Si Matthews - Across The Ether

Carpe Sonum Records: 2018

Been an age since I last talked up Si Matthews. Chap seemed like one of those promising new talents the current era of Fax+ influenced artists who were gonna' lead us into a post-Namlook era. He's taken a 'slow and steady' approach to his release rate though, settling on about an album a year rather than the twenty-dozen items some of his peers churn out. Slow and steady wins the race, I guess, but what are we racing for? Can making music be considered a race, against the limited time we have to create all that our muses allow us to express? Can the sonic soul even be sated, when there's infinite possibilities before us, countless that which have yet to be discovered? Just some thoughts as I stare into the Pillars Of Creation for the umpteenth time.

I felt Si's sophomore album, Aurora, was a good enough follow-up to his applauded debut Tales Of Ten Worlds, if a bit slight in content compared to the richness offered in the former. No chance of similar feelings with his next album, Across The Ether, a whopping double-LP outing from Mr. Matthews! Interestingly, this is one of the few times Carpe Sonum Records has ever released a 2CD album, and remained a lone example of the format until just this year's release of Sven Kössler's Bck t· Lvng. Coincidentally, Si and Sven have been working together this past year, though their release on Fantasy Enhancing wasn't a double-LP, so I can only imagine should they also cook up something for Carpe Sonum, it'll be nothing less than a 4CD box-set! Maybe wait until they can nab the impossible catalogue number SEIZE-XXL though. (yes, I find it hilarious that the first Carpe Sonum double-LP release is SEIZE-XL)

CD1 is subtitled Ambient, and that's what you're gonna' get, by g'ar. Nine tracks of spaced-out, cosmic synth pads with occasional splashes of soft rhythms. Real planetarium stuff, in other words, which shouldn't be of any surprise with the head of the Eagle Nebula plastered across the cover art. Admittedly it can get rather samey throughout, though folks diving into this style of ambient music aren't looking for much variation either, so it works out. Except for In Stone, a minimalist bleepy ambient techno track that sounds like it drifted in from the FireScope label.

I initially thought it had drifted in from CD2 though, what with its subtitle being Beats and all. And yeah, th'ar be beats here, though not of the IDM-leaning variety B12's print is known for. I mean, this is still a Fax+ influenced artist releasing music on a Fax+ inspired label, so the rhythms are mostly in service of gentle, spacey pad melodies with light dubby effects. And that's fine, another serving of familiar sounds that release the exact amount of endorphins I hope to get from cover art like this. Across The Ether is ambient techno that goes down like a nice cup of hot chocolate. In SPACE!

Spielerei & Mantacoup - Wichman And Other Pieces

Databloem: 2004

I started this current, nigh-endless alphabetical backlog on a Spielerei & Mantacoup release. Seems appropriate that, as I come to its end, I finish with a Spielerei & Mantacoup release. Not quite the end, mind, still a couple more items below here, but man, what a journey it's been, eh? I reviewed Cold War all the way back in, gosh, March? And here we are, around one hundred reviews later, not to mention multiple weeks of vacation thrown in (plus, um, other 'stuff'). All acceptable factors in taking as long as I have in getting through it, but man, it sure felt a slog at some points. Just a tad too much of the noodly, droning ambient, methinks.

What's even funnier about (nearly) ending this run on this particular album is its place in the Spielerei & Mantacoup discography, as this was the first one they released together. Keep in mind that Cold War was their last collaborative work, and was the first CD I reviewed in this stretch. Never would I have thought the sequencing in this project of mine would contain an actual ouroboros; at least, not until I reach Model 500's Classics again.

Wichman And Other Pieces may be the first album these two released together, though they each had some work out on dataObscura in that time too. So the two crossed paths, vibed on the synergy, and made some music – not an uncommon occurrence in the going-ons of musicians. What makes this particular CD so funny-weird is the fact it's mostly a live album. Yes, their 'debut' release mostly includes recordings taken from The Wichman Concert, which is a rather ballsy move on Databloem's part. The young label hadn't even reached it's tenth release yet, but hey, here's a live session from a couple artists making their debut on our print. I joke, but truthfully, Databloem had been releasing a few of these 'Databloem In Concert' CDs already, including one from Saul Stokes, plus another due from The Circular Ruins (because of course).

For the purposes of this CD, The Wichman Concert is divided up into seven parts, though it is a continuous long-play with various movements and sections throughout. So lots of segments of synth drone, pad washes, burbly electronics, and soft, dubby ambient techno rhythms. Part 4 gets surprisingly aggressive, its chugging, groovy beats sounding like they're being dragged through dub-mud, while Part 7 provides the requisite uptempo closure to a live set (paging Dr. Jarre on that one), though nothing that'll have folks rioting in their zoot suits.

As the album title implies, there wasn't enough material in the concert for a full-fledged album, so four additional pieces are added. These mostly follow upon the same moody, dubby ambient techno vibes as the live stuff, while Sfunato treads startlingly close to the domain of psy-dub. It's all quite good and all, though really mostly just confirms Databloem a class label throughout its lifespan than anything on the artists' part.

B12 - Transient Life

De:tuned: 2017

I've talked about B12. I've bought a number of releases from remaining member of B12, Steve Rutter. I've even become enamoured by B12's current label, FireScope. Yet I never seemed to get myself an actual proper B12 release. Clearly a ridiculous oversight on my part, so there's no time like the present(ish) than to finally get me some B12 music. Where do I start though? The seminal contribution to Warp Records' Artificial Intelligence series, Electro-Soma? One of the numerous EPs Rutter's released through FireScope? Nah, guy, how's about a little item put out on De:tuned instead? Wait, De:tuned? Was'is this?

Kind of a proto-FireScope, De:tuned started out as a retro IDM label luring in names from the genre's ancient history for an EP release or two. Though not prolific by any stretch, they did a remarkable job in meeting their manifesto, the well known and the rather obscure all showing up. From B12, Thomas Heckmann, John Beltran, and David Morley to The Kosmik Kommando, Robert Leiner, and Terrace. More recently the label's gone the compilation route, inviting many classic ambient techno aliases in the process, some of which I thought were long since mothballed. Like, holy cow, look at these vintage name-drops! Sun Electric, Jedi Knights, Spacetime Continuum, Higher Intelligence Agency! Damn, De:tuned, you sure know how to lure some veterans in. CDs soon?

