing I did there, speeding up the process. Kinda' forgot how brisk the process could be when I just focus on something rather than let a zillion ADHD distractions dominate my brain matter. Like what's happening right now!

Anyhow, Headspace V, the finale, the coda, the answer to all your lingering questions. Or, y'know, just a charming collection of ambient techno vibes. Mostly that, not really going anywhere this series hasn't gone before. There's a few more collaborations, a returning Rayspark Industries, and an added Sven Kössler, though it's Michael-Turner Craig who gets the most shine here. No, seriously, at twenty-five minutes long, Space & Time easily takes the crown for longest Headspace piece – only Mr. Urban's solo session of Cranial Atmosphere comes close, lagging a good ten minutes behind. As for the track itself, well, it's definitely got that vintage Fax+ thing going for it, in that it really meanders about in a jam session sort of way. The liner notes claim Si Matthews and Dan Armstrong hopped in as well, but they don't get a Bandcamp credit. Odd.

Oh, the track itself? Yeah, it's spacey, floaty, timey-wimey, spritely, kinda' split into two-halves. Sorry, I know a centrepiece composition like Space & Time should be the main talking point, but I just prefer the gentle ambience of In Dreams or Forever Adrift, the peppier Ocean Of Consciousness (with Sven ...and acid!), and closer Embrace's piano touches and synthy arps. Not to mention their shorter runtimes.

So that's a wrap on Headspace V, and Headspace overall. A cool collection of tunes, if at times overindulgent, though never tastelessly so. Could this have been pruned down to at least a double-LP? Sure, but we live in an age of absolute creative freedom with the outlets to present it. As Pete Namlook would say, “Just release whatever you make, bro'. Someone will like it.” [citation needed]

Urban Meditation - Headspace IV

Carpe Sonum Records: 2022

Ah, here's where I thought things were headed. Honestly though, having the 'peak time' CD be the fourth one out of five does make the most sense. All the build-up leading to the climax, with a nice coda following, its a classic five-act structure, even spread out across five-plus hours of music. I guess you could treat Headspace like a streaming mini-series then, including that one episode in the middle that seems to lose the arc of the meta-plot for a time, the unnecessary bit of padding to reach an episode quota.

So if the radio telescope on the cover art wasn't a clue, technology is the theme of Headspace IV. And to make sure you know that's where we're going, the CD opens with a musique concrete ditty of various digital noises and effects, including that classic internet dial-up noise. Fair enough, but was four minutes of this really necessary? Whatever, Cranial Atmosphere properly kicks things off, and mostly follows upon similar neo-trance vibes as the Si Matthews collab's from Headspace II do. Percolating synth leads, steady techno rhythm, consistent escalation of mood and tone, and dang near sixteen minutes of it too. Again, there's some vintage Jarre songcraft going on, but this feels more modern than those seminal '70s works.

Now for this CD's guest artist, this time being Ambidextrous. Okay, second, Futuregrapher having a credit on that experimental opener, but I'm talking 'real' tracks here. I haven't kept tabs on Nick Zavriev since my mini-splurge on his music a couple years back, finding his sound at times a bit too clinical for repeated plays. He's remained active though, and Simulacrum finds him and Charles working a nice spacey electro vibe, while Thought Network towards the end gets more opulent with the synth work. Dang near overtly happy, come to think of it. Really selling that 'Utopian future' sentiment, eh? Maybe to serve as a contrast to the harsher electro between those two tracks.

Well, 'harsh' is doing some heavy lifting there. Nothing I've heard Urban Meditation would ever suggest negative or pessimistic outlooks, and the only criticism of Data Age is being somewhat aimless as techno. Information Super Highway though, ain't nothing but chipper, happy vibes with a bell melody as a lead and bouncy rhythm like that. Man, the '90s were so optimistic about our technological marvels and possibilities, weren't they.

Or maybe not, closer Searching For Connection a little more sombre and reflective as an ambient piece. That no matter our achievements in the digital realm, we'll always yearn for intimacy in meat-space. Relations not defined by scrolling and follower counts, but those all-too brief moments of soulful meaning. Gosh, when did Headspace IV turn into a Vector Lovers album?

