ACE TRACKS: January 2014

Whoa, wait a minute here! How can there already by an ACE TRACKS playlist for January when we’re barely a week into the month? The answer, to the surprise of no one, is that this is the January playlist from last year. Ah, I remember that time so fondly, spending nearly two days straight of finally giving this blog actual sound clips and links via Amazon. Boy, if only I had a different audio service available to me at the time that would have made that process so much easier. If only…



Full track list here.

MISSING ALBUMS:
Doc Scott - Lost In Drum N’ Bass
The Orb - Live 93
DJ Aaron Carter - Lit Up

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 26%
Percentage of Rock: 4%
Most “WTF?” Track: Archie Bleyer - Hernando’s Hideaway (get your tango on, mate)

This was quite an eclectic month, as far as musical genres are concerned. Beyond the highly recognizable electronic names like Leftfield, Ladytron, Infected Mushroom, and FSOL, there’s obscure acid techno, reggae, world music, and grimey UK bass. Also, live albums, so expect to hear more cheering crowds than a KLF record. Surprisingly, the end result isn’t as convoluted or forced as other 'kitchen sink' playlists I’ve done. I won’t deny a couple clunky transitions, though (sorry, Rae’).

The total runtime is about 10 hours here, but that’s because I gave three whole albums Ace Track status that month: Asura’s Life², Bob Marely’s Legend, and GZA’s Liquid Swords. Instead of clumsily worming these LPs’ individual tracks throughout, I’ve lumped each one at the very end of the playlist. It makes better sense having albums that are great straight through represented as such anyway.

DJ Orphée - Psychedelic Goa Core 3

Javelin Ltd.: 1997

What's up with all these mid-'90s French psy trance labels? Did France have big enough of a goa scene that it could support dozens of compilations every month? Britain was big, sure, and Israel came to dominate in the new millennium, but I'm hard pressed to recall much press for the trippy side of acid trance as cultivated by Francophone folk. I'd never heard of this Javelin Ltd. print before, yet a quick peruse of its Lord Discogs data reveals nearly one-hundred CDs of various trance musics, much of which on the psychedelic trip, all released in a brief window within ‘95 through '97. Some of it was domestic distributions for larger albums like Juno Reactor’s Beyond The Infinite, Total Eclipse’s Delta Aquarids, and Etnica’s Alien Protein, but for the most part they flooded the market with compilations. And that's just one label out of at least a half-dozen I'm somewhat familiar with, yet nary a soul brings them up anymore. Damn disco and house producers stole all the spotlights, that's what happened I wager.

Psychedelic Goa Core was one of many compilations series Javelin put out, headed by one DJ Orphée, as much a mystery to Lord Discogs as most goa DJs of the ‘90s are. Going by this third volume, the emphasis was on the harder, deeper side of the genre, reflecting a gradual shift from goa’s earlier melodic side to the minimalist ‘psy-tekk’ style that most producers adopted at the turn of the century. Hell, a few names on this track list were almost solely responsible for it: Nervasystem, Tristan and Process, though the latter two with individual tracks rather than their collaborations. Lesser known names on Psychedelic Goa Core 3 that go this route include Noosphere, Doda, Germinating Seeds Of Doda (yes, it’s the same duo, but with additional convoluted nonsense in their name) and Growling Mad Synchro. Hey, I know this one, they were on that Goa Spirit 3 CD I reviewed from way back. Wait, how come I’ve two instances of only have the third volume of two long-forgotten ‘90s psy trance compilations? They both even have yellow as their colour themes. Damn, it can’t be a random coincidence, there must be a connection! Send your theories to sykonee@crackpotpsytranceconnections.goa.

Okay, bitchin’ time. Psychedelic Goa Core 3 is in fact a DJ mix, a format for ‘90s psy trance I’ve seldom heard good examples of, and this is no exception. I’ll grant the music was never the most mix friendly form out there, but that’s all the more reason sticking with traditional track showcase collections was superior. Tunes like Man Made Man’s Drama and Electric Universe’s Technologic are busy enough, we don’t need forced attempts at beat-matching incompatible drum kicks gumming things up further.

