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.
Showing posts with label ambient dub. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ambient dub. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
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.
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.
Monday, December 11, 2023
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.
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.
Wednesday, August 30, 2023
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.
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.
Sunday, August 20, 2023
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.
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.
Thursday, August 10, 2023
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.
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.
Wednesday, August 2, 2023
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.
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.
Labels:
2023,
album,
ambient,
ambient dub,
dub techno,
Faint,
SVLBRD,
Warmth
Sunday, July 30, 2023
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 .
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 .
Wednesday, June 21, 2023
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.
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.
Sunday, June 18, 2023
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?
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?
Saturday, June 10, 2023
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.
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.
Sunday, May 28, 2023
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?
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?
Saturday, May 27, 2023
Saphileaum - The Traveler
Silent Season: 2019
I've had Saphileaum's The Traveler for some time, bought among a bundle that included Beat Pharmacy's Safety In Dub, Mohlao's Landforms, and Wanderwelle's Lost In A Sea Of Trees. Items I reviewed two years ago now. Why, then, did I skip this one? Some weird quirk of my convoluted queuing system? Nay, 'tis a sillier reason: I simply forgot I had it.
As The Traveler is a digital-only release, I assume it got lost among all the other 'travel' albums in my folders (Travel The Galaxy, Traveler '03, Traveller, Travelling Without Moving... bonus points if you can I.D. what artists those are tied to!). Only now, during this run through the 'T's, did I realize I missed Saphileaum's EP. Oopsie on me, but that sometimes happens when I don't have a physical copy to confirm I actually bought something. And y'all wonder why I held off on the buying digital for so long.
Anyhow, Saphileaum. There's a lot of history behind this project of Andro Gogibedashvili, at least according to his Discoggian bio. More than I'm willing to divulge here, if I'm honest. Perhaps his biggest claim to fame (aside from being the grandson of one of Georgia's most popular singers, Temur Tsiklauri), is having a snippet of one of his tracks sent out into space, directed at a Neptune-like planet orbiting a red dwarf called K2-18. Huh, seems a bit random. Why not an Earth-like exoplanet, like Gliese 667Cc, or Trappist-1E, or Kepler-69C (nice). Guess the waiting list to transmit to those locations is a tad longer.
Anyhow, after spending some time floating about net-labels like Norite, Controlled Violence, and Oslated, Andro landed on Silent Season with a debut of The Traveler. And what an interesting debut it is, treading into sonic territory I've yet to hear the label venture into. Sure, opener Golden Tunic seems to follow upon similar, spacious dubby aesthetics so often heard throughout Silent Season's history, but there's something oh-so relaxing, calming, and soothing about these gentle synth pads and soft tribal rhythms. It's ambient dub, but for the New Age sect. Not that we haven't heard mystical-leaning music out of this print before, but almost always with a dub techno approach. Saphileaum shows almost no techno-fetishism in his songcraft, dub merely used to enhance the spacious vistas he creates. And boy howdy, does he create some deep spaces indeed.
That said, the tracks making up The Traveler do run a tad samey throughout. Establish a steady rhythm with a meditative melody and twilight field recordings, then subtly loop them for around six minutes each, throwing in a few rolling drum fills, layers of harmonic drone, and echo effects for flavour. It's all finely crafted, no doubt, but once you catch onto the Saphileaum stylee, you won't hear much deviation from it. Fortunately, The Traveler doesn't grow long in tooth either, wrapping up in a tidy seven tracks. A perfect length for a nice stroll through ancient forest paths.
I've had Saphileaum's The Traveler for some time, bought among a bundle that included Beat Pharmacy's Safety In Dub, Mohlao's Landforms, and Wanderwelle's Lost In A Sea Of Trees. Items I reviewed two years ago now. Why, then, did I skip this one? Some weird quirk of my convoluted queuing system? Nay, 'tis a sillier reason: I simply forgot I had it.
As The Traveler is a digital-only release, I assume it got lost among all the other 'travel' albums in my folders (Travel The Galaxy, Traveler '03, Traveller, Travelling Without Moving... bonus points if you can I.D. what artists those are tied to!). Only now, during this run through the 'T's, did I realize I missed Saphileaum's EP. Oopsie on me, but that sometimes happens when I don't have a physical copy to confirm I actually bought something. And y'all wonder why I held off on the buying digital for so long.
Anyhow, Saphileaum. There's a lot of history behind this project of Andro Gogibedashvili, at least according to his Discoggian bio. More than I'm willing to divulge here, if I'm honest. Perhaps his biggest claim to fame (aside from being the grandson of one of Georgia's most popular singers, Temur Tsiklauri), is having a snippet of one of his tracks sent out into space, directed at a Neptune-like planet orbiting a red dwarf called K2-18. Huh, seems a bit random. Why not an Earth-like exoplanet, like Gliese 667Cc, or Trappist-1E, or Kepler-69C (nice). Guess the waiting list to transmit to those locations is a tad longer.
Anyhow, after spending some time floating about net-labels like Norite, Controlled Violence, and Oslated, Andro landed on Silent Season with a debut of The Traveler. And what an interesting debut it is, treading into sonic territory I've yet to hear the label venture into. Sure, opener Golden Tunic seems to follow upon similar, spacious dubby aesthetics so often heard throughout Silent Season's history, but there's something oh-so relaxing, calming, and soothing about these gentle synth pads and soft tribal rhythms. It's ambient dub, but for the New Age sect. Not that we haven't heard mystical-leaning music out of this print before, but almost always with a dub techno approach. Saphileaum shows almost no techno-fetishism in his songcraft, dub merely used to enhance the spacious vistas he creates. And boy howdy, does he create some deep spaces indeed.