B12, now just Steve Rutter, had been releasing a a smattering of singles since dusting the project off again in 2015 (more on that at a later date). I'm guessing he was still uncertain whether he should start his own label yet or not, but this here Transient Life EP was the last of his label wanderings before launching FireScope. If he did it with De:tuned to drum up interest in his new print, I have to assume it did the trick, his label on quite the run as of late.

As with all those FireScope singles, Transient Life features four tracks in the make of that unmistakable bleepy ambient techno vein. This stuff's not quite so mellow and floaty as Mr. Rutter's later works though. Opener Soar And Glide has a real ominous vibe going for it despite the playful bleeps and bloops – like you're exploring some ancient alien architecture. Brownian Motion bins the bleeps altogether, settling for mood and tone enveloping its skitter-skatter IDM beatcraft. Forced Restart is the requisite 'chill' cut, going more electro than techno in doing so, while Symbiotic Form is creepy-weird for much of its runtime, an overbearing, ghostly synth-pad sending the EP out on not the most reassuring of moods. Like, imagine being abandoned on said ancient alien realm, so much mystery surrounding you, and you can't help sensing something lurking withing those relics of civilizations passed.

As cool, nifty, nostalgia-triggering as all this sounds, there's something about Transient Life that holds me back from liking at much as Rutter's more recent works. A tad too unsettling, perhaps? Pft, and I consider myself a dark ambient connoisseur.

ACE TRACKS: August 2019

Yeah, that happened. Got a lot more attention than expected too. Sure, we knew many were anticipating it in select circles of the interweb, and might even get a few shares on third string 'EDM' news outlets. Heck, even DJMag sharing it didn't phase me, though I couldn't help but feel a little amused in their praise, despite the drubbing we've given them over the years (probably because even they know they deserve it for how their popularity poll's perverted a once pure scene). Nay, the only share (thus far) that's given me pause was Billboard's.

Wait, the Billboard, as in the conglomerate that tracks music sales? How did they come across the Guide? Hell, for that matter, how were they even aware of the original, must less feel this was a newsworthy event for them to share? For sure, this was a major undertaking that took years to complete, and we're mighty proud of the resulting effort, but surely it isn't such a big deal that we're getting blurbs in a media outlet who's sole role is continuous hype of mainstream success. Wonders never cease. Nor do ACE TRACK playlists, so here's August 2019!


Full track list here.


MISSING ALBUMS:
Josh Christie - Stuck On A Space Trip
Anduin - Stolen Years
The Gentle People - Soundtracks For Living
Ken Ishii - Sleeping Madness
Kwook - Skywave
Speedy J - Ginger

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 11%
Percentage Of Rock: 11%
Most “WTF?” Track: Anything from The Gentle People, when you realize it was released on Rephlex.

Never a good thing for these playlists when nearly half the albums aren't on Spotify. Some I can understand, being so utterly obscure and all, but Speedy J? Ken Ishii? The Gentle People?? How are those records from them not on there? Weirdly, the remix album of Soundtracks For Living is, but probably because there's a lot of Very Important IDM and techno artists doing remixes there, so are likely of higher interest for those wandering in. And I shouldn't worry much about what currently is or isn't on Spotify, as plenty do eventually find their way there. Why, I just discovered Felix Da Houscat's back catalogue is now available. Sweet, I can finally see if all those post Devin Dazzle albums were as bad as the critics made them out to be! (oh, and Tool too, I guess)

Josh Christie - Stuck On A Space Trip

self release: 2018

So this Josh Christie chap approaches me on Twitter, as the platform is want to allow, and asks me if I'd be interested in reviewing one of his albums. Sure, thinks I, I'm always down for taking in extra tuneage for my queue. Send it my way and, oh, it's only available Bandcamp. Well, I'm not so anal on digital-only releases anymore, though this does put me in a slight pickle. Not so much a 'hey, can you review a copy of my album that I send you?' request, as 'hey, can you review my album after you buy it on Bandcamp?' Seems highly irregular for this sort of thing, but eh, I've paid money for lesser works. Besides, if I cannot keep my word, then what word I offer is any good? No, if I say I'm gonna' do something, whether it's reviewing someone's music or seeing a guide to completion, then by g'ar, I'll do it, no matter how long it takes, no matter the cost.

Don't bother looking for this Josh Christie within Lord Discogs' massive tome of data. A search there instead brings up acts like Christie Front Drive ('90s indie rock) and Josh Groban (modern day crooner). Naturally, the album I decided upon reviewing, Stuck On A Space Trip, is also a total blank, though when I typed up “Josh Christie Stuck On A”, the lone result I got was ...Insane Clown Posse's third album Riddle Box? Uh, well, they both have a stark black background with a green icon on the front. I suppose I could just ask the Tampa chap other details, but judging from the music on this album, it's pretty clear where his inspirations lay.

Space is definitely the place, but so are the British raves of the early '90s, with loving homages to the primitive dance beats and cheeky sci-fi sampling ever so prevalent of the era. In fact, Stuck On A Space Trip almost feels too lovingly replicant of that music, and I'm not just talking about opening things up with the sounds of a train taking off. From more obvious nods to The Orb (Dawn Of Emptiness, Sunny Vibrations), The KLF (The Autocratic Machine), and Shut Up And Dance (Chemical Weapons), to a general vibe not too dissimilar to Orbital and Earthbeat (aka: FSOL's early works) permeate much of the album. And I'm not sure if this is a good or a bad thing.

Yeah, I like me some vintage UK acid house sounds, but where does homage end and blatant lift begin? These sound so much of that time, you could probably convince clueless folks they were unearthed artifacts. It's like, if bleep-acid-ambient-techno-rave could become a synthwave-styled genre – music not only inspired by an era, but highly romanticized into something it never actually was - then this is probably what it would sound like. Why doesn't that happened more often, I wonder? UK acid raves too narrow a cultural niche compared to the omnipresence of The '80s?