As a mix though, Psychedelic Goa Core 3 is fine enough, mostly sticking to the hard, minimalist stuff for the first half before unleashing a few high-energy space acid squawkers for the end. I’ll never tire of that trippy Indian scale!

John '00' Fleming - Psy-Trance Euphoria 2 (Original TC Review)

Ministry Of Sound: 2009

(2015 Update:
Not as good as I remember, and that's before I get into the music itself. There's a lot of 'short-hand' writing in this review, understandable since I wrote this late into TranceCritic's run and most of the website's readers were regulars by that point. It doesn't make for a comprehensive read as is though, even after doing a few edits so it's not quite so clunky. Some of the information regarding John Fleming's previous output isn't terribly accurate either, as his Euphoria mixes did much better than I gave them credit for. Maybe I should have actually listened to the damn things before saying anything about them, eh?

As for Fleming, he's kinda' moved on from this style of trance, unsurprising since there's more options for high-energy club music now than psy. Honestly, I didn't get into this as much as I did when I first listened to it, though I suspect it's all due to context. The regular ol' trance we were reviewing was mostly balls, and Psy-Trance Euphoria 2 was like a breath of fresh air, presented to us from a guy with much of the same sentiments regarding that scene. With much better alternatives of late however, three CDs of the stuff just grows tedious. I still have soft spots for a few tracks on here, but the enthusiasm I had half a decade hence has definitely dwindled.)


IN BRIEF: Are you psy-curious?

…And finally, we get to Fleming. Yes, we know it’s been a long time coming. If anyone deserves recognition here at TranceCritic, it’s good ol’ ‘00’.

His career has seen several hurdles (the most prominent being surviving a battle with lung cancer), but ever so gradually he’s kept on a continuous climb. After DJing in relative obscurity throughout most of the 90s, Fleming got his break at the turn of the century when he was tapped to help put together various Euphoria and Godskitchen compilations. Unfortunately, these releases didn’t do much to stand out from the glut, as many of them recycled the same prog trance hits available everywhere else. Despite this, he still managed to develop a larger audience and fanbase.

Then, in a move that probably seemed like career suicide at the time, Fleming abandoned the mainstream aspects of trance music and started pushing psy instead. Or perhaps it wasn’t such a silly notion to do so after all. He’d gone on record numerous times regarding his growing dissatisfaction the direction trance music was going, feeling it was abandoning the communal free-for-all party ethos the early goa scenes enjoyed in favor of superstar pop concerts dedicated to a guy who played other people’s records. Seeing as how Fleming’s brush with death put him on a path that lead him to always follow his passion, a jump to the psy scene does make sense, even if it lessened his exposure.

Still, with good intentions brought more underground respect and Fleming’s brand of accessible psy garnered a steadily growing fanbase of equally disillusioned trance fans. As the Tiestin van Schulzenyonds of the world continued to disappoint with trite pop efforts, those looking for trance music that’s entrancing found a hero in Fleming. The Worthing native hasn’t disappointed yet.

Which brings us to Psy Trance Euphoria, one of the most unlikely mainstream compilations you’d have ever guessed being made. Seriously, when was the last time psy had this kind of exposure? There was Christopher Lawrence’s Live In Moscow a couple years back, but that was more about cashing in on Lawrence’s popularity than exposing the music he played. It grows increasingly sketchy the further back you go; DJ Brian’s Hardesertrance series had some respectable promotion in the States at the turn of the century, and you might have found the odd track in a Global Underground release; however, we’d have to go as far into the past as Paul Oakenfold’s Perfecto Fluoro to find any real mainstream acceptance of the genre. Even looking at this release, you can’t help but figure Ministry Of Sound is banking on Euphoria brand recognition rather than daring to dive into a fringe scene like psy. Ahh, it doesn’t matter – the music’s too awesome to worry over insidious corporate agendas.

