Natural Life Essence - Hidrogenesis / Hidrogenesis 2020

CYAN/Liquid Frog Records: 2014/2018

Took a little longer than usual to find an N:L:E release in the 'H' block, eh? Or not, the Headspace box-set from Urban Meditation artificially inflating how many actual albums I have this go-around. There's just not that many 'H' titled records in my music collection compared to some other letters. Heck, on my initial run eleven years ago (holy cow!), I had just twenty-eight items. That number hasn't even doubled since, and believe me when I say that's hardly the case for other letter blocks ('X' has tripled!).

So Hidrogenesis is the first Natural Life Essence record. The first on his Bandcamp, the first entry on his Discogs page, the first of all-everything. A decade old now too, which means a ten year anniversary version is nigh? Wouldn't surprise me – he did do a '2020' variant, after all – but doesn't look like he's put one out yet. There's a couple [Color] Dots, an Uncharted Land 3, a Random Environments II, a Dune II, and a... Glowing Forest 3? Dang, I didn't even get a Glowing Forest one or two when I bulk-bought his entire catalogue. Relentless, that work rate of his.

Anyway, Hidrogeneis first came out on CYAN, the label Juan Pablo had made his home before they shuttered doors in 2020. It's kind of funny going this far back into his musical development, half expecting his style to not be as fully formed as later works. For sure it's not quite as developed or daring as Bioluminescent Forest or Ecovillage (two totally random examples!), much less the albums that got him that Neotantra bump (Organic Adventures and Dune, for the record). Having so thoroughly digested at least half his catalogue now though, I'm impressed at how solid for a debut this album is.

Right from the jump, Mr. Giacovino shows his hand in fascination for all things micro-organism, titling his opener Moss and all. It's a fairly meditative piece with harmonic bell tones and field recordings, a gentle melody soon sliding in while soft dub rhythms burble in support. Like, if that isn't the N:L:E stylee in a nutshell, then what have I been listening to this past year?

Things also play out in similar fashion as most of his albums, slowly building upon earlier elements such that it feels like you're listening to one long, transitional compostition. Well, if it weren't for all the fades between tracks. Seriously, m'man, just make a 'single mix' version available too!

Maybe he realized this was an issue as well, releasing a twenty-minute, twenty-second long version of Hidrogenesis, in 2018. Well, mostly just the first four tracks in a condensed, restructured form, and sans the low, rumbly bass dubs as heard in Underwater Caravan. A nifty addition if you wanted to hear Moss, Acid Fog and Swamp uninterrupted. As for the back-half of Hidrogenesis, it's even more ambient than the first, harmonies even subtler. Ooh, this could use that 10th Anniversary rejiggering treatment, I wager.

N:L:E - Gaia

Liquid Frog Records: 2022

Yay, a new letter! Boy, it felt like forever fumbling through the 'F' block. Like, did it take longer than my first run through my 'F' albums over a decade ago? Well, yes and no. Yes, in that it was one more month to do it, but there was nearly double the amount of reviews written in that first batch. Want some numbers? Of course you do! 56. That was the O.G. block, which included a complete coverage of Ultimae Records' Fahrenheit Project compilation series, plus the original Fabric On A Budget, not to mention that Final Fantasy VII box-set, where I detailed each individual CD.

By contrast, this run of 'F' albums featured 32 reviews, which... Okay, that's actually pretty impressive in its own right, even if a hefty chunk of them were Fabric CDs as well. This run also had five varieties of albums with 'form' in its title, compared to just one in the initial session. Stand proud with whatever laurels you've earned, 2024 'F' album reviews!

Okay, that was a fun divergence into statistical bollocks. What do I get to kick off the 'G's with? Oh, another Natural Life Essence album. Well no wonder I wasted all that word count up there.

I really feel like I'm almost picking on poor Juan Pablo now. Not that I'll have anything bad or mean spirited written about his music – I still enjoy hearing what I'm playing at any given time. As he's remained so musically consistent for much of his output though, I'm all but tapped out on fresh angles detailing his usual stuff. Like, there's a few concept sessions down the discography that I'll have some unique talking point for (I hope...), but for standalone items such as Gaia...?