Steven Rutter & John Shima - Step Into The Light

FireScope: 2018

Jason McCreadie has already been responsible for some of the pulpier pieces of cover art in FireScope's catalogue, but he done taken the cake here, my friends. Anime fairy girls, in my retro ambient bleep techno? Why I never, could ever, make clever, said Trevor, in this endeavour, forever.

Sorry, I think my mind went and a'sploded again. It simply cannot comprehend what it is seeing here. Like, what even is going on? Some sort of alien invasion? A battle between heaven and hell? A weird interpretation of what happens when our blood trades carbon dioxide for oxygen within our lungs? I mean, those big red pods could be red blood cells, which would make, the fairies, what? Hormonal chemicals? Bodily defences? What's even crazier is this art is in fact double-sided, carrying over to the flip of the package. Naturally, the anime fairy girl there has white hair and wings, because gotta' have those contrasts.

Step Into The Light marked another step in FireScope's expanding, erm, scope, in that it was the first collaborative outing among its roster of producers. Because even if the classic B12 line-up is no more, that doesn't mean Mr. Rutter couldn't team up with all these cats clearly inspired by the music he and Golding were making so many years past. Thus it's only appropriate that the first of these pairings would include John Shima, the first outside the B12 wheel-house to make his mark on the label. Broken Spell opens things up with that distinct crisp electro rhythm and mellow melody many a FireScope EP features, eventually giving shine to a light plucky lead that reminds me of ancient Alter Ego. Skywards does the deeper business, mostly letting the rhythms do the work with subdued backing synth pads lending an ominous tone to the track. A New Day is more of a straight-forward ambient techno tune with vintage bleep action, while Disjointed Route slows things down to a groovier pace with a bell-tone bassline that has my Biosphere sensors triggered. How all this relates to anime fairy girls tripping the light fantastic has me though.

Sorry, I know I shouldn't keep coming back to it, but this cover art fascinates me. It's just not something you'd ever see in techno, no matter which vein you follow in that scene. The cartooniest it ever got was with its nods to pulp sci-fi, and that was quickly jettisoned when it was declared techno, in all its forms, must remain Serious Business. Heck, even Ken Ishii only flirted with anime once, and had it been anyone other than Koji Morimoto doing the art, probably wouldn't have happened. Meanwhile, the 'loligirl' look was soon adopted by happy hardcore and other infantile music scenes, removing the style completely and utterly from techno's domain forever after.

Not that I wouldn't mind seeing more of this art in techno, that scene's iconography too often staid and monochrome. It needs more primary colours and light, but I guess it's just not good for business.

Kwook - Skywave

Blue Oasis: 2008

dataObscura began as a sister label to Databloem before branching off onto its own. Naturally, a label with such origins must produce offspring in a similar fashion, which resulted in Blue Oasis, a sister label to dataObscura. Sadly, this strange form of mitosis resulted in something of a stillborn, Blue Oasis managing but four releases before succumbing to inactivity. The first two were Anthony Kerby projects, because of course they were. A compilation called Perceived Distances also came out, but not before a third and final album under the print emerged, this here Skywave from Kwook. Still, one can find these items as dataObscura releases, rendering the original life of Blue Oasis but a mote of memory within Lord Discogs' archives.

Anyhow, Kwook. One Simon Bennett to the Perth partitioners (is that a thing?), he released his first album Unidentified Feathered Object with the early dataObscura, added a digital EP Immiscible to his catalogue, then finished off with Skywave before moving on to joining the Japanese band Wiggle (so sayeth Lord Discogs). Is... that really the same guy? There is a 'Simon' listed in the band's 'Members' blurb, but... really? Really?? There's a few more items on his Bandcamp though, so it must be so.

As is clear from the loving photo of a radio dish, Skywave is all about the love of those wonderful frequencies broadcast on the longer wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum, especially those as utilized by humans. As expected, there's ample use of radio static fuzz throughout this album, but it doesn't dominate, mostly relegated to sonic textures and padding for whatever musical ideas Kwook's muse takes him. A very charming, playful place, turns out, many of these tracks sounding like they could have appeared as backing scores to some old-timey PBS documentary about radio waves. And I do mean old, clear influences from the '70s synth wizards on display (you know the namedrops).

Some pieces have a sense of awe about them (Stationary Waves, Aurora, Deep Space Receiver), some dance about like a chipper waltz (Heterodyne, Calling All Stations 2), while others cozy close to the domain of ambient techno (Sunspots, Signal To Noise, the latter entirely too short).

Then things get conceptually interesting, a three-part titular minimalist closer that explores some of the stranger sounds one might discover on some bandwidths. It rather reminds me of Gas 0095 in its singular fascination for the scientifically minute, with calming ambient melodies to match that focus. There's quite the glowing write-up in the liner notes about some of these things, among them recordings of “numbers stations”.

These strange transmissions have long been suspected to be cryptic codes for spy networks, some broadcasting instructions for agents no longer even in service. In fact, some may be automated hold-outs relaying numbers from cut-off bunkers without every catching up on modern times, like World War II Japanese soldiers stationed on lonesome islands. Yeah, probably not, but think of the alt-fiction, man!

Speedy J - Ginger

Plus 8 Records: 1993

(a Patreon Request from Omskbird)

And with this, I've completed my collection of Warp Records' seminal Artificial Intelligence series. Except for the actual compilations titled Artificial Intelligence. Which includes the Speedy J track De-Orbit, not on this version of Ginger. Oh, and I'm also missing the albums from B12 and F.U.S.E., but those are kinda' outliers to the series anyway. Like, Electro-Soma was a compilation of prior EPs, while Dimension Intrusion is more regarded as a Plus 8 item than a Warp Records one.

So I guess I haven't completed my collection of Warp Records' seminal Artificial Intelligence series. Can we at least call it the best bluffer's guide without going whole hog? I already have the other albums released under the short-lived banner (Surfing On Sine Waves, Bytes, Incunabula), music released by artists who became Warp Records fixtures, making them the Most Important releases of the Artificial Intelligence series. The others are nice rounders, but aside from B12, not fully indicative of the proto-IDM sounds coming out of the U.K. at the time. Heck, one dude was from Canada, the other Dutch, both with their own labels to release their own music on.

