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.

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.

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.

Kiphi - Eternal Molecule

Liquid Frog Records: 2020

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

Kiphi - Divine Flux

Liquid Frog Records: 2021

Small point of order, an additional bit of info regarding this Kiphi project I've thus far neglected detailing. For you see, this is not just another alias of Juan Pablo Giacovino, one where he indulges in more melodic arps over his other projects. For sure that is an element of it, but there's another crucial tidbit of data that needs illuminating. A second gunman- erm, I mean, contributor to these electronic music pieces.

He's always been there, but for some reason slipped through my name-drops, assuming Kiphi was the same as Natural Life Essence, H:U:M, Spiritual Fields, Yaghan, and so on. Indeed, this particular person could very well be the primary creative force behind Kiphi, with Juan Pablo just hanging out in the same studio as sonic support. I certainly haven't seen the individual's name crop up elsewhere beyond some art and 'thanks' credits, but with a primary producer's role along side Juan Pablo, I have to assume as such. And this entity's name? Jose Carlos Giacovino. Brother? Father? Son? Spouse? Cousin? I haven't a clue, and haven't been able to find any more info. Not that it matters much, but y'know, gotta' be as thorough as one can be with these things. Lord Discogs gets mighty stingy if you submit releases to their database if you're not crossing all the 'T's and accenting all the 'É's.

I guess another reason I felt compelled to clarify the air over how many Giacovinos are contributing to these projects is because this is the first 'solo' Kiphi release I'm finally reviewing. I could kinda'-sorta' get away with assuming this was still all Juan Pablo when it was N:L:E & Kiphi, and such as, but no more! Unless Roberto Giacovino gets in on the act as well. So many Giacovinos running around Argentina. Just... so many.

Anyhow, you can throw that assumption on my part that Kiphi is strictly the 'N:L:E with arps' project, because there's a fair bit of diversity of style even with it serving as something of a rudder. Indeed, opener Ancient Mandala has them in a subtle fashion, but it's as much an ultra-chill ambient dub session with world beat overtones as anything synthy. Ooh, wouldn't that make this a Spiritual Fields jam instead? After World goes more psy-chill, while the titular cut settles into a layered ambient outing with dense, droning pads.

From there, the pace gets a significant boost, the arp work in Civilization far more propulsive than what's come before, while Prana gets into proper prog-psy territory, though is a little herky-jerky in execution. And what N:L:E record (adjacent or otherwise) would be complete without a two-part dub session? Incomplete, says I, so here's Antartica Interstellar 1 and 2, the first half the long ambient build, the second going full on into psy-dub territory. And wow, I've thus far heard plenty finesse with Juan Pablo's basslines, but does this one ever add some tasty stank throughout. I wonder if Jose Carlos was responsible for that?

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.

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 - 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 - 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.

Yaghan - Yaghan's Land E.P

Liquid Frog Records: 2018

Before you ask, yes, this is titled Yaghan's Land from 'Yaghan', and yes, this is still the same Juan Pablo Giacovino project that would immediately after be referred to as Yahgan. And no, this isn't some weird typo or misprint on his part. Truth is the two had been interchangeable for centuries, with many other variants floating about in that time, depending on era and European interpretation. So it goes with Native American peoples, even ones living in as remote a region of the global south as one can get without crossing into Antarctica. If you want to be respectful and proper-like with their lineage, however, Yahgan is the correct name for history's southernmost mini-civ'. I'm guessing when Juan Pablo launched this side-project, 'Yaghan' was the version he was most familiar with, then promptly switched to the traditional 'Yahgan' after digging a little deeper into the subject. And since The Internet never forgets, just kept the original EP name and title as-was. 'Tis fine, really it is.

As for how early into Mr. Giacovino's catalogue this came out, Yaghan's Land came out quite early indeed. Bandcamp chronology dates this just after Wave Bio Collector, and since this was another release of his I had to submit to Lord Discogs' archives (that whole 'Yaghan / Yahgan' thing is gonna' be a doozy for moderators, no doubt), I have to assume it was self-released. Or maybe it came out on some ultra-obscure netlabel with, like, three releases on it? I'm getting way too deep into the weeds of these details! Somehow seems appropriate given how many of his N:L:E albums focus on micro-fauna.