Well, I can at least highlight what leaped out at me in of itself. Lots of field recordings in opener Intro, which makes sense. He didn't dawdle that long before introducing some rhythms, the first instance of such emerging in the back-end of the titular second track. Was quite impressed how, despite its lengthy eleven-minute plus runtime, the rather minimalist The Happiness Of The Simple kept me engaged for its duration. It's that ever-so gradual build in harmonic tension, teasing things out just enough to feel you're on some sort of journey, even if the destination doesn't feel as important as taking in the scenery passing you by. The Chant Of Welcome gets dubbier, which I'll never tire hearing from the N:L:E camp.

And then Gaia loses me in the second half. Again, there's nothing fundamentally poor about the music here, and if this is one of your earlier explorations of Mr. Giacovino's works, will likely sound quite pleasant and all. It's just old hat for me now, and not much different between this and any other number of his naturalist ambient dub outings. Not the best sign when I'm more anticipating the next CD to review over engaging with what I'm currently listening to.

N:L:E - Floating Garden

Liquid Frog Records: 2021

This was bound to happen sooner or later. An artist releasing this much music in such a short time span, mostly sticking to a dubby, downtempo and ambient aesthetic for his works, can't help but repeat themselves here and there. And that's fine, musicians exploring different facets of similar themes and all. How many blues singers or folk warblers basically rehash the same song structure over and over (not to mention the banal repetitiveness of pop country). What I hadn't counted on was hearing nearly a carbon-copy of a track!

Or at least, I thought I did. I swear, the opening track to N:L:E's Floating Garden - A Green Sunshine - I've heard before. Granted, it's sometimes hard parsing out which minimalist ambient piece differs from another, especially after the amount I've already heard from Juan Pablo. Towards the back half, though, a gentle, harmonic tone ebbs in and out, putting you into a meditative trance. It then has a rather abrupt fade-out at the end, but then starts right back up in follow-up track Nice Light For My Plants. It carries on for a little while, receding again for another round of ultra-calm ambient, then re-emerges later on. And damn if I haven't heard this exact sequence with that exact harmonic tone used elsewhere in Mr. Giacovino's catalogue.

Thing is, I actually checked the releases I've thus far covered, and didn't come across it again! Granted, I wasn't sifting through every track minute by minute to confirm – that's well over thirty items, including ten Caravan Of Healing Sounds. My autistic ticks only take me so far before giving up on some obsessions. Still gave it as good of a skim as is deemed sensible, and nope, didn't hear that sequence elsewhere. Did I somehow Mandela Effect myself into this? Maybe I happened to play Floating Garden out of sequence sometime in the past couple years since I bought the N:L:E discography? Really and truly bizarre.

If this all seems like a wild tangent, well, that's because I'm reviewing another Natural Life Essence album. There really isn't much else I can say about them beyond what particular style Juan Pablo opts to explore on a particular release, Floating Garden going deep in the lowercase ambient field indeed. Gentle melodic tones, relaxing field recordings, and all that tranquil stuff. Like one of his Caravans though, he does bring some dubby beats towards the end for Rain In The Floating Garden 2, then gets a little peppier with them in closer The Happiness Of A Floating Dandelion. Given they are the shortest cuts on this seven-tracker (titular piece runs over sixteen minutes), it's clear they're not a primary focus for Floating Garden. More like bringing you back awake in case you dozed too deeply for the past hour.

This definitely is one of the calmest albums I've heard from N:L:E. At least, I think it is, from recent memory. Man, this discography dive is already two years old...

Natural Life Essence - Emerged Garden

Liquid Frog Records: 2017

And back again with Mr. Giacovino. It can't help but feel a little start-stop with my current queue, doesn't it. I'll go on a mini-run of covering something outside the usual releases from N:L:E or Suntrip Records, maybe even a box-set or entirely different discography for a spell, then we're right back with the Big Two within this alphabetical run. And no matter how many additional CDs or Bandcamp releases I've added since to spice things up, here we are again, always. I guess it technically has been over a month since I last talked up anything from the Liquid Frog files, but that's more due to needing a small sabbatical a couple weeks back because... well, I'll touch upon that at a more appropriate time.