Yes, the music here is awesome. Very awesome. You’ve got all the heavy hitters: Vibrasphere, Astral Projection, Ticon, Astrix, Wizzy Noise, Human Blue… Wait, there’s more. Ovnimoon, Ace Ventura, Perfect Stranger, 00.db (Fleming and Digital Blonde), U-Recken, Chakra, Sub6, Zen Mechanics, Infected Mushroom, Push… (Push…?) If few of these names are familiar to you, then get ready for a crash-course in why many of them have been earning plenty of underground plaudits. Heck, the first CD alone would almost be worth the price of admission, were the whole release not saddled with a (reasonable) 3-disc price tag.

Progressive Psy provides exactly what it advertises, although with more emphasis on the ‘progressive’ than the ‘psy’. Really, it’s picking things up where prog trance left off near the turn of the century – ample amounts of good groove, brilliant touches of melody, and plenty of sonic space so the tracks never drown in over-production. The only dip in quality comes from Chernikov’s Kerudu, which unfortunately sounds underpowered and out of place coming off a string of excellence from Perfect Stranger, Ticon, and Vibrasphere. Once prog psy veteran Human Blue comes along though, the set rebounds and finishes out with class.

The other two discs [one titled Deep ‘N Serious, the other The Fun Stuff!! (Full On)] are quite similar, though one’s more gusto than the other -the titles alone should be a clue which. The momentum of both is mostly go-go-go, with some tracks offering welcome brief lulls during the course of their playing time. Whenever it feels like the energy starts laggging, Fleming drops a track that cranks it right back up; gander at the transition from The Return to Insomnia’s 24/7 for a prime example –‘!!’ indeed. I’ll grant the lack of stylistic variation will be a turn-off for some (all psy, all the time!), but unlike other sets which lay out samey track after samey track, it works here thanks to the busy nature of the music. There’s always something new going on, and fortunately there’s enough differences between each producer that it seldom sounds like you’re hearing the same thing over and over, a common complaint where psy albums are concerned.

Though minor, the only quibble with discs two and three is the manner which they are wrapped up – considering how energetic the music’s been, it’s disappointing they finish rather limply. Actually, it isn’t so much that Deep ‘N Serious ends poorly, you’d just expect a track titled Strange World (Astral Projection Remix) wouldn’t be so ho-hum. And yes, I realize Infected Mushroom are huge stars, but Becoming Insane seems to only highlight just how awful their metal leanings sound. Why even tag such a corny track at the end, as a silly joke to end CD3? Hmm… if Fleming did intend it as a piss-take, then it worked brilliantly!

I’m sure there are a number of psy trance veterans who feel I’m being far too positive with this release. After all, there’s little innovation to be had and the producers in his track list are rather safe – he hasn’t dug terribly deep into the scene to unearth some truly unique and twisted offerings from the genre. Well, that’s because Psy Trance Euphoria 2 isn’t exactly for the vets, now is it. This is a Ministry Of Sound compilation and, in case those TV advertisements weren’t a dead giveaway, it has a broader audience in mind.

Yet, this isn’t simply a cash-grab to milk the psy-curious either (!!). Fleming also made this just as much a showcase of what the genre has to offer, and compiled three strong convincing sets of psy to reassure the disgruntled trance fan that, yes, there is more out there than what Black-Armada-Beats provides, and it kicks a whole lot more ass in the process. I’d call that success any day.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2009. © All rights reserved.

GZA/Genius - Pro Tools

Babygrande: 2008

It’s January, which means its GZA/Genius month again! What do you mean I just made that up? Didn’t you notice I reviewed two albums from Mr. Grice last January? And here we are again, one year later, with another GZA LP lined up. Why, should I carry on reviewing my music library from the alphabetical beginning again (for completist sake, obviously), I’ll be reviewing Beneath The Surface come next January too! Don’t laugh, odds are very good it’ll be close to that time. Wait, does that mean I’ll be done my main run this year? Holy cow, I just might! Haha, the insanity will finally end, haha, ha!