That said, the tracks making up The Traveler do run a tad samey throughout. Establish a steady rhythm with a meditative melody and twilight field recordings, then subtly loop them for around six minutes each, throwing in a few rolling drum fills, layers of harmonic drone, and echo effects for flavour. It's all finely crafted, no doubt, but once you catch onto the Saphileaum stylee, you won't hear much deviation from it. Fortunately, The Traveler doesn't grow long in tooth either, wrapping up in a tidy seven tracks. A perfect length for a nice stroll through ancient forest paths.
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Children Of The Bong - Sirius Sounds
Planet Dog/Mammoth Records: 1995/1996
In the great Electronic Music Encyclopedia, the chapter on “What Could Have Been...?” is replete with artists, acts, producers, and projects that never saw their fulfilled potential. In a psychedelic scene with many flash-in-the-pan names and one-and-done wonders, Children Of The Bong's story always felt particularly cruel. A promise of something truly unique and remarkable, cut entirely too short due to circumstances utterly out of their control. Misters Henry and Goganian basically created psy dub years before it ever caught on!
I'll grant there were already tunes on the downtempo side of things within the psy scene, but much of it seemed in flux with already existing genres - ambient dub, world beat, acid breaks, goa trance, and so on. It took a true all-star act like Shpongle (re: Simon Posford and Raja Ram) to essentially set the terms and tropes of what psy dub would go on to entail. Yet for all the groundbreaking ideas those two were credited with, Children Of The Bong got there first, and quite possibly were even more intuitive with said ideas involving improvised analogue gear, as evidenced on their lone album, Sirius Sounds.
All those wiggly, squiggly, free-flowing trippy-drippy sounds psy dub is so often associated with are in full effect here. Hell, there's a track titled Squigglasonica, itself something of a spiritual successor to Ionospheric State (which I touched upon in Transmissions From Planet Dog). Funky, hip-shakin' rhythms coupled with delightfully fun knob twiddling on those wormy acid leads, and how could you not think of a title more appropriate?
These tracks are more representative of the sort of live jams Rob and Daniel would do, but they made room for more traditional takes on psychedelic world beat too. Well, about as traditional as anyone out of the Megadog scene would go, and even then throwing in their wildly warped variations of it. Interface Reality may be comparatively chill, but that don't mean the acid doesn't get a good workout along the way. The Veil has the sort of po-faced spiritual samples coupled with tongue-in-cheek low-ridin' basslines that reminds everyone not to take this scene too seriously. Underwater Dub gets about as deep into the reggae dub side of things as you could possibly go with this album, while Life On Planet Earth... actually sounds like a fairly typical spaced-out psy-dub track, until you remember it came out years before that was really a thing.
Okay, so clearly Children Of The Bong were 'ahead of their time', and all that. Why are they not regarded in the same breath as that scene's major players, then? Two reasons, one clearly being they broke up shortly after Sirius Sounds came out, Rob Henry carrying on with different music after. The second is just bad label luck, Planet Dog/Ultimate already showing strains of mismanagement with their signed acts. Fortunately, tales of the Bong continued to linger over the ages, and Sirius Sounds has seen some expanded re-issues recently. No excuses for overlooking this album any longer then.
In the great Electronic Music Encyclopedia, the chapter on “What Could Have Been...?” is replete with artists, acts, producers, and projects that never saw their fulfilled potential. In a psychedelic scene with many flash-in-the-pan names and one-and-done wonders, Children Of The Bong's story always felt particularly cruel. A promise of something truly unique and remarkable, cut entirely too short due to circumstances utterly out of their control. Misters Henry and Goganian basically created psy dub years before it ever caught on!
I'll grant there were already tunes on the downtempo side of things within the psy scene, but much of it seemed in flux with already existing genres - ambient dub, world beat, acid breaks, goa trance, and so on. It took a true all-star act like Shpongle (re: Simon Posford and Raja Ram) to essentially set the terms and tropes of what psy dub would go on to entail. Yet for all the groundbreaking ideas those two were credited with, Children Of The Bong got there first, and quite possibly were even more intuitive with said ideas involving improvised analogue gear, as evidenced on their lone album, Sirius Sounds.
All those wiggly, squiggly, free-flowing trippy-drippy sounds psy dub is so often associated with are in full effect here. Hell, there's a track titled Squigglasonica, itself something of a spiritual successor to Ionospheric State (which I touched upon in Transmissions From Planet Dog). Funky, hip-shakin' rhythms coupled with delightfully fun knob twiddling on those wormy acid leads, and how could you not think of a title more appropriate?
These tracks are more representative of the sort of live jams Rob and Daniel would do, but they made room for more traditional takes on psychedelic world beat too. Well, about as traditional as anyone out of the Megadog scene would go, and even then throwing in their wildly warped variations of it. Interface Reality may be comparatively chill, but that don't mean the acid doesn't get a good workout along the way. The Veil has the sort of po-faced spiritual samples coupled with tongue-in-cheek low-ridin' basslines that reminds everyone not to take this scene too seriously. Underwater Dub gets about as deep into the reggae dub side of things as you could possibly go with this album, while Life On Planet Earth... actually sounds like a fairly typical spaced-out psy-dub track, until you remember it came out years before that was really a thing.