I know this makes it sound like I've grown bored by all the ambient dub or goa trance, but only from a writing perspective. Coming into each release with a unique angle is what makes this blog stand out from all the generic, A.I. driven music coverage currently flooding the interwebs (I hope!), and that gets challenging when one feels every possible angle has been covered in previous reviews. Yeah, there's the dry particulars for each item, but damn if I'm gonna' let the algorithms trawl my prose for their use without a fight. At the very least, I hope I give Gemini an alliterative aneurysm the same way Captain Kirk kills computers with logic circles.

Anyhow, let's talk up Natural Life Essence again. Emerged Garden, erm, emerged early in Juan Pablo's music career, about the point things really started ramping up for him. Not quite at the point where he adopted an acronym for the project's name, but early enough such that he was still in a feeling-out process of what the music could entail.

This is quite apparent in the opening twenty-one minute long track Echolocation, which plays about with a lot of field recordings and sample manipulations that's more reminiscent of early Orb dub jams at their noodliest. Yes, even some of the 'stoner humour', what with included bong bubbling and gurgling noises, though no quirky dialog added. The rhythm is about what I've come to expect out of N:L:E's forays into ambient dub, but again, early days, still finding that rhythm.

I honestly find the two pure ambient pieces on this four-tracker the most interesting of the lot. They send me to such a tranquil headspace, it's hard disliking them on a vibes level. Polinization also runs some twenty-plus minutes, but captures being out in a blissy garden full of sun rays and gentle winds so wonderfully, it comes quite the shocker when the pads simply cut out midway through. Like waking up from a near-complete doze, maybe from some unwelcome insect landing on your forehead. Ah well, it's gone now, back to swaying in a hammock. And now you're getting into some lucid dreamspace in closer Liberation (Flying Free). Napping never felt so needed.

Tierro Cosmico - Figments Of Wonder

Neotantra: 2022

Thus we conclude Ember Delays, Vol. 1 with another artist utterly unknown to Lord Discogs' tomes. Fortunately, Bandcamp has a smidge more info regarding them, an actual Bandcamp page not only including this album, but a new one released just this month as well (Botanical Mood). Talk about timing, eh? And yes, this is a very appropriate use of 'eh', in that Tierro Cosmico is a fellow Canadian – Toronto, in this case, but hey, Neotantra has proven nothing if not be a complete global presence. Best I can gather, a few of the tracks on this debut appeared on some tʌntrə compilations, and after letting Figments Of Wonder generate whatever buzz it could on Tierro Cosmico's own Bandcamp, was given the Neotantra bump later that year. Well, about as much of a bump appearing on an ultra-niche ambient techno label can give you these days.

We've heard a variety of ambient from the four other albums included in Ember Delays, but I can't say the same with the fifth. It has unique characteristics for sure, even if it's treading some similar territory as heard on Melancholic Gardens, Emotional Axes, and Geirþjófsfjörður, in this case ample use of field recordings and minimalist synth drones. What makes these elements stand out over the other offerings is how prominent the naturalist sounds are compared to the musical one. It mostly reminds me of Andrew Heath, though less abstract in construction, each piece played out in simple, similar fashion. And there are a lot of them, sixteen tracks total, each averaging between three to five minutes. Sweet, more music to enjoy, right? Eh, not so much, if I'm honest.

The issue isn't that what's presented is bad or trite or anything like that, each track perfectly pleasant little bite-sized morsels of tranquil ambience in a variety of coloured sprinkles. When they're this bite-sized, however, little has a chance to sink in, each piece drifting by like samplers before moving onto the next. Imagine being served numerous platters of appetizers, each small variations of similar taste, thus none really standing out from the others as part of a meal. Like, maybe I wanted to indulge in more of the New Age vibes of Somnium or Waxing Gibbous. Or the bell tones of Bardo Thodol or Dreaming Of Triptolemus. Or the layered drones of Easing Waters or La Nieve. Or the synthier explorations of Exodus or Leaving Aeterna. Or nighttime bliss of Hidden Harmony or La Nieve. Nope, once you're getting warmed up to any of these tracks, we're moving onto the next, each thematically consistent with the album's general tone, but stylistically different enough such that the previous piece is lost in your memory.