Anyhow, let me quickly consult my Wu-Tang Timeline for a refresher of where Pro Tools lands within the group’s lengthy lore. Uh huh, right, this album came out after 8 Diagrams, as divisive a Clan joint as any, but hinting at a possible resurgence. Ooh, this was also around the time Mr. Grice was getting a little buzz again for inflammatory things said about Soulja Boy and 50 Cent. He put an end to the Crank That kid controversy as nothing more than playful back-and-forth with a hot tempered crowd, but flat out disses the G-Unit dude with Paper Plate on this album. Of course, considering The Genius’ rep’ as a premier lyricist remains unchallenged while the other two are thought of as over-hyped rappers of the ‘00s, the whole issue is moot.

Still, that gossipy nonsense did give Pro Tools a small bump of interest for hip-hop heads outside the core Wu followers. Most were fine with the notion the Clan's best days were all but behind them (except Ghostface), but after so many years of southern crunk and auto-tune infiltrating the rap scene at large, any sort of underground vibe where lyrical mastery took center-stage would be hailed as a solid LP. GZA thus provided exactly what old-school sorts wanted, and Pro Tools was proclaimed among the best solo Wu-Tang LPs of the '00s. Not that it had much competition in that category, mind you.

Honestly, this is a difficult album to recommend for a casual consumer, as there's little on Pro Tools I'd call essential listening. Most of the beats are simple and serviceable, mostly sticking to traditional Wu-Tang banger “samurai 'n' soul” stylee (you know what I'm talking about). RZA and Masta Killa show up in the opener Pencils, and that's about it for the main Clan roster guest verses (assorted third-tier MCs crop up throughout, but none make much of a mark with their time). The only sort of theme to this album is a loose thread regarding motor sports, of all things. For the most part though, it's GZA running through topics he's covered extensively in the past, in about as skillfully class as a veteran MC could do in the late '00s. If all this sounds A-plus to you, then you’ll definitely dig Pro Tools. It’s throwback Wu at its finest.

Ghostface - The Pretty Toney Album

Def Jam Recordings: 2004

This is the exact moment when Ghostface Killah surpassed any need of Wu-Tang association as a hip-hop talent. Following The Pretty Toney Album, it was clear Mr. Coles was on a totally different level as a solo MC compared to his Clan fam’, and could carry on a successful career without them should he so choose - yep, Wu-Tang breakup rumours were rampant at this time. Fueling that gossipy narrative was the fact nary a Clan member nor their second and third tier MCs have guest verses on this album, a first for any of the group's solo LPs (RZA and True Master did contribute a couple productions though). It led to ridiculous amounts of speculation over whether there was beef between Ghost and Wu-Tang, which he immediately quashes with an opening mock interview skit, but it'd be a few years before it finally simmered away.

There was another factor to all the talk, however; with The Pretty Toney Album, Ghostface was the only Clan member to have a standout solo album up to that point in the new millennium (though Masta Killa's debut wasn't too far ahead). Granted, hindsight's shown that LPs from GZA, Inspectah Deck, and so on weren't awful, but it seemed no one else was maintaining the creative fire that propelled Wu-Tang through the '90s like he was. Def Jam must have believed as much, signing him once his deal with Epic passed, all but cementing his status among the upper hip-hop echelon. Good thing Mr. Coles gave them solid albums and confirming their support was justified, unlike some other Wu members (sorry, Meth').

As The Pretty Toney Album was his debut on Def Jam, the album comes off like a showcase for Ghostface’s various styles of MCing. Okay, he tends to have only one style, a near-breathless stream of conscious attack filled with hyperbole and slang, but his preferred topics range from street tales, near pornographic come-ons, or persona acting. Most of his albums find him sticking to one, but not here. We get various crime sagas with Biscuits, Run (along with Jadakiss), and It’s Over, while relationship shit goes down in Save Me Dear, Tooken Back, and Push (with Missy Elliot at the summit of her powers). A few other topics are scattered about, like Ghost simply spitting fire over lesser MCs (Ghostface, Beat The Clock), plus his obligatory softy song in Love. I can’t say all of these are Tony Starks at his absolute best, but it’s a great primer if you were just getting into his music (a decade late, somehow).