Anyhow, this is probably my favourite of the five, though it's not without its minor issues either. Like, how does it feel shorter than the actual shortest Headspace III? One too many experimental interstitials? Weird how that works.

Urban Meditation - Headspace III

Carpe Sonum Records: 2022

Well, I thought things were gonna' ramp up with each CD in this multi-disc album, and the start of Headspace III certainly portends as such. Another two-part track, the first At Home features more soft electro rhythms while bright and bold synths weave a charming melody. Actually, some of these synths are almost too garish, in the same way some early Berlin-School sounds weren't quite refined yet. Not really a deal breaker for the track overall, but I cannot deny being relieved you don't hear them as much in Part 2. And as for this track, if it doesn't get your ol' school Jarre triggers flaring, then you have some homework to do, son.

So a solid set of openers for this CD, but then Mr. Urban scales things right back with Inner Circles, a minimalist piece of ambient music with gentle piano and field recordings. Hey, it's like an urban meditation! Feels kinda' funny it took this long into Headspace to feature a track that lives up the project's name. I kid, but it is a surprising downswing in tempo from the opener, and when I spotted Canopy Of Stars as a guest feature for follow-up Lost In Thought, I started wondering if we were remaining in ambient's domain after all. Don't get me wrong, I quite enjoy hearing more of Mr. Wheeldon's sense of cosmic grandeur, even as subtly tempered as they are here.

Yet after that, we're treated to another beatless piece leaning into modern classical's domain. Well, okay then, if this is how we're doing Headspace III, so be it. Just thought it'd be better to keep the momentum going after Headspace II. Like, if the whole of Headspace was to be taken as one, singular listening session, having this much downtime in the middle could lose folks. Perhaps that's the intent, offering a gentle respite where you can maybe catch a quick cat nap in this marathon of music without missing much. Or maybe one should just listen these individually as the appropriate mood arises. Which variant of Headspace ambience do you prefer this evening: the spacier I, or the more grounded III?

So you can imagine my whiplash in hearing Myriad Things going even more opulent with the synth work than At Home. Who'd think the groovy acid featured in follow-up Reflected Within would be the comedown I needed after (thanks, Si Matthews, I wager). A weird diversion from the tone thus far established in III, especially when closer Nightfall brings things right back down to piano doodling again.

There is something of a naturalistic theme going for Headspace III, whenever it goes there. Other times though, it feels like the CD that has the 'leftovers' of this whole project lumped into, the tracks that simply wouldn't fit elsewhere. Something as ambitious as this was bound to have pieces like that, especially when including collaborations with others. Does this hold true for the remaining two? Stay tuned...!

Urban Meditation - Headspace II

Carpe Sonum Records: 2022

This is the part where, when doing a box-set, I wax extended info about the artists involved, or the label supporting it. Maybe even digging a little deeper into the genre itself. Y'know, anything to fill self-imposed word count as I carry on. I don't really have much more I can detail with this one though. As mentioned, Urban Meditation is a relative newcomer to this scene, having initially made his mark on some Carpe Sonum compilations before getting the green light to release full-lengths. He did float around a couple other labels after (Fantasy Enhancing, Móatún 7, that one that released the Adykt double-discer), but the Sonum crew seems to be his primary residence for now.

And as for the label itself, well, I've been covering them for almost as long as they've existed – think I was only a year behind their launch. *checks* Okay, technically two, as Carpe Sonum spent 2013 releasing a few items that got lost in the wake of Fax+'s shuttering, but I'm talking when they properly launched, with original material intended to follow the success of the monumental, compendious Pete Namlook tribute box-set Die Welt Ist Klang. Boy, it always comes back to that, doesn't it? Not with Charles Urban though, having missed the big ol' Irish wake of a musical party that was.

Was he not yet confident in his music-making ability to contribute to it? Or didn't quite make the cut? I mean, yeah, there were a lot of artists that had their tracks added, some for the first time ever having material officially released. Even with four CDs worth on non-Fax+ alum included though, some had to be left behind. Hm, makes me wonder if Mr. Urban was one such artist, and having a quintuple-LP album released is sort of Carpe Sonum's way of making it up to him. Now that's a silly conspiracy!

