Audiobulb Records: 2022
I've gone on about all these other endless Bandcamp discography buys and box-set purchases, yet somehow have quietly almost completed another one just like that. Right, I didn't get the totality of Mr. Baird's material, only settling for a select few. Still, the handful I did wasn't a small amount, and now that I've nearly completed those, I find myself compelled to get more, just to complete the set. The fact he makes some captivating drone pieces doesn't hurt either.
Since it was the Neotantra album Sodium Light that first drew my attention to Moss Covered Technology, it's only fitting that I scope out its pseudo-sequel Brick And Air. I call it as such not just because it was the (year in the making) follow-up to the former record, but more that they cover similar themes, in this case the rather desolate isolation of urban night. This isn't really a concept Greig typically explores, more content casting his muse towards pastoral settings and foggy coast lands. And while I'm quite drawn to such settings myself (particularly the latter), I'm always fascinated by how some interpret wandering the cold concrete of back streets and dimly lit industrial sectors that make up our cities. Burial practically made it a whole genre, and fact of the matter is many artists find themselves residing in such locales. Some make music to escape, but others take it on, grimy alley gunk and steaming machinery steel warts and all.
In typical Moss Covered Technology fashion, Brick And Air came out on a totally different label from all his other works, this time Audiobulb Records. It's another one of those experimental prints that I barely knew existed, but has been in operation for two decades - is there really no end to such labels? A couple names I'm familiar with have appeared on Audiobulb (Darren McClure, Porya Hatami, Autistici) but most are utter blanks to my eyes. Artists like Otaru, Calika, Aria Rostami, Monty Adkins, :papercutz, Hans Van Eck, He Can Jog, A Dancing Begger, The Hole Punch Generation, The OO-Ray, and Craque.
As with most M.C.T. albums, each track is self-titled, though Brick And Air does come with an Intro and Outro as well. Anyhow, though I gave a Burial namedrop up there, this is most decidedly not in that lane of urban drone. Brick & Air I is almost modern classical, through fed through quite the haze of atonal hiss and analogue fuzz. II gets more glitchy with things, while distorted tones penetrate a gritty wall of static in III. Meanwhile, IV and VI feature more glitchy melodies, but V takes a turn towards the dark ambient side of things. I could totally hear this piece being featured in a God Body Disconnect album on Cryo Chamber, with additional field recordings of inner city existence among the distant harmonious pads. Hmm, now there's an intriguing label for Greig to appear on. Why not? He's appeared on Dronarivm, as has ProtoU. Drone ambient has all the connections, man!
Showing posts with label drone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drone. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
Saturday, October 21, 2023
ProtoU - Anomalies
Cryo Chamber: 2019
Her most popular album? Well, it's got the most scrobbles on Last.fm, which ain't too shabby seeing as how Anomalies came out much later than her earlier works like Lost Here and Khmaoch. Heck, even her collaboration with Purl, Sub Life, is dwarfed by how many plays Anomalies has garnered over a similar amount of time. You'd think getting exposure on Dronarivm would have yielded more plays there, but maybe I'm underestimating just how popular Cryo Chamber has gotten within not just dark ambient circles, but across other scenes as well. Or it just could be that literal eye-catching cover art luring folks in for a closer listen, unable to resist the hypnotizing glare of a burning sun over a concave valley. Truly one of the best from a label replete with captivating cover art.
And before any folks made of hay claim I'm just hopping on whatever bandwagon this album's gathered, I honestly always intended to grab it. However, as I postponed my latest Cryo Chamber bulk-buy for an unexpectedly long time, I missed the initial buzz over Anomalies. Or maybe not, those same scrobbling stats showing a healthy, consistent play cycle, at least among the Last.fm contingent. For a genre that has so many albums getting lost in the shuffle (just... so many albums), that's about as good as it gets.
And what has made Anomalies the runaway smash hit of ProtoU's discography (relatively speaking)? More of a focus on naturalist ambience, would be my guess. Not that Sasha hasn't dabbled in this field before, indeed this album treading similar ground as her debut Lost Here. However, she's taken many different paths in her dark ambient journey – sci-fi themes in Stardust and Echoes Of The Future; the occult with Khmoach, Metta, and Tomb Of Druids. Which is great if that's the dark ambient vibe you're down for at the time, but for most folks just getting their feet wet in the murky swamp, something that at least sounds grounded in our reality has some small comforting familiarity. Sure, you may be lost out in the woods with strange phenomena casting disconcerting visages across starless skies, but at least it's all natural, right? Right...?
Opener The Escape sure feels so, at least at first. Rather gentle and calming with soft, if chilly pads casting a mist over your earlobes, the drone does turn more mechanical and menacing, but not overbearingly so. And with such a tranquil piece of piano ambience in follow-up Transparent Clusters, such apprehensive thoughts are easily dismissed – the sound of rainfall certainly helps.
What's interesting about Anomalies is the back-and-forth of tone between tracks. Harsher pieces like Electric Grounds and Chamber Of Visions are followed by reflective respites in Lucid Sequences and Ghost In You , while ten-minute closer Pellucid Waters with Hilyard wraps everything back together. You'll come away feeling both confronted yet relaxed, challenged yet released. Like an intense Pilates workout, followed by a tender massage, for the mind and the soul.
Her most popular album? Well, it's got the most scrobbles on Last.fm, which ain't too shabby seeing as how Anomalies came out much later than her earlier works like Lost Here and Khmaoch. Heck, even her collaboration with Purl, Sub Life, is dwarfed by how many plays Anomalies has garnered over a similar amount of time. You'd think getting exposure on Dronarivm would have yielded more plays there, but maybe I'm underestimating just how popular Cryo Chamber has gotten within not just dark ambient circles, but across other scenes as well. Or it just could be that literal eye-catching cover art luring folks in for a closer listen, unable to resist the hypnotizing glare of a burning sun over a concave valley. Truly one of the best from a label replete with captivating cover art.
And before any folks made of hay claim I'm just hopping on whatever bandwagon this album's gathered, I honestly always intended to grab it. However, as I postponed my latest Cryo Chamber bulk-buy for an unexpectedly long time, I missed the initial buzz over Anomalies. Or maybe not, those same scrobbling stats showing a healthy, consistent play cycle, at least among the Last.fm contingent. For a genre that has so many albums getting lost in the shuffle (just... so many albums), that's about as good as it gets.
And what has made Anomalies the runaway smash hit of ProtoU's discography (relatively speaking)? More of a focus on naturalist ambience, would be my guess. Not that Sasha hasn't dabbled in this field before, indeed this album treading similar ground as her debut Lost Here. However, she's taken many different paths in her dark ambient journey – sci-fi themes in Stardust and Echoes Of The Future; the occult with Khmoach, Metta, and Tomb Of Druids. Which is great if that's the dark ambient vibe you're down for at the time, but for most folks just getting their feet wet in the murky swamp, something that at least sounds grounded in our reality has some small comforting familiarity. Sure, you may be lost out in the woods with strange phenomena casting disconcerting visages across starless skies, but at least it's all natural, right? Right...?
Opener The Escape sure feels so, at least at first. Rather gentle and calming with soft, if chilly pads casting a mist over your earlobes, the drone does turn more mechanical and menacing, but not overbearingly so. And with such a tranquil piece of piano ambience in follow-up Transparent Clusters, such apprehensive thoughts are easily dismissed – the sound of rainfall certainly helps.
What's interesting about Anomalies is the back-and-forth of tone between tracks. Harsher pieces like Electric Grounds and Chamber Of Visions are followed by reflective respites in Lucid Sequences and Ghost In You , while ten-minute closer Pellucid Waters with Hilyard wraps everything back together. You'll come away feeling both confronted yet relaxed, challenged yet released. Like an intense Pilates workout, followed by a tender massage, for the mind and the soul.
Labels:
2019,
album,
ambient,
Cryo Chamber,
dark ambient,
drone,
protoU
Sunday, October 15, 2023
David Cordero - And Stillness Came
Polar Seas Recordings: 2022
Another new ambient artist on another new ambient label. They just keep on a' comin', don't they? Mind, we're not dealing with spankin' brand new here, as I've grazed by David Cordero before, appropriately enough on Archives. Meanwhile, even if this is the first item I'm reviewing from Polar Seas Recordings, I'm fairly certain I've name-dropped this label. Hell, I've been wearing their t-shirt for months now, so the Canadian print has to have come up once or thrice. Hm, does this mean I should do a label info dump, or an artist info dump? As I'll be coming back to Polar Seas down the line, let's focus on Mr. Cordero for now.
I should clarify that David is only new to me (and most of you, I wager), with a career that's spanned a couple decades. He was part of a Spanish post-rock band called Ursula, which had a modest run of albums through the '00s. When that ended, he got into the label business with Knockturne Records, contributing occasional music along the way. The print only lasted a few years though, after which David refocused on music making at a more steady clip. Getting some traction on labels like Archives and Dronarivm, things really seemed to take off at the start of this decade, David's discography ballooning with many releases and collaborations. Being forced indoors for a spell with the rest of society apparently had that affect on a lot of musicians, especially those with a post-rock background moving into the realms of ambient.
As befitting someone with a background in actual musicianship, Mr. Cordero's brand of ambient leans more towards the modern classical variety. Not that instrumentation is highly prevalent, indeed most of the pieces on And Stillness Came relying on drawn-out tones lazily gliding along. It's just when a hefty bulk of my recent ambient listening entails fancier studio tricks like overdubbing and glitch-fuzzing, hearing a collection of tracks sounding far more 'traditionalist' has me thinking more the realms of Harold Budd than Tangerine Dream.
And as if that Budd comparison couldn't be more apt, opener Morning Loops is about as Buddy as it gets, gentle keyboard tones creating a soft blanket of reverb as they linger in the air, a soft bit of background distortion the only nod to contemporary ambient techniques. Follow-up Aysmmetric Feelings with Miguel Otero provides an extra layer of dubby timbre, but generally treads similar territory, while Booleans simplifies things to sustained minimalism.
None of these pieces are terribly long, the truly tranquil, softly glitchy Transitory Ghosts with Suso Saiz the lengthiest things get at just a shade over six minutes. At ten tracks long, that does leave And Stillness Came a rather brief listening affair, with many drifting by with barely any notice. Heck, with Empty Set mostly field recordings atop soft tones, you could think the album already over, should your window be left open. As I said, ambient music in its purest form.
Another new ambient artist on another new ambient label. They just keep on a' comin', don't they? Mind, we're not dealing with spankin' brand new here, as I've grazed by David Cordero before, appropriately enough on Archives. Meanwhile, even if this is the first item I'm reviewing from Polar Seas Recordings, I'm fairly certain I've name-dropped this label. Hell, I've been wearing their t-shirt for months now, so the Canadian print has to have come up once or thrice. Hm, does this mean I should do a label info dump, or an artist info dump? As I'll be coming back to Polar Seas down the line, let's focus on Mr. Cordero for now.
I should clarify that David is only new to me (and most of you, I wager), with a career that's spanned a couple decades. He was part of a Spanish post-rock band called Ursula, which had a modest run of albums through the '00s. When that ended, he got into the label business with Knockturne Records, contributing occasional music along the way. The print only lasted a few years though, after which David refocused on music making at a more steady clip. Getting some traction on labels like Archives and Dronarivm, things really seemed to take off at the start of this decade, David's discography ballooning with many releases and collaborations. Being forced indoors for a spell with the rest of society apparently had that affect on a lot of musicians, especially those with a post-rock background moving into the realms of ambient.
As befitting someone with a background in actual musicianship, Mr. Cordero's brand of ambient leans more towards the modern classical variety. Not that instrumentation is highly prevalent, indeed most of the pieces on And Stillness Came relying on drawn-out tones lazily gliding along. It's just when a hefty bulk of my recent ambient listening entails fancier studio tricks like overdubbing and glitch-fuzzing, hearing a collection of tracks sounding far more 'traditionalist' has me thinking more the realms of Harold Budd than Tangerine Dream.
