Kiphi - Eternal Molecule

Liquid Frog Records: 2020

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

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

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

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

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

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

Distant System - Astral Map Error

self release: 2022

I don't know if Tyler Smith has any plans continuing this project. Probably not, as it was already a lo-o-o-ng gap between Spiral Empire and Infinite Continuum, and this doesn't seem a style he's rushing on returning to. Not that he should feel beholden for my sake or anything – sometimes an artist instinctively knows they've said all that needs to be said with an alias, content leaving it at that.

Which is why I was quite happy seeing this odds 'n' sods collection emerge on the Distant System Bandcamp. Sure, it's only five tracks, three of which are remixes of existing singles. That still leaves two new cuts! In the 'feast or famine' discography of this project, it's a gift from the Star Gods. Of course, no CD version came out for it, but seeing as how there wasn't a physical option for the second album, I wasn't too fussed about- Eh? What's that, you say? There is a physical option for both these now? Let me look into that. *time passes*

Oh, wow, this is new. Apparently a label called Digital Reprints exists, specializing in box-sets of discographies that are either out-of-print or never had a print in the first place. Their most recent item is the Distant System catalogue, including both albums and this compilation! Oh man, I know I already have Spiral Empire but it sure would be nice having Infinite Continuum and Astral Map Error on CD and they're already sold out. Damn, didn't even last long enough for my FOMO to kick in.

Anyhow, Astral Map Error. The original track first appeared on the Altar Records' CD Ether, which was awesome there, but perhaps a bit off-kilter for the prog-psy label. Not much different here, the low ends a little more gnarly, but still a kick-ass tune in that pumpin' Distant System style. The other two, Lost Sequence and Pupillary Response, are given a little extra production heft, but remain mostly the same from their original incarnations.

That leaves the two-part Synthetic Synapses, and it's exactly what I wanted to hear from Mr. Smith: more psy-dub of the Cosmic Grande. Seriously, how can this guy just hit that perfect sweet spot of groovy rhythms, soaring synths, spaced-out pads, and tasteful bleep 'n' glitch? And more to the point, how can he be so resistant to make more!

As a bit of catalogue closure on my part, one of the quibbles I had with Infinite Continuum was how its pacing was thrown off by having the album non-mixed, each track featuring ultra-long fading intros. The good news is Tyler somewhat fixed this with a 1-Hour Mix of Distant System material that heavily featured music from his second LP. Granted, I didn't grab that for myself, mostly satisfied with Infinite Continuum as is. It gave those tracks some deserved oomph though, and is worth a listen, especially if it does end up being the final transmission from the Distant System realm.

Richard Stonefield - Stardust Aventure

AstroPilot Music: 2021

At first I thought I was dealing with another utterly unknown entity. Richard Stonefield has barely any presence on Discogs, this particular album not even submitted despite being nearly two years old now. I kinda' expect that when dealing with some random synthwave artist, but this came out on AstroPilot Music, a label that, while perhaps not among the upper echelons of psy-chill outlets, at least carries AstroPilot's pedigree. That Stardust Adventure would go unnoticed for such a length of time that I had to submit it to Discogs seemed odd indeed.

Fortunately, I dug a little deeper – say, Bandcamp deeper – and found Richard Stonefield is actually Richárd Kőteleki. Now, that name also appears on Richard Stonefield's main page, but provides nary a link to anything else. So deeper into Discogs I dug, and found a bevy of material! Oodles of singles as Ricardo Piedra, a hefty amount of collaborations with Krisztián Horváth as Quasar, and other assorted works released over the past two decades. And here I thought 'Stonefield' was just some plucky new guy with a heck of a sophomore album of prog-psy.

Nitpicks first, then? Sure, let's get those out of the way. Um, the mastering isn't up to snuff compared to, say, Ultimae Records quality? What's it take to get Aes Dana's touch at the console, huh? Okay, that one's totally unfair. I suppose there's a bit of a plastic sheen to everything, not quite as beefy as some of Altar Records' releases could sound, but I shouldn't go comparing the music released on Astropilot's label to the music Astropilot released on other labels, should I?

Besides, this may have more to do with the fact most of his chosen sounds are rather stock, the sort of things I've heard plenty in prog-psy for well over a decade now. Not that it's a deal-breaker for me, as I like these rubbery acid lines, rubbery psy rhythms, and the usual assortment of soaring synths and twee trance melodies. Richard writes prog-psy just as capably as AstroPilot, and I'm all for hearing more of it.

In fact, maybe there's too much of it? Stardust Adventure does offer some variety at the start, opener Arrakis getting in on that psy-dub action, while follow-up Realizer sounds like an attempt at something a little more dubsteppy, just without the 'wub-wubs'. Third track Here I Am rather reminds me of Banco de Gaia at his most sentimental, in a psy-chill sort of way, and laying it on rather thick, what with nearly eleven minutes to do so. Given the prog-psy adventure kicks in right after with the titular cut and lasts until album's end, these three tracks feel a bit out of sorts overall.

Maybe it's because the whole thing lasts ninety-five minutes, and would have likely been left on the b-sides floor had Stardust Adventure been released as a common CD album. What, cut some of the prog-psy tracks instead? But... they're so good!

Children Of The Bong - Sirius Sounds

Planet Dog/Mammoth Records: 1995/1996

In the great Electronic Music Encyclopedia, the chapter on “What Could Have Been...?” is replete with artists, acts, producers, and projects that never saw their fulfilled potential. In a psychedelic scene with many flash-in-the-pan names and one-and-done wonders, Children Of The Bong's story always felt particularly cruel. A promise of something truly unique and remarkable, cut entirely too short due to circumstances utterly out of their control. Misters Henry and Goganian basically created psy dub years before it ever caught on!

I'll grant there were already tunes on the downtempo side of things within the psy scene, but much of it seemed in flux with already existing genres - ambient dub, world beat, acid breaks, goa trance, and so on. It took a true all-star act like Shpongle (re: Simon Posford and Raja Ram) to essentially set the terms and tropes of what psy dub would go on to entail. Yet for all the groundbreaking ideas those two were credited with, Children Of The Bong got there first, and quite possibly were even more intuitive with said ideas involving improvised analogue gear, as evidenced on their lone album, Sirius Sounds.