Anyhow, the EP opens with a titular track, lasting a mere three minutes long. Okay, that may seem long if this was any other dance music genre EP, but as this is a pure ambient piece with cystaline synths and wind-swept atmosphere, you'd think more time would be spent settling us into the frigid Yahgan climate. It's also quite grandiose compared to the rest of the EP, follow-up Travelling a far more subtle affair. There's still that sense of being out on the frontier, but remote and isolated. Soft rhythmic patters and melodic pulses gradually emerge as singular synth strings ebb and flow in support, but never reach a rousing crescendo, keeping things on the calm and tranquil, even if a little epic vibe is implied towards the end.

On the other end of the EP are two parts of Rupture In The Echo, totally some twenty-three minutes of playtime. The first is also a mostly ambient affair, the softest pitter-patter offered as a sporadic rhythm. Simple synth drones and distant waves make up the bulk of this piece, a remarkably soothing journey of minimalist tones. In case you need a little more pep in your tunes though, Part 2 brings in actual ambient techno beat to the fray, dubby effects thrown on for flair. Cool, but I rather prefer the beatless option. Makes for nice dozing music.

N:L:E - W:O:O:D

Liquid Frog Records: 2021

Yeah, yeah, get in your puns here, Beavis. I know you can't help chortling seeing two tracks titled Log, Butthead. I'll grant the dimwitted duo's commentary for the Christmas Yule Fire video is legendary, but not everything must refer back to that. Sometimes, a lump of fallen bark is just a lump of fallen bark. Still, I wonder if ol' Juan Pablo suspected some potential sniggering over titling an album Wood, hence breaking the lettering up with colons (“hehe, heh”). Also, he'd condensed 'Natural Life Essence' to N:L:E by this point, plus would soon adopt H:U:M for his space-leaning works, so maybe he was growing fascinated by the double-dotted punctuation. It must have been a brief flirtation though, as W:O:O:D is his only album released with such quirky titling. So far...

I feel well entrenched in Mr. Giacovino's particulars now, and there's little minutiae I can find surrounding this release. It seems, in his never ending quest to find inspiration in all the ferns and fauna of our realms, he finally found the forests with W:O:O:D. Why, then, does the cover art look like moss on stone? Gotta' save the tree beauty shots for the Caravan Of Healing Sounds series? Whatever the case, it's clear I'm dawdling to burn up self-imposed word count, so enough of that. Let's get into music proper-like.

Following a vigorous two-minute intro of shimmering synths, things get scaled back to chill-out territory on Ancient Echo, a calm, languid pace of digital dub. Eventually layers of bright synths emerge, though not as pronounced as the Intro. A gentle violin adds to the pleasant tone, and that's about it before a nice wind-down. Log gets dubbier with its rhythms, including all the traditional elements like off-beat pulses and endlessly trailing echo with flange thrown on. I've been digging these sounds the earliest ambient dub days, and ain't no way I've tired of them yet. Heck, the Walking Again Mix that closes the album even adds some philosophical dialogue, which is about as cliche as it gets. Ain't no bad thing from my end though.

Appropriately for a track inspired by the little skittering critters you find when you overturn said logs, Drill Bugs goes more minimal with sparse percussion and spritely melodies, while South Winds does the ultra-subtle psy-dub builder business. Speaking of psy-dub – or one-time psy-dub adjacent - Reforest [ Birds And Leaves ] sparks some vintage Ultimae Records vibes from yours truly, including the spacious dub effects that let you hear all the emptiness between bass throbs. Maybe not so widescreen as you typically hear out of Aes Dana's studio, but for a self-produced item, Juan Pablo comes remarkably close. Through The Cracks In The Wood gets back to the groovier ambient dub lane.