Okay, so clearly Children Of The Bong were 'ahead of their time', and all that. Why are they not regarded in the same breath as that scene's major players, then? Two reasons, one clearly being they broke up shortly after Sirius Sounds came out, Rob Henry carrying on with different music after. The second is just bad label luck, Planet Dog/Ultimate already showing strains of mismanagement with their signed acts. Fortunately, tales of the Bong continued to linger over the ages, and Sirius Sounds has seen some expanded re-issues recently. No excuses for overlooking this album any longer then.
Friday, January 27, 2023
Cypher 7 - Security
Subharmonic: 1995
It started with Psychonavigation, then moved on to include Divination. That only left Cypher 7 as the remaining artist from that Alien Ambient Galaxy compilation I hadn't properly indulged in yet. I wasn't so sure I would though, as from what I could glean, this project had the least amount of Bill Laswell input out of all three, his primary credit being “Navigation & Ground Control” (re: producer). Then again, the chaps behind Cypher 7 – Alex Haas and Jeff Bova – worked with Laswell on some of those Divination sessions, so there was bound to be some connective sonic tissue there. Not to mention appearing on Bill's Subharmonic label.
Then again, said label wasn't really a major focal point for the Laswellian One, more of a means to distribute some of his European releases (re: Fax+ output) on American shores, so how much attention could Cypher 7 really be given? Then again-again, Subharmonic also was where he released his take on ambient dub, so maybe the rest of Cypher 7 would lean that way? Ah, fek'it, let's just buy one of their albums should I find a Discogs seller offloading it on the cheap. Ah, here's one! Guess I'll settle with Security, as it not only has two familiar tracks on it (The Suspicious Shaman and Nothing Lasts), but has a cooler bit of cover art too.
Sure enough, opener Message Important gets into some of that vintage Laswell downtempo dub action, with a groovy rhythm, ominous string pads, a quirky sample of French resistance broadcasts, and jazzy playing with organs and bass guitar provided by, yup, Bill Laswell. Just no mistaking that bass tone. Unlike some of his lengthy jams though (this one lasts upwards of fourteen minutes), Message Important is tight and compelling as it plays through. It feels like you're immersed in some noir flick, silhouettes of smoke flowing through the shadowy cracks of a dimly lit basement.
In fact, much of Security has that vibe. Tokyo A.M is a pure, minimalist ambient piece with sparse field recordings of damp back alleys and subtle, sinewy pads, lurking in the dark of door enclaves. Following that, Benares (Open Secret) gets more operatic with opulent orchestral strings and... light Indian singing and drumming? Not quite so French noir as the other tracks, unless you want to count Moroccan into that equation. Which I will because I like me some consistent themes with my albums, yo'. And nothing says French film like having Jeanne Moreau going on about passion and love in Nothing Lasts.
Final track Falling Backwards is another moody, minimalist, experimental ambient piece. At sixteen minutes in length though, it finds room for a little dub jamming towards its end, the piece even morphing into more of an uplifting tone. Ooh, a positive outcome in a noir setting? What is this, modern Hollywood? Sadly not, as Cypher 7 would move on from the project after this. Another intriguing story of '90s underground ambient dub, cut too short.
It started with Psychonavigation, then moved on to include Divination. That only left Cypher 7 as the remaining artist from that Alien Ambient Galaxy compilation I hadn't properly indulged in yet. I wasn't so sure I would though, as from what I could glean, this project had the least amount of Bill Laswell input out of all three, his primary credit being “Navigation & Ground Control” (re: producer). Then again, the chaps behind Cypher 7 – Alex Haas and Jeff Bova – worked with Laswell on some of those Divination sessions, so there was bound to be some connective sonic tissue there. Not to mention appearing on Bill's Subharmonic label.
Then again, said label wasn't really a major focal point for the Laswellian One, more of a means to distribute some of his European releases (re: Fax+ output) on American shores, so how much attention could Cypher 7 really be given? Then again-again, Subharmonic also was where he released his take on ambient dub, so maybe the rest of Cypher 7 would lean that way? Ah, fek'it, let's just buy one of their albums should I find a Discogs seller offloading it on the cheap. Ah, here's one! Guess I'll settle with Security, as it not only has two familiar tracks on it (The Suspicious Shaman and Nothing Lasts), but has a cooler bit of cover art too.
Sure enough, opener Message Important gets into some of that vintage Laswell downtempo dub action, with a groovy rhythm, ominous string pads, a quirky sample of French resistance broadcasts, and jazzy playing with organs and bass guitar provided by, yup, Bill Laswell. Just no mistaking that bass tone. Unlike some of his lengthy jams though (this one lasts upwards of fourteen minutes), Message Important is tight and compelling as it plays through. It feels like you're immersed in some noir flick, silhouettes of smoke flowing through the shadowy cracks of a dimly lit basement.
In fact, much of Security has that vibe. Tokyo A.M is a pure, minimalist ambient piece with sparse field recordings of damp back alleys and subtle, sinewy pads, lurking in the dark of door enclaves. Following that, Benares (Open Secret) gets more operatic with opulent orchestral strings and... light Indian singing and drumming? Not quite so French noir as the other tracks, unless you want to count Moroccan into that equation. Which I will because I like me some consistent themes with my albums, yo'. And nothing says French film like having Jeanne Moreau going on about passion and love in Nothing Lasts.