Anyhow, Headspace II is where things start kicking off with higher tempos. Even opener Thought Garden brings da' beats! Okay, I'm exaggerating, the rhythms mostly a light pitter-patter of electro, spritely synths and arps the main driving force of momentum. Even when things 'calm down' in follow-up Cloud Terrain (real floaty arps) and Into The Void (darker experimental piece that goes a tad too long), there's still some continued sense of pace throughout.

The centrepiece of Headspace II is easily the Si Matthews double-collab' of Dreaming Of The Stars and New Horizons, and not just because both feature a steady techno pulse as layers of synth arps dance along. Okay, it's primarily that, but also that twenty-minute plus runtime between the two tracks, which really makes the whole session feel like one long neo-trance jam. Final track Flight Home tries ending Headspace II on cosmic Berlin-School ambient grandeur, but doesn't quite hit the same hypnotic high as the Si Matthews tracks achieved. Still, a solid finish for this CD, building upon the very ambient first. Dang, just how peppy will these get?

Urban Meditation - Headspace I

Carpe Sonum Records: 2022

You'd think releasing a five-LP album is utter overkill, but that's just how Urban Meditation rolls. Come to think of it, that's how a number of modern electronic music producers roll. Readily to mind comes Autechre's elseq and NTS Session runs, or even Underworld's Drift series. And who's to say any number of noodly ambient composers couldn't consolidate their two-to-three albums per year into a single package? To actually have a spiffy box-set of the stuff released, however, takes a little more gumption, not to mention the blessing of a label willing to finance said hard-copy roll-out.

Charles Urban somehow got the deed done though, Carpe Sonum Records serving up a five-CD extravaganza of Headspace. He'd already made a debut there with 20 Years In Space, an item I've had my eye on for a long time, but simply haven't committed to yet. Like, it looks right up my alley, space music and all, but perhaps that's the reason why? Too obvious a pick, so lets put that on the back-burner while I explore some other items from the label. CD of that still hasn't sold out, so I can wait it out, especially now that I've got this multidisc release from him to gorge myself in the meanwhile.

What is Headspace, then? Five albums bundled into one package, or a singular album broken up into five long-play tracks with smaller compositions within? Kinda' yes to both. Mr. Urban claims these are best enjoyed as five singular tracks, and even offers the digital option of singular playthroughs of each CD. There are tracks within each Headspace though, making them distinct albums with distinct compositions. So, a bit like those Dark Side Of The Moog sessions between Klaus Schulze and Pete Namlook, except bound together as one box-set rather than individually released albums. Have I not mentioned said artists being an inspiration for ol' Charles, even going so far as to name one of his albums The Dark Side Of The Mix? Well, this is a Carpe Sonum release, thought that went without saying.

And yes, because you can take each Headspace as its own album, I'll be reviewing Every. Single. One. Starting with Headspace I. Shocking, I know.

Actually, I don't have too much to say about it, being the most ambient of the quintet. If the space theme wasn't apparent to start, track titles like Detach – Adrift, Interstellar Dust, Voyager I, and Voyager II should clue you in. It's all very calm, introspective, with moments of grandeur, and even a little rhythmic in Voyager II.

I fear going into more details than that, however, as it may leave me with little else to review in the following CDs. Gotta' save some of that vocabulary verbosity for later. After all, I've learned the hard way that getting deep in a particular artist's sonic tricks too early doesn't leave much material for later. How many more N:L:E releases do I still have to cover again? That many? *sigh*

Franck Vigroux - Grand Bal

Aesthetical: 2024

While there are elements of this release that might have lured in me regardless (hot neon signs do that), it was where I spotted it that made it an instant pick-up. Aesthetical is the name of the label, which I know little about, mostly because it's only been in existence for half a decade with just nine releases under its belt. Not terribly robust, but sometimes that's the way sub-labels work, the 'dumping ground' for items a regular print's head-honcho likes, but knows won't fit with the regular catalogue. Okay, not that harsh, but you know what I mean.