Yeah, groovier is a way I'd describe W:O:O:D, at least compared to the other N:L:E albums I've thus far covered. It's been a few since I've started on Mr. Giacovino's catalogue, but there's still a whole lot more to come.

Natural Life Essence - Wetlands

Liquid Frog Records: 2020

Yep, didn't take long at all getting back to a little N:L:E action. This is probably what a hefty chunk of the next year is gonna' look like on this blog: some item from Mr. Giacovino, some random psy trance CD, and whatever else I happen to get sprinkled among them. Hmm, may need to bulk buy something else to break that up even further, but what? A proper dark ambient splurge? Some random retro-jungle net label? Another in the seemingly endless ambient drone options? Or maybe a genre wildly outside my wheel-house, like contemporary outlaw country or Victorian opera! I'm sure there's some Bandcamp newsletters covering such things to get my feet wet with.

Keeping with a somewhat soggy theme of his explorations of our planet's various biomes, Wetlands finds Juan Pablo taking a tour of the marshier realms of our planet. He even recently released a sequel to this, but after I did the full discography purchase of his Bandcamp catalogue, so that won't be getting covered at this time (if at all). For an idea of just how relentless our intrepid Argentinian has been in releasing music, Wetlands 2 came out just a half-year after I bought all he (then) currently had, and is something like the thirteenth item out since. Oh, and another five items have come out on Liquid Frog Records after Wetlands 2! At this rate, by the time I get through all the material I have bought from Juan Pablo, he'll have essentially doubled his discography.

Straight up, there aren't a pile of field recordings in this album, so if you were coming in hoping to hear frogs croaking, crickets chirping, alligators growling, egrets squawking, and mosquitoes buzzing, you've come to the wrong record, my friends. I actually had to look up what variety of sounds you might hear in a swampland, surprisingly few noisy fauna existing in such areas. Not that I was expecting critters like whirligig beetles and water skippers being terribly vocal, but who knew frogs were so dominant?

Anyhow, Wetlands is a tidy little nine-tracker of pleasant chill-out vibes and dubby grooves. Everything sounds nice and spacious, letting echoing synth pulses glide into the distance. Melodies maintain a relatively calm and tranquil atmosphere, with enough variety such that tracks do stand out, even if the overall experience may not (Juan Pablo isn't straying far from the roads typically taken with this genre). I was given hardcore Kitaro flashes in The Bioreserve (those whistling synths!), Liliums features a nice bit of acoustic guitar plucking, and Water Hyacinth [ Moving And Full ] has a surprisingly thick bassline compared to the rest of the album, even getting a little 'croaky' at parts. Huh, would have expected that out of Frog Pond.

So another solid outing from Natural Life Essence. I've a feeling I'm gonna' be typing that a lot, no matter how deep I've gotten into his discography. I mean, that kinda' was a reason I bought the whole damn thing.

SVLBRD - The Waves

Faint: 2023

I'd like to think by now, Agustin Mena has established himself quite well within the larger ambient pantheon. Not an easy task, mind, that scene utterly inundated with such artists everywhere (to say nothing of the looming prospect of A.I. ambient spewing itself all over streaming services). In the few years since I myself stumbled upon his Archives print (thanks, Purl!), I feel like I've seen the label crop up in many more places than ever before. Which is great for getting that all-important exposure, but kinda' sucks for those who still want to buy physical copies of their product. Dammit, it was so much easier snagging CDs before everyone knew they existed!

Fortunately, there's Archives' sub-label, Faint, featuring dubby ambient with more of a techno pulse, and doesn't sell out of CDs ...erm, quite as fast. Some still do, dang'nabbit, but at least it feels like I've more a fighting chance to nab a disc or two when they drop, Faint not getting quite as much attention as Archives. Eh, just settle for a digital copy? But MP3 files look awful on my shelves!

As with his main label, Agustin's sub-label catalogue features a hefty amount of his own releases, operating under the alias of SVLBRD. It's not quite as fruitful as Warmth, which isn't that surprising, since Mr. Mena seems to crank out the ambient drone in his sleep. These tracks require a little more, y'know, thought, and consideration, what there being rhythms and all.