These nitpicks leaves Figments Of Wonder at the bottom of my hypothetical ranking of Ember Delays albums, but it's not like there's huge separation from the top. Each CD was enjoyable to some degree, just some more than others, a purely subjective conclusion based on what I like out of my ambient music.

D York - Melancholic Gardens

Neotantra: 2022

So I got another box-set.

The collection is called Ember Delays Vol 1, which gathered five digital albums released under the Neotantra banner, and gave them a spiffy physical upgrade. Had I ripped those individual CDs rather than download the Bandcamp version for listening purposes, where they were all bundled within the same folder, I'd be reviewing them in their orderly alphabetical sequence instead. I didn't though, hence why it'll appear we're jumping all over the place for the next week. I'm technically reviewing a compilation called Ember Delays, but unique, previously-released albums within its slim casing.

But yeah, one of the reasons I sprung for this set was for the CDs, in that Neotantra doesn't really release them anymore. Ever since the label abandoned the gradient colour cover art, it's been almost entirely digital, which I'm sure is more convenient on the expenses front (no coincidence this switch occurred right around peak pandemic years). Not that I'd be greedily gobbling up all such releases if they did – it was difficult enough keeping pace with their Phase 1 material, even with a thematic scheme that triggers one's OCD. Still, given the abundance of material Neotantra releases on the regular, it's nice having a few of them properly sitting on the CD shelves.

Interestingly, D York is one of the few artists to have a physical option from the label in recent years, with the album Airport Meditations. I assume it's a sublime slice of ambient music – the cover art certainly deserves some extra shine outside the confines of computer screens – but the chap's got a lot of material in his discography, so I've no way of confirming it's top-tier among his releases.

Yeah, Mr. York (I can't find info on his real name) has released a lot of material, mostly while in isolation during lockdown – his first album was called Covidium, in case you're wondering where his inspiration lies. Lots of long-form drone pieces, a series titled Music For Long Attention Spans being his most fruitful assortment of works. He's mostly stuck to self-release options, but got chummy with the Neotantra folks with a couple contributions to their Tantra compilations, and was finally given the go-ahead with a full-length album for them with this here Melancholic Gardens. No guesses on how this one's gonna' go.

Yeah, expect lots of languid, layered ambient synths, richly textured field recordings, reflective moods and a general sense of calm as you casually stroll through urban green spaces. The music does feel open, yet somehow constrained too, always that sense of suffocating humanity just around the corner from the naturalist setting you're currently inhabiting. Most of the tracks follow this pattern, though a couple break form: The Pines mostly focuses on gentle glass tones, digital-only Cloudburst gets a little Berlin-School towards its end. Overall though, Melancholic Gardens is about as I expect from Neotantra: lush ambient music from a label that never seems to run out of it.

Nacht Plank - Echo Ark

...txt: 2014/2022

For as much as I've talked about his labels, his collaborations, and his influence upon modern ambient techno circles in general, I sure haven't covered much of Lee Norris' solo work. Indeed, of the twenty-seven items I have tagged with his name within this blog's archives, only four are of Lee on his own. And most of those tend to be Nacht Plank items, though that's not terribly surprising as it's the alias he's most often released under. Yeah, Metamatics and Norken may have given him more early momentum, but Nacht Plank seems to be where he feels most free in his musical journeys.

And that may also be why I haven't come back to it often. Alien was an interesting album with analogue '70s weirdness going for it, but boy do I need to be in a particular mood to enjoy it. Which is more than could be said for the raw experimentation I heard on Broad Tape Band. And as for Third Sacraments Council, well, it's certainly a solid slice of hour-long ambient drone, but again, only good for particular moods (chiefly, 'sweepy beddy-bye time'). All this is to say I needed something rather particular for me to indulge in a Nacht Plank release again.

And this Echo Ark album, that certainly looked to fit the bill. Just the cover art alone, EPCOT Center as viewed through some alternate lens, already sparks so many creative possibilities. The near-naive optimism of Disneyfied retro-futurism, twisted into some abstract tonal counterpoint, a lasting legacy of human hubris in the face of a society deformed from its former glory. I'm not saying Echo Ark is all that – indeed, maybe Lee presents this album with just as much Utopian idealism as Tomorrowland always envision. Given these colour tones though, I suspect not.