It's the Canadian version of Ginger that I have in my hands, though the only real difference between it and the Warp Records one is a change in the final track, the Plus 8 Records exclusive Spikkels replacing the Artificial Intelligence exclusive De-Orbit. Aw, I actually like that tune, and I can't say Spikkels is up to snuff as a replacement, a rather standard downtempo electro outing from Mr. Paap that doesn't stand out much from what chill techno was doing at the time.

Honestly, that's my general impression of Ginger: a record that finds ol' Jochem still finding his way in the world of techno, yet to discover how Very Important his sound could be. There's tracks on here that show strong hints of his future unique takes on the genre, tunes like Basic Design, Flashback, and Pepper unafraid of throwing some mainland Europe euphoria into the staunch, serious techno the early IDM scene was known for. When he starts sounding like the other Artificial Intelligence cats, however, the further my interest drifts from Ginger. Sure, the titular cut, R2 D2, and Fill 14 are fine examples of bleepy U.K. techno trying to sound like Detroit techno, but it doesn't sound like Speedy J to me.

I think that's what held me back from really giving this album much of a chance when I heard it during Warp Records' first run of re-issues a decade ago. My expectations were so bloody high from albums like G Spot and Loudboxer that I couldn't help but be let down in hearing Jochem Paap in an earlier state of production ability. I know, I know, selfish excuses for not liking a record as much as I could, but aside from a select few tracks (see below for which!), I just don't see myself coming back to Ginger as often.

Dr. Atmo - Quiet Life

...txt: 2014

It's astounding that it's taken this long for me to get an album from Dr. Atmo. Chap was instrumental in luring me into the wider world of underground ambient music, first coming across him on the Ambient Auras compilation. Shortly after that, I picked up the Stud!o K7 VHS tape 3Lux-3, of which Dr. Atmo compiled, completing my early ambient indoctrination. You'd think I'd eagerly rush out and grab anything else I saw his name on, but Amir Abadi never made it that simple. He was first and foremost a DJ, often sharing chill-room space with the likes of Mixmaster Morris and Dr. Alex Patterson (what's with the DJing ambient doctors?).

And when he did get behind the producer's console, it was often with others, running through a number of collaborative aliases in the process. Most famous of those was as Silence (and Escape) with Pete Namlook, but also included Oliver Lieb (Java and Music To Films), David Moufang (I.F.), Ramin Naghachian (Sad World), plus many, many more. Of course, since most of these works came out on Fax +49-69/450464, they're all hopelessly obscure, hardly the sort of items a Western Canadian had much chance of stumbling upon.

Dr. Atmo had apparently retreated from productions after the turn of the century, but an unmentionable label managed to drag him back in 2013 with Miss Silencio for a new album called Hush! I'm not sure how that one sounds, since almost all streaming options for it have been scrubbed from the internet. Fortunately, Lee Norris lured Mr. Abadi to his ...txt print for another musical outing, Quiet Life. Ah, sweet, I bet this is gonna' be some ultra-blissy chill-out material, or some melancholic mood music straight from the good ol' archives of Fax+'s golden years.

Nah, brah, Dr. Atmo's laying out them sweet New Age licks on yo' ears, brah. Wait, what? Opener Sunshine And The Sea is pure night-time tranquility, as though you're listening to a harpist gently pluck her strings beside a peaceful pond; y'know, straight up New Age schmaltz. Following that, we have a literal lullaby in Find Your Home, with one Nuwella Love softly guiding your straying thoughts to a light toy-box melody. I cannot deny it does impart childlike whimsy, the sort of trusting surrender one can only feel as a wee babe' with their loving mother cuddling you into a sense of ease. Takes a fair bit of dismantling of one's ego getting there though.

The rest of Quiet Life plays out more as I expected from a Dr. Atmo album (well, about as much as I could have expected given my limited exposure to his productions). Soft ambient techno, some tunes with a dubbier rudder in the rhythm sections (Road), others further treading into the New Age realms (Hang Garden, Subak), plus a good ol' collab' with fellow chill-room DJ alum Mixmaster Morris (Secret Of Mother). Yay, bouncy-happy trippy-dippy musics! What's he been up to, anyway? Ooh, a new Irresistible Force album, I see...

HIA | Biosphere - Polar Sequences

Beyond/Biophon Records: 1996/2019

I'm not sure which I figured would be more difficult to attain, this or The Fires Of Ork. For sure almost any Biosphere collaborative project seemed elusive to my isolated eyes, but I always had a sense that maybe, just maybe, I'd land me a copy of Geir's team-up with Bobby Bird. The label that initially released Polar Sequences was Beyond, they of the seminal O.G. Ambient Dub series, and I'd landed myself a couple of those CDs, not to mention later albums via domestic distribution. Logically then, odds were good that this would see a domestic release. Unfortunately, Beyond's time was up, and only a few thousand copies of Polar Sequences were made, a rather small amount back in those days. Mind, not so limited as Fires Of Ork initially ran, but that saw a number of re-issues down the road, whereas this saw but one when Bobby Bird tried launching his own label, Headphone. It didn't pan out so well. Too ahead of his time, mayhaps? I mean, it's not like Geir's Biophon Records is much different in concept, and man, what a roll he's been on with the reissues, eh?

In a strange way, it's only fitting that HIA and Biosphere would team-up. During the rise of bleep-affected ambient techno, these two were odd men out, name-dropped as part of the Artificial Intelligence contingent, but never signing deals with Warp Records. It likely helped them carve out distinct voices within that scene, but nothing to suggest they'd mesh in any significant way. Which makes Polar Sequences all the more strange. Yeah, bringing Geir back to his homeland for a musical performance was a given, but Bobby too? What could he contribute to the Polar Music Festival? Maybe they were just vibing at the time, and Mr. Jenssen wouldn't do the gig without Bird in tow.

So to Tromsø they headed, about as remote a location in Norway as one can get without crossing significant Arctic waters. They took a little cable-car to the top of a mountain, recording things and sounds along the way to be used in their performance. Once there, and with small contingents of Nor-folk funnelling into the little hilltop cabin, HIA and Biosphere fused their muses into a suitably cold, brisk collection of dubby electronics, brittle melodies, and cavernous field recordings. And hoo, I could never have imagined their styles would mesh so fluidly.