And the beats? Man, you better love them old funk and soul jams, because Ghostface loves them so much, he barely alters his samples at all. At least a third of these tracks is just him rapping over the original songs from the ‘60s and ‘70s, a few tweaks and edits the only noticeable difference, though I honestly don’t know for sure. My knowledge of the soul classics is the bunk.

Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine

TVT Records: 1989

S’up, Nine Inch Nails? Remember when I went on a binge of your music a while back, nearly every month having a review for you? It’s been a year and a half since I last wrote about you though, and that flame I felt for Reznor’s vocals, dense industrial rock production, and album craftsmanship has dwindled some. Maybe it was only meant to be a brief flirtation anyway, as so many explorations outside one’s comfort zone go. I’ve no doubt I’ll return to The Downward Spiral and Ghosts I-IV at some point, but did I really need to indulge The Fragile? Perhaps not, but it was good for me at the time, so no regrets at this late point. And yet, after such a long dearth of NIN in my diet, I get to tempt my palette once more with the album that started it all, Pretty Hate Machine.

Hmm, it tastes… kinda’ plain? Oh dear, this really is a debut album, isn't it. I give Reznor all the credit in the world for persevering with his passion project, but it’s clear there’s quite a bit of musical growth ahead of him. The song-writing is rather straight-forward for industrial rock, though considering ol' Trent was helping define the genre at the time, that's not surprising. Still, it was Reznor's bold experimentation in the ensuing decade that intrigued me, and Pretty Hate Machine is in old-school mode, owing more to gothy new wave and early EBM than thrash metal and dense sonic manipulations. It’s a sound many, many, many others would emulate throughout the ‘90s (some undoubtedly inspired by Nine Inch Nails), so doesn’t come off as sonically amazing compared to Reznor’s later efforts. Plus, there’s a sense he’s still playing a bit with conventional rock song writing, mostly intent on getting his lyrics across with rhythms and melodies in service of them. Ah well, it’s better to learn the rules before you break them anyway (erm, even if industrial was all about breaking rules to begin with).

Honestly though, I'm more fascinated by the process Pretty Hate Machine came into being and the success that came with it. No matter your taste in music, you have to admire Reznor's gumption, creating his demos during studio downtime while working as a janitor. Then he settles on TVT Records to release it, a label that wasn’t known for much of anything beyond soundtracks and scores even then (though they did release The Timelords music too – maybe that’s what attracted Reznor to TVT?). Following that, a whole lot of underground buzz bloomed, Nine Inch Nails finding an audience with tech-savvy metalheads and the like who dug on those cold electronics with the guitar riffage and angsty singing. Soon enough, Pretty Hate Machine is hailed a classic, even though Reznor was quick to move on from it. It goes to show if you have the dedication, you can accomplish anything. Okay, it also doesn't hurt having something unique as your final product either.

ACE TRACKS: December 2014

December was a little slower on the reviewing front, in part from dealing with a couple double-disc releases, but also general distractions that come at this time of the year. Sure didn’t help some absolute miserable weather in Vancouver gave me a severe case of the SADs, but it’s done and passed. Time to look up as we approach my favorite time of the year, Perihelion Day! Mmm, feel that extra warmth from the sun on the cold winter noon. Anyhow, fewer reviews than normal gives us a smaller list than normal for ACE TRACKS: December 2014, so let’s dig in.


Full track list here.

MISSING ALBUMS:
Paul van Dyk - The Politics Of Dancing
Setrise & Kay Wilder - Poetry Clash
Various - Planet Rave, Vol. 1
Various - Planet Dance
Various - π - Music For The Motion Picture

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 6%
Percentage of Rock: 4%
Most “WTF?” Track: The Orb - Bang ‘Er ‘N Chips (for the title alone)

(note: Percentage Of Neil Young is now Percentage Of Rock, since the original joke doesn’t make as much sense anymore)

Maybe the reason I was feeling so mopey this past month was because all the music I was listening to. It’s not dark or super serious, but it sure feels like more often than not we’re dealing with minor keys. The few upbeat tunes from Todd Terje and Steve Porter just can’t compete with the overwhelming dub techno, melancholic ambient, introspective acid, and angry-as-fuck Ice Cube. Speaking of, he and Jefferson Airplane fit absolutely no where in this playlist, so apologies for how awkward they’ll sound surrounded by modern classical and disco synth.