Actually, if his most recent album The Waves is anything to go by, SVLBRD features a rather simple idea: Warmth layers of ambient pads, with sparse dubby techno in support. Hey, it's a remarkably effective idea, it's just at twelve tracks long, the album does grow a tad samey after a while. Don't get me wrong, the synth work is lush as anything you'll hear from the archives of, erm, Archives. It's just when you hear the same deep bass throb and skittery hi-hats fed through plenty of reverb without much variation, an LP can start fading into the background of one's attention without some variation of the base elements. So it goes for dub techno, though.

Right, there are subtle differences among the tracks. For one, most of the rhythms are of a broken-beat nature, so we're not dealing with a strict exercise in techno functionalism in that sense. The mood also does vary, some pieces chipper (The Cliff, The Bay, The Lighthouse), some reflective (Crescent Moon, The Crossing, The Reef). The Storm, apropos of its name, features more of a rolling bassline compared to the other tracks' steady boppin'. And of course, it wouldn't be an Agustin album without at least a few regular ol' ambient pieces (Anchor, Abyssal, Seas).

The Waves presents itself with minimal fuss, Agustin more or less jamming about with his core elements. It's nice while it plays, and though few tracks will leave a strong imprint upon you, you'll at least come away rather blissed after.

Natural Life Essence - Wave Bio Generator

CYAN: 2017

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

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

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

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

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

faru - Utasava

Carpe Sonum Novum: 2018/2022

I'm really getting into some 'off the grid' music lately. What can I say? When a bit of cover art strikes my fancy, followed by sound samples that scintillate my stapes, I'm an easy sucker. This one I found particularly striking in that the sepia photo reminded me of Ultimae Records, yet the music within most decidedly did not. Nor did it sound like much of anything I've yet heard on Carpe Sonum. Neither label has ever gone quite so... world beaty.

Turns out that was something of a departure for Fabian Ruf as well, most of his musical compositions hanging out in the ambient drone category I've indulged plenty of over the years. Okay, he hasn't released a robust discography yet, his Bandcamp page only offering a handful of titles to his faru moniker, but one of those includes a Silent Season EP (Through Darkness Comes Light), so making significant inroads quite early on. From the looks of things, this Utasava is his first physical roll-out, Carpe Sonum Novum offering up a CD option for this album. And as mentioned, quite the turn away from the sort of Archives-styled ambient he was making to that point. Sometimes though, a vacation in a foreign land does wonders for one's inspiration. Having a recording microphone on hand capturing all those unique sounds doesn't hurt either.

And wander through a new realm he done did, opener Walk To Sri Pada almost entirely field recordings, folk and fauna busying themselves all around you, save a singular sitar tone and drumming guiding us along. The sounds of the street are so acute, I actually feel like those darn crows are dive bombing me! No, wait, that's those darn crows on my regular morning jaunts – the track is just giving me PTSD hearing their angry caws pan from right to left.

Regardless, the real highlight of this album is second track The Sacred Mountain, a near twenty-minute excursion into deep meditation as a temple monk sings through all manner of industrial distortion. I've seen this piece compared to Alio Die or Popol Vul, though as always my reference point remains Rapoon. It does eventually morph into more traditional ambient, but man, hearing those effects on this man's voice is some other-wordly vibes. It also kinda' makes the rest of Utasava come off rather tame and safe in comparison.

Not that there's anything wrong with tracks like Indian Ocean, Makar Sankrati and Along The Coast, it's just world beat and ambient dub paths well travelled since the days of Loop Guru. Meanwhile, the glitchy psy-dub of Mirissa and industrial techno of Summre Rain (!!) throw such a left turn on Utasava, you'll be forgiven for thinking you've somehow stumbled into an entirely different album. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the diversity. It's just bizarre going through such an intense meditative journey with The Sacred Journey, only to have gabber beats thumping some twenty-five minutes later. Well, unless you're Rapoon, I guess.