Final track Falling Backwards is another moody, minimalist, experimental ambient piece. At sixteen minutes in length though, it finds room for a little dub jamming towards its end, the piece even morphing into more of an uplifting tone. Ooh, a positive outcome in a noir setting? What is this, modern Hollywood? Sadly not, as Cypher 7 would move on from the project after this. Another intriguing story of '90s underground ambient dub, cut too short.
Saturday, September 17, 2022
Saafi Brothers - Live On The Roadblog
Iboga Records/Carpe Sonum Novum: 2014/2015
Yet another in a long, long, long (oh Gods, just so damn long) list of acts I've sorely neglected. By all accounts, Saafi Brothers are a group I should have dove into sooner. All the pieces are there for me to have checked them out at some point, members with discographies I've crossed with plenty of times.
Most prominent of these is, of course, Gabriel le Mar, who I have heard in scattered amounts over the years, and never been let down by his output. Another member is Luca Anzilotti, whom most probably don't know off hand, but have definitely heard in the past, being one-half of the famed euro-dance outfit Snap! Michael Kohlbecker isn't one I'm familiar with, though he's been active on the scene many decades, his Eternal Basement project probably his most recognizable alias. Alex Azary (of Aural Float and Elektrolux fame) was also with the group on its first album, so all said, quite the super-group of German producers here.
And what sort of music did these numerous talents create together? Why, nothing less than the invention of prog-psy, is what! Okay, maybe not quite, their works more of an ambient dub techno blend with wordly psy-chill, but tell me 1997 tracks like On Air and Internal Code Error don't predict that genre emerging in the coming century.
As you can imagine with a group containing so many busy-bodies, reconvening for an album session isn't the easiest endeavour for Saafi Brothers. It would explain the sparse discography (and my overlooking of said discography), the group seemingly disbanding after 2007's Supernatural, save live gigs. Still, such gigs seemed to inspire the trio to actually start recording some of those sessions, which they did, consolidating the best outings in the studio for this here Live On The Roadblog album. Initially released as a digital item on prog-psy outfit Iboga Records, it was given the CD treatment on Carpe Sonum Records off-shoot Novum. That isn't as strange of a 'worlds colliding' pairing as you'd think, what with Gabriel le Mar being something of a fixture with the sub-label.
Listening through Live On The Roadblog, you definitely get a 'live' feel for how these tracks were crafted, everything quite loose in arrangement. Still, with most hovering around the six-to-eight minutes mark, they seldom wander off in rambly jams, a clear structure in their progression. Just, y'know, not so stiff in execution as most studio works go. As for the types of tunes, you get dubby world beats (Infinity Is Reality, Ghosts In The Tree), prog-psy groovers (Running Free, In The Eye Of The Storm, Moving Crossroads), blissy chillers (Feeling Lone, Touched By An Angel, Moments Of Clarity), and... electro-dub bangers? Wow, where did How High Can You Get? come from?
The music is solid stuff for sure, but man, all the drippy-hippie spoken word bits, I could have done with less of. When the whole album's concept is 'following one's wanderlust' though, I guess it comes with the territory.
Yet another in a long, long, long (oh Gods, just so damn long) list of acts I've sorely neglected. By all accounts, Saafi Brothers are a group I should have dove into sooner. All the pieces are there for me to have checked them out at some point, members with discographies I've crossed with plenty of times.
Most prominent of these is, of course, Gabriel le Mar, who I have heard in scattered amounts over the years, and never been let down by his output. Another member is Luca Anzilotti, whom most probably don't know off hand, but have definitely heard in the past, being one-half of the famed euro-dance outfit Snap! Michael Kohlbecker isn't one I'm familiar with, though he's been active on the scene many decades, his Eternal Basement project probably his most recognizable alias. Alex Azary (of Aural Float and Elektrolux fame) was also with the group on its first album, so all said, quite the super-group of German producers here.
And what sort of music did these numerous talents create together? Why, nothing less than the invention of prog-psy, is what! Okay, maybe not quite, their works more of an ambient dub techno blend with wordly psy-chill, but tell me 1997 tracks like On Air and Internal Code Error don't predict that genre emerging in the coming century.
As you can imagine with a group containing so many busy-bodies, reconvening for an album session isn't the easiest endeavour for Saafi Brothers. It would explain the sparse discography (and my overlooking of said discography), the group seemingly disbanding after 2007's Supernatural, save live gigs. Still, such gigs seemed to inspire the trio to actually start recording some of those sessions, which they did, consolidating the best outings in the studio for this here Live On The Roadblog album. Initially released as a digital item on prog-psy outfit Iboga Records, it was given the CD treatment on Carpe Sonum Records off-shoot Novum. That isn't as strange of a 'worlds colliding' pairing as you'd think, what with Gabriel le Mar being something of a fixture with the sub-label.
Listening through Live On The Roadblog, you definitely get a 'live' feel for how these tracks were crafted, everything quite loose in arrangement. Still, with most hovering around the six-to-eight minutes mark, they seldom wander off in rambly jams, a clear structure in their progression. Just, y'know, not so stiff in execution as most studio works go. As for the types of tunes, you get dubby world beats (Infinity Is Reality, Ghosts In The Tree), prog-psy groovers (Running Free, In The Eye Of The Storm, Moving Crossroads), blissy chillers (Feeling Lone, Touched By An Angel, Moments Of Clarity), and... electro-dub bangers? Wow, where did How High Can You Get? come from?