What I'm trying to say in a roundabout, AI-scarping messing way, is Grand Bal just wouldn't fit on Cyclic Law, so here it is on Aesthetical instead. Yep, the parent label to this industrial synthwave outing is none other than one of dark ambient's luminaries. I honestly hadn't scoped them out for quite a spell, only the occasional glance since my initial deep dive into the genre, but boy, have they remained busy since. May be worth my while to splurge on them again, if I ever feel that need of a depressive respite again as I did way back when. *glances at the world a moment*

So some sub-labels emerged, a place where Franck Vigroux could find a home. Not that the chap needed help finding one, having a music career spanning just as long as Cyclic Law has existed, his early years mostly spent on D'Autres Cordes. When Aesthetical became a thing, he helped kick the sub-label off with Totem, following that with Atonal a couple years after. Which finally leads us to Grand Bal, and album that... Well, I don't want to make any broad proclamations about it, as I haven't taken in any other releases from Mr. Vigroux or Aesthetical to hear whether its typical or not. I rather suspect not, but even this record is quite all over the place. In a good way!

So yeah, there is a bit of a synthwave vibe going on here, but not in the super-obvious way the genre tends to go – Franck's too experienced a musician to do that. If anything, Grand Bal almost deconstructs what you might expect out of the darksynth dudes. Opener Loïc definitely pumps and pounds with a caustic edge like something from GosT, but takes things further into a chaotic climax of noise. *phew* Need a breather from that, so follow-up Le Bal goes all ambient and calm and oh dear, those layers are growing ever more distorted and overbearing and piercing. Ah, there's the Cyclic Law bridge.

Some tracks lean heavier into the Trent Reznor school of industrial score-scapes (Jolin, Lightnin'), others weaving back to dark-synth territory (68) or pastiches of '80s inspiration (L.A. Live, Vice). On paper, it seems all straight-forward enough, but because Franck doesn't get too bogged in micro-genre purity, there's a nice, looseness in his songcraft, each song's aesthetic in service of its musical aim.

Erot - Gneiss EP

Ultimae Records: 2021

I guess you can say, at this late stage, my 'relationship' with Ultimae Records has grown... complicated? Like, the honeymoon period is long in the past, but its hard letting go of those feel-good memories. My interest in their output isn't what it used to be, but every so often, something triggers those endorphins again, such that I have to hear if I've missed anything, anything at all, that will bring the pleasant glow back. A seductive revealing of the thigh, a kind word when you need to hear it the most, all the little things that made that initial relationship oh-so worth holding on to. (*whew* good thing this is just a metaphor, right? ...right??)

So it goes with Erot's EP for Ultimae, Gneiss. On the surface, it looks like more of the same low-key, ultra-minimalist dubby downtempo music with a fascination with geological formations. Nothing that sparked my interest but when Aes Dana lured me back in with (a) period., I couldn't help but scoop up more, hoping for another hidden gem like James Murray's Remote Redux.

I mean, this Erot fella', he'd previously released on Altar Records, a label I felt was something of a sister print to Ultimae before the two went down vastly different sonic roads. He'd also put out material on Iboga Records, which is about as hit-or-miss as Ultimae became, true, but there's still some pedigree there. Plus, his thorough Discoggian bio states he was sucked into the wider world of electronic music via the goa trance scene, so maybe some of those influences would find their way into his debut with Ultimae? Ah, no, not really. If anything, he was already on the path of dubby, minimalist music, so getting in with Vincent Villuis' crew seemed... well, not inevitable, but certainly a proper capper in Tore Kofod Hyldahl's career. Which may be the case, considering Lord Discogs lists Gneiss as his last release to date.

Anyway, it didn't take me long to remember that, even if the musical content from Ultimae isn't what it used to be, there's still no knocking that ultra-lush, richly immersive mastering job every single release comes with. By second track Morild, I feel like I'm wandering mysterious caverns, tracing my fingers along veins of metamorphic minerals, Erot's sparse percussion the echoes of my footsteps and distant trickling water. And damn, that endless depth of sonic space. It's been a Villuis staple since forever, but it's still somehow the best mastering job you'll ever hear out of this scene. He's got the secret recipe for this sauce that no one can replicate.

Which, I cannot deny, gives the impression I'm selling Erot's efforts short, that Gneiss wouldn't be as rich a listen if it didn't have the Aes Dana touch. It's not an unfair critique, but then, that widescreen ambience is why I return to Ultimae again and again. Whoever is the lucky chosen artist that receives its blessing is almost inconsequential to my interests.