Yahgan - Ushuaia

Liquid Frog Records: 2021

Can't deny, I initially thought this was a different artist. Like, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for Mr. Giacovino to have a few other acts on his self-release net-label, and seeing a couple collaborations between “Yahgan” and “N:L:E” only solidified that assumption. But nay, once I did a tad bit more research on this (re: submitted this release to Discogs), I realized this is just another alias from ol' Juan. Gosh, are all the items there like that? I see a couple more project names (Spiritual Fields, Kiphi), so maybe so. And here I thought I was buying up a label's worth of new producers. Damn, that actually makes the rate of his output even more impressive!

Still, this alias should have been a small clue out of the gate. Yahgan is a reference to the peoples that lived in the southern end of the South American continent since... well, since peoples ever existed there. Archaeology finds have dated artifacts of the Tierra del Fuego region as some ten-thousand years old, so a hefty amount of time existing in such a remote area of the world. The Yahgan weren't completely isolated though, other tribes dwelling about the archipelago. Being essentially huddled into the southern tip, however, led to a language and culture quite unique to anything else in the area. What I find fascinating is how this latitude compares to its northern counterpart, particularly the contrast between the indigenous peoples from my old stomping grounds. In some ways, the Yahgan and Haida are similar (isolated, seafaring archipelago folk), but how those root cultures evolved over the centuries couldn't be further apart. Maybe if Cape Horn had more lodgepole pine trees.

Anyhow, I assume Juan Pablo was inspired by the O.G. Argentinians to start crafting music with remote vibes in mind. Maybe not so dark ambient as Ugasanie goes, but something that captures the spirit of nomadic wanderings among tundra islands. Which kinda' makes naming a major port city Ushuaia a tad funny, seeing as how the Yahgan didn't really have permanent settlements. Still, the name is apt, more or less translating from the native language as “deep bay”. More proudly, and from which Juan gained his inspiration from, Ushuaia lays claim to being the southernmost city on the globe, “end of the world.”. You go, girl!

Like H:U:M's Universal Code, Yahgan's Ushuaia features four tracks, the first three of which build upon each other. Fortunately, there aren't obvious pauses between them, each piece distinctly their own, even if they're re-using similar sound assets. Once again, Part1 is the pure ambient outing, grand synth pads flowing about while a rather crisp, watery sound drips in the background. Part2 adds rhythmic synth harmonies, giving the piece momentum before brighter synths shower down at the peak. Part3 brings some actual downtempo beats to the fray, while the N:L:E Mix beefs the rhythm into dubbier pastures while adding some mildly glitchy sound effects. Ooh, were these in an Oliver Lieb sample pack?

N:L:E - Uncharted Lands

Liquid Frog Records: 2022

No sooner do I finish one box-set than I start another. Kinda'. Okay, buying the bulk of Liquid Frog Records' Bandcamp catalogue doesn't technically count as purchasing a box-set. Hell, as this was an entirely digital transaction, I have no actual physical copies of any of these items. How can I call this a box-set if there's no literal box? I know! I'll dump all the files into one large .zip! That's like a digital box. Or maybe settle for a folder titled “Natural Life Essence & Co.”, print off a screen-cap of it, then hang it somewhere near my CD shelves. It'd be just like saying you hung out with celebrities, by surrounding yourself with cardboard cut-outs of them. Or Calvin and Hobbes hanging out on top of a ladder when they're told they can't climb trees.

It feels a tad odd starting a near-complete dive into Juan Giacovino's project in this manner. When confronted with so many sound samples of equal value and quality, however, I had a Hell of a time deciding what select few I wanted to indulge in. So I bought them all. And hey, if I didn't think there was enough diversity among these eighty-something releases to warrant individual review of them, I wouldn't have done the deed. At least, I hope there is... *eyes ten volumes of Caravan Of Healing Sounds with trepidation*

And thusly, by arbitrary alphabetical decree, I'm kicking this off with one of Juan's more recent offerings, Uncharted Lands. With cover art of frozen wastes in greytone, this looks to be another exploration of chilly soundscapes from N:L:E, a frequent theme within his archives. And space music, if I'm honest. And micro-fauna, come to think of it. Not to mention macro-biomes. But arctic regions, that, definitely.