The music is solid stuff for sure, but man, all the drippy-hippie spoken word bits, I could have done with less of. When the whole album's concept is 'following one's wanderlust' though, I guess it comes with the territory.
Friday, September 16, 2022
Apollo 440 - Liquid Cool (Volume Two)
Stealth Sonic Recordings: 1994
Ah yes, the ol' 'why settle for one CD single when you can commission two and charge twice the price!' strategy. Heck, there's apparently a 3-LP vinyl option out there that consolidates everything into one package, though according to Lord Discogs, was only ever a promo?
That doesn't seem right. Why would Stealth Sonic Recordings commercially limit the amount of tracks? Oh right, that whole 'maximize sales' thing. So separate them into two 'volumes', the first one having the Big Names like FSOL, Deep Forest, and Jah Wobble, then if there's interest, here's the other remixes on a second volume. Only there was no second volume released on vinyl, strictly limited to CD. Guess Ollie J and 'Space' weren't enough of a selling point after all.
Still, if there's any complaint to be had about Liquid Cool (Volume One), it's that its offered remixes weren't exactly the most DJ friendly. Yeah, yeah, Sasha and Diggers made Ice Cold @ The Equator work in Northern Exposure, but that set was never intended to be a traditional club dancefloor set in the first place. No, I'm talking about versions where the intro and outros are easily layered and the rhythms are steady, to which Volume Two offers up. Without a vinyl option. How did that happened again?
I mentioned before that there's a remix of Liquid Cool that's even better than Deep Forest's famed rub, and here it be right on Volume Two, Deep Forest's other rub: Trans-Afrique Life Extension Express. Just jettison the downtime of Ice Cold, grab all the dope rhythmic bits and ear-wormy pieces, and rearrange them for maximum efficiency. If Ice Cold is the chakra-aligning, yoga meditating outing, then Trans-Afrique is the cross-fit ripped, sweating workout: no gristle, all muscle.
It still boggles my mind that Deep Forest was capable of such a dancefloor weapon. I wonder how much engineer Ollie J (he of many studio jobs with acts like Leftfield, Sasha, Rozalla, and, erm, The Prodigy's Baby's Got A Temper ...whoof) had a hand in its arrangement. For sure he has a Live Dubs go as well, but it's nowhere near as solid or interesting as Trans-Afrique.
The other remixes on Volume Two come care of Rhythm Of Space, a pairing of Jono Podmore and Steve Musham that has very little Discoggian presence (compared to their other works in the business at least). In case you felt Deep Forest's go was too 'poppy', their Colonization Remix takes Liquid Cool down the most proper progressive house path you could possible pursue in '94: fourteen minutes of relentless rhythms and almost nothing but, not even the chants. If that seems excessive, take a gander at their -320°F Biostatic Ambient Mix, here pared down to just one part, as the 'promo' vinyl version lasted a full twenty-five minutes. It's definitely interesting in that ol' school, noodly ambient dub sort of way, but even at the eleven minutes offered here, it does drag some. Can't imagine enduring the full session.
Ah yes, the ol' 'why settle for one CD single when you can commission two and charge twice the price!' strategy. Heck, there's apparently a 3-LP vinyl option out there that consolidates everything into one package, though according to Lord Discogs, was only ever a promo?
That doesn't seem right. Why would Stealth Sonic Recordings commercially limit the amount of tracks? Oh right, that whole 'maximize sales' thing. So separate them into two 'volumes', the first one having the Big Names like FSOL, Deep Forest, and Jah Wobble, then if there's interest, here's the other remixes on a second volume. Only there was no second volume released on vinyl, strictly limited to CD. Guess Ollie J and 'Space' weren't enough of a selling point after all.
Still, if there's any complaint to be had about Liquid Cool (Volume One), it's that its offered remixes weren't exactly the most DJ friendly. Yeah, yeah, Sasha and Diggers made Ice Cold @ The Equator work in Northern Exposure, but that set was never intended to be a traditional club dancefloor set in the first place. No, I'm talking about versions where the intro and outros are easily layered and the rhythms are steady, to which Volume Two offers up. Without a vinyl option. How did that happened again?
I mentioned before that there's a remix of Liquid Cool that's even better than Deep Forest's famed rub, and here it be right on Volume Two, Deep Forest's other rub: Trans-Afrique Life Extension Express. Just jettison the downtime of Ice Cold, grab all the dope rhythmic bits and ear-wormy pieces, and rearrange them for maximum efficiency. If Ice Cold is the chakra-aligning, yoga meditating outing, then Trans-Afrique is the cross-fit ripped, sweating workout: no gristle, all muscle.
It still boggles my mind that Deep Forest was capable of such a dancefloor weapon. I wonder how much engineer Ollie J (he of many studio jobs with acts like Leftfield, Sasha, Rozalla, and, erm, The Prodigy's Baby's Got A Temper ...whoof) had a hand in its arrangement. For sure he has a Live Dubs go as well, but it's nowhere near as solid or interesting as Trans-Afrique.