And as if that Budd comparison couldn't be more apt, opener Morning Loops is about as Buddy as it gets, gentle keyboard tones creating a soft blanket of reverb as they linger in the air, a soft bit of background distortion the only nod to contemporary ambient techniques. Follow-up Aysmmetric Feelings with Miguel Otero provides an extra layer of dubby timbre, but generally treads similar territory, while Booleans simplifies things to sustained minimalism.
None of these pieces are terribly long, the truly tranquil, softly glitchy Transitory Ghosts with Suso Saiz the lengthiest things get at just a shade over six minutes. At ten tracks long, that does leave And Stillness Came a rather brief listening affair, with many drifting by with barely any notice. Heck, with Empty Set mostly field recordings atop soft tones, you could think the album already over, should your window be left open. As I said, ambient music in its purest form.
Friday, October 13, 2023
Moss Covered Technology - And His Many Seas
Facture: 2018
Of all Greig Baird's album, this one immediately caught my eye. I'll never tire of nautical themed music, whether they be ambient drone or Viking metal, so this was a shoe-in for yours truly. More than that though, I've always envisioned my destiny to be like the chap we see on the cover art, living out my greying days as an old man by the sea. Not that I'm a man of the sea, mind you, though if I could have any job in history, a cartographer from the Exploration Age certainly ranks high up there. For now, I'll suffice living by the sea, gazing wistfully at waves washing upon the shore, and all that chum rot.
While Greig's inspiration for this album had more to do with navigating his stormy feelings over a father's illness, the label that initially picked this up didn't hold back in running with the nautical allegory. Indeed, part of Facture's manifesto is loading their releases up with all manner of vintage swag and paraphernalia, such that it feels like you're unlocking some Victorian Era time capsule. I'm talking post cards, cloth-bound books, weathered prints, celluloid negatives, glass slides, film reel strips... just an insane amount of detail and craftsmanship goes into these. Naturally, they're also a bit pricey, and almost immediately sell out what limited stock they manufacture. Man, good thing I'm no longer so beholden to FOMO of these sort of releases, right? *twitch, twitch*
As with Sodium Light, where I took my Moss Covered Technology plunge, And His Many Seas simply titles each track Sea (his 'many seas', see? Sorry, had to...). For a body of music that supposedly has some narrative to it, Greig doesn't provide many hints of what each piece means. Maybe there were more guiding suggestions as part of the whole Facture package, and you can regardless glean particular feelings and emotions from the eight Seas within. If you need your ambient music more specific of intent, however, this may not be the album for you.
As for the sort of ambience MCT does offer, I found it a surprisingly varied assortment. The first couple were about as I expected, Sea #1 featuring layered, sweeping drones, while Sea #2 goes more dusty and crackly with its delicate organ tones. Neither are terribly long, so just as well Sea #4 brings us the album's centrepiece at eleven minutes. At first quiet and gentle, drones gradually build upon themselves, growing richly dense, but never overwhelming. Sea #5 is almost bright and cheery as a follow-up, and a modern classical sort of way, while the remaining pieces has me reminded of Archives' brand of dubby ambient. Not a bad comparison to make at all.
Can't deny I'm letting some personal bias cloud my enjoyment of And His Many Seas. Such music playing in my head as I rock in an old chair, porch facing west across the ocean, a stiff salty breeze bristling through long, white whiskers upon my cheek.
Of all Greig Baird's album, this one immediately caught my eye. I'll never tire of nautical themed music, whether they be ambient drone or Viking metal, so this was a shoe-in for yours truly. More than that though, I've always envisioned my destiny to be like the chap we see on the cover art, living out my greying days as an old man by the sea. Not that I'm a man of the sea, mind you, though if I could have any job in history, a cartographer from the Exploration Age certainly ranks high up there. For now, I'll suffice living by the sea, gazing wistfully at waves washing upon the shore, and all that chum rot.
While Greig's inspiration for this album had more to do with navigating his stormy feelings over a father's illness, the label that initially picked this up didn't hold back in running with the nautical allegory. Indeed, part of Facture's manifesto is loading their releases up with all manner of vintage swag and paraphernalia, such that it feels like you're unlocking some Victorian Era time capsule. I'm talking post cards, cloth-bound books, weathered prints, celluloid negatives, glass slides, film reel strips... just an insane amount of detail and craftsmanship goes into these. Naturally, they're also a bit pricey, and almost immediately sell out what limited stock they manufacture. Man, good thing I'm no longer so beholden to FOMO of these sort of releases, right? *twitch, twitch*
As with Sodium Light, where I took my Moss Covered Technology plunge, And His Many Seas simply titles each track Sea (his 'many seas', see? Sorry, had to...). For a body of music that supposedly has some narrative to it, Greig doesn't provide many hints of what each piece means. Maybe there were more guiding suggestions as part of the whole Facture package, and you can regardless glean particular feelings and emotions from the eight Seas within. If you need your ambient music more specific of intent, however, this may not be the album for you.
As for the sort of ambience MCT does offer, I found it a surprisingly varied assortment. The first couple were about as I expected, Sea #1 featuring layered, sweeping drones, while Sea #2 goes more dusty and crackly with its delicate organ tones. Neither are terribly long, so just as well Sea #4 brings us the album's centrepiece at eleven minutes. At first quiet and gentle, drones gradually build upon themselves, growing richly dense, but never overwhelming. Sea #5 is almost bright and cheery as a follow-up, and a modern classical sort of way, while the remaining pieces has me reminded of Archives' brand of dubby ambient. Not a bad comparison to make at all.
Can't deny I'm letting some personal bias cloud my enjoyment of And His Many Seas. Such music playing in my head as I rock in an old chair, porch facing west across the ocean, a stiff salty breeze bristling through long, white whiskers upon my cheek.
Sunday, October 1, 2023
Aes Dana - (a) period.
Ultimae Records: 2021/2022
Another CD I didn't expect to get, though for totally reasonable reasons. Plenty of positive buzz surrounding this album led to a quick sell-out, one I'm sure even Aes Dana himself couldn't have predicted. I certainly didn't, letting (a) period. slip by without a buy. Whenever does Ultimae Records sell out of CD stock anyways? Okay, they always did, and still occasionally do. I just wasn't expecting this one too, y'know? It's not like earlier albums from Aes Dana such as Perimeters and Pollen have disappeared from the Ultimae shop.
And because I can't go any review without finding something to get naggy over, let's get my two issues out of the way. First, why has (a) period. gotten a quick re-issue, but nothing from Aes Dana's older catalogue yet? I've hesitated on grabbing the digital versions of Memory Shell and Aftermath and the H.U.V.A. Network albums for a lo-o-o-ong time, always holding out hope they'll see a spiffy CD re-issue again at some point. If Vincent is fine doing the deed with his recent material, why not these out-of-print projects as well?
Moving onto point two, why the change-up in cover art for the re-issue? I know many of Ultimae's re-releases have seen changes to their artwork, but not always. Inks, for instance, has seen a couple re-issues, and retained its lumpy, grooved look through them all. I feel changing (a) period. from a fog enshroud suspension bridge to some surf wash somewhat ruins the vibe of what this album accomplished. Indeed, I'd argue part of the reason this got so much attention was because of that artwork, so perfectly complimenting the moody ambience within. Even the Bandcamp digital version had its cover art changed. Man, I hope that doesn't jack the first edition CD up to ludicrous amounts of second-hand market money.
Okay, I've wasted too many words musing about these things. This album's great, essentially Mr. Villuis going about as ambient as he's ever gone for the duration of a full album. Most of the rhythms used are highly subdued and minimalist, sometimes barely a heartbeat. In fact, the spare times he does use regular beats, such as in the opener Foreword and near-closer Ambivalent, almost feel unnecessary (the requisite dub techno cut of Overpass a lone exception). No, (a) period. is primarily focused on moody tones, rich timbre, glitchy fuzz, overdubbed drone, and tranquil field recordings. Much of it played real quiet too, so you really feel the space between the sounds. And given how expansive Vincent's mastering techniques have always been, you can imagine how much of a feast for the ears this album is.
Seriously, it's as though all those years spent perfecting his studio craft has seen its ultimate form manifest itself with this album. This is the sort of music worth investing in those high-end headphones or expensive surround sound systems, even when it moves at such a glacial pace. Really lets you take in the sonic scenery, it does.
Another CD I didn't expect to get, though for totally reasonable reasons. Plenty of positive buzz surrounding this album led to a quick sell-out, one I'm sure even Aes Dana himself couldn't have predicted. I certainly didn't, letting (a) period. slip by without a buy. Whenever does Ultimae Records sell out of CD stock anyways? Okay, they always did, and still occasionally do. I just wasn't expecting this one too, y'know? It's not like earlier albums from Aes Dana such as Perimeters and Pollen have disappeared from the Ultimae shop.
And because I can't go any review without finding something to get naggy over, let's get my two issues out of the way. First, why has (a) period. gotten a quick re-issue, but nothing from Aes Dana's older catalogue yet? I've hesitated on grabbing the digital versions of Memory Shell and Aftermath and the H.U.V.A. Network albums for a lo-o-o-ong time, always holding out hope they'll see a spiffy CD re-issue again at some point. If Vincent is fine doing the deed with his recent material, why not these out-of-print projects as well?
Moving onto point two, why the change-up in cover art for the re-issue? I know many of Ultimae's re-releases have seen changes to their artwork, but not always. Inks, for instance, has seen a couple re-issues, and retained its lumpy, grooved look through them all. I feel changing (a) period. from a fog enshroud suspension bridge to some surf wash somewhat ruins the vibe of what this album accomplished. Indeed, I'd argue part of the reason this got so much attention was because of that artwork, so perfectly complimenting the moody ambience within. Even the Bandcamp digital version had its cover art changed. Man, I hope that doesn't jack the first edition CD up to ludicrous amounts of second-hand market money.
Okay, I've wasted too many words musing about these things. This album's great, essentially Mr. Villuis going about as ambient as he's ever gone for the duration of a full album. Most of the rhythms used are highly subdued and minimalist, sometimes barely a heartbeat. In fact, the spare times he does use regular beats, such as in the opener Foreword and near-closer Ambivalent, almost feel unnecessary (the requisite dub techno cut of Overpass a lone exception). No, (a) period. is primarily focused on moody tones, rich timbre, glitchy fuzz, overdubbed drone, and tranquil field recordings. Much of it played real quiet too, so you really feel the space between the sounds. And given how expansive Vincent's mastering techniques have always been, you can imagine how much of a feast for the ears this album is.
Seriously, it's as though all those years spent perfecting his studio craft has seen its ultimate form manifest itself with this album. This is the sort of music worth investing in those high-end headphones or expensive surround sound systems, even when it moves at such a glacial pace. Really lets you take in the sonic scenery, it does.
Labels:
2021,
Aes Dana,
album,
ambient,
drone,
dub,
dub techno,
Ultimae Records
Thursday, September 14, 2023
The Frozen Vaults - 1816
Voxxov Records: 2015
A super-group of modern classical? Well, I wouldn't know anything about that, but there are a few folk lending their talents to this project. Yuki Murata on piano. David Dhonau on cello. Tomasz Mreńca on violin. Whether they are major players or not, you'd have to sift through oodles of Discogs documents to figure that out, but they seem active enough. All well and good, but as usual, I'm coming into this from a different angle. Another player involved with The Frozen Vaults is Bartosz Dziadosz, whom I've covered here a couple times as Pleq. He's worked with the fifth member of this conglomerate, Harry Towell, who often releases similar lowercase ambient drone as Spheruleus. I guess they wanted to take their muses to another level, hence bringing in some modern classical musicians to craft this love-letter to one of the darkest years in modern human history.