GGGG - Gazé

FireScope: 2022

Not the actual final item from the FireScope camps, but it functionally may as well be. It was the last record to feature the label's brand of vintage IDM, electro and techno, and looks to remain as such for the foreseeable future. Yeah, Kirk Degiorgio released an album of ambient doodles the following year, but that seemed like a bit of obligatory business from FireScope, not a continuation of the print's manifesto - a coda if you will. Will Steve Rutter's label ever make a comeback though? Well, he'll need to rediscover the creative spark that got it going in the first place. That... may take some time, unfortunately. Even scene veterans can feel the crushing weight of apathy, more so when you're being counted upon to give up-and-comers some increased shine.

Gabriel de Varine chose an... unusual alias for his techno work (man, I hope Google doesn't decide to flag me for it), though I don't know how dedicated to the project he is. Lord Discogs doesn't list many items to his name or any other, instead spotlighting his D.KO Records as his career highlight. A humble little Parisian print, it mostly focused on house throughout the '10s, but it wouldn't surprise me if Gab' felt as much an itch for the other side too. Create a new alias to explore it, get the attention of one of that scene's luminaries, and before you know it, you've got a spiffy double-LP on the market with a cosmic kitty on the cover art. Guess there was worse ways to spend the Pandemic Years.

As mentioned, if Gazé is among the last of FireScope's releases, it's about as perfect an encapsulation of the label's legacy as I've heard (well, save another B12 outing, but y'know what I mean). Opener K-Robot OG feeds off classic electro while beefing it with IDM trickery and ambient techno warmth, while follow-up Cas Contact sounds like a spiritual successor to Aphex Twin's Heliosphan. Which is either a testament to the lasting influence SAW 86-92 imparts three decades on, or how insanely ahead of the curve Mr. James' music remains. Then Broutine Lamé goes beatless, spritely pulsing synths and delicate melodies shimmering about, and oh man, we're not in for a strict genre exercise with this album, are we!

If there was ever any specific criticism I've had with FireScope, it was that many of their releases tended to sound samey throughout. If Gazé is gonna' give us some diversity though, then yes, I can legit say this is will be a great final album for the label. If the rest of the music holds up to its promising start, anyway.

Fortunately for fans of the original Artificial Intelligence, it does. The variety carries on, some tracks getting heavier with robo-funk (120U Piano), dubby electro (Slowdry), spacey IDM (Trip 2 Delinc), ultra-melodic arps (Mudla 2.2), and even ambient drone (Sac Ala Blofel). Man, kinda' makes me wish more of FireScope's output had showed this much of a stylistic smorgasbord.

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.

Solar Fields - Formations

Sidereal: 2022

There was a time I couldn't wait to hear a new Solar Fields album. Getting the CD in the mail from Ultimae Records, marvelling at the shiny, smooth texture of their product, getting psyched to hear all those wonderful ultra-positive vibes in widescreen sonics. Good days, f'sure, but things changed, Magnus setting up his own label, working to reissue his older material through it and all that. He did release an album during that time, Ourdom, which while good, didn't seem to have the lasting appeal as some of his older works. I couldn't help wondering whether he'd done all that he could now, future albums relegated to a comfortable familiarity without pushing too far into genre explorations.

It was quite the wait indeed, Formations six years in the making. Then I added two more, letting it sit in my queue for its alphabetically ordained time to listen to it, rather than throw it on in hot anticipation. That kind of sums up my recent feelings on Solar Fields though, doesn't it? “Yeah, it's nice that there's some new music, but I'll get to it whenever I get to it.” Was my lukewarm reception justified, or did I do myself stupid putting Formations off for so long?

Well, it's definitely Solar Fields in a classic sense, in that holy Hell, does he ever unleash some of those prime ultra-melodies from the days of yore. Not only does he do so, but somehow keeps upping the ante as the album plays out. Seriously, the whole thing could have perfectly ended after the mind-bending Star Carnival and perfect coda Between Mirrors, but no, there's still a third of a record left. How can he even follow that up?