The other remixes on Volume Two come care of Rhythm Of Space, a pairing of Jono Podmore and Steve Musham that has very little Discoggian presence (compared to their other works in the business at least). In case you felt Deep Forest's go was too 'poppy', their Colonization Remix takes Liquid Cool down the most proper progressive house path you could possible pursue in '94: fourteen minutes of relentless rhythms and almost nothing but, not even the chants. If that seems excessive, take a gander at their -320°F Biostatic Ambient Mix, here pared down to just one part, as the 'promo' vinyl version lasted a full twenty-five minutes. It's definitely interesting in that ol' school, noodly ambient dub sort of way, but even at the eleven minutes offered here, it does drag some. Can't imagine enduring the full session.
Tuesday, September 6, 2022
The KLF - Last Train To Trancentral (Live From The Lost Continent)
Indisc: 1991
No doubt one of the more redundant singles I've picked up. There's only three tracks on here, and I already have two of them. Yeah, the Live From The Lost Continent version would have been a welcome addition to any UK punter's collection, a wholly different version compared to the album cut in that region (itself a remodelling of an unreleased song called Go To Sleep). Capping off The KLF's 'Stadium House' trilogy, wherein Jimmy and Billy took their Pure Trance singles and turned them into rollicking rave anthems filled with adoring crowds, Last Train was probably the most vain-glorious of the bunch. Well, certainly my personal favourite, even if The Charts say 3 a.m. Eternal was most popular of the trio (to say nothing of the Tammy Wynette featuring version of Justified And Ancient).
Anyhow, that's all a moot point for yours truly, as the American version of The White Room used the Lost Continent version of Last Train instead. Guess Arista figured their audience wouldn't have time for the 'subtler', calmer UK variant – don't bore us, get to the mutha'-fuggin' anthem chorus! Either that, or there was even more sample-clearance issues. Neither would surprise me.
Also included on this single is the 1989 Pure Trance Original. You know this as the version as heard on Chill Out, which I also have, kind of. I guess it's nice having it on its own, separate from the the full album mix, but again, redundant to my own music collection.
That leaves just The Iron Horse rub, and you know what? This actually makes getting the single for exactly one track out of three almost worth it. It's basically a primitive 'prog house' version of Last Train, back when the genre had just started its tentative first walk out onto the shores of UK clubland. The Lost Continent version is essentially stripped down to its most functional rhythmic components, chugging along at a deep, unrelenting pace. Shame its barely four minutes long, but I'm sure enterprising DJs could loop this for a propah' prog journey, if so inclined.
“But, Sykonee, you sexy beast of scintillating sound analysis,” I hear the cries, “why not cover that other remix package for this single?” What, The Moody Boys one? Yeah, that exists, but wasn't among the CD options from where I picked this up. It's not that hard to find, but certainly far from as common as this single is.
And frankly, I'm not sure if there's much to say about them, both essentially rubs on the UK album variant of Last Train. The 808Bass Version adds more rolling deep ends while the 120 Rock Steady version gets ravier with punchier riffs and broken beats, but that's about the extent of differences. Meanwhile, the Mu D. Vari-Speed Version is just Last Train To Trancentral (Remix 1) from the Pure Trance single, only played through a tape reel or turntable pitch shift at various speeds (I'm not sure which – maybe both?). I'll pass.
No doubt one of the more redundant singles I've picked up. There's only three tracks on here, and I already have two of them. Yeah, the Live From The Lost Continent version would have been a welcome addition to any UK punter's collection, a wholly different version compared to the album cut in that region (itself a remodelling of an unreleased song called Go To Sleep). Capping off The KLF's 'Stadium House' trilogy, wherein Jimmy and Billy took their Pure Trance singles and turned them into rollicking rave anthems filled with adoring crowds, Last Train was probably the most vain-glorious of the bunch. Well, certainly my personal favourite, even if The Charts say 3 a.m. Eternal was most popular of the trio (to say nothing of the Tammy Wynette featuring version of Justified And Ancient).
Anyhow, that's all a moot point for yours truly, as the American version of The White Room used the Lost Continent version of Last Train instead. Guess Arista figured their audience wouldn't have time for the 'subtler', calmer UK variant – don't bore us, get to the mutha'-fuggin' anthem chorus! Either that, or there was even more sample-clearance issues. Neither would surprise me.
Also included on this single is the 1989 Pure Trance Original. You know this as the version as heard on Chill Out, which I also have, kind of. I guess it's nice having it on its own, separate from the the full album mix, but again, redundant to my own music collection.
That leaves just The Iron Horse rub, and you know what? This actually makes getting the single for exactly one track out of three almost worth it. It's basically a primitive 'prog house' version of Last Train, back when the genre had just started its tentative first walk out onto the shores of UK clubland. The Lost Continent version is essentially stripped down to its most functional rhythmic components, chugging along at a deep, unrelenting pace. Shame its barely four minutes long, but I'm sure enterprising DJs could loop this for a propah' prog journey, if so inclined.
“But, Sykonee, you sexy beast of scintillating sound analysis,” I hear the cries, “why not cover that other remix package for this single?” What, The Moody Boys one? Yeah, that exists, but wasn't among the CD options from where I picked this up. It's not that hard to find, but certainly far from as common as this single is.