All those wiggly, squiggly, free-flowing trippy-drippy sounds psy dub is so often associated with are in full effect here. Hell, there's a track titled Squigglasonica, itself something of a spiritual successor to Ionospheric State (which I touched upon in Transmissions From Planet Dog). Funky, hip-shakin' rhythms coupled with delightfully fun knob twiddling on those wormy acid leads, and how could you not think of a title more appropriate?

These tracks are more representative of the sort of live jams Rob and Daniel would do, but they made room for more traditional takes on psychedelic world beat too. Well, about as traditional as anyone out of the Megadog scene would go, and even then throwing in their wildly warped variations of it. Interface Reality may be comparatively chill, but that don't mean the acid doesn't get a good workout along the way. The Veil has the sort of po-faced spiritual samples coupled with tongue-in-cheek low-ridin' basslines that reminds everyone not to take this scene too seriously. Underwater Dub gets about as deep into the reggae dub side of things as you could possibly go with this album, while Life On Planet Earth... actually sounds like a fairly typical spaced-out psy-dub track, until you remember it came out years before that was really a thing.

Okay, so clearly Children Of The Bong were 'ahead of their time', and all that. Why are they not regarded in the same breath as that scene's major players, then? Two reasons, one clearly being they broke up shortly after Sirius Sounds came out, Rob Henry carrying on with different music after. The second is just bad label luck, Planet Dog/Ultimate already showing strains of mismanagement with their signed acts. Fortunately, tales of the Bong continued to linger over the ages, and Sirius Sounds has seen some expanded re-issues recently. No excuses for overlooking this album any longer then.

Gabriel Le Mar - Shared Fictions

Carpe Sonum Novum: 2020

I've passively mentioned the need to dig deeper into Gabriel le Mar for years now, so it's about time to properly poop in that pot (or however that saying goes). What CDs to get, though? Something off the defunct Spirit Zone Recordings? That undoubtedly rare Reel Time (because anything off Elektrolux is rare at this point)? The most eye-popping item from his Capre Sonum Novum catalogue? Oh, but Flashin' On is already sold-out, darn it all.

That... is actually happening more frequently with Carpe Sonum, come to think of it. Even newer items, like Dr. Atmo's To You, Humanity, and Sven Kössler's Bck T• Lvng, run out swiftly. To say nothing of whatever edition of that Pete Namlook tribute box-set Die Welt Ist Klang is up to now. Man, and here Carpe Sonum was, that ambient techno label you could count on not running out of their limited-run CD stock.

Anyhow, I settled on Shared Fictions, for two reasons. One, it was the most recent item from Mr. le Mar when I happened by the Bandcamp shop – not much more scientific than that, my friends. Still, the fact it was a double-LP made the deal a little bit sweeter. Sure, the second CD is another of Gabriel's 'stripped' sessions, providing beatless versions of tracks off the album proper, but that's a gimmick I'm game for another round after hearing it on his first Stripped release.

The PR blurb has Mr. le Mar claiming inspiration from the fantastical literature and stories of human history, which he wished to express through... only eight tracks? Huh, well, there's something to be said for being concise. Still, though there are some elements of such within the titles (Stay In Wonderland, World Tree, Mythical Past, etc.), I can't really say the same for the music on hand. By and large, this is a collection of tight, groovy psy-dub tunes, with little in the way of post-Shpongle influenced waffle. Sometimes the acid gets a good workout (Deep Focus, Collective Dreamworld), elsewhere Gabriel works in a little guitar jamming, and gosh, that bass playing in City Of Thoughts sure seems familiar. Wait a moment... *checks liner notes* Okay, it's not him. Didn't think so, as the bass tone didn't quite match. Can't blame me for thinking ol' Laswell might have been hanging about for a session though, as this tune really does sound like one of his.

So even if the theme of Shared Fictions seems muddled, the psy-dub on hand is dope enough to not worry about it. How does the bonus disc fare, then? It's certainly a different vibe, and not just because the lack of propulsive rhythms. Tracks are rearranged so they flow more like a downbeat album compared to Shared Fictions Prime, and it's not like they're totally absent of groove either. You just have less things going on, letting you focus on specific details over a grand picture. It's like watching the subbed version of a foreign film.

Carbon Based Lifeforms - The Path

Blood Music: 1998/2018

I'd heard whispers of music out of the Carbon Based Lifeforms camp that existed before they landed on Ultimae Records, but never felt much need to explore for it. I figured these early productions were simply lost artifacts of a duo still finding their feet, any choice material from those sessions eventually called into service on later albums. I had no idea their start reached all the way back into the tracker scene, from which evolved into acid techno as Notch. Along with Mikael Lindqvist, they released a couple albums of such on MP3.com, but they had aspirations for something grander, the sort of genre-bending, music-fusing, epic LP that might be said in the same breath as such classics like Lifeforms, U.F.Orb, Chill Out, 76:14, and whatever other under-heralded records you wish to throw in there (more love for Journey To The Sun, yo'!).

Okay, I'm overselling the story some, but compared to what the trio was doing prior, The Path does come off almost over-ambitious, full of ideas and influences but not quite able to pull it off. It's certainly fine for a debut from artists getting their feet wet, but compared to where Misters Segerstad and Hedberg went in the following decade, comes off strangely dated too. Still, even with Carbon Based Lifeforms and Sync24 their focus, The Path floated about the digital domain for those who were interested in hearing it, where it remained for two decades. Like, no way Ultimae would re-issue it into a spiffy CD. That Blood Music though... (Blood Music!!)

After a three-track intro that, honestly, should have been left on the cutting floor (those tracker roots really showing there), things kick off proper on Rise To Tomorrow, a moody little number of graceful pads, subtle vocal samples, dubby rhythms, burbling acid, wormy synths, and didgeridoo. Getting some serious Planet Dog vibes off it. Same with Sinful Things and Or Plan B. Meanwhile, Machinery and Submerged feel more in line with vintage Fax+, Dreamshore Forest goes pure dreamtime ambient, while Contaminated Area and Last Breath... Um, well, like I said, still figuring things out on the production front.

As for any musical hints of future CBL tunes, you can't hear Station Blue without immediately thinking their breakout MOS 6581. The subtle bassline, dubby beats, and distant samples are of the same genetic backbone, just not really explored much further. Station Blue is like a simpler, evolutionary step to the heights that MOS 6581 would soar to.