The titular opener greets us with soft, velvety pads, eventually giving way to a groovy little downbeat, and oh my God! How wonderful it is to hear rhythm again after so many hours of ambient music! Erm, anyhow, Uncharted Lands adds in fuzzy, dubby effects and a sliding synth lead, almost growing epic in an unassuming way. The Desolate Land Mix at the other end of this EP stretches things out more by remaining mostly beatless, save ambient techno patter towards the end.

Between those two tracks is a three-part excursion called Expedition Caravan (Juan loves his caravans). Part 1 is the sort of moody, slowbeat dub techno that Ultimae Records has made their domain as of late, though at least not quite so vaporous. Part 2 strips things down more, letting layers of voice pads wash the sparse rhythms like waves against a shore, while Part 3 opts for more focus on groove, melodic harmony staying in the background before finally strutting its stuff down the stretch. At over fourteen minutes though, it does drag a little before getting to the goods.

Still, a solid first second impression into the N:L:E oeuvre. Only a couple dozens more to go.

Massimo Vivona - Travelling Alone

Carpe Sonum Records: 2021

No sooner had I reviewed Mr. Vivona's debut on Carpe Sonum Records than he dropped a sophomore effort a scant few months after. And seeing as how I'm a couple years tardy on reviewing this album, that's likely given him plenty of time to craft a third outing for the spiritual Fax+ successor. Coming out any day now. At least, I hope so, because I wouldn't mind hearing more from him in the future, nosiree.

But first, a little correction on my part. In my Breathe review, I mentioned ol' Massimo had released a lone single on Pete Namlook's label, Elevator as Elevator. While that part is true, I neglected (overlooked) to mention he'd worked in collaboration with a few others during his brief tenure there. This includes DJ Criss as Xenon, Dr. Atmo as Gamma, and Bela Cox as Gorn. Most of this stuff is early German trance, with Gamma dipping a bit into goa trance's territory, but regardless, to claim Massimo only released one acid techno record on Fax+ is just factually incorrect on my part.

That sorted, I like Travelling Alone a great deal more than Breathe. Not that I disliked that album by any stretch, quite vibing on its retro Berlin-School approach to songcraft. I just felt it lacked an extra gear his looping synths hinted at building towards. And while there's still some of that in this outing, Massimo mixes things up enough such that I'm coming away more satisfied with the overall experience. Heck, even the inclusion of actual track titles, like Paradise and Submarine and Love Of Horizon, does more than the strictly abstract Phase titles of Breathe.

Opening track Beautiful Field doesn't waste time getting us on those vintage early '90s Balearic feels: gentle pads, floaty melodies, bleepy sounds like seagulls, and even a downtempo rhythm! In fact, this sounds like something you might have heard on a slightly sappy chill-out compilation, but, like, the best cut from said comp'. I could easily hear Beautiful Field sharing playlist space with William Orbit or ATB (it's the slide guitar additions) and being none the worse for wear. The Orbit feels get even stronger with the short piano interlude Dramma, if for no other reason than adding a little modern classical flair to the album.

Still, if you were coming into Travelling Alone for more of those looping, trancey arps as heard in Breathe, Mr. Vivona has you covered in tracks like Paradise (bouncy and spritely), Love Of Horizon (really getting on that Global Communication / Manuel Göttsching pulse; also, a Wu-Tang sample?) and Around The Ocean (lazily chugging along in a tribal sort of way). Topping everything off is Submarine, a dubby bit of retro-groovy progressive house with plenty of aquatic samples sending you deep into the abyssal plain.

And then it's over. Damn, does this album ever fly by fast, ending just as I'm primed for things to ratchet up another gear. Oh, dammit, Massimo did it again, didn't he?