And frankly, I'm not sure if there's much to say about them, both essentially rubs on the UK album variant of Last Train. The 808Bass Version adds more rolling deep ends while the 120 Rock Steady version gets ravier with punchier riffs and broken beats, but that's about the extent of differences. Meanwhile, the Mu D. Vari-Speed Version is just Last Train To Trancentral (Remix 1) from the Pure Trance single, only played through a tape reel or turntable pitch shift at various speeds (I'm not sure which – maybe both?). I'll pass.
Monday, August 8, 2022
Aes Dana - Inks
Ultimae Records: 2019
I don't want to claim Ultimae Records has 'fallen off', as some do, because that's not really the case. Yeah, their musical manifesto has morphed into something quite different from its inception, but that doesn't mean their quality standards have slipped. They've simply chosen to explore different sonic avenues, and whether you're up for joining them in this journey likely comes down to personal taste. And for myself, I can't say I've always been for it. Whereas Ultimae of old was 'must buy' with every release, I've skipped on a few in more recent years, not even worried some may slip into over-inflated collector's market territory.
And truth be told, Aes Dana's Inks might have been included in there. Much as I've generally liked his older albums like Season 5, Perimeters and Pollen, it's been a long time since he indulged in prog-psy of that nature. Rather, dub techno and journeys through the sonic spaces between has dominated his muse for the past decade, and after the wafer-thin outing that was Far & Off with MikTek, not to mention Ultimae's general direction, I wasn't in any hurry to hear where his muse was going.
Still, I was willing to listen to some Bandcamp samples, and what's this? D'n'B rhythms? In an Ultimae release!? Oh... oh my! Never would I have imagined hearing something like that out of this label, much less from Aes Dana himself. And sure, they're nothing on the level of some fierce Technical Itch Amen break action, but those broken beats in Unfold, Transparency Syndrome, Ashen, and Alep Offset sure skip and stutter like some low-key, ASC microfunk does. Well, I'm sold, let's check Inks out proper-like then.
Honestly though, first impressions are gonna' be tough to get through, because yeah, Mr. Villuis' first solo album in seven years does have that omnipresent, minimalist grey-tone dub techno vibe throughout. If modern Ultimae still doesn't do it for you, little on Inks will change your mind, and you'd be forgiven for dismissing it out of hand.
Yet once this album finally (finally!) started sinking in, I was quite mesmerized by the diversity lurking beneath the surface. Tunes on that more classic Ultimae downbeat tip include the titular opener and Akacie, while techno of all stripes gets a look in with Nuphar Log (classic dub), Peace Corrosion (minimalist proggy outing), and Otherness (d'at Berghain shi'). Some ambient pieces in The Gradual District and Juniper round things out, but man, even Alep Offset is a journey and a half. Ol' Vincent even slows the tempo down to a hip-hop crawl. D'n'B and hip-hop in an Ultimae release? Wonders never cease.
Again, if you remain unconvinced about the label's current general tone, I doubt Inks will change your mind. I was glad I gave this a chance though. Heck, it even got me hype to nab Aes Dana's more recent album, (a) period. Heard quite good things about that one and it's already sold out. Son of a b
I don't want to claim Ultimae Records has 'fallen off', as some do, because that's not really the case. Yeah, their musical manifesto has morphed into something quite different from its inception, but that doesn't mean their quality standards have slipped. They've simply chosen to explore different sonic avenues, and whether you're up for joining them in this journey likely comes down to personal taste. And for myself, I can't say I've always been for it. Whereas Ultimae of old was 'must buy' with every release, I've skipped on a few in more recent years, not even worried some may slip into over-inflated collector's market territory.
And truth be told, Aes Dana's Inks might have been included in there. Much as I've generally liked his older albums like Season 5, Perimeters and Pollen, it's been a long time since he indulged in prog-psy of that nature. Rather, dub techno and journeys through the sonic spaces between has dominated his muse for the past decade, and after the wafer-thin outing that was Far & Off with MikTek, not to mention Ultimae's general direction, I wasn't in any hurry to hear where his muse was going.
Still, I was willing to listen to some Bandcamp samples, and what's this? D'n'B rhythms? In an Ultimae release!? Oh... oh my! Never would I have imagined hearing something like that out of this label, much less from Aes Dana himself. And sure, they're nothing on the level of some fierce Technical Itch Amen break action, but those broken beats in Unfold, Transparency Syndrome, Ashen, and Alep Offset sure skip and stutter like some low-key, ASC microfunk does. Well, I'm sold, let's check Inks out proper-like then.
Honestly though, first impressions are gonna' be tough to get through, because yeah, Mr. Villuis' first solo album in seven years does have that omnipresent, minimalist grey-tone dub techno vibe throughout. If modern Ultimae still doesn't do it for you, little on Inks will change your mind, and you'd be forgiven for dismissing it out of hand.
Yet once this album finally (finally!) started sinking in, I was quite mesmerized by the diversity lurking beneath the surface. Tunes on that more classic Ultimae downbeat tip include the titular opener and Akacie, while techno of all stripes gets a look in with Nuphar Log (classic dub), Peace Corrosion (minimalist proggy outing), and Otherness (d'at Berghain shi'). Some ambient pieces in The Gradual District and Juniper round things out, but man, even Alep Offset is a journey and a half. Ol' Vincent even slows the tempo down to a hip-hop crawl. D'n'B and hip-hop in an Ultimae release? Wonders never cease.