Which kinda' sums up The Path, to be honest. In a vacuum, it holds up pretty good as a lost artifact of '90s psy-chill, but can't hold a candle to CBL's future works. I'm glad Blood Music finally gave this a proper CD release, as there are a few gems that deserved unearthing. Just don't go into it expecting Ultimae levels of production. I don't think even Aes Dana's immaculate mixdowns could have rescued some of those piano tones.

Ott - Blumenkraft

Twisted Records/Ottsonic Music: 2003/2012

I've mentioned before how this album was a no-brainer as a pick-up. A psy-dub debut album from one of the major players and formulators of that genre? How could this be anything less than great? Oh, there's ways, but fortunately for us, Blumenkraft doesn't go down that road. Really, its only sin is that it came out when the genre was still relatively young, and hadn't showed us its full potential yet. Yes, I'm legitimately calling Ott's debut rather basic, but only because his follow-up Skylon was such a massive leap forward in his songcraft abilities.

Make no mistake, Blumenkraft is still a solidly produced album, possibly among the best psy—leaning items released that year that didn't carry an Ultimae tag. There's much heavier focus on reggae-dub rhythms and world beat tropes though, more than newcomers to the Ott discography may expect. That's not really a fault, just a matter of fact when it comes to this music at the time. All was in transition, the Shpongle influences on the verge of spawning off copy-cats that would follow in the ensuing decade, but not so much that it was unmistakably everywhere. Yet, given his prominent role in many of Simon Posford's projects to this point, you'd understandably think an Ott album would be just as culpable of this too.

Perhaps that's why Blumenkraft is so rhythm-heavy, with less of the wordly sounds and psychedelic samples as found in Ott's earlier collaborative projects. He felt the need to distinguish himself from the Shpongle stuff brimming with instruments and melodies. Or maybe it just seems that way in hindsight, what with his future albums brimming with instruments and melodies as well. This isn't to say Blemenkraft lacks in such things, they just aren't so prominent. Whenever some organ, flute, or melodica solo joins in the fun, they don't leap out from the mixdown, the jaunty drums or frenetic jembe action with trippy effects stealing the spotlight.

Really, the few times Blumenkraft sounds like the future Ott is when he gets some vocal action going. At nearly thirteen minutes in length, opener Jack's Cheese And Bread Snack has plenty of time to indulge spoken word passages with chants and sitars, but third track Splitting An Atom really gets in on that bouncy bhangra beat. It's just a shame we don't get any more of that until final track Smoked Glass And Chrome, a wonderfully opulent tune with a blinder of a vocal that could fit snugly in any portion of Skylon. It almost puts the rest of Blumenkraft to shame, leaving me wondering why the rest of the record couldn't have been to this standard?

I get building to a big crescendo and all, but surely something just as brash and bold lodged mid-album would have truly sent Ott's debut into classic status. Instead, Blumenkraft is simply remembered fondly for its time, a strong opening statement from a producer who would go onto bigger and better things down the road.

Electric Universe - Blue Planet

Spirit Zone Recordings/Avatar Records: 1999/2016

I had my eye on this for a long while. Something, anything full-length from Electric Universe, if I'm honest, but this one in particular got my attention whenever I happened upon his Discoggian entries. Is it because of a ton of good will through psy-trance discourse? A frequent namedrop in all the cool discussions? Oh, come on, you should know me well enough by now to know why Blue Planet would be the first Electric Universe album I'd spring for. I really am that shallow sometimes.

This came out at an interesting time for Boris Blenn. The middle child of a remarkable period of productivity from him, where he released three albums in three years under the Electric Universe banner. He was also releasing multiple records as Galaxy and Jupiter 8000, not to mention the odd collaborative project here and there. Even more amazing is Mr. Blenn was doing much of this all on his own, his early Electric Universe partnership with Michael Dressler having come to an end. Does this mean he was on an unstoppable creative streak? Or might that dreaded 'quality control' factor come into play? A little column A, a little column B?

I actually may have lucked out in grabbing 'the blue one' first out of all these Electric Universe outings. Between this, Waves and Divine Design, Blue Planet has the most diversity going for it, Boris branching out from your usual psy-trance trappings. Unfortunately for me, however, that wasn't what I was after, wanting more spaced-out goa the likes of Love Is Not A Crime. I get some of that here, sure, but coupled with drab stabs at tribal-prog and... big beat?

Okay, it was the year 1999, and breaks were super-trendy, but after four tracks of various psy, Rock Da House comes out of nowhere, sounding like it should be in a This Is... compilation. It's got shades of The Chemical Brothers, but all the attempts at being block-rockin' feel flat, an experiment in genre dabbling that simply doesn't mesh with its surroundings. Oh well, at least it isn't as dreadfully dull as The Tribal Session.

That all said, at least these tracks give me something to talk about beyond the typically positive psy-trance platitudes. You get the acid outings (Fly, Renania, The Space Dimension), the soaring space rockers (Meteor), and the downtempo cuts at the end (Lovesciene, Journey Into Outer Space). Nothing wrong with any of these tunes, but little that deviates from the norm of Electric Universe's discography either. From a personal standpoint, I was disappointed Blue Planet didn't have anything as dope as Love Is Not A Crime, but the album's best tracks are worthy companions.

And I really can't fault Boris from branching out a little either. It's just when you compare his genre explorations to that of the likes of Juno Reactor or Eat Static, it's hard to not come away underwhelmed. Electric Universe fits in a lane he's plenty adept at, no need to stray from it.

Solar Fields - Blue Moon Station

Ultimae Records: 2003/2008

For the longest time, this was my number two album from Magnus. Heck, maybe even number one? Mutual tie with Movements, at least. Regardless, it came bundled with most of Solar Fields' albums in a vintage Ultimae Records bulk deal, and when I played them all, Blue Moon Station stood out the most to me. I can't recall exactly why, just some loose memory of it easily grabbing my attention through the duration, a dynamic outing compared to his other efforts (Movements notwithstanding). Also, I felt it was the most 'psy-dubby' record in Solar Fields' discography, a major plus in my books. Yet, I haven't listened to Blue Moon Station since the first time I alphabetically cycled through my music collection, nearly a decade ago now. What gives?

Likely because I've given all his other albums more spins in the intervening years, determined to win me over in the same manner as my perceived big two. I needn't return to Blue Moon Station any time soon, because it's greatness is already confirmed, thus could sit on my shelves for special occasions. I think that may have had a negative effect though, its details slipping from my memory, such that I went into it in the here and now having almost no recallection of its musical details anymore. Ooh, does this mean I get to experience Blue Moon Station all over again, as though it were a brand new, undiscovered Solar Fields album?