Why so dark, you ask? The ridiculously massive explosion of Mount Tambora in Indonesia the year prior, is why. It ejected so much particulate matter into the atmosphere, the global temperature cooled significantly such that it was called The Year Without Summer – didn't do much good for crops, nosiree. And since this was still an era where communication across continents was limited by sea and sail, word of Tambora's mighty spew never reached the Western world, even if its after effects did. It was a mystery for many, this winter-summer, where good ol' uncertainty and superstition can take hold. Sounds like a perfect bit of inspiration for artists known for a little frigid, melancholic drone.
And this group doesn't waste time getting you settled into an appropriate mood. Opener First Moments features wind-swept field recordings with desolate atmosphere (yet also some chirping birds?), orchestral strings soon emerging as featured cello and violin solos forlornly glide along, finally ebbing to footsteps crunching under snowy streets. Not the most inviting introduction to the year 1816, but with cover art featuring an ice-encrusted sea vessel, what else would you expect?
The album mostly plays out in similar fashion. Field recordings place the listener into an old-timey environment, followed upon by Yuki, Tomasz, and David doing their thing in tandem. Sometimes the piano is given more prominence (God Rest Yet Merry Gentlemen), other times the violin or cello (Stilled), but throughout it all, always an omnipresent, low thrum and crackly white noise. Like, imagine you're watching some archival footage of folks trying to go about their business, even as an almost unnatural chill envelops their lives.
All well and cool, but one thing in particular sold me on this album sight-unheard. Okay, two things, but cover art notwithstanding, the fact that 1816 was mastered by Aes Dana truly sweetened the deal. His own label's output may be hit or miss, but that impeccable Ultimae touch on other artists' material always elevates things to another level. Bringing that to an album filled with lovely piano and violin playing? Can't be beat, yo'!
A super-group of modern classical? Well, I wouldn't know anything about that, but there are a few folk lending their talents to this project. Yuki Murata on piano. David Dhonau on cello. Tomasz Mreńca on violin. Whether they are major players or not, you'd have to sift through oodles of Discogs documents to figure that out, but they seem active enough. All well and good, but as usual, I'm coming into this from a different angle. Another player involved with The Frozen Vaults is Bartosz Dziadosz, whom I've covered here a couple times as Pleq. He's worked with the fifth member of this conglomerate, Harry Towell, who often releases similar lowercase ambient drone as Spheruleus. I guess they wanted to take their muses to another level, hence bringing in some modern classical musicians to craft this love-letter to one of the darkest years in modern human history.
Why so dark, you ask? The ridiculously massive explosion of Mount Tambora in Indonesia the year prior, is why. It ejected so much particulate matter into the atmosphere, the global temperature cooled significantly such that it was called The Year Without Summer – didn't do much good for crops, nosiree. And since this was still an era where communication across continents was limited by sea and sail, word of Tambora's mighty spew never reached the Western world, even if its after effects did. It was a mystery for many, this winter-summer, where good ol' uncertainty and superstition can take hold. Sounds like a perfect bit of inspiration for artists known for a little frigid, melancholic drone.
And this group doesn't waste time getting you settled into an appropriate mood. Opener First Moments features wind-swept field recordings with desolate atmosphere (yet also some chirping birds?), orchestral strings soon emerging as featured cello and violin solos forlornly glide along, finally ebbing to footsteps crunching under snowy streets. Not the most inviting introduction to the year 1816, but with cover art featuring an ice-encrusted sea vessel, what else would you expect?
The album mostly plays out in similar fashion. Field recordings place the listener into an old-timey environment, followed upon by Yuki, Tomasz, and David doing their thing in tandem. Sometimes the piano is given more prominence (God Rest Yet Merry Gentlemen), other times the violin or cello (Stilled), but throughout it all, always an omnipresent, low thrum and crackly white noise. Like, imagine you're watching some archival footage of folks trying to go about their business, even as an almost unnatural chill envelops their lives.
All well and cool, but one thing in particular sold me on this album sight-unheard. Okay, two things, but cover art notwithstanding, the fact that 1816 was mastered by Aes Dana truly sweetened the deal. His own label's output may be hit or miss, but that impeccable Ultimae touch on other artists' material always elevates things to another level. Bringing that to an album filled with lovely piano and violin playing? Can't be beat, yo'!
Monday, September 4, 2023
Autumn Of Communion - 3
...txt/Fantasy Enhancing: 2013/2023
I cannot deny a little disappointment in the cover art of these AoC reissues. They're fine as is, but the originals were a class unto themselves. I get why its sometimes done, rights to original art perhaps only valid for the label they're originally released on. I don't understand why this particular release was changed though. The original Autumn Of Communion 3 came out on ...txt, another of Lee Norris' many labels. Shouldn't it track, then, that he could retain the rights to 3's artwork, even if it comes out on a different label? Polydeuces, also initially out on ...txt, kept its Saturn beauty shot for its recent reissue, so why couldn't 3 have kept the image of a wooden skiff in a dry lake at sunset? Right, its mostly playing to my weird fascination with land-locked water craft, while the alpine terrain of the reissue makes better sense as visual accompaniment for the ambient within. Just, y'know... abandoned boats, yo'!
So I didn't have much to say about 3 when talking up the rest of the Autumn Of Communion albums last review. I'll grant this is technically the last of the numbered self-titled albums that I finally heard (do single track 3.5 and remix LP 3.9 count in this? I wager not), so didn't have months or years worth of settling thoughts of it regardless. Even if I had heard this when it was new, however, I'm sure general consensus is this is the black sheep of the original four AoC albums.
I sense Misters Norris and Chillage spent plenty of hours just jamming away with their synths and such while crafting the first two AoC albums. Some structure in the final product had to be maintained though, since they were putting them out on other labels (Fax+ and Anodize, respectably). Same is likely true of Autumn Of Communion 4, initially a Carpe Sonum Records joint, so another LP with more variety of tempos. Something out on one of Lee's prints though? Hell, indulge to your heart's content in lengthy ambient drone sessions, and make a full CD's worth of it.
Right, things don't get too unwieldy on 3, the longest piece being opener In The Valley Of Tanaro at some twenty-three minutes. An ever-evolving track, it runs the gamut of gentle, wispy tones to wide-screen synth pads and burbling electronics, effectively capturing the sensation of being out and about open spaces – or cruising a river of northern Italy, in this case.
Follow-up Shoni provides the most rhythm of any piece, but is little more than the soft pitter-patter of ambient techno buried beneath grandiose synths. Rhea gets more mysterious and crystalline in its use of pads and echoes, is quite lovely, but not sure it needed an hour-plus exploration on 3.5. Disentastra gets back to the more opulent side of this album, while Teles feels of an experimental piece with its discordant layering of tones and timbre. Almost reminds me of Banco de Gaia's more minimalist moments.
I cannot deny a little disappointment in the cover art of these AoC reissues. They're fine as is, but the originals were a class unto themselves. I get why its sometimes done, rights to original art perhaps only valid for the label they're originally released on. I don't understand why this particular release was changed though. The original Autumn Of Communion 3 came out on ...txt, another of Lee Norris' many labels. Shouldn't it track, then, that he could retain the rights to 3's artwork, even if it comes out on a different label? Polydeuces, also initially out on ...txt, kept its Saturn beauty shot for its recent reissue, so why couldn't 3 have kept the image of a wooden skiff in a dry lake at sunset? Right, its mostly playing to my weird fascination with land-locked water craft, while the alpine terrain of the reissue makes better sense as visual accompaniment for the ambient within. Just, y'know... abandoned boats, yo'!
So I didn't have much to say about 3 when talking up the rest of the Autumn Of Communion albums last review. I'll grant this is technically the last of the numbered self-titled albums that I finally heard (do single track 3.5 and remix LP 3.9 count in this? I wager not), so didn't have months or years worth of settling thoughts of it regardless. Even if I had heard this when it was new, however, I'm sure general consensus is this is the black sheep of the original four AoC albums.
I sense Misters Norris and Chillage spent plenty of hours just jamming away with their synths and such while crafting the first two AoC albums. Some structure in the final product had to be maintained though, since they were putting them out on other labels (Fax+ and Anodize, respectably). Same is likely true of Autumn Of Communion 4, initially a Carpe Sonum Records joint, so another LP with more variety of tempos. Something out on one of Lee's prints though? Hell, indulge to your heart's content in lengthy ambient drone sessions, and make a full CD's worth of it.
Right, things don't get too unwieldy on 3, the longest piece being opener In The Valley Of Tanaro at some twenty-three minutes. An ever-evolving track, it runs the gamut of gentle, wispy tones to wide-screen synth pads and burbling electronics, effectively capturing the sensation of being out and about open spaces – or cruising a river of northern Italy, in this case.
Follow-up Shoni provides the most rhythm of any piece, but is little more than the soft pitter-patter of ambient techno buried beneath grandiose synths. Rhea gets more mysterious and crystalline in its use of pads and echoes, is quite lovely, but not sure it needed an hour-plus exploration on 3.5. Disentastra gets back to the more opulent side of this album, while Teles feels of an experimental piece with its discordant layering of tones and timbre. Almost reminds me of Banco de Gaia's more minimalist moments.
Monday, August 28, 2023
Ruptured World - Xenoplanetary
Cryo Chamber: 2023
Just when you think you've heard it all when it comes to 'cinematic dark ambient', Cryo Chamber goes and throws yet another new angle into the mix. Or it's a style that's existed in some form or another, and this is just my first exposure to it. Come to think of it, even if not via dark ambient outlets, much of what I'm hearing on Ruptured World's Xenoplantary has existed in other mediums, but typically drawn out over the course of several hours, spaced between various forms of busy-work. I am, of course, talking about the spoken word genre known as the video game Datalog.
You scoff, but think about it: for as long as puzzle PC games have had the capability to provide audio clips of individuals gabbing on about daily activities or pet projects or failed experiments, we've heard some form of datalog. Sometimes they're implemented as clues to solving mysteries, other times they're sprinkled about as setting dressing. More commonly these days, they're used as narrative cheats in world building, where the quality of voice acting can range from transcendentally gripping to instructional video hilarity. Whatever your preference of such content, one thing is clear: there really isn't an after-market for datalog recordings.
Not that I imagine a huge demand for it, but you'd think with video game soundtracks so readily available, someone had an entrepreneurial flash in thinking all that voice work could earn a little extra scratch outside its gaming context. The closest we get, it seems, is just collected records of all the datalogs one discovers through the course of a play run, and typically only accessible in-game. I'm sure unofficial compilations float about YouTube and the like, but wouldn't it be neat to have all that material available on a nice set of wax? Or, even better: tapes! Really sell that authentic datalog feel, y'know? Okay, probably not, but that hasn't stopped Alistair Rennie from giving it the ol' college try with his Ruptured World project.
Whereas many artists may offer an introductory monologue or epilogue to a given work, Mr. Rennie makes his dialogue an integral part of his album narrative. I wouldn't go so far as to say they're full-on datalog outing, each recording interspersed with ambient music and cinematic drone. Yet nor are they audio books, as he'll garble the voice recordings with all manner of digital distortions, as though you're replaying them from some recovered, weathered archive of an explorer detailing their experiences – a datalog! What I'm sayin' is, ain't no way Scott Brick or Davina Porter would allow that in their works.
And what does Xenoplanetary offer within the Ruptured World milieu? A little survivor horror, a little sci-fi horror, a little body horror... typical dark ambient stuff. The music itself honestly isn't that terrifying, and sometimes Alistair's narration lends itself to wonderment rather than fear of his predicament. Of course, this being a Cryo Chamber outing, things can only end with an ironic existential crisis...
Just when you think you've heard it all when it comes to 'cinematic dark ambient', Cryo Chamber goes and throws yet another new angle into the mix. Or it's a style that's existed in some form or another, and this is just my first exposure to it. Come to think of it, even if not via dark ambient outlets, much of what I'm hearing on Ruptured World's Xenoplantary has existed in other mediums, but typically drawn out over the course of several hours, spaced between various forms of busy-work. I am, of course, talking about the spoken word genre known as the video game Datalog.