Not a terribly odd playlist compared to some months then, with a fairly consistent mood for a change. Just don’t play it on cold, grey days.

Ice Cube - The Predator

Priority Records: 1992/2003

Ice Cube warned them, made two albums in two years declaring that the shit was gonna' hit the fan if people didn't pay attention to all the problems affecting inner-city America. Then Rodney King happened, followed by riots, and a promise that proper dialogue and change for the better would finally go down for black communities. Yet, here we are, over twenty years later, and the same ol' strife continues to erupt. Why didn't you warn us again, Cube? Oh, right, too busy making movies and that. Guess it's fallen to the younger generation of rappers to fight the good fight in the name of racial justice.

Just kidding. O'Shea Jackson doesn't need to keep carrying a gangsta' militant torch because he said all that needed to be said back in the day – the fact some of his points on AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, Death Certificate and The Predator still resonate today is a testament to how difficult it's been for America to overcome its racial and social divides. That said, I wager even Cube felt he was running out of topics to rap about that weren’t retreads for this album. It didn’t mean he ran out of issues to rail against, as despite the racial pressure cooker having finally burst, he’s still taking to task corrupt cops and the unjust profiling many blacks and Latinos suffered from. A number of his other heated subjects, however, like homophobia and beefs with other rappers, is left to the back burner. Seems there were more important matters to address than whether a dude’s looking at you queer.

Another thing that’s different in The Predator compared to Cube’s first two albums is more focus on his mack game and even a little light-hearted optimism for a change. Yep, this is the one where ol’ O’Shea waxes pleasantries on It Was A Good Day, as much a sunny LA slice of life as it is a commentary that having nothing go wrong is such a rarity in the gangsta’ routine (fabricated or not). It also gave him his highest charting single outside his traditional US rap market, and quite a surprising one considering the sort of music Cube was known for – not that mainstream American radio would be comfortable promoting hyper-violent dancehall songs like Wicked.

Speaking of, should you get a feeling of Cypress Hill on some of these tracks, that’s because DJ Muggs contributed a few beats (Now I Gotta Wet ‘Cha, We Had To Tear This Motherfucka Up, Check Yo Self). His brand of bouncy funk gives The Predator a bit more variety over DJ Pooh and Sir Jinx’ rugged boom-bap and g-funk, though I cannot deny I’m still missing The Bomb Squad sample-heavy style (who doesn’t though?).

Ice Cube’s third album does run a bit long, the aforementioned limited topics covered growing repetitive by the end. Ignoring that though, The Predator is still prime-era Cube, and absolutely worth your ears’ attention. His words were never more potent, yet remain just as pertinent.

Steve Porter - Porterhouse

Fade Records: 2006

I’m hard pressed to think of another career that’s taken as strange a trajectory as Steve Porter’s. He got his break releasing tunes on Chris Fortier’s Fade Records, joining the ranks of a progressive house/trance/pants scene as it started down the ‘dark prog’ path. These days, he’s known as that guy who makes memetastic sports mash-ups, winning web awards and features on SportsCenter. Hell, he even got the nod of approval from Canadian blow-hard Don Cherry, no small feat considering the short list of things he’ll give any props to. Now, make that connection in your head: from John Digweed to Don Cherry. It just don’t add up!

Confounding this story further is the long in-between those career points, as it shows almost no common link between the two incredibly disparate achievements. Instead, we find Steve Porter supporting funky house music, as daft as any scene to find refuge in the middle of the ‘00s. He had to do something, of course, as the dark prog that defined his early years had fallen out of fashion, most of his peers left adrift to latch onto whatever hot new trend they could adapt to. Most went for the minimal and tech-house brass ring, including some of his Fade label mates; others tried out that electro fad for a time. Upbeat disco and funk though? There were isolated strongholds for the sound, especially in clubs around New York City and Miami, but where was the critical prestige in those fun and gaudy scenes, the buzzword worthiness, the forced narrative of their influence within The Scene at large?