Opening Shepherd Satelite is a rather tranquil start though, the analogue bleeps and bloops kept mostly to a steadying heartbeat while synth pads gently slide and glide throughout- Oh, wait, things just took a tonal shift. Now we're in weirdly ominous territory, with additional transistor chatter. Did... did something happen? Has the grand plan fallen upon hard times? Well, whatever the case, following that is a near twenty-six minute long excursion of tranquil field recording manipulations, melancholy synths, and even a little pitter-patter of rhythm burbling to the surface now and then. Aminita, the piece is called, and if it don't conjure primordial vistas as seen through some viewscreen on the Prometheus (the one orbiting Solaris, I mean), I don't know what will.

The rest of Echo Ark (three tracks averaging a dozen minutes each) play out in similar fashion: field recordings, wistful synth pad melodies, light use of experimental sounds and effects. Overall a rather pleasant outing, especially considering the more foreboding tone the second half of Shapherd Satelite suggested. I guess even Lee couldn't get quite as cynical as some do whenever talking about the overtly celebratory nature of EPCOT's future vision for mankind.

Moss Covered Technology - Brick And Air

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!

N:L:E - Bioluminescent Forest

Liquid Frog Records: 2020

When I think of a 'bioluminescent forest', I think of the out-wordly foliage of those Avatar movies. Which, y'know, makes one-hundred percent sense, since the alien world of Pandora does feature all manner of indigenous fauna that glows in the dark. It's like James Cameron wandered the woods of an outdoor psy trance party and thought, “This, but naturally grown.” Come to think of it, ol' Jim's been fascinated by bioluminosity since at least The Abyss, a movie featuring an entire underwater realm of beings bespeckled in shimmering lights emitting from their metabolisms. I'm sure its his motivating factor in all those deep sea dives, hoping to stumble upon a true Atlantian civilization hidden within oceanic depths so far uncharted. Eh, we've done an adequate job surveying the abyssal plain thus far – ain't much down there after all.

Where was I? Oh yeah, Bioluminescent Forest. I bring all that Avatar business up because the Pandora forests are what I associate with such a title. Why, then, is the cover art of Natural Life Essence's album so drab and grey? I mean, it's a nice picture of a meadow at dawn, but hardly a forest, much less of a bioluminescent variety. Then again, there aren't any naturally occurring plants that glow in the dark as it is, so it would be a heavy ask for Juan Pablo providing cover art of such a thing. Plus, given the track names of this album, the cover art does make more sense. One doesn't think of shimmering lights when reading titles like Cold Thick Fog, Night, and Rainy Day. Methinks the theme may be a bit muddled here.

The first half at least sets out as it means to, The Autumn Ritual opening with some nice field recordings before settling into a nice, dubby jaunt of glittering synths and groovy rhythms. I wouldn't call this psy dub, but it does remind me some of Sync24's works, just without the added acid. Follow-up Tree Reunion slows things down, even invoking some Amazonian rain-forest vibes ...a vibe I just realized has been noticeably absent from Mr. Giacovino's work considering he resides in South America. True, Argentina ain't equatorial, but y'know what I mean.

Anyhow, as the album plays out, I can't help but feel we're mostly exploring similar ideas over various styles. The three-track run of Night, And, and Day lasts well over thirty-five minutes, and is practically the same musical piece, just progressively more minimalist and ambient. It's neat after a fashion, but rather feels out of place among all the other tracks, especially since the almost chipper reggae-dub of Cold Thick Fog precedes it. More than that though, many of the backing, whispery synth pads sound like they're in the same key, leading to the whole album sounding rather samey throughout. Still, hearing the gentle pitter-patter of percipitation in closer Rainy Day as gentle synths bip and bop about, how can I have negative thoughts about Bioluimiscent Forest? I simply cannot.

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'!

Autumn Of Communion - 2

Anodize/Fantasy Enhancing: 2013/2022

For the longest time, I regarded this AoC album as one of their hardest items to procure. Yes, even more than the Autumn Of Communion debut on Fax+. Their second album on Anodize though? Forget about it. Never mind the short-lived ambient techno label is cultish even on the 'cult ambient techno label' spectrum, existing a mere two years and thus rendering their CDs extremely rare. Nay, saddle on the fact Autumn Of Communion 2 was released in a tin box, upping the 'collector's item' factor, creating one pricey item on the resell market. Definitely one in need of a reissue for those desiring a hard copy version, is what I'm saying.