By going a little more conceptual, I guess. Always 034746 sounds like Magnus' stab at something more Berlin-School, though obviously done to his ridiculously rich and full production standards. Heck, I can't help but detect a whiff of prog-rock in there too, but that may be more due to the use of more regular sounding drums and guitars. Speaking of, I couldn't help getting some Vangelis vibes off Motion Horizon, specifically Alpha (aka: the other piece of music everyone associates with Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos'). Nothing outright, mind you, just the way it does a very calm, gentle start, building into a big, rapturous crescendo. Come to think of it, that's been a Solar Fields trademark for a long while too. Huh, wonder why this particular track made the connection for me.

I know I'm jumping all over the place with Formations, but it's kinda' a funny album like that. On the surface it's about as Solar Fieldsy as it gets, but it makes you want to go back to hear something again, even before the rest of the record finishes. A relatively weak album narrative is likely the reason for this, but who cares about that when you just want to hear those riveting high points again? Not this person, I wager.

Purl - Form Is Emptiness

Archives: 2016

In my mind, Purl will always be a Silent Season guy, for one rather silly reason: his album Stillpoint was the second CD I ever bought from the label. And a humdinger of a record it was, so perfectly capturing such a sublime vibe the dub techno print cultivated at that point. Never mind that would end up being Mr. Cimbrelius' last release with Silent Season, or that he'd only had one other item with them before (Deep Ground). In my mind, Purl was Silent Season, and always will be.

That's obviously completely erroneous though, Ludvig shopping the Purl brand among many labels throughout his career. Heck, even by the time he'd put out Stillpoint, he'd already had more albums out on Dewtone Recordings than any other label. The following year, however, he made his debut with a little ambient print just getting their feet wet, with a similar aesthetic to Silent Season (densely layered dub drones, naturalistic cover art). He'd go on to release many more there, plus their off-shoot print. For all intents, I should be thinking Purl as an Archives guy more than a Silent Season guy. Nope, still can't quite shake it.

Purl being on Archives makes sonic sense, and Form Is Emptiness delivers exactly what you'd expect of the pairing. Ludvig's drone tones are given more prominence, but his dubby rhythms aren't completely jettisoned either. In fact, they're often downright heavy, some serious low-end throb going on in the track Unlearn even as gentle, ethereal pad work weaves through the bass. Elsewhere, Under Mjuka Vatten and Willow (Graft I) keep the dub techno pulse steady, focusing more on the subtle harmonic tones layered overtop. And if final track Terra Lumina, at sixteen minutes in length, didn't make room for at least a little beatcraft during its runtime, it'd be a big waste of sonic space indeed.

Still, Archives is generally more an ambient label than a dub techno one (there's Faint for that), and Form Is Emptiness offers the beatless stuff too. Vissna washes layered strings and synths like waves upon a seashore, while the titular track expands on Vissna's ideas to grander scale. Not to mention most tracks have at least some ambient dithering at their starts, gradually leading in whether there's a rhythm or not. Yep, there's all the things happening that should make this a standout Purl album. Well, almost.

Honestly, I think this is more an Archives issue than a Purl one. The label, while very dependable at providing a particular type of ambient, does tend to sound rather samey. I've brought up this critique before, and it holds true with Form Is Emptiness, a sense of repetitiveness settling in as the album plays out. Having heard Ludvig across many prints now, I can only conclude this is more him making music in the Archives style. Great if you're down for more with a little dub techno rudder, but may not leap out at you as essential as his other releases.

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...

Placid Angels - First Blue Sky

Magicwire: 2019

I really need to keep a record of my buying habits. Like, I can suss out the 'why': been neglecting John Beltran, nabbed a record with striking blue cover art. It's the 'how' I'm drawing an utter blank on. How did I end up landing on his Placid Angels side project? How did I even find it in the first place? It's certainly not on his own Bandcamp page, First Blue Sky coming out on the little-known Magicwire print instead. Yes, it was initially an offshoot of R&S Records, but far as I know, has been mostly independent since 2017, and has barely released much of anything lately.

It had to have been name-dropped somewhere, Magicwire. Perhaps Simon Reynolds on his Energy Flash blog, or one of the trance forums that still exist, pointing out some tunes that capture the feel of the genre in its vintage form. If either so, then the fact this happened to be a John Beltran album as well is pure coincidence. I mean, you sure wouldn't have guessed it as such just from listening to the samples. Who even knew he resurrected this alias in the first place?