You scoff, but think about it: for as long as puzzle PC games have had the capability to provide audio clips of individuals gabbing on about daily activities or pet projects or failed experiments, we've heard some form of datalog. Sometimes they're implemented as clues to solving mysteries, other times they're sprinkled about as setting dressing. More commonly these days, they're used as narrative cheats in world building, where the quality of voice acting can range from transcendentally gripping to instructional video hilarity. Whatever your preference of such content, one thing is clear: there really isn't an after-market for datalog recordings.
Not that I imagine a huge demand for it, but you'd think with video game soundtracks so readily available, someone had an entrepreneurial flash in thinking all that voice work could earn a little extra scratch outside its gaming context. The closest we get, it seems, is just collected records of all the datalogs one discovers through the course of a play run, and typically only accessible in-game. I'm sure unofficial compilations float about YouTube and the like, but wouldn't it be neat to have all that material available on a nice set of wax? Or, even better: tapes! Really sell that authentic datalog feel, y'know? Okay, probably not, but that hasn't stopped Alistair Rennie from giving it the ol' college try with his Ruptured World project.
Whereas many artists may offer an introductory monologue or epilogue to a given work, Mr. Rennie makes his dialogue an integral part of his album narrative. I wouldn't go so far as to say they're full-on datalog outing, each recording interspersed with ambient music and cinematic drone. Yet nor are they audio books, as he'll garble the voice recordings with all manner of digital distortions, as though you're replaying them from some recovered, weathered archive of an explorer detailing their experiences – a datalog! What I'm sayin' is, ain't no way Scott Brick or Davina Porter would allow that in their works.
And what does Xenoplanetary offer within the Ruptured World milieu? A little survivor horror, a little sci-fi horror, a little body horror... typical dark ambient stuff. The music itself honestly isn't that terrifying, and sometimes Alistair's narration lends itself to wonderment rather than fear of his predicament. Of course, this being a Cryo Chamber outing, things can only end with an ironic existential crisis...
Saturday, August 19, 2023
Warmth - Wildlife
Archives: 2019
Agustín seems to have done well for himself now, finding his footing in a way overcrowded ambient scene. Something has to be that tipping point though, where one's success goes from ultra-niche hobbiest to algorithmic search engine approved. It'd be easy enough pointing towards landing some prominent names for his Archives print as one such tipping point, and having acts like Purl, Halftribe, and Gallery Six certainly were gets. I'm more curious about Mr. Mena's own output though, where his Warmth project was seen on equal footing as other ambient luminaries. It's not like his pre-Archives material was gaining much attention, mostly floating about various ambient and dub techno netlabels with little notice. Even his initial material on Archives didn't generate that much buzz.
Is Wildlife that one Warmth album you need to hear, even if you're not a fan of Warmth, then? Hard to say, but it certainly feels unique among his catalogue. Unlike other releases within Archives', erm, archives, this one does not feature some lovely bit of natural scenery. Rather, a big ol' mama grizzly bear adorns the album's cover art. At least, I assume it's a mama bear, as the inlay has a couple cubs running about, plus the Wildlife Addendum record features a shot of the whole family together. Right, having some sort of actual wildlife as the art for your album called Wildlife makes one-hundred percent sense, but what I find interesting is Warmth's Retrospective (2016-2021) collection also features a prominent grizzly. Agustín must feel some personal connection to these magnificent ursine to reuse their visage, is what I'm saying, which leads me to believe Wildlife is, indeed, that one Warmth album you need to hear, even if you're not a fan of Warmth.
Is the music any good though? Well, it's more ambient drone in that Archives stylee, so if you're down for more of that, you're likely down for this. I haven't tired of it yet, and don't sense I will anytime soon. Gads, there's just so much music in Archive's catalogue!
But yes, you have that fuzzy, dreamy timbre the best of dubby drone has to offer in Wildlife. Where gentle tones seemingly drift across fog covered mountain lakes at dawn. Where subtle, echoing sounds emanate from distant corners of pre-dawn shrouded forests. Where melancholic pads settle layer upon layer such that you're lost within their sonic embrace. Some tracks offer quiet, reflective moments (Owls, The Bear, Wildlife, Dawning), others a more disquieting tone (The Woods, Sonora, Shine, Soil). A couple artists add some acoustic flair to the dense synth drone (Pepo Galán in Shine, Robert Farrugia in Dawning), but this is primarily Agustín's show.
So yep, this is definitely another solid outing from Warmth, and if you're unsure where to dive into his discography, about as good as any place. Well, unless you want to get the whole kit and caboodle with Retrospective (2016-2021). Either way, you're getting at least one more release with a prominent Kodiak on the cover.
Agustín seems to have done well for himself now, finding his footing in a way overcrowded ambient scene. Something has to be that tipping point though, where one's success goes from ultra-niche hobbiest to algorithmic search engine approved. It'd be easy enough pointing towards landing some prominent names for his Archives print as one such tipping point, and having acts like Purl, Halftribe, and Gallery Six certainly were gets. I'm more curious about Mr. Mena's own output though, where his Warmth project was seen on equal footing as other ambient luminaries. It's not like his pre-Archives material was gaining much attention, mostly floating about various ambient and dub techno netlabels with little notice. Even his initial material on Archives didn't generate that much buzz.
Is Wildlife that one Warmth album you need to hear, even if you're not a fan of Warmth, then? Hard to say, but it certainly feels unique among his catalogue. Unlike other releases within Archives', erm, archives, this one does not feature some lovely bit of natural scenery. Rather, a big ol' mama grizzly bear adorns the album's cover art. At least, I assume it's a mama bear, as the inlay has a couple cubs running about, plus the Wildlife Addendum record features a shot of the whole family together. Right, having some sort of actual wildlife as the art for your album called Wildlife makes one-hundred percent sense, but what I find interesting is Warmth's Retrospective (2016-2021) collection also features a prominent grizzly. Agustín must feel some personal connection to these magnificent ursine to reuse their visage, is what I'm saying, which leads me to believe Wildlife is, indeed, that one Warmth album you need to hear, even if you're not a fan of Warmth.
Is the music any good though? Well, it's more ambient drone in that Archives stylee, so if you're down for more of that, you're likely down for this. I haven't tired of it yet, and don't sense I will anytime soon. Gads, there's just so much music in Archive's catalogue!
But yes, you have that fuzzy, dreamy timbre the best of dubby drone has to offer in Wildlife. Where gentle tones seemingly drift across fog covered mountain lakes at dawn. Where subtle, echoing sounds emanate from distant corners of pre-dawn shrouded forests. Where melancholic pads settle layer upon layer such that you're lost within their sonic embrace. Some tracks offer quiet, reflective moments (Owls, The Bear, Wildlife, Dawning), others a more disquieting tone (The Woods, Sonora, Shine, Soil). A couple artists add some acoustic flair to the dense synth drone (Pepo Galán in Shine, Robert Farrugia in Dawning), but this is primarily Agustín's show.
So yep, this is definitely another solid outing from Warmth, and if you're unsure where to dive into his discography, about as good as any place. Well, unless you want to get the whole kit and caboodle with Retrospective (2016-2021). Either way, you're getting at least one more release with a prominent Kodiak on the cover.
Tuesday, July 25, 2023
God Body Disconnect - The Wanderer's Dream
Cryo Chamber: 2021
I was fairly active giving Cryo Chamber annual shine, but apparently it's been twenty months since I last talked them up! It's not for a lack of material attracting my interest, oh no. They simply drifted for a while, putting yet another Bandcamp bulk buy on the back burner. And further... and further... Or maybe getting properly physically active made listening to dark ambient music an unnecessarily depressing distraction? Nah, couldn't be.
Just as well, then, that Simon Heath has expanded the variety of cinematic drones available on his label. Explorations in urban reflections, noir, sci-fi that isn't straight-up cosmic horror... even some regular ol' meditative ambient. Okay, it's often of a more melancholic bent, not really the best backing music when aligning one's chakras or whatever. Compared to the outright oppressive drone that marked Cryo Chamber's early releases, however, we may as well be talking about Dreamloop sessions.
One of the label's earlier breakout acts, God Body Disconnect, actually wormed a few such gentle pieces within his albums. Indeed, Mr. Moallem's debut album, Dredge Portals, worked so effectively because of that contrast. I can't say I kept tabs on his material much after that though. Yeah, I eagerly snatched the pseudo-sequel Sleeper's Fate, but couldn't help but feel Bruce might hit a creative dead-end in doing the 'spoken word' gimmick over and over. I honestly haven't indulged in all of his material since to find out, but wanted to dive back in somewhere. Hence, me checking out this two year old album, The Wanderer's Dream.
First off, just look at that cover! Nothing about it strikes you as dark ambient, does it. Sure, some of the grainy, weathered aesthetic may suggest a grainy, weathered sound within, but for the most part, you could hang this on your wall with some regular naturalist artwork and have few side-glances in the process. It's a shockingly bright, almost sunny piece, the coming light of a new dawn. But this is Cryo Chamber, mang'! Ain't no way the ambient dronescape within can be as pleasingly light.
Well, maybe not, but it certainly is peaceful. A relatively short album at forty-seven minutes total, The Wanderer's Dream basically captures those melancholic moods one may feel when out for a stroll in the early hours of the day, particularly after being up all night lost in anxious thoughts. It isn't necessarily depressive, finding it soothing for depressive thoughts, a steady, calming tone with comforting harmonies easing one out of self-induced stress. Not to say there aren't moments of apprehension either, they just aren't the norm, and often nicely counter-balanced shortly after.
Another all-time classic from God Body Disconnect, then? Eh, I can't say as such. While the ambient on hand is quite nice, and definitely a departure from the Cryo Chamber norm, it is a relatively common sort, as heard from many other sources. A worthy addition to the label's canon, for sure, but probably all-too easily overlooked from ambient connoisseurs abroad.
I was fairly active giving Cryo Chamber annual shine, but apparently it's been twenty months since I last talked them up! It's not for a lack of material attracting my interest, oh no. They simply drifted for a while, putting yet another Bandcamp bulk buy on the back burner. And further... and further... Or maybe getting properly physically active made listening to dark ambient music an unnecessarily depressing distraction? Nah, couldn't be.
Just as well, then, that Simon Heath has expanded the variety of cinematic drones available on his label. Explorations in urban reflections, noir, sci-fi that isn't straight-up cosmic horror... even some regular ol' meditative ambient. Okay, it's often of a more melancholic bent, not really the best backing music when aligning one's chakras or whatever. Compared to the outright oppressive drone that marked Cryo Chamber's early releases, however, we may as well be talking about Dreamloop sessions.
One of the label's earlier breakout acts, God Body Disconnect, actually wormed a few such gentle pieces within his albums. Indeed, Mr. Moallem's debut album, Dredge Portals, worked so effectively because of that contrast. I can't say I kept tabs on his material much after that though. Yeah, I eagerly snatched the pseudo-sequel Sleeper's Fate, but couldn't help but feel Bruce might hit a creative dead-end in doing the 'spoken word' gimmick over and over. I honestly haven't indulged in all of his material since to find out, but wanted to dive back in somewhere. Hence, me checking out this two year old album, The Wanderer's Dream.
First off, just look at that cover! Nothing about it strikes you as dark ambient, does it. Sure, some of the grainy, weathered aesthetic may suggest a grainy, weathered sound within, but for the most part, you could hang this on your wall with some regular naturalist artwork and have few side-glances in the process. It's a shockingly bright, almost sunny piece, the coming light of a new dawn. But this is Cryo Chamber, mang'! Ain't no way the ambient dronescape within can be as pleasingly light.