Sadly, not really, my expectations for what I did remember mostly dashed. For sure I still enjoyed what I heard on Blue Moon Station, it just wasn't the wizz-bang, 'OMG' record I somehow had built within my memory. Like, where in the world did I get it in my head that this was heavy on the psy-dub elements? Some prog-psy, sure, but ain't nothing Shponglely on here, nosiree. I'm assuming it's the opening track, Confusion Illusion, that caused that, erm, confusing illusion of this being an album of psy-dub. There's tribal drums and swirly sounds and ethnic samples, all things you associate with the genre, but not so much Solar Fields.

Nay, we come to a Magnus joint for those ultra feel-good melodies, and Blue Moon Station has them, though not in as high quantity as I recall. If anything, they feel a little restrained, teased out with lengthy, almost empty sounding tracks. Magnetic Air is remarkably spacious, feeling like you're breathing clean, purified atmosphere, followed by an eruptive Majestic Feeling. Ah, there's the opulent Solar Fields stylee.

The album mostly alternates between downtempo pieces and prog-psy numbers, which can leave Blue Moon Station a little jerky in flow to some listeners. Except for the final stretch, after the titular cut. Planet Zoo does something a touch psy-dubby (I wasn't imagining things!), Third Time goes right mellow again, and closer Swimming With Stones goes ultra-mellow. It's all quite nice, but doesn't remain in the ol' noggin quite so well as the earlier cuts. Guess Movements remains top dog, then. It stuck the landing.

Ocelot - One

Avatar Records: 2009

I remember seeing Ocelot's name getting dropped in topics of 'good modern psy trance' way back in the genre's mid-'00s resurgence. Keeping the alias in the back of my mind, I figured he'd be one to check out should I ever dig a little deeper into that scene, but got side-tracked by things and stuff. Or just a general disinterest in how the music was developing as the decade turned. Fast-forward many years later, and I'm browsing the Avatar Music Bandcamp, wherein I spot an Ocelot album among their offerings. Hey, I remember seeing that name dropped as one to check out, should the opportunity present itself. May as well check this one out.

So I throw on One, and I'm digging what I'm hearing, as solid outing of psy dub and prog-psy as you could expect to hear in the year 2009. “Ah,” thinks I, “Ocelot must have come up when discussions of artists similar to Shpongle and Ott were aplenty throughout the interweblands. I remember good!”

Except I was completely wrong. After playing One, I listened to Ocelot's other works, and turns out he mostly peddled his wares in a totally different sub-genre of psy-trance, the dark psy continuum. Oh, now I remember, his name floating on the periphery of my attention when I indulged in Trishula Records for a spell. Dear me, if my memories were so easily led astray in this trivial matter, what else I might have incorrect recollections of.

Anyhow, this is a darn good album, better than I was expected, even if I didn't really know what to expect going in. For sure I instantly knew this would be on the chillier side of psy, a gentle, melodic ambient opener in Drifting Away reminding me of ancient Irresistible Force as sure a sign as anything. I was then mighty impressed by how effortlessly Ocelot rode those prog-psy grooves with floaty, trancey melodies and tasteful world-beat indulgences. The throbbing pulse of Cloud Cover, the bouncy beat of Rainbow Colors, the stuttery synth hook in Molasses, even the manipulated baby laughs in Chunocelot Soup. Such a silly idea almost never works in psy, but Ocelot somehow makes it work such that I'm effortlessly vibing on it seven minutes in (only four more to go!). And all this from a dark psy guy? Who'd have thought it? I mean, anyone who knows psy trance producers have a downtempo bug in them would know, but play this along side VectorSelector, and you'd never believe it's the same chap.

How could I not assume the thing I assumed from the outset, then? One could have easily fit in with the young Alter Records along with the likes of AstroPilot. Oh, wait, AstroPilot made his debut on Avatar Records, a couple years before Ocelot released this on Avatar Records. Does this all tie together? Heh, no, just an interesting coincidence, but if the AP association helps selling One as a record to check out, so be it.

Distant System - Infinite Continuum

self-release: 2019

It was over a decade in the making, so long that some wondered if there would ever be another album. Then, when all hope seemed lost, the long awaited album suddenly appeared, to much... well, not aplomb. Welcomed by long-suffering fans, for sure, but indifference from everyone else. Perhaps too much time had passed to make such a mark in the here and now. But enough about Tool's Fear Inoculum. I'm here to talk about another long-awaited record that happened to be released about the same time, Distant System's Infinite Continuum!

I generally don't anticipate with bated breath for new music from artists I like. And yet I couldn't let go of hoping and dreaming of Tyler Smith's follow-up to the criminally under-rated Spiral Empire, lingering thoughts of what it would sound like, how it might evolve, or if there was anywhere else he could take it.

Still, for as much as I came to adore the first Distant System album, I cannot deny the concept behind it wasn't the most original: prog-psy and psy-dub with a hard sci-fi aesthetic. As I continued my musical wanderings in search for more like it though, I found precious little life-signs of this style. It seemed Spiral Empire was wholly unique, a precious jewel unlike any other, like an ultra-rare resource that expands consciousness (or something). Such a singularity in this genre only made me appreciate it more, content in the assumption it was to be one-of-a-kind.

But Infinite Continuum did come out, and, for the most part, was everything I expected. In fact, it's almost structurally identical to Spiral Empire, with slower, downbeat tracks in the opening, chuggier prog-psy in the middle, a ramp-up in tempo towards the end, and ambient pieces bringing us out. The hard sci-fi vibe is maintained, plus is blessed by another Ultimae Mixdown™ from Aes Dana. It's safe to say Infinite Continuum is all I'd hoped for, yet I haven't quite gotten into it as much as Spiral Empire for a couple stupid reasons.

One, no CD, so I can't play it on my main stereo, but that's not the real issue. Nay, the main quibble I have is how, unlike Spiral Empire, this album isn't continuously mixed, losing that sense of grand narrative. More so, each track has a lo-o-o-ng lead-in and fade out, to such a point that, unless you have your volume cranked, you may not hear anything for almost half a minute, creating a lagging feeling of nothingness between. Which may be the point, really selling that whole 'universe is big and empty' vibe, but man, even the dark ambient dudes don't go to that extreme.