This move on Porter’s part could have been career suicide, and he may have faded off into irrelevancy if he hadn’t found fame with his mash-up videos. On the other hand, chasing trends probably didn’t appeal to him if it meant playing dry-as-desert dirt tech-house or electro-fart nonsense - dance music doesn’t have to be so damn serious nor ‘stoopid’. If losing critical hype is the price paid for pursuing what appeals most to you, then all the more power to ya’, Mr. Porter.

Making his new musical manifesto clear was his first dive into the DJ mix market, Porterhouse. It contains twenty-six tracks, which is impossible to mix on a single CD if you’re still playing prog, but perfectly awesome if you’re playing funky house. And breaks! Holy cow, breaks are mixed in here. Not in the traditional ‘spotlight segment’ either, but throughout as though they have every right existing beside all the four-to-the-floor business. Plenty of instances of prog-house’s chugging rhythms and big melodic moments crop up too, though never to the detriment of keeping the vibe on the up and tempo consistent and relentless. Porter also makes up about half the tunes (including under guises like Chop Shop and Agent 001), so there aren’t many detours away from his sound. Porterhouse doesn’t come off as anything more significant than a mindless diversion then, but I can’t deny it being a fun ride.

The Orb - Pomme Fritz

Island Red Label: 1994

Perhaps the best era to step into The Orb's world as a doe-eyed ambient newbie was around 1995 (yeah, that year again). Though the group's discography was but a third of its current size, the scant choices for an album plunge were bona-fide classics, as decreed by the Ambient Emporium Consortium Collective. Simply walk into a shop and pick any ol' Orb CD you found sitting on the shelves, confident that the plaudits graced upon them were sure and true. That's the theory anyway, and undoubtedly worked fine for those living in the UK or major metropolitan districts with A&B Sounds and Tower Records aplenty. For a west coast Canadian teenager with paltry sums of money, however, paying big bucks for double-disc albums was simply unthinkable (to say nothing of the curious scarcity of U.F. Orb and Orbus Terrarum in those days). But what's this? Why, a little album at half the price of a regular LP. What a perfect entry point, thought I. Surely I will learn all that I need to know about The Orb from Pomme Fritz! Wait, what are you doing with that rug I currently stand upon?

Look, it isn’t much surprise that whatever druggy tomfoolery was going down in The Orb studios would manifest itself with patience sapping experimentation. I guess folks should be thankful it was mostly relegated to this stopgap, and honestly only two tracks at that, titled More Gills Less Fishcakes and We’re Pastie To Be Grill You. There’s irreverent sampling, bizarre tape manipulations, occasional ear-wormy bits that go absolutely nowhere, splashy über-dubbed rhythms, and a few instances of lovely spaced-out synth work.

Fortunately, they took that one good element and made it a prominent feature in Bang ‘Er ‘n Chips, working it into a minimalist excursion into ambient dub. It also features some of the group’s vintage clever style of sampling: a woman talks about wishing upon stars at night (with billions and billions to choose from!), recalling the Little Fluffy Clouds monologue, while an old Saturday Night Live skit about the relaxing nature of electroshock therapy keeps the mood firmly in cheek. Following that, Alles Ist Schoen goes for the ‘dreamy time’ music road, cascading synths galore. Ah, now he gets it, Teenage Sykonee does.

I guess I should mention that the main track off Pomme Fritz, Meat ‘N Veg, has all the above features arranged into the closest thing to an actual song. Yeah, this ‘little album’ is ‘little’ more than variations on it – not really remixes, but Paterson and co. dicking around in the studio with all those elements (apparently the recent re-issue has even more sessions; yay?). Well, except for the final ditty, His Immortal Logness, a ridiculous piece of short music that would feature wonderfully in a parody of stuffy 1700s European chamber gatherings. I like this more than I should, and as a D-side, it’s totally harmless fluff. Frankly, Pomme Fritz comes off like a D-side, one that charted on sheer Orb prestige alone.