Bird mostly handles the rhythm end of the music, which is great because HIA's beatcraft was forever on point for downtempo tunes. That leaves Biosphere the atmospherics, where his icy dronescapes have ample breathing room within Bird's dubby electro. As with Fires Of Ork, there are clear sections where one producer's style dominates over the other, but always in service of the particular composition being performed. That Meltwater though, holy cow, is that ever pure Geir, almost entirely field recordings of being trapped by a trickling stream inside a collapsing glacial cavern. The germination of Substrata definitely starts here.

Stokes - Local Crowd

Databloem: 2018

It's not so bad that I missed out on Saul Stokes, is it? If his Discoggian data's to be believed, he did the bulk of his music production at a time I couldn't have known of him. There might have been the odd chance I'd have run into his work on Portland based ambient label Hypnos Recordings, some of that print's releases drifting a few hundred kilometres north to the Canadian border. Sadly, I wasn't so in the ambient know as I would have liked to think I was at the turn of the century, still sticking with the few acts and names I was most comfortable and familiar with. It wouldn't be until the advent of a little record database website that I realized just how massive this scene actually was. And lord would it take even longer for my finances to reach such a level I could even indulge in this expanded universe in any meaningful way. (never mind the digital-only Kahvi Collective releases, because block-headed stubbornness)

It was around the peak of his productivity that he released an album on the fledgling Databloem, mostly a collection of live recordings with a few original tracks sprinkled in. Fast forward fifteen years later, and Mr. Stokes has returned to the veteran Databloem, which also happened to be his first new album in seven years, and ten since his last on an actual label. To say he's slowed down some in this past decade is an understatement, but this has always been a fickle scene. Some producers can crank out the jams forever without missing a mark, while others have their initial flash of inspiration, then let things slide down as other interests take hold. Seems familiar, somehow...

As for the music we can expect from Saul, he was a bit all over the place way back in the day, drifting from ambient experiments to soft, fuzzy downtempo techno. His Fields album, released the same year as his first Databloem record (Radiate), might have even fit with the early Ultimae Records catalogue, which maybe explains why Vincent Villuis has provided an Ultimae Mixdown™ for Local Crowd. No, wait, he's been doing that for most of Databloem's new releases now. So, hey, if you've been jonesing for more that label's lush sonic headspace, check out this label's recent offerings!

I must say though, Local Crowd is an odd album to be given the Ultimae Mixdown™, in that it's such a simple little collection of tunes. Best I can describe is 'electro dream pop', just without the harsher 'electro' element, and the overt shoegazey elements of dream pop toned down. I still get the same day-glo feels from this, just not so overbearing about it. I sadly don't have much to specifically say either, as the vibe and tunes are all generally the same throughout the album, making highlights difficult to point out. Local Crowd is a pure 'reflective feels' record, which I guess is enough.

ACE TRACKS: April 2019

So apparently Game Of Thrones is coming to an end soon, a series I know quite a bit about without having seen a single episode or read a lick of novel. Like so many things that infect pop culture, its permeated so much of everyone's daily discourse that one cannot help but absorb it through osmosis. Some will say that I'm not really experiencing the series in such a way, that getting a general glean of it from funny memes, think pieces, parody spoilers, and water-cooler talk doesn't begin to detail all the nuances the show offers. Pshaw, I say. After so many years of the show being around, I know plenty 'nuff of it. There's a winter coming, a wedding massacre, a bunch of people vying for a throne, a lot of people dying that deserve to die, and a lot of people dying that don't deserve to die (also: lots a' bewbs). Plus, I already know most of the main characters. Gander:


Ned Stark: Is Sean Bean. Most definitely is killed.
Jon Snow: The Aragon of this fantasy series.
Cersei: Queen bitch, trifle not with.
Tyrion: That cool dwarf dude.
Arya Stark: The Battle Angel Alita of the series.
Sansa Stark: The other Stark daughter; taller than Alita.
Joffry: Some punk kid everyone really hated early on.
Dragon Lady: Has dragons, eventually.
Jason Momoa: Does Momoa things, probably.
Bran Stark: Important, I think? Don't see many memes with him though, so how important, really?
Hodor: Holds a door.
The Night King: Is Snoke'd.

I think those are the main beats covered. And speaking of beats, here's another playlist of ACE fresh Track beats from the month of April 2019!


Full track list here.


MISSING ALBUMS:
The Circular Ruins & Mystified - Fantastic Journey
Various - fabric 14: Stacey Pullen
Nunc Stans - Elementa
Ambidextrous - Echoes of Science

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 0%
Percentage Of Rock: 0%
Most “WTF?” Track: Nothing terribly out of the ordinary in this one, though a Prodigy track may turn your head.

Nothing too fancy in this playlist. Just the usual assortment of genres that leans heavily into my preferred tastes, as can be expected when going through albums I've recently picked up for myself. Nay, the real eclectic stuff tends to leap out when I'm doing the big blocks of singular letters, where decades (!!) of music gathering shows its face. Or, y'know, I come into ownership of another person's decades-old CD collection. Been a while since that's happened though. Have I gotten all that others are willing to part with?

Steven Rutter - From Me To You

FireScope: 2017

I've reviewed a few artists on FireScope now, but still haven't gotten to the head of the label running the show, B12. Um, I'm still technically not here either, but will a B12 member suffice? What's interesting is, if Lord Discogs is to be believed, this particular EP is the first time since the way-early years of British techno that Mr. Rutter has done solo work. That's... almost unfathomable. Has he never wanted to explore a different sound away from his B12 partner? Like, surely the Plaid boys have done separate work in their spare time. Orbital brothers scratching singular itches specific to their distinct muses. Richard D. James splitting into his individual Richard, D., and James components for associated aliases. I suppose 'better later than never', and considering Michael Golding doesn't have much to do with B12 these days anyway, well...

Oh, did I not mention B12 is mostly a Rutter joint now? Heh, how remiss of me.

Anyhow, after launching FireScope with a run of B12 EPs and re-issues (gotta' lure in the old-schoolers, natch), Rutter started branching out with productions under his own name, beginning with this particular EP, From Me To You. I think the reasoning for this was he wanted to explore sounds away from the classic B12 style (as I said!), though if I'm honest, I suspect he was still unsure of exactly where such explorations should go.