Well, maybe not, but it certainly is peaceful. A relatively short album at forty-seven minutes total, The Wanderer's Dream basically captures those melancholic moods one may feel when out for a stroll in the early hours of the day, particularly after being up all night lost in anxious thoughts. It isn't necessarily depressive, finding it soothing for depressive thoughts, a steady, calming tone with comforting harmonies easing one out of self-induced stress. Not to say there aren't moments of apprehension either, they just aren't the norm, and often nicely counter-balanced shortly after.
Another all-time classic from God Body Disconnect, then? Eh, I can't say as such. While the ambient on hand is quite nice, and definitely a departure from the Cryo Chamber norm, it is a relatively common sort, as heard from many other sources. A worthy addition to the label's canon, for sure, but probably all-too easily overlooked from ambient connoisseurs abroad.
Wednesday, July 12, 2023
Jochem Paap - Vrs-Mbnt-Pcs 9598 II
Fax +49-69/450464: 1999/2021
No one ever releases just one item on Fax+, as is the law and tradition. Thus it is, by decree, that Jochem Paap released not just one volume of Vrs-Mbnt-Pcs 9598, but two. Wait, if that title is to be believed, and these sessions were from all the same time frame, why not make it a double-LP instead of two separate CDs? Pft, that's just not how things were done at Pete Namlook's label. You were gonna' get yourself a single CD with each outing, and you'll like it! And for the most part, folks did like it, even if it made being a completist an almost Herculean trial.
These two albums were all Jochem wrote for Fax+, at least as a solo artist. He did do one collaborative joint with Namlook half a decade later, titled pp • nmlk, which... um. Okay, I know the whole naming 'gimmick' Mr. Paap chose for these records was editing out the vowels, so an album title that's just their last names with no vowels makes sense. It's just... I'm sorry, my Beavis & Butthead brain can't help itself! Also, for some reason, that album hasn't been re-issued yet. I'm assuming it's only a matter of time, as lots of material from the Namlook estate has slowly been unearthed in recent years, if not via Silent State Recordings, then via the multitude of artists he collaborated with. One track has come out, ntr t nw wrld, as it appeared on The Ambient Gardener – Winter, but that's all. Patience is a virtue.
Anyhow, I mentioned in the previous review that Vrs-Mbnt-Pcs 9598 I only felt like a Fax+ release part of the time. Not so much 9598 II, about as classic a Fax+ type album as you'll ever come across. For starters, there's a half-hour long track on here – it don't get much more vintage Fax+ than that, my friends! And, in traditional Fax+ fashion, Mrg-Rvx is about as noodly an ambient jam session as you'll come across, ominous synth tones bubbling and burbling like some sort of digital cauldron. It doesn't seem to go anywhere beyond moving for its own sake, but ever-so gradually, dark cinematic drone slides in, sounding a bit rather like the foreboding white-noise pieces that appeared on A Shocking Hobby, just in a more subtle manner. If all that seems too 'maximal' for you, then eighteen-minute follow-up Jchm-Zngn goes ultra-minimalist, gentle atonal pulses played with the softness of a Harold Budd piano piece.
The only thing on here that approaches ear-wormy is the relatively short opener Dx-Snth, a simply bit of calming ambient pad drone that builds towards a pleasant peak. Indeed, this piece did get a little compilation love, including appearing on an Autumn Of Communion mix for A Strangely Isolated Place. Yep, it's a seal of approval from one of ambient techno's contemporary tastemakers, so if that's not enough to get you itchin' to check Vrs-Mbnt-Pcs 9598 II, I don't know what will.
No one ever releases just one item on Fax+, as is the law and tradition. Thus it is, by decree, that Jochem Paap released not just one volume of Vrs-Mbnt-Pcs 9598, but two. Wait, if that title is to be believed, and these sessions were from all the same time frame, why not make it a double-LP instead of two separate CDs? Pft, that's just not how things were done at Pete Namlook's label. You were gonna' get yourself a single CD with each outing, and you'll like it! And for the most part, folks did like it, even if it made being a completist an almost Herculean trial.
These two albums were all Jochem wrote for Fax+, at least as a solo artist. He did do one collaborative joint with Namlook half a decade later, titled pp • nmlk, which... um. Okay, I know the whole naming 'gimmick' Mr. Paap chose for these records was editing out the vowels, so an album title that's just their last names with no vowels makes sense. It's just... I'm sorry, my Beavis & Butthead brain can't help itself! Also, for some reason, that album hasn't been re-issued yet. I'm assuming it's only a matter of time, as lots of material from the Namlook estate has slowly been unearthed in recent years, if not via Silent State Recordings, then via the multitude of artists he collaborated with. One track has come out, ntr t nw wrld, as it appeared on The Ambient Gardener – Winter, but that's all. Patience is a virtue.
Anyhow, I mentioned in the previous review that Vrs-Mbnt-Pcs 9598 I only felt like a Fax+ release part of the time. Not so much 9598 II, about as classic a Fax+ type album as you'll ever come across. For starters, there's a half-hour long track on here – it don't get much more vintage Fax+ than that, my friends! And, in traditional Fax+ fashion, Mrg-Rvx is about as noodly an ambient jam session as you'll come across, ominous synth tones bubbling and burbling like some sort of digital cauldron. It doesn't seem to go anywhere beyond moving for its own sake, but ever-so gradually, dark cinematic drone slides in, sounding a bit rather like the foreboding white-noise pieces that appeared on A Shocking Hobby, just in a more subtle manner. If all that seems too 'maximal' for you, then eighteen-minute follow-up Jchm-Zngn goes ultra-minimalist, gentle atonal pulses played with the softness of a Harold Budd piano piece.
The only thing on here that approaches ear-wormy is the relatively short opener Dx-Snth, a simply bit of calming ambient pad drone that builds towards a pleasant peak. Indeed, this piece did get a little compilation love, including appearing on an Autumn Of Communion mix for A Strangely Isolated Place. Yep, it's a seal of approval from one of ambient techno's contemporary tastemakers, so if that's not enough to get you itchin' to check Vrs-Mbnt-Pcs 9598 II, I don't know what will.
Sunday, July 9, 2023
Jochem Paap - Vrs-Mbnt-Pcs 9598 I
Fax +49-69/450464: 1999/2021
Hey now, I still haven't told any lies. I totally am finished with Speedy J and his handful of aliases at this end of my alphabetical queue. I never said anything about material Mr. Paap released under his actual name. You only didn't see this loophole coming from a mile away because you didn't know Mr. Paap released anything under his actual name. And... fair play on that angle. This wasn't widely advertised, perhaps only known by a select few deeply immersed in ambient techno circles of the late '90s. Clearly his regular label Novamute wasn't interested in hearing Jochem indulge himself on some experimental drone.
Or even if they were, Jochem wasn't keen on piggy-backing this off his Speedy J fame. Yeah, he'd shown an ear for ambient doodling on G Spot, but for the most part, Speedy J is his techno outlet, where the bulk of his brand recognition lies. While there may be a small contingent of Speedy fans that'd be down for a selection of ambient works too, sometimes it's just good business sense shuffling those off to a side-gig, should the opportunity arise. What label, though, would be willing to provide that outlet?
Lots, probably, but surprisingly, Jochem ended up on Pete Namlook's Fax+ print for his ambient excursions. I honestly had no idea this was the case until I bought Speedy J's Bandcamp catalogue, if for no other reason I seldom ever see Mr. Paap's name brought up in discussions of Fax+ alum. I guess it shouldn't be that shocking, as plenty of techno's luminaries has crossed the famed Frankfurt label. It's just when you think of artists instrumental in the original Artificial Intelligence run, most of them found welcome homes within that particular circle, whereas Fax+ was kinda' an island unto itself.
Even more so, Vrs-Mbnt-Pcs 9598 I seems like something that should have ended up on Warp Records; or at least, say, Rephlex or Astralwerks, not Fax+. For sure it's ambient, but completely in that distinct Aphex Twin and Autechre lane of lucid dreamscapes, sounds emanating from the outworld and beyond. Seriously, pieces like the eerie Spk, the gentle Dtnd-Jn, the droning Trpp-Bll, and the weirdo Trmml-Dx could have easily fit on Selected Ambient Works II. This isn't so much a style-bite, just IDM artists finding similar aesthetics.
Specifically though, it's not really the usual Fax+ aesthetic, that label often indulging in lengthy ambient jam sessions, with more an ear towards Berlin School synth noodling. A couple tracks do touch upon such vibes, like the gentle, swaying opener Jn-Klkkn, the pure, bright pad drone of shorty Flm, and the minimalist, soft keyboard jam of closer Mbnt-Plng. Clocking in at over sixteen minutes, this piece is the sort you'd expect on a typical Fax+ release, wherein an artist is free to indulge themselves for however long they wish. No expectations of song structure or sound design, just some simple melodic tones playing out for however long said artist feels appropriate.
Hey now, I still haven't told any lies. I totally am finished with Speedy J and his handful of aliases at this end of my alphabetical queue. I never said anything about material Mr. Paap released under his actual name. You only didn't see this loophole coming from a mile away because you didn't know Mr. Paap released anything under his actual name. And... fair play on that angle. This wasn't widely advertised, perhaps only known by a select few deeply immersed in ambient techno circles of the late '90s. Clearly his regular label Novamute wasn't interested in hearing Jochem indulge himself on some experimental drone.
Or even if they were, Jochem wasn't keen on piggy-backing this off his Speedy J fame. Yeah, he'd shown an ear for ambient doodling on G Spot, but for the most part, Speedy J is his techno outlet, where the bulk of his brand recognition lies. While there may be a small contingent of Speedy fans that'd be down for a selection of ambient works too, sometimes it's just good business sense shuffling those off to a side-gig, should the opportunity arise. What label, though, would be willing to provide that outlet?
Lots, probably, but surprisingly, Jochem ended up on Pete Namlook's Fax+ print for his ambient excursions. I honestly had no idea this was the case until I bought Speedy J's Bandcamp catalogue, if for no other reason I seldom ever see Mr. Paap's name brought up in discussions of Fax+ alum. I guess it shouldn't be that shocking, as plenty of techno's luminaries has crossed the famed Frankfurt label. It's just when you think of artists instrumental in the original Artificial Intelligence run, most of them found welcome homes within that particular circle, whereas Fax+ was kinda' an island unto itself.
Even more so, Vrs-Mbnt-Pcs 9598 I seems like something that should have ended up on Warp Records; or at least, say, Rephlex or Astralwerks, not Fax+. For sure it's ambient, but completely in that distinct Aphex Twin and Autechre lane of lucid dreamscapes, sounds emanating from the outworld and beyond. Seriously, pieces like the eerie Spk, the gentle Dtnd-Jn, the droning Trpp-Bll, and the weirdo Trmml-Dx could have easily fit on Selected Ambient Works II. This isn't so much a style-bite, just IDM artists finding similar aesthetics.
Specifically though, it's not really the usual Fax+ aesthetic, that label often indulging in lengthy ambient jam sessions, with more an ear towards Berlin School synth noodling. A couple tracks do touch upon such vibes, like the gentle, swaying opener Jn-Klkkn, the pure, bright pad drone of shorty Flm, and the minimalist, soft keyboard jam of closer Mbnt-Plng. Clocking in at over sixteen minutes, this piece is the sort you'd expect on a typical Fax+ release, wherein an artist is free to indulge themselves for however long they wish. No expectations of song structure or sound design, just some simple melodic tones playing out for however long said artist feels appropriate.