It took nearly a decade (ignore the AoC box-set for now), but we finally got that reissue on Fantasy Enhancing. The first four Autumn Of Communion albums, in fact, with more on the way? Eh, I don't know if 5 and 6 really need them, but I see Polydeuces got one too. Point being, nearly everything worth having gets reissued eventually, if you're patient enough. One doesn't really need to break the bank on out-of-print items if you're a regular consumer of musical products. But man, some of those old, vintage tins, sure look nice and unique on one's shelves...

Anyway, Autumn Of Communion 2 is a great album, possibly the best of the duo's first run of numbered LPs. Not that the first and 4 are slouches, but if I were to do one of my 'Sportsing Survey' rankings, 2 would definitely rank tops.

For one thing, it refines most of what was presented on the debut, creating a much stronger flow between tracks. The Intervals, for example, are more evenly spaced, and feel like proper pauses between centrepiece tracks rather than sonic doodles there for their own sake. And while some may find them hokey, I quite like the included vocal samples of science talk and sci-fi jargon – really lends itself to that classic Fax+ vibe that inspired Lee and Mick's desire to work together in this project.

Opener Interpreter Of The Signs really hits those vintage Pete Namlook notes, what with the soft, slightly dubby beatcraft and spacious, spacey synths. So Powerful In The Mass gets more ambient techno, but does last a tad long at seventeen minutes in length, while Communion Signal does the tranquil, bleepy ambient for about a dozen minutes.

Then 2 practically shifts tone into Goodbye PK, Mick and Lee's tribute to Mr. Kuhlmann's passing. If this piece doesn't tug at all the feels deep in your chest cavity, you just ain't human, man. It kinda' leaves the brisk ambient techno of Cosmic Board Fusion out of sorts as a a follow-up, but the gentle field recordings of closer Perpetua grounds things back to Earth. So yeah, something of an album of two halves with a creamy middle. When most AoC LPs tend to come off just as a collection of tracks though, it's definitely a stronger listening experience.

Natural Life Essence - Wave Bio Generator

CYAN: 2017

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Bålsam - Soul Offerings

Neotantra: 2019

It cannot be denied: the ambient scene is filled with hippies. No, I'm not talking about anarchist crusty-punks you might see at 'free tekno' parties, though there is some bleed when it comes to the psy side of things. I'm referring to the more New Age sort, who are about yoga, granola diets, herbal remedies, and naturalistic life-styles. All the calm, meditative tones that comes with many forms of ambient music, it's a natural lure for those who fancy themselves living on the mystical side of counter-culture existence. I cannot deny also retaining some minor attributes of this, but nor do I delude myself into thinking I've unplugged from society at large – I'm very much a willing participant of the rat-race. How else can I afford to constantly buy music, after all?

This here Bålsam (Anthony Asher-Yates to the Minnesota census board) is one such person who has managed to get off-grid, so to speak. Inspired by his travels through South America, he decided it was best for his life to retreat to the mountains of Columbia where he could spend his days debugging his soul from the trials modern society had wrought upon him. There, he could indulge in all the healing activities denied him by Western culture – the spiritual ceremonies, the ritualistic music performances, the horticultural medications, and such as. Y'know, real hippie shit.

Okay, I tease – do what works for you, right? I guess I just find it funny how, for a label that's got 'tantra' right in its title and even features a running, free compilation series named as such, it's mostly cultivated the more arty side of ambient musicians. Bålsam is one of the few who could be considered a full-blown hippie among its roster, at least that I've come across.

And what sort of ambient music does Mr. Asher-Yates create? Little in the way of actual music, turns out, heavily reliant upon field recordings with accompanying harmonic tones. Makes sense, feeling inspired by his natural settings, wishing to share the feelings of being immersed within tropical rainforests. It's not all wind through palm leaves and birds of paradise singing Amazon songs though, an ample amount of urban recordings finding their way into his pieces as well. Or at least, it sounds like I'm wondering some city streets, what with heavy use of echo and reverb used in his sampling.