True, I'm far from a B12 expert, but I've sampled enough of their sound to know From Me To You is a rather timid first step out from the duo's long shadow. That's not a bad thing though, as you could always count on them for classy, chill techno with a Detroit bent, and if more of that is what Rutter is giving us, all the better.

Howy-an, opener Down And Down does the bleep techno thing of days past, but with spiffy modern production reminding you this stuff still sounds as futuristic as it did nearly three decades ago (holy cow!). Second cut Decliner Box is a deeper, moodier affair, less on the bleep and more on the bloop. It's also only three and a half minutes long, which is seems rather short for any techno of this sort. Was there no other avenues those sinister backing pads could be taken? The Life Giver stretches things out to a whopping five minutes, though too is a moody affair, its defining characteristic away from the usual bleepiness is a muted skippity rhythm. I can't say there's much going on with these tracks, only standing out because they're different from the usually chipper B12 stylee.

The closing seven-minute downtempo piece The Battle Continues does have the vibe of vintage ambient techno, in that the minimalist chill tone would fit right in on Artificial Intelligence. Still, the impression I get is Rutter could use another voice in the studio to flesh out his ideas. Considering how subsequent EPs turned out, I suspect he realized it too.

The Fires Of Ork - The Fires Of Ork

Fax +49-69/450464/Biophon Records: 1993/2000/2018

Hot damn, Geir's gone and done it! Like, I saw no reason why he couldn't if he wanted to, as the Namlook estate's been quite generous in sharing music rights with previous collaborators of Mr. Kaulmann. For some reason though, I felt The Fires Of Ork was the holy grail of Biosphere projects, the original album released between Microgravity and Patashnik, when Geir still had an inclination towards techno's rhythmic pulse. He was so swift in moving on from music with a little dancefloor groove, it's clear it wasn't a sound he was terribly fond of revisiting, even in a reissued format.

Even the whole Fires Of Ork project seemed nothing more than a one-off pairing, Pete Namlook and Biosphere heading off in rather different paths shortly after. Pete had found his niche (relentless work-rate, endless collaborations, label management), Geir had found his (icy minimalist ambient with expansive field recordings), and that was that, The Fires Of Ork just another of the multitude of very interesting projects to have passed through the Fax+ studios.

And an interesting album The Fires Of Ork is, if for no other reason to hear just how much each performer's style meshes, mashes, and mixes with the other. The titular opener and closer does the ambient 'bleep' techno thing that you'd associate with Phase 1 Biosphere, but has that spacey trancey vibe so distinct of early-era Namlook (plus: ear-wormy Blade Runner sample – dude loved him some Blade Runner samples). Meanwhile, Gebirge attempts a vintage twenty-minute Fax+ ambient excursion, but Pete and Geir's sounds and arrangements are so minimalist, it doesn't feel like it goes much of anywhere. Faring better is the straight-forward light trance of Talk To The Stars, and the eighteen-minute chill-out session of The Facts Of Life, where the distinct sounds of each player actually complement each other as though hearing two musicians feeding off their contributions.

While The Fires Of Ork was interesting for what it added to the Fax+ legacy, it was a small surprise that Pete and Geir teamed-up again in the year 2000 for The Fires Of Ork 2. Though not incompatible, it was clear from The Fires Of Ork there wasn't much room for music exploration between their differing ambient styles. Half a decade on, and both definitely having evolved since the early '90s, where would their muses meet for another session?

Leaving the 'bleep techno' well behind, that's for certain. Compared to the paranoid sci-fi tone of the first album, The Fires Of Ork 2 is very mellow, Biosphere's open, minimalist approach mostly dominating. Pete works in some nice pad work in In Heaven, while Sky Lounge sounds like we're chilling near an Ibizan shore with the rings of Saturn hovering over the shoreline, but we're in pure mood music territory with this album. Well, except Nouvelles Machines, which has a weird dubby, clicky noise with sparse electronic bleepy-beeps befitting a retro sci-fi movie. Can't shake those 'bleep techno' roots, I guess.

Darren Nye - Emotional Intelligence

FireScope: 2017

This label hasn't released a huge amount of items since B12 launched it a few years back, which is fine because FireScope clearly aims at having each record be something special. Trouble is, and I know this sounds utterly entitled, I feel they could be just a little more. Artwork, lovely! Presentation, wonderful! Music, top grade! Amount of music ...eh, always an EP, never an LP. And I get it, FireScope mostly a digital-and-vinyl outlet – it's great they offer a CD option at all. Whenever I order something from them though, and have to pay that extra-extra shipping cost from the U.K., I just wish I was getting more music for my money, y'know? Again, total nonsense whine here, especially when you compare to what vinyl enthusiasts pay for shipping on the regular. Still, I can't be the only one hoping Brexit happens soon, so the British pound collapses and it won't be so expensive ordering things from- eh? You say the Canadian dollar would likely fall too if that happens? Well, forget it then, Brexit's a silly idea.

Anyhoo, Darren Nye (not the science guy – sorry, sorry, I promise that's the only time I'll do that). He first emerged a decade ago on Organica Music Labworks with a trio of digital EPs, but didn't seem to make much hay from it. However, one John Shima also had an EP out on that label, so when Mr. Shima got an item out on FireScope, I assume he put in a good word for Mr. Nye (being an admitted B12 fan also likely helped grease those wheels), and soon enough Emotional Intelligence emerged on on the label. The experience must have re-invigorated Darren's music-making passion, as he's been on an absolute tear of productivity in the year since, establishing his own SpaceTime digital-label to release material, including aliases such as PlanktonWarrior and The Elusive Man (I understand that reference!).

As for this particular EP, truth is I've not much more to add that I haven't already said on previous FireScope reviews. Though there are differences in how each producer approaches the craft, there's definitely something of a 'house style' running through them all, which is fine. If a label run by the guys behind B12 are comfortable releasing music that sounds like B12 and music by artists who've been inspired by B12 sounding like B12, then that's their prerogative. Works for those of us that dig that B12 stylee, it does.