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 11, 2023
Lucette Bourdin - Undercurrents
Dark Duck Records/Fantasy Enhancing: 2009/2021
Don't think I forgot about this ongoing box-set coverage either. I mean, alphabetical OCD mandates I couldn't even if I tried, though as mentioned, I sometimes miss items when I don't have a physical copy verifying I have it in my collection. No mistaking something like Retrospective Box-Set (2005 – 2017) on my shelves though. In fact, I think it just might be among the chunkiest items in my possession. The only other box-sets that rival it are those two Neil Young Archives box-sets, the indisputable, indomitable Pete Namlook tribute box-set Die Welt Ist Klang, and the Symphonic Suite “Dragon Quest” Complete CD-Box. And really, that rivalry is only in packaging girth, none of them containing twenty individual CDs within. When it comes to total content, Lucette Bourdin's collection trumps them all nearly three-fold! Okay, maybe not Archives Vol. 1 - that one has a chunky picture book too.
Anyhow, Undercurrents (or Under Currents, as originally titled – saving some extra pennies on typeface there, Fantasy Enhancing?) came out at a point where Ms. Bourdin was getting a little frisky in her sonic explorations. Not only did she go on to release the more rhythm-centric albums Drums And Repercussions and Drum-atic Atmospheres later that year, but had indulged in some truly epic ambient excursions with the ultra-lengthy compositions as found on Ancient Memories the year prior. This one has a couple long-form pieces as well, Glacier Lament breaching fifteen minutes, and the titular cut weighing in at a hefty twenty-minutes plus. Okay, so not quite the near thirty-minute outing from Memories Of Acoma, but compared to the modest ten-minute cuts on most of her tracks, it's stretching things some.
Like the first two pieces on here, A Parade Of Stones and Rain Forest Draining. The former starts with some standard, isolated pad drone, the subtlest of tribal rhythm lurking underneath. It mostly plays out like this for the duration, with a proper downbeat emerging some two-thirds in. Rain Forest Draining, however, gets really thick with the field recordings, which is funny to me because I made a big deal about such sonic techniques not really being a major focus of Lucette's body of work. Yet here they are, a rain forest filled with them. Okay, they don't last long, eventually giving way to more subtle ambient drone, but man, for a spell there, I thought we were in for a sample-heavy record here.
Two 'shorter' pieces touching closer to Lucette's more opulent synth play bridge the middle of Undercurrents, then we're in the final two long tracks. Glacier Lament has its own field recordings, gentle dripping water as though heard from below the surface of a melting mass of ice. A suitably melancholic synth drone accompanies the feelings of frozen loss. Under Currents, meanwhile, is a fairly standard synth drone excursion with oscillating sine-waves. Kinda' retro, sat among Ms. Bourdin's larger body of work. Or at least, 'retro' to my ears, slowly digesting her works for nearly two years now.
Don't think I forgot about this ongoing box-set coverage either. I mean, alphabetical OCD mandates I couldn't even if I tried, though as mentioned, I sometimes miss items when I don't have a physical copy verifying I have it in my collection. No mistaking something like Retrospective Box-Set (2005 – 2017) on my shelves though. In fact, I think it just might be among the chunkiest items in my possession. The only other box-sets that rival it are those two Neil Young Archives box-sets, the indisputable, indomitable Pete Namlook tribute box-set Die Welt Ist Klang, and the Symphonic Suite “Dragon Quest” Complete CD-Box. And really, that rivalry is only in packaging girth, none of them containing twenty individual CDs within. When it comes to total content, Lucette Bourdin's collection trumps them all nearly three-fold! Okay, maybe not Archives Vol. 1 - that one has a chunky picture book too.
Anyhow, Undercurrents (or Under Currents, as originally titled – saving some extra pennies on typeface there, Fantasy Enhancing?) came out at a point where Ms. Bourdin was getting a little frisky in her sonic explorations. Not only did she go on to release the more rhythm-centric albums Drums And Repercussions and Drum-atic Atmospheres later that year, but had indulged in some truly epic ambient excursions with the ultra-lengthy compositions as found on Ancient Memories the year prior. This one has a couple long-form pieces as well, Glacier Lament breaching fifteen minutes, and the titular cut weighing in at a hefty twenty-minutes plus. Okay, so not quite the near thirty-minute outing from Memories Of Acoma, but compared to the modest ten-minute cuts on most of her tracks, it's stretching things some.
Like the first two pieces on here, A Parade Of Stones and Rain Forest Draining. The former starts with some standard, isolated pad drone, the subtlest of tribal rhythm lurking underneath. It mostly plays out like this for the duration, with a proper downbeat emerging some two-thirds in. Rain Forest Draining, however, gets really thick with the field recordings, which is funny to me because I made a big deal about such sonic techniques not really being a major focus of Lucette's body of work. Yet here they are, a rain forest filled with them. Okay, they don't last long, eventually giving way to more subtle ambient drone, but man, for a spell there, I thought we were in for a sample-heavy record here.
Two 'shorter' pieces touching closer to Lucette's more opulent synth play bridge the middle of Undercurrents, then we're in the final two long tracks. Glacier Lament has its own field recordings, gentle dripping water as though heard from below the surface of a melting mass of ice. A suitably melancholic synth drone accompanies the feelings of frozen loss. Under Currents, meanwhile, is a fairly standard synth drone excursion with oscillating sine-waves. Kinda' retro, sat among Ms. Bourdin's larger body of work. Or at least, 'retro' to my ears, slowly digesting her works for nearly two years now.
Monday, June 5, 2023
Various - tʌntrə x: Amrita
Neotantra: 2021
Oh my God! You know all those Bandcamp bulk buys I've done? Like, whole artist discographies, and such as? That's essentially buying a box-set! I've been covering multiple box-sets all this time without realizing it. And wouldn't you know it, as soon as I've wrapped up this tʌntrə box-set, I'll be kicking off another. No, not tʌntrə xx or tʌntrə xxx. Heck, the latter is already sold-out, and currently just one left of the former. Hold a sec'... *Jeopardy music plays* I mean, both are already sold out. I'm talking about that Natural Life Essence catalogue grab, containing some... well, a lot of releases. Not to mention that Suntrip Records haul as well. Hey, all those CDs came in a box, so it can count as a box(ed) set!
Anyhow, we've come to the end of this one, and boy, did it fly by fast. Can't believe we're already on CD5, but then it's not like the music within this collection insists upon itself. Much of it can float on by with barely any attention paid to it, which doesn't make it bad or anything. It's ambient music in its purest form, and if you can get more out of it than serving as the backing soundtrack to whatever activities you're engaged in, that's all the bonus. I've certainly come away from this with a couple more artists due for further exploration, but many others kind of just passed me on by. Sort of the issue I had with trying to dig into any of those Tʌntrə digital downloads in the first place, as I recall. Ah well, maybe the 'volume two' set will help sort things out further for yours truly, whenever I get around to that one.
The final set of tʌntrə x is subtitled Amrita. Hey, I know that word! It's the title of that Loop Guru album that changed my life! Okay, that's exaggerating some – more like affirmed my early 'big city bachelorhood' sense of self. Given that amrita is the Sanskrit word for immortality, it makes sense that I'd associate feelings of righteous invincibility listening to such music. Or something.
Honestly though, this Amrita set feels a bit aimless as it plays out. Oh, the music remains quite calm and soothing, as most of the music has throughout. I'm just not hearing the connective tissue between each track. We go from from pleasant ambient drone, to acoustic fuzz, to moody minimalism, to atonal abstraction, and so forth. It rather sounds as though Lee had some leftover pieces he felt needed inclusion, but didn't know where else to place them, so lumped them together here.
That includes one of those massive thirty-minute long tracks scattered about the Tʌntrə series to close us out, Leaf Calligraphy's Sonic Flames. To the sound of densely layered piano tone and a crackling fire, it's about as ambient as the genre can get. Wrap yourself in a snuggly blanket with some hot chocolate, as the lights fade out.
Oh my God! You know all those Bandcamp bulk buys I've done? Like, whole artist discographies, and such as? That's essentially buying a box-set! I've been covering multiple box-sets all this time without realizing it. And wouldn't you know it, as soon as I've wrapped up this tʌntrə box-set, I'll be kicking off another. No, not tʌntrə xx or tʌntrə xxx. Heck, the latter is already sold-out, and currently just one left of the former. Hold a sec'... *Jeopardy music plays* I mean, both are already sold out. I'm talking about that Natural Life Essence catalogue grab, containing some... well, a lot of releases. Not to mention that Suntrip Records haul as well. Hey, all those CDs came in a box, so it can count as a box(ed) set!
Anyhow, we've come to the end of this one, and boy, did it fly by fast. Can't believe we're already on CD5, but then it's not like the music within this collection insists upon itself. Much of it can float on by with barely any attention paid to it, which doesn't make it bad or anything. It's ambient music in its purest form, and if you can get more out of it than serving as the backing soundtrack to whatever activities you're engaged in, that's all the bonus. I've certainly come away from this with a couple more artists due for further exploration, but many others kind of just passed me on by. Sort of the issue I had with trying to dig into any of those Tʌntrə digital downloads in the first place, as I recall. Ah well, maybe the 'volume two' set will help sort things out further for yours truly, whenever I get around to that one.
The final set of tʌntrə x is subtitled Amrita. Hey, I know that word! It's the title of that Loop Guru album that changed my life! Okay, that's exaggerating some – more like affirmed my early 'big city bachelorhood' sense of self. Given that amrita is the Sanskrit word for immortality, it makes sense that I'd associate feelings of righteous invincibility listening to such music. Or something.
Honestly though, this Amrita set feels a bit aimless as it plays out. Oh, the music remains quite calm and soothing, as most of the music has throughout. I'm just not hearing the connective tissue between each track. We go from from pleasant ambient drone, to acoustic fuzz, to moody minimalism, to atonal abstraction, and so forth. It rather sounds as though Lee had some leftover pieces he felt needed inclusion, but didn't know where else to place them, so lumped them together here.
That includes one of those massive thirty-minute long tracks scattered about the Tʌntrə series to close us out, Leaf Calligraphy's Sonic Flames. To the sound of densely layered piano tone and a crackling fire, it's about as ambient as the genre can get. Wrap yourself in a snuggly blanket with some hot chocolate, as the lights fade out.
Sunday, June 4, 2023
Various - tʌntrə x: Tanmatra
Neotantra: 2021
While we're on the topic of cover art (we are?), I'd like to mention the design adorning the actual box of this tʌntrə box-set. It's a very simple one, an upside-down triangle enclosed within a circle. On the outer edges, however, are two forms that at first glance look like pig-tails, lending the graphic to appearing like Buttercup from Powerpuff Girls (maybe it's the hot neon yellow of the CDs doing that to my brain). Given this box-set loves its geometrical art, I got wondering what those 'pig-tails' actually are.
They kinda' look like curvy braces, as used in function equations, but they're too rounded on the tops and bottom for that. The next closest I've found is a Cartesian graph representation of a logistic curve, it's inverse stacked on top. It certainly fits the model, but the 0,0 point is all wrong, starting too high, dipping down before doing its exponential growth curve upwards. Ergh, I feel like I should know what this shape is, but I only got as far as Calculus 2 in my college studies, so perhaps it's all beyond my scope of comprehension. Or it really is just Lee Norris having a bit of fun with shapes, arranging them into the form of Buttercup from the Powerpuff Girls.
Another tangent somewhat sorted, let's dive into CD4 of tʌntrə x, subtitled Tanmatra. Straight forward what this one is: the elements related to the five senses. As we're dealing with antiquity elements, that includes air for touch, water for taste, fire for vision, earth for smell (d'at some dank dirt, yo'!), and ether for sound. I find that last one a bit amusing, since 'ether' is sometimes translated as 'space', yet there is no sound in actual space. But hey, how were the ancients to know that sound is more closely tied to air?
While I wouldn't say each CD isn't thematically consistent with their subtitle, Tanmatra definitely is the most thematically consistent of them all. With clear transitions between segments, signalling movement onto another facet of tanmatra, this one has the most 'journey-like' vibes going for it, even if some of those gaps throw off the mixed set flow. Which element kicks things off, you ask? Hmm, good question, as opener Purple Skies from California Storm features something almost no other track in this entire box-set has: a rhythm! Okay, it's but a soft, dubby downbeat, but compared to all the beatless music elsewhere, it may as well be a breakcore gabber cut. Normally I'd associate rhythm with 'earth', but 'earth' in tanmatra relates to smell. Would that make this more 'air', then?