Again, if you remain unconvinced about the label's current general tone, I doubt Inks will change your mind. I was glad I gave this a chance though. Heck, it even got me hype to nab Aes Dana's more recent album, (a) period. Heard quite good things about that one and it's already sold out. Son of a b
Sunday, August 7, 2022
Owl - Infinite Horizon
Silent Season: 2021
I brought this up in the last Silent Season review I did (Daar's Entire), but man, has there ever been a lasting drought from this label. Daar's album remains the 'final' item they released, while this Infinite Horizon from Owl is only a month older. I feel like I'll have gone through the entire Silent Season back-catalogue in reverse order before they release something new. You think I'm joking, but Tomas Jirku's Touching The Sublime is also in my queue, currently the 'fourth-to-last' item from the label. Ooh, and now the OCD compels me to grab the digital-only Moon Song EP from Yuka, just to claim I have all these in proper order. Or heck, why not drop a hundred bones on the entire Bandcamp collection? Sure, I already have twenty out of the sixty-seven releases, but I'm gonna' need something to satisfy my Silent Season fix in their ongoing absence.
Owl is Pierre Nesi, a chap who's released a scattershot amount of material over the past decade. He had an earlier, modestly successful run making drum 'n' bass and future garage with fellow Belgian Lucas D'Haeyaert as Glÿph (yikes, guys, change that Discogs photo! You look right out of an Aphex Twin video). Seems the Owl alias emerged as a means of exploring the more atmospheric elements of his muse, with rhythms more on the downbeat. He made a debut on Silent Season as part of their 10 Year Collection series of vinyl releases, returning half a decade later for there here seven track debut solo album.
As this is a Silent Season release, I went into Infinite Horizon fully expecting to hear things like fuzzy field recordings, layers of dubby timbre, and maybe even some of techno's rhythmic pulse. Sure enough, opener Moonshine Haze provides that, but gosh, why does that distant howl put my nerves on edge? There's still some sense of hazy, grey-tone melancholy to Mr. Nesi's choice of synth harmony, which fits that omnipresent coastal rainforest vibe I've long associated with the label. There's just something oddly bleak about it too.
And that tone doesn't let up in following tracks Glimpse Of Decline and Losing Cohesion. Despite moments of melodic respite (dashes of spritely bells in Decline, the sound of chirping birds in Cohesion), there's still an overwhelming sense of depression. Heck, I'll just come right out and say Two Lands is out-and-out dark ambient, the sort you might hear on a Cryo Chamber cinematic drone release.
I can't say that's the dominate tone of Infinity Horizon though. Hidden Forest is a straight up dub techno cut in the classic Silent Season wide-screen ambient vein, while Distant Transmission and the titular cut go more for the reflective ambient dub outings. Overall, this seven tracker hits most of the vintage vibes you'd expect out of this label. I just have never heard Silent Season go as dark as Two Lands before. Makes me wonder what else I might have missed over the years.
I brought this up in the last Silent Season review I did (Daar's Entire), but man, has there ever been a lasting drought from this label. Daar's album remains the 'final' item they released, while this Infinite Horizon from Owl is only a month older. I feel like I'll have gone through the entire Silent Season back-catalogue in reverse order before they release something new. You think I'm joking, but Tomas Jirku's Touching The Sublime is also in my queue, currently the 'fourth-to-last' item from the label. Ooh, and now the OCD compels me to grab the digital-only Moon Song EP from Yuka, just to claim I have all these in proper order. Or heck, why not drop a hundred bones on the entire Bandcamp collection? Sure, I already have twenty out of the sixty-seven releases, but I'm gonna' need something to satisfy my Silent Season fix in their ongoing absence.
Owl is Pierre Nesi, a chap who's released a scattershot amount of material over the past decade. He had an earlier, modestly successful run making drum 'n' bass and future garage with fellow Belgian Lucas D'Haeyaert as Glÿph (yikes, guys, change that Discogs photo! You look right out of an Aphex Twin video). Seems the Owl alias emerged as a means of exploring the more atmospheric elements of his muse, with rhythms more on the downbeat. He made a debut on Silent Season as part of their 10 Year Collection series of vinyl releases, returning half a decade later for there here seven track debut solo album.
As this is a Silent Season release, I went into Infinite Horizon fully expecting to hear things like fuzzy field recordings, layers of dubby timbre, and maybe even some of techno's rhythmic pulse. Sure enough, opener Moonshine Haze provides that, but gosh, why does that distant howl put my nerves on edge? There's still some sense of hazy, grey-tone melancholy to Mr. Nesi's choice of synth harmony, which fits that omnipresent coastal rainforest vibe I've long associated with the label. There's just something oddly bleak about it too.
And that tone doesn't let up in following tracks Glimpse Of Decline and Losing Cohesion. Despite moments of melodic respite (dashes of spritely bells in Decline, the sound of chirping birds in Cohesion), there's still an overwhelming sense of depression. Heck, I'll just come right out and say Two Lands is out-and-out dark ambient, the sort you might hear on a Cryo Chamber cinematic drone release.
I can't say that's the dominate tone of Infinity Horizon though. Hidden Forest is a straight up dub techno cut in the classic Silent Season wide-screen ambient vein, while Distant Transmission and the titular cut go more for the reflective ambient dub outings. Overall, this seven tracker hits most of the vintage vibes you'd expect out of this label. I just have never heard Silent Season go as dark as Two Lands before. Makes me wonder what else I might have missed over the years.
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