Opener Things She Said works that spacey, chipper ambient techno vibe, Emulated Emotion goes deeper into the synth pad washes and reverb effects (burble acid!), while Plasmid Soul's rhythm touches closer to the realms of electro than Detroit techno (it's a very thin border, almost a Venn Diagram). Fragments has a thicker, broken beat going for it, a bit rather experimental compared to the other tracks, but Disconnected Reality is a straight-up chill fest, half-tempo dubby rhythms and spaced-out pad work. So retro, so lush.

Ambidextrous - Echoes Of Science

Fantasy Enhancing: 2018

Ambient techno and all of its mutations over the years has kept a rather steady consistency in how it sounds, but one can generally tell what era it was produced in (hint: if there's light glitch, it's almost certainly post-Millennium). If you want to stretch even further back, and include early Berlin-School works in the 'sequenced spacey synth music' discussion, then the decade demarcations become ever clearer. For sure you can hear '70s-sounding compositions in the 21st Century, but the influences are always apparent - typically direct homages, and for good reason. The equipment used to create music in the '70s and '80s retain distinct characteristics we'll forever (and a day) associate with those eras, so may as well not even hide it. If you want to make a track that uses archaic gear, no sense sullying that vintage sound with modern production trickery. Besides, if you try glitchin' that modular Moog a bunch, you'll sound too current. The eras are just incompatible, mang!

And yet, Ambidextrous just may have come closest in accomplishing this feat, at least from the amount I've heard. Mr. Nick Zavriev has been around for a couple decades now, but didn't get much exposure outside his native Russia for several years. He floated from Russian label to Russian label, self-released a couple items, and may have remained in general obscurity until Carpe Sonum Records got their hands on a couple tracks for a couple compilations, leading to a full-blown LP release called Geek Mythology. Truthfully, I've had my eye on that one for a while (d'at cover art!), but seemed a bit too predictable for my tastes, so have spent time exploring that label's other options first. Anyhow, getting recognized by Carpe Sonum meant Ambidextrous got noticed by Lee Norris, appearing on compilations for ...txt and Neo Ouija. And when Norris launched Fantasy Enhancing, Mr. Zavriev was tapped for its second album (label owner always gets First).

As for how Echoes Of Science sounds, let's get back to those incompatible eras of ambient techno, and how Ambidextrous somehow makes them compatible without losing their distinctiveness. First, the rhythms are clearly modern, simple crisp beats with light skittery-glitch touches. The melodic and acid leads have more of a '90s feel to them though, which honestly seems par for the course with a lot of music released in Lee Norris' sphere of influence now. Meanwhile, backing effects and treatments sound rather Berlin-School, with occasional retro synth leads thrown in for good measure. None of this feels like each are competing for sonic space though. Instead, imagine a performer from each era jamming together, complementing their roles in crafting each track. Hey, it's been done too – Pete Namlook and Klause Schulz springs to mind – but by a single producer? I struggle to think of many, if any. In a scene that can be overstuffed with copy-cat artists, it takes something special to stand out from the pack, and by g'ar, I believe Ambidextrous has found his niche: modern-contemporary-retro!

ACE TRACKS: March 2019

I feel like I'm gonna' be taking more of those 'week long' breaks in the future. Not so much to stave of potential burn-out, but with a regular work schedule that's pushed my 'wake-up' time to no later than 3am now, it makes finding prime writing time tricky. Wasn't so bad when it was still dark out at 6pm, and I could hit the hay plenty early, thus waking up super-duper earlier to write before work. Now that the days grow longer though, and our government has forced an extra hour of evening daylight upon us (still working on my “Keep Noon Sun At Noon Position” protest sign), I'm finding getting that Prime Writing Time ever more elusive. Sometimes I can do it late afternoon, but not too late, otherwise the sun hits my pad on the downswing, and the mugginess makes thinking words difficult as all hell. And I can't just go to bed early 'cause, well, too bright out. It's taking some adjusting to find the right groove again, but it shall be done, oh yes, it shall be done. I hope.

That ramble out of the way, here's some ACE TRACKS for the month of March in this cold year of Two Thousand Nineteen.


Full track list here.


MISSING ALBUMS:
Axs - Arctic Circle
Autumn Of Communion - Autumn Of Communion 5
Autumn Of Communion - Autumn Of Communion 6
Various - Audioworks Various Artists V1
Various - Fade Records Presents: Audiotour - Chris Fortier

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 15%
Percentage Of Rock: 0%
Most “WTF?” Track: Any of the Tristan tracks, but only if you glance at the cover art.

A nice mix of music on here. Some uptempo stuff, some downtempo stuff, some leftfield stuff, and some conventional stuff. Only thing really missing is the rock representation, but glancing at my current queue, it's gonna' be a long while indeed before the ol' six-stringer makes a prominent appearance again.

Spielerei & Mantacoup - Cold War

Silentes: 2007

Amplexus was dead, but that didn't mean someone could gather the ashes and relaunch another Italian ambient label in its stead. There's always room for more Italian ambient labels, especially ones you've barely heard of. I'm not sure who used the Phoenix Materia on Amplexus, giving rise to Silentes, but in short order Michael Mantra, Rod Modell, and Seele found comfortable homes there. It's a label that's quietly kept a small number of annual releases these past fifteen years, doing little to attract attention to itself but always drawing in a few well-regarded countrymen for an album or three.

The duo of Spielerei & Mantacoup falls into that category (though they're Dutch rather than Italian). They haven't released much, mind you, this Cold War and earlier Wichman And Other Pieces their lone collaborative works, and practically nothing since (so sayeth Lord Discogs). Each have put out solo works on dataObscura, while Spielerei has an additional item out on Databloem. And right he should, since Spielerei's real name is Dennis Knopper, owner of Databloem. Oh yeah, have I mentioned that dataObscura was an offspring of Databloem too? I don't think I have. Good to have that tidbit of info logged somewhere in the pounds of words contained on this blog. Point being, considering he has such a highly regarded label to his name, it's surprising he and Mr. Vermeent (Mantacoup) went with a different label for a second album together. Was it a request from Silentes? A favour owed to Michael Mantra? Figuring a 'cold war' theme fit better with a label that resides closer to the former iron curtain?