There's a couple repeat artists here, including N:L:E:, and Drifts In Autumn. I also recognize Yamaoka and Solipsism among this tracklist (was wondering when he'd show up), but again, a lot of unfamiliar names to my eyes. May want to check out that Mōshonsensu further though, his Notion Of Wonder quite lush in a fuzzy ambient sort of way.
While we're on the topic of cover art (we are?), I'd like to mention the design adorning the actual box of this tʌntrə box-set. It's a very simple one, an upside-down triangle enclosed within a circle. On the outer edges, however, are two forms that at first glance look like pig-tails, lending the graphic to appearing like Buttercup from Powerpuff Girls (maybe it's the hot neon yellow of the CDs doing that to my brain). Given this box-set loves its geometrical art, I got wondering what those 'pig-tails' actually are.
They kinda' look like curvy braces, as used in function equations, but they're too rounded on the tops and bottom for that. The next closest I've found is a Cartesian graph representation of a logistic curve, it's inverse stacked on top. It certainly fits the model, but the 0,0 point is all wrong, starting too high, dipping down before doing its exponential growth curve upwards. Ergh, I feel like I should know what this shape is, but I only got as far as Calculus 2 in my college studies, so perhaps it's all beyond my scope of comprehension. Or it really is just Lee Norris having a bit of fun with shapes, arranging them into the form of Buttercup from the Powerpuff Girls.
Another tangent somewhat sorted, let's dive into CD4 of tʌntrə x, subtitled Tanmatra. Straight forward what this one is: the elements related to the five senses. As we're dealing with antiquity elements, that includes air for touch, water for taste, fire for vision, earth for smell (d'at some dank dirt, yo'!), and ether for sound. I find that last one a bit amusing, since 'ether' is sometimes translated as 'space', yet there is no sound in actual space. But hey, how were the ancients to know that sound is more closely tied to air?
While I wouldn't say each CD isn't thematically consistent with their subtitle, Tanmatra definitely is the most thematically consistent of them all. With clear transitions between segments, signalling movement onto another facet of tanmatra, this one has the most 'journey-like' vibes going for it, even if some of those gaps throw off the mixed set flow. Which element kicks things off, you ask? Hmm, good question, as opener Purple Skies from California Storm features something almost no other track in this entire box-set has: a rhythm! Okay, it's but a soft, dubby downbeat, but compared to all the beatless music elsewhere, it may as well be a breakcore gabber cut. Normally I'd associate rhythm with 'earth', but 'earth' in tanmatra relates to smell. Would that make this more 'air', then?
There's a couple repeat artists here, including N:L:E:, and Drifts In Autumn. I also recognize Yamaoka and Solipsism among this tracklist (was wondering when he'd show up), but again, a lot of unfamiliar names to my eyes. May want to check out that Mōshonsensu further though, his Notion Of Wonder quite lush in a fuzzy ambient sort of way.
Saturday, June 3, 2023
Various - tʌntrə x: Rakrita
Neotantra: 2021
Although I've gone off about how overwhelming all these tʌntrə compilations are, I wonder if Neotantra's wrapped the series up for now, as there hasn't been a new edition for all of 2023 thus far. Granted, the series has had a couple fallow periods, but nothing half a year long. Some of this might have to do with the label sorting out its back-catalogue, including putting together the third box-set of tʌntrə material just now, not to mention another Coercion Of Deities collection too. Then there's another box-set called Ember Delays, wherein some of their digital-only albums were given the CD treatment, plus changing all the older artwork throughout their Bandcamp page. Yes, the slightly OCD-triggering colour gradient era of Neotantra's cover art has been replaced with various still-shots of classy photography. Which... makes those original CDs a might more precious on the collector's market now? Oh, naughty, naughty, Neotantra.
Of course, this might also have to do with the label going to a subscription-based model, wherein you get sent all newly-minted music directly, eliminating the need for free compilations that may or may not get a download. Aw, but I like tidily consolidated collections, even those as formidable as tʌntrə XXIII's twenty-seven track, four hour outing.
Any-whatsit, here's CD3 of tʌntrə x, titled Rakrita. I... can't seem to find anything about this word. The Mighty Google draws an utter blank, steering me towards similar sounding words like rakkhita, rakti, yakrita, and sutrakritanga, which 'rakrita' is a part of. Definitions seem to be all over the place too, the closest commonality being affection and attractiveness. It seems a bit obtuse for a collection of ambient music, but then perhaps there's a deeper meaning that will reveal itself as the CD play- Eh? I should look at the digital title of this set? Oh, it's called Prakriti here, which has a definitive definition of cosmic material energy from which all matter is composed. Well, that makes a whole lot more sense!
I only recognize two names in this set: Ambidextrous and Mind Over MIDI. Everyone else is new to my eyes. Todd Gerber, Paul Tyrrell, Michiru Aoyama, Drifts In Autumn, Clouds Are Learning, The Fold (10), and what's his name, Whatsisname. No, seriously, how is the former prog-rocker the first to ever use this alias? Seems like such a shoo-in for so many techno projects.
Musically, this is the most ambient CD out of this box-set yet. I'm talking pure, gentle, soothing, wispy pad drone, very little in additional experimentation or heavy field recordings getting in the way of things. And while that makes sense for a theme of either prakriti or 'rakrita', it seems at odds with the actual track titles. It Drowned Again, Lose Me To Despair, Rage Against Light, Å˙¨ · º•., The Manacles, and so forth. I'd imagine something more dark and depressing going off these. Heck, even Urskog could imply a foreboding setting. Ol' Fangorn Forest ain't the sort of place for a hammock doze, nosiree.
Although I've gone off about how overwhelming all these tʌntrə compilations are, I wonder if Neotantra's wrapped the series up for now, as there hasn't been a new edition for all of 2023 thus far. Granted, the series has had a couple fallow periods, but nothing half a year long. Some of this might have to do with the label sorting out its back-catalogue, including putting together the third box-set of tʌntrə material just now, not to mention another Coercion Of Deities collection too. Then there's another box-set called Ember Delays, wherein some of their digital-only albums were given the CD treatment, plus changing all the older artwork throughout their Bandcamp page. Yes, the slightly OCD-triggering colour gradient era of Neotantra's cover art has been replaced with various still-shots of classy photography. Which... makes those original CDs a might more precious on the collector's market now? Oh, naughty, naughty, Neotantra.
Of course, this might also have to do with the label going to a subscription-based model, wherein you get sent all newly-minted music directly, eliminating the need for free compilations that may or may not get a download. Aw, but I like tidily consolidated collections, even those as formidable as tʌntrə XXIII's twenty-seven track, four hour outing.
Any-whatsit, here's CD3 of tʌntrə x, titled Rakrita. I... can't seem to find anything about this word. The Mighty Google draws an utter blank, steering me towards similar sounding words like rakkhita, rakti, yakrita, and sutrakritanga, which 'rakrita' is a part of. Definitions seem to be all over the place too, the closest commonality being affection and attractiveness. It seems a bit obtuse for a collection of ambient music, but then perhaps there's a deeper meaning that will reveal itself as the CD play- Eh? I should look at the digital title of this set? Oh, it's called Prakriti here, which has a definitive definition of cosmic material energy from which all matter is composed. Well, that makes a whole lot more sense!
I only recognize two names in this set: Ambidextrous and Mind Over MIDI. Everyone else is new to my eyes. Todd Gerber, Paul Tyrrell, Michiru Aoyama, Drifts In Autumn, Clouds Are Learning, The Fold (10), and what's his name, Whatsisname. No, seriously, how is the former prog-rocker the first to ever use this alias? Seems like such a shoo-in for so many techno projects.
Musically, this is the most ambient CD out of this box-set yet. I'm talking pure, gentle, soothing, wispy pad drone, very little in additional experimentation or heavy field recordings getting in the way of things. And while that makes sense for a theme of either prakriti or 'rakrita', it seems at odds with the actual track titles. It Drowned Again, Lose Me To Despair, Rage Against Light, Å˙¨ · º•., The Manacles, and so forth. I'd imagine something more dark and depressing going off these. Heck, even Urskog could imply a foreboding setting. Ol' Fangorn Forest ain't the sort of place for a hammock doze, nosiree.
Thursday, June 1, 2023
Various - tʌntrə x: Apurva
Neotantra: 2021
Given how much music is featured on all these tʌntrə compilations, I do wonder what the selection process entails. I've no doubt folks and friends of Lee Norris are more than happy to send in material, but I'm talking about all the other, less-known names. Can you send in any ol' demo, and Neotantra's head of marketing will just slot you in whenever another edition is ready for export? Do you have to have some material already out on streaming services to even be considered? Or a Discogs entry?
Like, I'd consider myself at least somewhat well-versed in the ambient scene – my scrobbling data assures me it's the most prominent genre of music I gorge myself on. And for sure, having listened to many releases out on this label and others of similar ilk, I've come to learn of several artists I'm more than willing to drop big Bandcamp bucks on. Yet even browsing through a random volume of tʌntrə - III, let's say – I'm confronted with names like E.U.E.R.P.I., Theadelaidean, James Shain, and Sebastian Paul, all fresh to my eyes. Might I enjoy their works to?
Probably, but who's got time to digest them when just a couple months later, we're already on tʌntrə VI, with names like Todd Gerber, Nihhus, Hirotaka Shirotsubaki, and Brómus now crowding in for my attention? Throw in Neotantra's mainline run of albums, not to mention whatever parent label Fantasy Enhancing gets up to, and it can all feel overwhelming in how much is getting released. Add one's desire to explore other corners of the ambient scene while you're at it, and y'all understand why I say it's better to just focus on a select few? Even just this one can potentially leave a regular connoisseur more than sated, which I assume is kinda' the aim Neotantra's been shooting for anyway. Your one-stop shop for whatever ambient needs you may be fixin' for, yo'.
ANYHOW, here's CD2 of tʌntrə x, titled Apurva. Google tells me it's another Sanskrit word, in reference to something unique or newly achieved. Wiki tells me it's an element of ritualistic acts within Vendanta philosophy. Given the nature of the music within, I'm kinda' leaning towards the latter definition as it pertains to the CD, as this is some seriously meditative ambient.
I recognize Encym, Memex, and Natural Life Essence on here, not to mention two-and-a-half 'Moss' projects (MO-DU is half a 'moss', don't deny it!). Names that are new to me include Daniel Vujanic, Tunnelwater, Å Asher-Yates, and D York. Some of it's droney, some of it's bleepy, some of it's heavy on the field recordings, some of it heavier on the acoustic fuzz, but all of it is remarkably tranquil. Like, one, long lethargic drift through a gentle brook, slipping in and out of conscious thought. I wish I had more to say about it as music, but again, going into heavy details track by track is totally missing the point of these CDs.
Given how much music is featured on all these tʌntrə compilations, I do wonder what the selection process entails. I've no doubt folks and friends of Lee Norris are more than happy to send in material, but I'm talking about all the other, less-known names. Can you send in any ol' demo, and Neotantra's head of marketing will just slot you in whenever another edition is ready for export? Do you have to have some material already out on streaming services to even be considered? Or a Discogs entry?
Like, I'd consider myself at least somewhat well-versed in the ambient scene – my scrobbling data assures me it's the most prominent genre of music I gorge myself on. And for sure, having listened to many releases out on this label and others of similar ilk, I've come to learn of several artists I'm more than willing to drop big Bandcamp bucks on. Yet even browsing through a random volume of tʌntrə - III, let's say – I'm confronted with names like E.U.E.R.P.I., Theadelaidean, James Shain, and Sebastian Paul, all fresh to my eyes. Might I enjoy their works to?