I do like what I hear though, even if it's taken even longer to properly warm to than Spiral Empire. And as this may be the last we hear from Distant System for a very long time (ever?), Lord knows I'll be cherishing it. Still ain't no one else sounding like this, believe you me.

ACE TRACKS: May 2019

This post is coming to you from the tiny mountainous town of Jasper, Alberta, nestled within the northern arm of the mighty Canadian Rockies. And is this tiny mountainous town ever a tourist trap, believe you me, but with splendorous scenery such as this, how could it not? Like, sure, no one gave Jasper much care half a century ago, when it was little more than a way point for train routes through the mountains, but when The Greatest Generation and their offspring were scoping Canada out for vacation and retirement options, they realized this untamed region was quite nice for hiking, skiing, camping, and seeing various wildlife in their natural habitats. Thus, tourist trap of a town was born.

Now, I've actually passed through Jasper a number of times when I was a wee lad, when my family would drive from one corner of Canadian hinterlands to visit other family in another corner of Canadian hinterlands (the flatter kind), but I barely have any recollection of it, almost always passed out from the super-long road trip by the time we came to Jasper (my folks were hardcore about making it across three provinces in a single 24-hour shot). Figured if I'm going to do a road trip for a vacation of my own, why not visit some places of my youth? I'm not sure why we feel so compelled to do that as we age. It's very strange. Maybe I should have brought some Raffi with me to listen to if I truly wanted to recapture that experience. Ain't none of that on this month's ACE TRACKS playlist though.


Full track list here.


MISSING ALBUMS:
Brasil & The Gallowbrothers Band - In The Rain, In The Noise
Waki - Hurry Up And Relax
Wanderwelle - Gathering Of The Ancient Spirits

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 3%
Percentage Of Rock: 0 %
Most “WTF?” Track: Oh, obviously the one with DJ Shadow's name attached.

Why yes, I did listen to this while on the road! Well, for the portions of British Columbian highway that I could still get Spotify signal. Was surprised it held out as far into some regions as it did. Can't say this was a terrible good playlist for a road trip though, genres wildly jumping all over the place as they did. Good thing I brought a CD wallet with me too! Ah, the ol' standbys...

Cosmic Replicant - Future Memories

Altar Records: 2013

Now that I've unshackled my restraints in consuming music of a digital-only nature, it's only appropriate that I go back to those labels and releases I stubbornly skipped. For sure prints like Ultimae Records and Silent Season were tops on my 'must-fill' list, but let's not overlook good ol' Altar Records in this discussion. They've release many CDs this past decade, but offered a significant amount of digital items too, mostly singles and EPs. A few full-length items were in this mix though, typically from artists just breaking out, and thus likely an uncertain investment from the label. At least, that's how I assume it went down with Cosmic Replicant's signing on Altar Records, his first two LPs never receiving the CD treatment. In fact, Mission Infinity remains his lone hard copy album, a shame given a ten-album discography to his name. I likes me some Cosmic Replicant though, so if I wanna' hear more (and, um, support the artist), it's the Bandcamp route I must go.

Pavel Shirshin must have had a hefty chunk of music stored up before his break, as Future Memories and follow-up The Nature Of Life were released within months of each other. Comparing the two, however, it's quite clear this album had been gestating a while longer, the songcraft rather simpler and not so subtle in where his influences were coming from. Oh yeah, the Asura stylee's all over this one.

But hey, I likes me some Asura just as much as I like me some Cosmic Replicant, and even though that likesesing is coming from somewhat different origins, meeting them at the centre's not so bad either. So what if Sense Of Life reminds me some of Galaxies, or Morning Star reminds me of Celestial Tendencies. Those are dope tracks to be compared to! Not to say Future Memories is some Life²-redux – it's much too straight-forward as psy-chill to reach that lofty peak, especially for an album released half a decade later – but the sonic markers are enough that it draws me in just the same.

If you've payed attention to previous Cosmic Replicant reviews, you'll remember that Pavel has shown remarkable diversity in his various releases too (just like Asura!). This being his first album though, it's clear he's playing things safe, offering up the sort of music the Altar Records faithful would be most interested in (ain't no dub techno here). Thus we get the pure meditative ambient opener (Rise To Light) and closer (Return to Gaïa). In between there's the gradual build from dubby, psy-chill numbers (Clear Mind, Opening Lotus), the mid-album prog-psy session (Enter The Void, Sunshine Way), plus the downbeat lead-out (Future Memories, White Elephant, with acid!). As said, nothing really out of the ordinary here, the album doing what it must for the intended audience with skill and finesse. Erm, sounds kinda' boring when I put it like that, doesn't it. Fortunately, Pavel realized it too, finding a distinct voice shortly after.

Current - Communion

Origo Sound: 2003

I'll forever (and a day) lament the passing of old-school music shops, but online options have proved a reasonable substitute, and I'm not just talking the vast data-stores of places like Discogs and Bandcamp. No, even small shops like the Ultimae or Databloem sites contain the sort of catalogues that makes browsing through their stock an enjoyable time-waster. True, clicking pages isn't nearly as satisfying as fingering jewel-cases, but beggers can't be choosers. So long as spiffy cover-art catches my eye enough that my impulsive buying nature is sated, it shall suffice.

So it goes with this Communion from Current, an item I picked up from... gosh, I forget now. A psy shop, I remember that much. Anyhow, I knew nothing of this artist, but with a row of alien heads on the cover, how could I resist? The man behind the alias, Robert Solheim, hails from Norway, with this album coming out on Origo Sound, which you may know from numerous Biosphere releases.

This mostly falls under the psy-chill camps, and I must admit a little under-produced for the genre. Maybe if it came out in the '90s, Communion would have stood out more, but by 2003, psy-chill had seen remarkable growth and evolution, and most of the stuff Mr. Solheim's crafting here is strictly middle of the road. There's the slightly dubby tunes (Sunday Sunburn, Alone With Company), songs with a trancier bent (Patterns, Ghost Trip), tracks on a spacier, futuristic tip (No Sign Of Life, Plaza Circular), and cuts leaning closer to trip-hop's domain (Minor Abstraction). Nothing's wack or anything, just music treading well-tread roads. In fact, it sounds incredibly familiar. Something I can't specifically place, but I'm certain I've heard numerous times in the past. It's like... like... Oh my God! This is exactly the sort of music I'd make if I were ever to do the deed. Heck, even the cover art is likely something I'd have gone with! And that puts Communion in a weird spot for yours truly. I'm not sure if I like it because of this, or dislike it for the exact same reason.