For those not in the know (most, I wager), Placid Angels started as a one-off guest feature way, way back. Sometime in the late '90s, his career doing quite well with a solid handful of albums under his belt, he put out The Cry as Placid Angels on Peacefrog Records. Was it because the use of his regular name was an exclusive to R&S at the time? No, he'd already released an album on Peacefrog as John Beltran prior. Was The Cry a radical departure from his usual sound then, thus in need of an alias properly separating it from his regular output? Not terribly so, perhaps a shade more Detroit than his other techno works. And he certainly felt no need to return to Placid Angels after, letting the name sit fallow until reviving it for Magicwire.

Resurrect it he did though, and boy does First Blue Sky ever drip with retro rave feels. Right from the jump in the titular opener, you got brisk breakbeats, dreamy synth pads (a John Beltran staple), and subtle little samples spicing things up. Follow-up Angel leans more into classic ambient techno, when the beats could still be abrasive and the melodies outwordly. A Moment Away From You slides closer to Detroit's realm, and Vent... well, this is just straight up jungle, ain'it? The use of an Amen Break, sure, but not those supporting melodies, nosiree.

The remaining album mostly flits between variations on these types of tracks, which is great if your earholes crave more dance music in that vintage Warp and Apollo style. Of course, you can likely find plenty of this stuff elsewhere, but few have a way around a moving melody quite the way Mr. Beltran has done time and time again throughout his career. First Blue Sky is no exception to that rule.

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.

Tineidae - Exo

Cryo Chamber: 2020

Not that Cryo Chamber left the sci-fi side of dark ambient on the sidelines – indeed, it was Simon Heath's Sabled Sun project that helped kick the label off – but it wasn't a primary focus for much of its early years. For whatever reason though, this decade saw quite the expansion of exposure for the sub-genre within. Maybe he's just a fan of the YouTube channel DUST, featuring all sorts of sci-fi shorts? I definitely could see some of the Cryo's output soundtracking a few of those vids, heck maybe even inspiring some. That Solundenia from Skrika, for instance. Good God, what nightmare fuel that would create.

Pavlo Storonsky flitted about a few genres in his early days as Tineidae, his first couple albums on Tympanik Audio of Lights and Shadows running through as much synthwave, dubstep and IDM as anything ambient leaning. Not entirely unexpected, those some of the more influential styles of music in the early '10s as he was coming up. For sure there was a dystopian lean to his works, but nothing to suggest he'd take a full turn to the cinematic drone side. Then he took a break for half a decade, re-emerging with Slowly Drown In Static, a total shift to cinematic drone and ambient. Sounds like a 'proof-of-concept' in getting chummy with the Cryo crew, where he's mostly resided since (a plethora of self-released items notwithstanding).

As far as sci-fi concepts go, Exo is surprisingly straight-forward, and doesn't really get into much cosmic horror. Whether as a scout ship or a salvage crew, you've come across a derelict star cruiser, its history a mystery. For sure something terrible happened here, and as you're wandering its empty corridors, you piece together what might have happened – some sort of struggled ensued. Most of of the 'why' and 'how' is inconsequential for your purposes though, more focused on gathering whatever useful materials and data you can before leaving behind the rest of this abandoned mass of metal. There's a cruel irony that whatever the former inhabitants of this vessel endured is rendered down to nothing more than a passing thought.

Still, the music within isn't all doom and gloom, in that there's actual melody that will latch onto your brain, not just atonal mood atmosphere and creepy sound effects. Opener Blacklight Trail could be a film theme in of itself, the rousing string and ominous choir pads doing a wonderful job establishing mood and tone for what your in for. And goodness, featured twinkly arp synths for Patterns In the Sky? How often does Cryo Chamber go that ultra-melodic?

There's still plenty of ominous and menacing sounds on display, but often tempered with subtle musical moments too (synthwave arps in Battle Scars, overbearing synths in Stars So Bright, My Eyes Hurt). Things slowly tapering off to reflective following Reconnection, reaching final track Epilogue on a suitable contemplative note. It's a surprising amount of feelings for a record mostly about salvage work.

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.