Now that I've got all that rambling out of the way, here comes the part where I must confess Cold War hasn't made much of an impression on me. For sure I'm hearing a lot of things I like, but it feels like I'm spending too much time wanting to like it more than just the basic appreciation I have for ambient techno glitch. There's a concept here, lurking, urging to get out and expose itself, but can't quite break through. Maybe I've been too spoiled by dark ambient exploring similar themes – that scene always knows how to construct a narrative out of their albums. I struggle in hearing where Spielerei and Mantacoup's muses are going here though.

Where It All Ends opens Cold War with a suitably melancholy mood, while the frantic, glitchy percussion of follow-up Cuba Crisis hints at the technological monstrosity that the battle of super-powers created. Pigs Bay has urgent burbling electronics, Meanwhile In Moscow goes minimalist and sonically paranoid, but the album's momentum kinda' dies after that, with far too much dithering experimentation interspersed with soundtracky ambient pads. As I said, all stuff I like hearing in general, just lacking the strong songcraft structure I've come to expect of such music. Oh well, final track After The Shockwave is a nice lead-out of micro-hop and synth-glitch – nicely sells the reckless futility of cold wars.

Autumn Of Communion - Autumn Of Communion 6

...txt: 2015

Well, someone lucked out on not one, but two Autumn Of Communion CDs! My patience continues to prove fortuitous (God, I love that word), and with a little more time and pluck, I just might land myself those other older, rarer AoC albums after all. Have any of them possibly come down in price on the collector's market yet? *checks Discogs* NOPE! It utterly boggles my mind that someone paid nearly CA$400 for Autumn Of Communion 3.5. It's just one track! Sure, in a spiffy metal tin, but still.

While it makes skipping out on the AoC Moonstreams box-set that much more cagey on my part, this highlight another good reason to have done so: I'd otherwise have been forced to write reviews for a lot of AoC albums all in a row, and that would get tedious in a hurry, believe you me. Already I'm struggling to come up with much based on these two albums. Imagine if I had to also cover Autumn Of Communion, Autumn Of Communion 2, Autumn Of Communion 3, Autumn Of Communion 3.5, and Autumn Of Communion 3.9. Not to mention Broken Apart By Sunlight Part 1, Broken Apart By Sunlight Part 2, Broken Apart By Moonlight Part 1, and Broken Apart By Moonlight Part 2. And before you point to Neil Young: Archives as proof I could do it, Mr. Young had a far more dynamic and musically adventurous first decade of music making than Lee Norris and Mick Chillage have had together since 2012. There was more to talk about there, is what I'm saying, whereas I can only reiterate so many times how nice Autumn Of Communion's ambient compositions are before your eyes glaze over. I like this stuff, but boy do I need some space between sessions of it.

AoC 6 does focus Lee and Mick's songcraft some, offering up three digestible chunks of music of comparable length. Why, each piece could have tidily fit on one of those charming mini-CDs, a notion I have to assume they realized with the Broken Apart... series just on the horizon. This would also mark the final numerically self-titled album, going out in stark white style.

Autumn Echo 1 has most of the pleasing synth tones and subtle melodic passages I've come to appreciate in AoC's material, but for some reason doesn't stick with me so well. I don't know why. Autumn Echo 2, however, works a nice gradual build, making good use of its near twenty-four minute long runtime, never feeling like its dilly-dallying in getting to whatever point its trying to get to (a charming ambient techno 'peak', is where). Even the lengthy fade out is somehow engaging, almost making me forget there's a third track after. Autumn Echo 3 is on that sentimental, meditative ambient tip, treading close to New Age territory. I've not much else to say about it.

Now imagine me trying to write similar stuff for a dozen more such reviews. Yeah, not happening with sanity intact.

Autechre - Incunabula

Warp Records: 1993

(a Patreon Request)

It's clear I've neglected Autechre, and I have my reasons. Fear, disinterest, embarrassment... all worthy factors (no joke, for the longest time, I thought their name was pronounced “aur-toosh”; I don't know how that happened). Honestly, it was probably a singular Muzik Magazine review that led me astray from the music of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, in that they were lamenting how 'un-musical' they'd become since their first three records. An exaggeration, perhaps, but the stuff I was hearing from Autechre at the time was indeed super serious IDM experimentalism. Cool if you dig on technical wankery, but it wasn't something I was interested in. Still, those first three albums were highly recommended. Maybe one day, I'd check them out. One day, one day... one day...

Oh hey, one day is here! And if I'm gonna' dive into Autechre, I may as well start from the beginning, as it's apparently the easiest leaping on point. Incunabula came out at the tail-end of Warp Records' Artificial Intelligence run, the last of the original artist albums under the banner. Warp would release one more compilation, then essentially mothball the series, as all these weird ambient techno 'doods' had enough clout to stand on their own without a concept linking them all together. Besides, with so many other labels now getting in on this 'intelligent techno' trend, I'm sure the label wanted to distance itself from such a gimmicky tag. Good luck on that, mates.

As for Incunabula (ergh... keep wanting to type 'innocuous'), yeah, it's definitely an early ambient techno album. I can hear why latter-era Autechre followers aren't too fussed with this debut, as it really sounds like the lads from Rochdale are still influenced by their peers rather than embarking on any drastic sonic journeys themselves. I'd even be so willing to say this might be the least 'Autechre-sounding' album in their discography, if I had any clue what the majority of their discography sounds like.

For sure it's one of the finer examples of early ambient techno, and you can hear plenty of sonic markers still being emulated by modern producers of this sound – Aphex Twin didn't have a monopoly on inspiration, after all. By the same token though, a track like Bike sounds like it could just as easily appeared on a B12 EP, Aut Riche just as easily on a Black Dog collection, Brochus 2 as a Speedy J fill, and Lowride as a ...wait, isn't that DJ Premier In Deep Concentration?

Still, there are glimmers of the complex drum programming Autechre would come to known by, tracks like Maetle, 444, and Basscadet showing they were willing to think outside the traditional techno box. Meanwhile, Windwind, Eggshell, and Doctrine have nice warm melodies countering the harsher electronics, which is what we ever wanted out of our ambient techno anyway. Incunabula may not be a terribly challenging record compared to later Autechre works, but it's enjoyable on its own merits just the same.