Given the amount of music I buy, folks often inquiry why I don't actually make any myself. Truth is, the musical ideas I have sloshing about in my head have been done – if no one else than by me at that moment – and what interests me in music exploration is that which I haven't heard. I want to discover sounds I've never thought of, could never imagine, and prefer leaving that to those who've invested more of their time and skill into the craft than I'm willing to do so. Why waste my time replicating that which I can readily hear elsewhere, and perhaps find new and better in the process?

It's a fascinating conundrum, but perhaps more astounding is that, after so many hours of music listening, this is the first time I've confronted it. Kudos to Current for that feat, if nothing else.

Pitch Black - Ape To Angel (Original TC Review)

Kog Transmissions/Waveform Records: 2004/2005

(2019 Update:
I fear I overplayed this when I first got it. I wouldn't say it was a revelation or something so daft, but man, did it ever hit the sweet spot in releasing those fussy pleasure endorphins, music that I needed at a most opportune time in my life. I sadly haven't gone back to it much this past decade though, so much of it now burned in my brain that I just have to think of it and the whole thing plays out in a rapid flash within my mind. I don't like that. I yearn for the lost anticipation of hearing it fresh and new again, but such a time is gone, gone, gone. Maybe I can take a spoon and scoop out wherever the Ape To Angel memories are stored.

Or perhaps it'd be better if I just scope out some more of Pitch Black's music. They've certainly kept active to this day, and apparently even resisted the temptation to jump on the dubstep bandwagon like a lot of unique, groovy psy-dub festival mainstays did. Guess that's more Bandcamping in store for me...)


IN BRIEF: This release coulda been 'electronica'.

“Oh great,” you say. “Here go these TranceCritic writers again, willfully reviewing obscure material and giving it high scores just because it’s underground.”

With that, I’m sure I’ve put a chunk of our readers on the defensive. Don’t play coy. I know there’s a good deal of you out there who figure because we don’t shower certain DJs and producers with unconditional praise, we’re nothing more than elitist music snobs. Of course, such folk rarely see the nice things we have said about said DJs and producers, as it tends to only be the negative that sticks in their mind.

However, it is true we sometimes dig deep into uncharted music territory, where more often than not we come across electronic gold to share with our readers. Such is the allure of the hunt for dedicated music collectors, spending countless hours and funds in the pursuit of those unheralded artifacts.

Our excursions have now taken us to a land most don’t regularly associate electronic music with: New Zealand. The island nation is more known for its Maori heritage, kiwi fruits, and, more recently, the spiritual home of Middle Earth. But an EDM scene? It hardly registers - the lack of any globally recognized names doesn’t help. Fortunately, this lack of worldwide notice hasn’t stopped Zealanders from pursing their interests into the realm of digital dance music.

Production duo Paddy Free and Michael Hodgson have quietly built up a name for themselves over the years, and the dedication to their craft has begun to yield some notice in other corners of the world. Reason is their music has reached a stage where they’re at one with their sound - dubby psychedelia - and aren’t afraid to export it to other styles. There’s a cool confidence in their work, a trait that was quite common in the big ‘electronica’ acts of the 90s like Underworld and Leftfield.

Hmn. Suddenly I have the suspicion this room just got a lot emptier. Was it perhaps that ‘psychedelic dub’ tag that caused the less adventurous to flee? If so, it’s their loss, as Pitch Black’s sound encompasses far more: psy dub is merely a starting reference. Free and Hodgson show an affinity for the cavernous sounds echo, delay and reverb effects can create, but they don’t get caught up in the novelty of it like some dub producers do; providing texture is their main goal with the sound. As for the psychedelic part, it too doesn’t get bogged down with over-indulgence. There’s some loose arrangements and some squiggly sounds, but none of which are a track’s focus.

Still, when Pitch Black does indulge in psy dub, they fire on all cylinders. The titular opener, Flex, the jazzier Freefall, and the ambientish Empty Spaces lazily groove along with dubby effects tingling at your mind. And in case rhythms and effects aren’t enough for your head to chew on, your attention will easily be drawn to the warm melodies bubbling just beneath the surface.

Elsewhere on Ape To Angel, the duo have fun fusing reggae harmonies, techno soundscapes, and brisk breakbeats into their dubbed-out delights. Melt is a little more traditional for this kind of sound, but Lost In Translation’s funky freewheeling and chip-choppy vocal sampling will definitely get your body movin’. And if that’s not enough for you, the gradual build of easy-going grooves to near d’n’b speeds of The Random Smiler should satisfy even the most suspicious of this reviewer’s praise. But wait, there’s more!

Far from content to stick to these styles, Pitch Black tackle techno head-on in Big Trouble Upstairs. This is the kind of track you wouldn’t find too out of place in a WipEout soundtrack, using subtly layered rhythms, burbling acid, and moody future soundscapes to bring the energy up in ever gradual increments. It’s definitely a different kind of track on this album, especially considering the generally psychedelic chill vibe that permeates the proceedings. Yet, it maintains the duo’s style, and shows how adept they are at this electronic music thing.

But wait, there’s still more!

Forget all that talk about psy and dub and techno and breakbeats. Pitch Black throw in a spacey bit of acid jazz with the track Elements Turn, including full lyrics provided by Sandy Mill (her voice is also used in Freefall, but only for a few repeated words). Were it not for some of this duo’s dubby sound lightly lurking in the background, Elements Turn could easily fit snugly in a Kruder & Dorfmeister-styled set. Hell, it still could, should such DJs feel a little adventurous in their track selection.

A diverse album? Ape To Angel certainly is that. Even if the general mood tends to remain consistent, Pitch Black have no trouble flirting with other styles, keeping the variety on this full-length fresh as it plays through. Many acts often attempt this, but all too often sound like they are merely checking off a list of types of tracks they should have - even more often for the sole reason of trying to distribute their material to other genre scenes they don’t normally associate with. However, because Free and Hodgson aren’t really a part of any predetermined scene, they don’t feel inhibited by what is expected of them, which allows them to produce the music they desire. As a result, the songs on here are strong and fearless, and shouldn’t be missed by anyone who fancies themselves a fan of electronic music.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2007. All rights reserved.