Come to think of it, Soul Offerings doesn't so much have me imagining wandering about dense tropical foliage, but rather within a gigantic biodome containing said environment. It's the way all the natural sounds seemingly echo, sounding like they're bouncing off enclosed concrete walls and glass ceilings. I assume this is a result of Anthony's manipulations of said field recordings, leaving things sounding less 'real' than their source. Was this his intent in crafting these pieces? Or just a happy accident? Whatever the case, Soul Offerings does bring a unique angle to an admittedly over-saturated genre of tropical ambient music.

Moss Covered Technology - Sodium Light

Neotantra: 2021

Oh no! Another lovely little ambient album out of Neotantra, from an artist with a charming three-word alias I know nothing about but am now compelled to explore their Bandcamp page. When will my financial suffering end! *sigh* Let's do this then... Oh, he doesn't have that massive a discography after all. Still, some highly tempting items there. Quiet Loops, Southern Points, Speicherbank, Seafields, And His Many Seas... I'm sensing a theme here, one I'm totally digging. *deep sigh* *comical unzipping sound of digital wallet*

Moss Covered Technology is a relatively new artist, one Greig Baird, releasing the odd item every so often on a variety of labels (Dronarivm, hibernate, Polar Seas Recordings, Eilean Rec., Fluid Audio (2)). He had an earlier, minor run as Boomruin, fusing ambient and drone tones with downtempo beats, eventually making the transition over to more traditional beatless music and field recording manipulations. Seems that was Mr. Barid's true calling, as he's maintained that style ever since.

A running theme among many of Greig's albums under this moniker is using the same title for each track, though not necessarily the name of the album itself. The biggest diversion from this is found here on Sodium Light, each track rather titled Night. If you're wondering why, what do you think powers all those big spotlights in wide-open urban spaces like industrial parks and vehicle lots? There's other uses for them as well, but for the most part, when folks think of twilight hours in darkened city locales, the omnipresent soft glow from overhanging poles tends to spring to mind. Especially is you're the lonesome sort to wander about when contemplating post-clubbing existence and such. Ooh, I suspect there may be a bit of an ambient-Burial vibe going into this one.

Well, not quite. Night #1 is mostly languid synth tones supported by fuzzy analogue throbs, and over in a rather brief three minutes. Night #2 carries on the gentle ambience of soft, harmonic pads blanketed within the warm embrace of faint static. It certainly imparts the feeling of a metropolitan square utterly still, perhaps a stray insect hovering about a street lamp the only movement.

Even when Greig gets a little more 'aggro' and unsettling in his use of background hiss, there's always an accompanying serenity in what melodic tones pierce the murk. Unfortunately, we don't get to dwell on such ideas for long, Sodium Light only six tracks, lasting a mere thirty-five minutes total. I suppose it's effective in getting his musical ideas across without feeling the need to dawdle about, but man, what we do get is such a tease of something larger in scope. Can you blame me for wanting to raid his Bandcamp page for more items?

No, you cannot, which is what makes music exploration and discovery so much fun. Expensive, but fun! Hmm, speaking of, I noticed another intriguing print in my label name-drop above. What does this Polar Seas Recordings offer? Oh... oh no! *sigh* Here we go again... *unz-z-z-i-i-i-ip*...

Natural Life Essence - Organic Adventures

Neotantra: 2020

Ah, finally, an ambient artist debuting on Neotantra that isn't hopelessly obscure. Well, okay, Natural Life Essence probably is hopelessly obscure to a lot of folks out there, maybe even among ambient fans, but unlike some of the others I've covered from this label, he has a rather robust discography under his belt. One Juan Pablo Giacovino, the Argentinian local has been releasing music for close to a decade now, initially getting his start on German based CYAN, sharing digital domain with the likes of New Age Hippies, Musik Magier, The Mixing Chef, Fortadelis, Jaja (3), and Smooth (8). Perhaps more noteworthy is a short stint with psy label Ovnimoon Records, a lone EP and remix album to his name there.