Probably, but who's got time to digest them when just a couple months later, we're already on tʌntrə VI, with names like Todd Gerber, Nihhus, Hirotaka Shirotsubaki, and Brómus now crowding in for my attention? Throw in Neotantra's mainline run of albums, not to mention whatever parent label Fantasy Enhancing gets up to, and it can all feel overwhelming in how much is getting released. Add one's desire to explore other corners of the ambient scene while you're at it, and y'all understand why I say it's better to just focus on a select few? Even just this one can potentially leave a regular connoisseur more than sated, which I assume is kinda' the aim Neotantra's been shooting for anyway. Your one-stop shop for whatever ambient needs you may be fixin' for, yo'.
ANYHOW, here's CD2 of tʌntrə x, titled Apurva. Google tells me it's another Sanskrit word, in reference to something unique or newly achieved. Wiki tells me it's an element of ritualistic acts within Vendanta philosophy. Given the nature of the music within, I'm kinda' leaning towards the latter definition as it pertains to the CD, as this is some seriously meditative ambient.
I recognize Encym, Memex, and Natural Life Essence on here, not to mention two-and-a-half 'Moss' projects (MO-DU is half a 'moss', don't deny it!). Names that are new to me include Daniel Vujanic, Tunnelwater, Å Asher-Yates, and D York. Some of it's droney, some of it's bleepy, some of it's heavy on the field recordings, some of it heavier on the acoustic fuzz, but all of it is remarkably tranquil. Like, one, long lethargic drift through a gentle brook, slipping in and out of conscious thought. I wish I had more to say about it as music, but again, going into heavy details track by track is totally missing the point of these CDs.
Various - tʌntrə x: Dvandva
Neotantra: 2021
Yo', dawg, I hear you like reviewing box-sets while still reviewing box-sets, so here's another box-set to review while you're still reviewing other box-sets.
I mean, I guess I could have just “not” gotten this. I certainly have never felt compelled to get any of the tʌntrə digital compilations out of Neotantra, and there's plenty of them to freely nab off their Bandcamp, believe you me. In fact, I think that's partially why I never did. There's almost too much ambient music available in this series now, already up to volume twenty-six, often averaging over twenty compositions with some reaching upwards of twenty, twenty-five, even thirty minutes in runtime. It's a lot of ambient music, is what I'm saying. How much ambient music? Hell, two more box-sets of tʌntrə have come out since this one, also five CDs thick!
It's these box-sets, however, that caught my attention. Make no mistake, I'd love to gorge myself on the digi-comps, but I fear so much of it will fade into the background thrum of wallpaper music, never giving enough of it the attention it deserves. No, for my needs, I'd rather have all the choice cuts curated into thematic sets of reasonable listening duration.
That sorted, let's dive into CD1 of this tʌntrə box-set, subtitled Dvandva. What's 'dvandva'? According to Google, it's a Sanskrit term referring to compound words, and gets more complicated the deeper into linguistics you go. For the purpose of a compilation called tʌntrə, however, I assume it has more to do with yoga teachings of dualities. Or something.
Artists I recognize in this set include Specta Ciera, Martin Allin, Futuregrapher, Darren McClure, and Wil Bolton. I think I also recognize Off Land and Milieu, but haven't heard any of their stuff, at least to my recollection. Still, half of these twelve pieces are from artists I don't know, so great for discovery purposes, right? Sure, if I had a handy index of everything. Yeah, there's a tracklist, but as this is technically a 'DJ set' presented as one single track, everything's continuously mixed, even though most transitions are simple fades. I could studiously keep track of every transition, chronicling who's tune comes next and such as, but eh, that defeats the purpose of listening to ambient music such as this, doesn't it.
As for how Dvandva plays out, there does seem to be a push-pull of tone going on. A calm, tranquil piece will be followed by something a little more atonal, experimental, or abstract, then switch back to a more meditative flow of ambience, and so forth. Or maybe I've subconsciously created that theme thanks to the CD's sub-title. Hey, whatever it takes to give all these beatless, freeform compositions some sort of staying power within my psyche. Is this sustainable for four more discs though? Pft, I'm the guy that somehow managed to talk up Every. Single. CD. of a Pete Namlook tribute box-set. This'll be no th'ang, ha-hah, hah!
Yo', dawg, I hear you like reviewing box-sets while still reviewing box-sets, so here's another box-set to review while you're still reviewing other box-sets.
I mean, I guess I could have just “not” gotten this. I certainly have never felt compelled to get any of the tʌntrə digital compilations out of Neotantra, and there's plenty of them to freely nab off their Bandcamp, believe you me. In fact, I think that's partially why I never did. There's almost too much ambient music available in this series now, already up to volume twenty-six, often averaging over twenty compositions with some reaching upwards of twenty, twenty-five, even thirty minutes in runtime. It's a lot of ambient music, is what I'm saying. How much ambient music? Hell, two more box-sets of tʌntrə have come out since this one, also five CDs thick!
It's these box-sets, however, that caught my attention. Make no mistake, I'd love to gorge myself on the digi-comps, but I fear so much of it will fade into the background thrum of wallpaper music, never giving enough of it the attention it deserves. No, for my needs, I'd rather have all the choice cuts curated into thematic sets of reasonable listening duration.
That sorted, let's dive into CD1 of this tʌntrə box-set, subtitled Dvandva. What's 'dvandva'? According to Google, it's a Sanskrit term referring to compound words, and gets more complicated the deeper into linguistics you go. For the purpose of a compilation called tʌntrə, however, I assume it has more to do with yoga teachings of dualities. Or something.
Artists I recognize in this set include Specta Ciera, Martin Allin, Futuregrapher, Darren McClure, and Wil Bolton. I think I also recognize Off Land and Milieu, but haven't heard any of their stuff, at least to my recollection. Still, half of these twelve pieces are from artists I don't know, so great for discovery purposes, right? Sure, if I had a handy index of everything. Yeah, there's a tracklist, but as this is technically a 'DJ set' presented as one single track, everything's continuously mixed, even though most transitions are simple fades. I could studiously keep track of every transition, chronicling who's tune comes next and such as, but eh, that defeats the purpose of listening to ambient music such as this, doesn't it.
As for how Dvandva plays out, there does seem to be a push-pull of tone going on. A calm, tranquil piece will be followed by something a little more atonal, experimental, or abstract, then switch back to a more meditative flow of ambience, and so forth. Or maybe I've subconsciously created that theme thanks to the CD's sub-title. Hey, whatever it takes to give all these beatless, freeform compositions some sort of staying power within my psyche. Is this sustainable for four more discs though? Pft, I'm the guy that somehow managed to talk up Every. Single. CD. of a Pete Namlook tribute box-set. This'll be no th'ang, ha-hah, hah!
Monday, May 22, 2023
ASC - Trans-Neptunian Objects 2
Auxiliary: 2018
James Clements taking his ambient explorations to the furthest reaches of our solar system? Hell, I'm sold! Let's follow that link to wherever the CD can be bought and it's already sold out. Okay, that's on me, rather tardy in getting 'round to nabbing a copy of Trans-Neptunian Objects. Ain't no way I'm missing out on a second edition of this concept series! Maybe I'll get fortunate though, and James will re-issue the first sometime down the line. Hey, he's been offering vinyl editions of his Silent Season albums this past year, so it could happen!
Anyhow, Trans-Neptunian Objects 2 doesn't waste any time letting you know the sort of outing you're in for. Opening track, Varuna (named after a Hindu deity; one of the more prominent bodies discovered in the early days of Kuiper Belt explorations) sounds appropriately desolate and remote, distantly echoing sounds skittering about as a deep space ambience settles in. Layers of drone build in intensity, bringing a sense of awe to the atmosphere, but we're still in the coldest reaches of our solar system, our sonic vista frigid and uninviting despite the subtle glisten of feeble sunlight upon icy bodies.
As if that wasn't enough, second track Huya (named after the rain god Juyá of the Wayuu people; has its own moon) is even more desolate, about as pure a piece of dark ambient drone as you're likely to hear this side of a Silent Universe outing. Deucalion (named after the son of Prometheus; part of the 'cold population') seems to start in similar fashion, but soon comes forth with a more prominent lead of melodic grandeur. It's still all presented in a dark ambient sort of way, the Kuiper Belt forever an uninviting place in Mr. Clements' view. Sometimes though, you have to sit back in your cryopod and respectably take in the impossible remoteness of your surroundings.
Which is just as well, since Typhon (named after one of Zeus' cosmic foes, possibly buried under Mt. Etna; is a binary 'centaur' object) is more melancholic compared to the preceding tracks. In fact, the layers of dubby drone James uses here reminds me more of ASC's Silent Season albums compared to the pure space drone I've heard thus far on Trans-Neptunian Objects 2. Same can be said for Varda (named after the queen of the Valar – that's Tolkien, folks; guess astronomers ran out of names from antiquity lore), but not so much the remaining two tracks.
The bleepy sounds of Mors-Somnus (named after twin Roman gods; likely a merged binary) had me initially thinking something from Fax+, but the ominous, eerie mood quickly brought it back to the realms of dark ambient. Rather cinematic, in fact, while Chaos (oh, c'mon! Naming any moving object in our solar system that is just asking for trouble) has a steady pulsing throb, the sort of rhythm I'd expect out of a Sabled Sun joint. And now I want ASC to somehow appear on Cryo Chamber.
James Clements taking his ambient explorations to the furthest reaches of our solar system? Hell, I'm sold! Let's follow that link to wherever the CD can be bought and it's already sold out. Okay, that's on me, rather tardy in getting 'round to nabbing a copy of Trans-Neptunian Objects. Ain't no way I'm missing out on a second edition of this concept series! Maybe I'll get fortunate though, and James will re-issue the first sometime down the line. Hey, he's been offering vinyl editions of his Silent Season albums this past year, so it could happen!
Anyhow, Trans-Neptunian Objects 2 doesn't waste any time letting you know the sort of outing you're in for. Opening track, Varuna (named after a Hindu deity; one of the more prominent bodies discovered in the early days of Kuiper Belt explorations) sounds appropriately desolate and remote, distantly echoing sounds skittering about as a deep space ambience settles in. Layers of drone build in intensity, bringing a sense of awe to the atmosphere, but we're still in the coldest reaches of our solar system, our sonic vista frigid and uninviting despite the subtle glisten of feeble sunlight upon icy bodies.
As if that wasn't enough, second track Huya (named after the rain god Juyá of the Wayuu people; has its own moon) is even more desolate, about as pure a piece of dark ambient drone as you're likely to hear this side of a Silent Universe outing. Deucalion (named after the son of Prometheus; part of the 'cold population') seems to start in similar fashion, but soon comes forth with a more prominent lead of melodic grandeur. It's still all presented in a dark ambient sort of way, the Kuiper Belt forever an uninviting place in Mr. Clements' view. Sometimes though, you have to sit back in your cryopod and respectably take in the impossible remoteness of your surroundings.
Which is just as well, since Typhon (named after one of Zeus' cosmic foes, possibly buried under Mt. Etna; is a binary 'centaur' object) is more melancholic compared to the preceding tracks. In fact, the layers of dubby drone James uses here reminds me more of ASC's Silent Season albums compared to the pure space drone I've heard thus far on Trans-Neptunian Objects 2. Same can be said for Varda (named after the queen of the Valar – that's Tolkien, folks; guess astronomers ran out of names from antiquity lore), but not so much the remaining two tracks.
The bleepy sounds of Mors-Somnus (named after twin Roman gods; likely a merged binary) had me initially thinking something from Fax+, but the ominous, eerie mood quickly brought it back to the realms of dark ambient. Rather cinematic, in fact, while Chaos (oh, c'mon! Naming any moving object in our solar system that is just asking for trouble) has a steady pulsing throb, the sort of rhythm I'd expect out of a Sabled Sun joint. And now I want ASC to somehow appear on Cryo Chamber.
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