Eat Static - Last Ship To Paradise

Interchill Records: 2017

Whenever a new Eat Static album drops now, I can't help but wonder, “Is this the one? Is this where Merv finally succumbs to all the trendy shit, losing that distinct feel that makes Eat Static the unique entity I enjoy?” In many albums I've heard out of the project, they've drifted remarkably close many times. The nods to drum 'n' bass in Science Of The Gods during that genre's first commercial heyday. The adoption of plastic Israeli full-on psy production in De-Classified. Even a build or two that had me expecting grotesque brostep monstrosities before pulling back from the brink and delivering the tear-out psy I mash my head to (are we so different, bros and I?). It's been a strange, skillful tightrope trick Merv has pulled these past two decades, but there has to be a point where he just says, “Ah, nuts to this, I'm leaping off with my parachute in place, haha!” This metaphor made more sense in my head before committing it to typeface.

I should know better than to lack such faith the Eat Static brand would ever do me so wrong, Yet once again, with their latest album in Last Ship To Paradise, and in the opening track of Eerie Nothingness, upon hearing a glitch-hop beat, that same ol' worry snuck up on me again. I couldn't help but think I was gonna' be in for an album's worth of tired, gibbering, random, nonsensical 'glitch' effects with hammy builds and drops as too many festival 'bangers' are wont to do. Then I remembered, “wait, that random, glitchiness has been an Eat Static staple for ages - they were among the first to ever do it within the psy scene, much less all of electronic music? Why would I complain about something I've always liked about them in the first place?” And besides, beyond a brief bit late, Eerie Nothingness is played comparatively straight for a psy-dub outing in the Eat Static canon, even getting Juno Reactor opulent for the track's climax. Hot damn.

As this album comes care of Interchill Records once again, Last Ship To Paradise is a more chill outing from Eat Static – the most ' uptempo psy' things get here is the proggy number Shadow Locked. We also get another indulgence of jungle's attributes in Fallen Angel, after half the track does the standard psy-dub thing. I'll take a little more of Merv's sci-fi d'n'b anyday tho'! Even the more questionably odd, trendy moments like mid-range glitchy bass noises in the titular cut and The Swamp right themselves by track's end, as if I needed further reminders that no matter how off-the-path Eat Static can go, they always find themselves right back where I like 'em. The remaining tracks don't offer much else in surprises, making Last Ship To Paradise a strangely middle-of-the-road downbeat album from Eat Static, but so long as they never lose those cheeky spaced-out sounds and samples, they'll forever have that lane all to themselves.

Ott - Fairchildren

Ottsonic Music: 2015

Ott (no relation to NHL player Steve Ott) reminds me of that super-dependable rock band that can always churn out quality music that tickles my earholes just right, but for whatever reason never inspires me to dig deeper and further, much less wax the hyperbolic purple as I dance to his architecture. What rock bands, you ask? Oh, geez, put me on the spot, why don't you? Like, I kinda' wanna' say Coldplay, the most traditional of all milquetoast name-drops, but there's better options. Maybe The Strokes, or The Killers. Yeah, let's go with that: Ott is The Killers of psy-dub.

I liked Skylon a great deal, still have it in the regular rotation. and when Ott reissued his discography on his own print, you bet I snagged up a copy of his debut Blumenkraft. For some reason though, I was only mildly interested in hearing a follow-up. Maybe I was feeling psy-dub burn-out at the time, coming across too many artists that were only emulating the style Ott and Shpongle had popularized. I needed a little absence from it, and boy-howdy did Ultimae and Altar provide a good excuse to do so. Ott also appeared in need of a little diversification in his songcraft, but when I heard he chose to go the road of dubstep, I promptly 'NOPE'd on Mir, and didn't look back. Which was stupid, of course, but you cannot begin to appreciate just how over-saturated dubstep had become in the year 2011, especially in my hub of the world. Just... brutal...

But time has passed, as has the dubstep fad, and when I heard his fourth album Fairchildren being hailed as more a return to the tasty sonic soup that made his first two records such standouts, I had no problem diving back into the Ott fold. Erm, and it seems he's found himself a new toy to tinker with in glitch hop. I don't mind the stuff, but God can it ever grate when a producer overdoes it with the random sample wankery, which Ott succumbs to in Harwell Dekatron. So much directionless wibble – I need my wibble to have some momentum, y'know (Eat Static does the wibble good).

That's just one track of eight though, and aside from brief dabbling in Ship Is Not A Child, things don't go that wonk anywhere else on Fairchildren. Instead, we get bouncy psy-dub rhythms, cavernous dub echoes, vocals and instruments played, plucked, and plundered from lands far and wide, with just enough fun, wibbly, trippy effects keeping things cruising the psychedelic avenue to the dawn's morning light. Or through the afternoon heat on the beach. I've only seen Ott live in the latter setting.

And yet, I actually find myself just as dumbfounded in talking this music up in any specific detail. It's an Ott album, and if you know your Ott music, you know exactly what what you're gonna' hear. Won't deny it's that consistency I slapped my hard-earned bones down for though.

Bluetech - Prima Materia

Waveform Records: 2003

Psy-dub producer. Regular on the regional festival circuit. Constant pop-up in Recommendation algorithms. Debut album on Waveform Records (kinda'), plus appearances on Interchill Records, Yellow Sunshine Explosion, and Platipus (among many others). For all intents, I should have jumped on a Bluetech album at some point these past fifteen years, but have only done the deed now. Even my old standby excuses of 'over-exposure' or 'genre apathy' don't apply, ol' Evan existing in that sweet lane of familiar-yet-underground producers I prefer cruising among. I can only plead a similar case as with Adham Shaikh, Bluetech a chap I've always intended to scope out proper-like, yet constantly putting off to the back, for a time when I've exhausted all other whims of artist, genres, and label explorations. In other words, I've run out of reasons not to pick up Prima Materia, in that it's the lone remaining album in Waveform's second Golden Period (2000-2005) that I've yet to nab (the Slowdeck LP's out-of-print, sadly).

Once again, the little ambient dub label that could broke another future star of the psychedelic downbeat scene in Bluetech, though that's technically not accurate. True, they gave him his first album deal, after which he'd release LPs through Aleph Zero Records, Somnia, and Interchill, but even this wasn't Evan's first release. That honour goes to Lead Into Gold, out four years prior on the old MP3.com. I doubt it got much attention, though Bluetech was quickly building himself a solid rep' at festivals for a unique, digitally-enhanced take on psy-dub. Less about endless loops of overdubbed samples, and more about technological manipulations as enjoyed by the IDM wonks of scenes not uttered among the aged crusties. A bold new step of psychedelic music-making, for a bold new generation of cyber-hippies, or something.