That's just what Lord Discogs tells me he's done though. Follow a link to his Bandcamp page, however, and holy cow! Chap's been a busy lad, to say the least. To be fair, his Liquid Frog Records print isn't just all him, sharing projects with names like Kiphi, Yahgan, and Spiritual Fields. Still, there's a lot to check out there, all of it looking mighty tempting for a splurge. Space ambient, polar ambient, naturalistic ambient, meditative ambient, abstract ambient, long form ambient... just, so much ambient. What would I even begin to choose from this selection? What, buy the whole catalogue? Don't be daft, the whole thing is eighty-six items! It'd be ludicrous of me to just blind-buy that large of a Bandcamp page and I've already gone and done it, haven't I? *sigh* Well, I guess I needed something to keep generating content for this blog next year.

Anyhow, back to Juan's debut on Neotantra, Organic Adventures. Far as I can tell, three of the self-titled tracks come from an earlier release of N:L:E's, Organic Adventures (Those Other Lands). Which isn't all that uncommon when it comes to Neotantra releases, often serving as much a re-issue print for releases long forgotten or ultra-obscure. 1, 3 and 4 (Part II) are all quite lovely in that slightly psy-chill sort of way, never getting over-indulgent with effects and gimmickry, keeping things just melodic enough to hook you in while tones and drones drift along. Organic Adventures 8, which far as I can tell is an original for this release, is a slightly different outing, gentle washes of white noise dub effects and spoken dialog lending more of a spaced-out vibe.

And speaking of fresh music for a label debut, the first two tracks also appear new, and honestly kinda' clash with the original Organic Adventures sessions. Opener Polinizaton runs a lengthy twenty-one minutes, and is more of a shoegazey dronescape with field recordings of chirping birds. It's quite nice too, very relaxing, kinda' reminiscent of a Slaapwel Records session, and- oh, God! Why did those gentle pads suddenly cut out like that? Talk about sonic whiplash. Liberation (Flying Free) follows in similar fashion, though more emphasis on building upon an uplifting synth pad melody. No sudden cut-off? Now that's an Ace Track!

Warmth - Life

Archives: 2020

It's only appropriate the first artist album I'm covering from Archives is from Agustín Mena. Between this print and its sister one, Faint, the chap has released somewhere in the ballpark of twenty items in the past half decade, with no slowing down in sight. Granted, as the Archives headmaster, it's only natural he'd be publishing his works through them. And hey, if a pile of other artists want to join in on the fun, there's plenty of room in the digital realm. Too much, I sometimes feel. Believe me, the urge to splurge is real, but fortunately I'm too broke right now to do so.

Warmth may seem like a rather generic, bland alias for a project, but when you hear Mr. Mena's style of ambient drone, it's an incredibly apt description. Like many modern ambient composers, he has some lineage in the realm of dub techno, so shares some sonic similarities with the Silent Season continuum. Rather early on though, Agustín ditched the beats and went full-on drone, and has mostly remained there ever since.

Now, I know what you're thinking (my FitBit links me directly into your cerebellum.. oops, shouldn't have typed that out loud!): “Great, just another ambient drone artist among the hundreds to thousands already out there. Why should I bother with this one?” And I says to you, I says, I do: “BECAUSE!! It's just that damn good!”

We all know I go through a lot of ambient music. Like, a lot. Much of it, I generally enjoy, but rarely has the genre provided something that immediately grabs me and won't let go for an instant. Warmth is such an artist that accomplishes this. Right from the start on this particular album titled Life, opener Breathe lays in spacious field recordings, soft analogue fuzz, and a gently caressing melody of airy synth pads and decaying tones. So simple, yet so good!

Follow-up Safe continues with the field recordings ambience, some of which sounds like the rustling of leaves in the wind, focusing more on the layers of sonic timbre, while You're Not Here features a melancholic melody that reminds me of 36. Well, such as you can hear it, performed impossibly quiet and muffled through all manner of fuzz. Life mostly plays out in similar fashion, some tracks going more mysterious (Passage, The Mourning, Leaving), others more melodic (Roads, the titular cut). About the only real quibble I have is the whole LP runs rather short at only thirty-five minutes long, but hey, at least Warmth doesn't needlessly noodle along either.

I suppose you could also say there isn't that much difference between each piece, almost to the point Life could play out as one long composition. I honestly thought that might have been the initial intent, as the pauses between tracks on the CD seemed a little off. I then noticed there is a continuous mix version, but the pauses are there as well. Huh, not so continuous as we were led to believe.