I won't front: every time I've thrown on Prima Materia, I'm initially put off by the extremely digital nature of Bluetech's sound, coming off quite plastic and thin compared to most psy-dub I hear (and having just listened to a double-LP with the Ultimae Mixdown™, oh dear...). I'll grant it was still new back in the early '00s, such production needing time to mature, but if you're an audiophile that demands old-school analogue richness, you may want to skip this.

As for myself, once my ears acclimatize to Bluetech's aesthetic, Prima Materia ain't too shabby at all. It usually takes three tracks for me to get there, but considering that particular cut is a remix (sorry, 'retriangulation') of the classic Triangle of Sounds From The Ground fame, can you blame a psy-dub brother for being wooed with recognition? As for the rest, all the familiar psy-dub attributes are here (groovy rhythms, ethnic vibes, quirky samples), and Evan's digital manipulations remain tasteful, never getting over-indulgent to the point of nonsense. There's even some sounds that remind me of Phutureprimitive's Sub Conscious, making me wonder if he and Bluetech were sharing plugins at the time. Nah, just a coincidence, I'm sure.

Various - Waveform Transmissions (Volume One)

Waveform Records: 2007

Considering how successful their initial run of compilations was, it's surprising Waveform Records hasn't returned to that well more often. Even when it appeared they'd struck upon another winner in the Voodoo Roux series, it was kitbashed after but two volumes. A couple one-shots later, and it looked the label was ready to launch a whole new series dubbed (heh) Waveform Transmissions. Hey, that word is in their long-standing tagline of “Another Important Transmission From Waveform”, existing as long as their charming Web 1.0 homepage. Maybe it would tie into their Starstreams radio show too, a yearly retrospective of their never-ending search for “exotic electronica”. We never got much of a chance to find out though, this series lasting only three volumes before it too went by the wayside after 2010. Although, if trends hold true, we could see a fourth volume sometime soon, like we did a Four A.D. seven years after Three A.D. dropped! Yeah, well, maybe not.

As I be telling truths, y'all, I must level that I was initially rather disappointed in this CD, for two totally stupid reasons. One, I was not impressed with the packaging, coming off cartoony and goofy compared to Waveform's usual fare. But judge not what lays within, young scribe, by which adorns yonder face. OK, fine, but problem two arose upon glancing at the tracklist: I already have these tracks, a whole... um, two out of ten. Trouble was Pitch Black[nz] and Phutureprimitive were so thoroughly imprinted on my music membranes that hearing Lost In Translation and Darkness again felt redundant. And it didn't help that the remaining tunes, though decent examples of dubby psychedelic chill, didn't reach the same levels of dopeness as those two cuts.

But hey, as I've said, a good compilation lures you in with a couple recognizable names, all the while exposing new, unfamiliar acts in the process. Waveform Transmissions Volume One definitely does that, although I can't say I'm in hurry to check out further material from Dymons, Flooting Grooves, or Potlatch. Heck, I couldn't even scope out extra music from Warp Factor, on account Lord Discogs lists this as their lone contribution to music ever. As mentioned, it's all perfectly acceptable takes on worldly psy-beat dub-hop, but little that stands out from the pack either.

A few notable names do though. Capsula, who'd get an album deal with Waveform, does the rubbery psy-dub thing that makes him a comfy comparable to Phutureprimitive's Darkness on here, Xerxes' Inhale gets more on that meditation mojo with breathy downbeat in support. The highly prolific Master Margherita gives us a throwback ambient dub outing in O Sole Mio/Sunset, a nice nod to Waveform's roots (heh). And International Observer goes full-on reggae dub on The International, which in of itself isn't remarkable, except that it's a side-project of Tom Bailey. You might know him as a member of new wavers Thompson Twins. Wow, going from that to reggae dub in the span of twenty-five years. Wonders never cease.

Various - Water

Altar Records: 2009

Hey, remember Altar Records' Elements series? I reviewed nearly every single one of them (including the 'hidden' sixth element) only, what, two or three years ago now? Eh, I could simply check my archives to verify? Oh, man, that was over five-hundred reviews ago – who has time to sift through that much backlog! Though I'm almost certain, should I skim them over, I'd find a hi-lar-ious claim that y'all wouldn't have to wait too long for Water's review, maybe even a ridiculously optimistic prediction of later that year.

Another thing I should probably do is go back to the other Elements CDs (Air, Earth, Fire & Ether) for a quick refresher in this series' development, but why bother? I have to admit, when I first got the collection, Water didn't stick with me on my initial run of each volume. Not because it lacked dope tunes or anything, but because I knew the other four (plus one!) would require my immediate focus for review, thus letting this one slip by the wayside. Now, with it finally up to the mic' with its chance to shine, Water gets all the solo glory it deserves, none of its elemental siblings crowding it out of the spotlight. At least, I'm assuming that's how I've approached this, because I honestly don't recall Water being this good when I got it way back when. Did I even listen to it before?

Like, the first track is Marianna Falls from Asura, with Charles Farewell executing at his Asuraian best. The languid pace, the spacious sounds, the sense of uplifting cinematic grace... holy cow, how did this song not make the cut on his 360 album the year after? And speaking of Ultimae alum', Aes Dana is here too with Cyan, doing that steady-paced prog-psy thing he often does so well. Androcell also shows up for a rather Balearic bit of psy-dub in Seahorse Dreams, which makes sense given the marine theme of this compilation. Man With No Name's oldie Sugar Rush is also given a lush reworking from a Kanc Cover, more known as Opsy around the time this came out.

But hey, enough about the outside talent, what of the Altar roster, how do they stack up? Pretty good for the most part. Chronos does a widescreen psy-chill thing in Planetarium, AstroPilot ups the pace to prog-psy's chugging domain in Voda, DJ Zen offers up a lengthy goa-breaks-psy-world-chill-trance remix on Zymosis' God Is Mine (it's so long, he kinda' throws everything into the pot), and RA brings Water to a close with a pleasant enough psy-chill cut in Creation Of Tefnet.

If there's any complaint to be had with Water, it's that the elemental theme is only loosely followed upon throughout. Perhaps this collection of tunes have a more 'flowing' feel about them compared to the other Elements, but that's about it. Really, Water is just another solid CD of music from Altar's formative years, which ain't no bad thing at all.