µ-Ziq - Royal Astronomy

Virgin: 1999

When µ-Ziq signed with Virgin, part of his deal included the creation of Planet Mu as an offshoot. Mr. Paradinas' label has gone on to some critical fame in the years since, but at the time Virgin was struggling in its promotion of IDM, unable to properly capitalize on the buzz Aphex Twin's videos had generated; or so the story goes. Not sure if it was that awful, what with plenty of magazine ad spots for Lunatic Harness and Royal Astronomy. Still, it's understandable that Virgin and Paradinas would decide parting ways was best for both, frenetic braindance chamber music most definitely not the sort of music easily marketed alongside The Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim. Thus, in 1998, the µ-Ziq brand found a permanent, exclusive home on Planet Mu, where Paradinas' albums have been released ever since.

Wait a second, Royal Astronomy came out in 1999, after Planet Mu went proper independent, yet was still released by Virgin. And, unlike Lunatic Harness, this album didn't get a Planet Mu edition, instead being published by Virgin sub-label Hut Recordings, who also released albums from acts like Smashing Pumpkins, Placebo, The Verve, and Gomez (wait, who?). What gives the dealy-o?

Since I'm not a journalist and unwilling to do much research beyond cursory digging, here’s some speculation instead: Paradinas had an album commitment to Virgin, releasing a set number of LPs within such-and-such time span. He got out of that contract when he gained the independent rights to Planet Mu, but had to still provide Virgin with at least one more album's worth of material as part of the bargain. Hence, Royal Astronomy, an album with Virgin's marketing clout behind it, and music with almost no interest on Paradinas' part. Am I right? Do I get the no-prize? Just this CD? Awww.

I can't outright call Royal Astronomy bad, as µ-Ziq has enough talent that even slapdash moments have something interesting going on. There's even a kernel of an album concept lurking in here, where Paradinas indulges is classical leaning compositions as though they were intended for Romantic Era performances (Scaling, Gruber’s Mandolin, Scrape) but sometimes given a thumping, funky twist for the modern era (The Hwicci Song, The Fear, Slice, World Of Leather). It'd be a fun exploration if he'd gone the album's length with it, but unfortunately is hardly touched upon after a promising first few tunes.

The rest either goes the acid IDM fun-funk route (Autumn Acid, Carpet Muncher), quirky pleasantness (56, Goodbye, Goodbye), and standard d’n’b rinse-outs (The Motorbike Track, Bust Your Arm). I’m not getting any rhyme or reason why these tracks are on this album or in the order they’re presented in – here’s some music µ-Ziq had lying around, toss it on the CD, and here’s your final Virgin LP. Done and dusted.

Royal Astronomy’s just too erratic a listen to recommend it as a whole. Sometimes that works in IDM’s favour but not on this outing.

Benny Benassi - Rock'N'Rave (Original TC Review)

Ultra Records: 2008

(2015 Update:
I recall hating this, but upon re-listening to Benassi's sophomore effort, it wasn't as bad as I remember. Surely it was within the review itself that my bile had been expunged, snarky quips galore shot upon one of dirty electro's founding fathers. Nay, t'was not here either, generally positive things said even while remaining properly critical. Hell, I even gave some praise to I Am Not Drunk, and that song's awful. Maybe taking on a temporary douche-bro mindset truly does help in seeing things from the other side, an appreciation for the trashy dumb-fun aspect of club culture. That, or I suspected things would only get worse with the advent of disposable EDM in the following decade.

Speaking of, no surprise Benassi's hitched another wagon onto the festival anthem house scene. His recent singles could be any number of Guetta/Hardwell clones though, not even retaining the sleazy charm that marked his early work. Makes some of the tripe on this album come off far more original. Still, if you've got a hankering for the old Ed Banger 'maximal' sound, stick with Boyz Noise.)

IN BRIEF: Marginal satisfaction.

Oh dear, we aren’t actually going to do this, are we? Oh yes indeed we (or at least I) are (am). After so many months of giving the collective nu-electro house scene the thumbs down, we’re going ahead and reviewing the new album from the man that propelled the sound into the stratosphere of popular taste with his hit single Satisfaction. No good can come of this, right? Tsk, you wound us with your petty assumptions.

Thing is, most of our criticisms of the genre tend to fall upon the stagnant Swedish side of things, where farting basslines dominate; but we here at TranceCritic have remained rather neutral where Benassi and his sleazy side-chaining clones are concerned. Chalk it up to a kind of love-hate relationship with Benny: he has undoubtedly produced some fun house music, but due to his catering to the tastes of mainstream lowest common denominator, not much of it holds up when placed under scrutiny. Still, he knows his role, and we know he knows his role, so we often let his brand of nu-electro go; let him enjoy his success while the sound is hot.

Popular trends are fleeting, however, and a little over two years ago, when last we talked of Benassi [at TranceCritic], we predicted the sleazy side-chaining gimmick would be wearing out its welcome. Sure enough, Benassi's nu-electro has been usurped in clubbing circles for a thrashier trashier kind of sound, feeding off the arena rock vibes acts like Justice brought to the forefront of dance music. Never being one to innovate but always one to capitalize upon a hot trend, Benny’s hopped on this latest bandwagon, and offers us his second album titled Rock‘N’Rave.

And he (plus producing partner Alle Benassi, remaining in the background while his brother Benny’s grabs the spotlight) does whip up some suitably rowdy numbers that’ll work perfectly fine in your typical weekend club; however, when stacked against much of the dance-rock material released this past year, it pales in comparison. Far too much of it sounds like Benassi approximating what he figures to be the Ed Banger aesthetic, hitting you with blunt out-of-tune riffs permanently cranked into the red; sometimes it works (Rock‘N’Rave, U Move U Rock Me) but most of the time it’s a noisy annoyance - which has often been the main criticism of this genre right from the beginning anyway.

Benassi hasn’t completely abandoned his bread and butter, though, and whenever he brings the harlots and side-chaining out, the tracks surprisingly fare better. I Am Not Drunk, for example, is a fun bit of boozy-woozy hedonistic-dance indulgence. And then there’s My Body and Who’s Your Daddy, which prove Benassi a capable producer when he plays to a chick’s sense of tease. Unfortunately, they also have their problems: despite My Body’s fun rowdy nature, the side-chaining in its main melody is atrocious, some of the worst I’ve heard in a while; and compared to the original version of Who’s Your Daddy, this Pump-kin mix lacks spunk.

Still, those bratty girls are far more entertaining than most of the guest vocalists Benassi has brought in. Aside from Come Fly Away, which features euro-dancey pop lyrics courtesy of Channing complementing old-school rave riffs (sweet! ...until you realize the track doesn’t really go anywhere), it seems we’re in an emoting boy-band audition session. Good god, it’s bad enough we’ve been having to hear it in bad euro-trance, but now in dance-rock too? Enough already.

Ah, hell. I’m getting too critical over this music, aren’t I. That’s not the right frame of mind at all for Benassi’s type of music. Hold on a moment while I slip into something a little more suitable...

*Downs half-a-dozen jagerbombs; shot-guns a Rock Star; rails a line of blow off the ass of a trampy twenty-something gal wearing tacky sunglasses; spikes hair into frosted tips*

So, bro! This Benassi shit, man! Fuckin’ killer shit, eh bro? Oh fuck ya’, man! Listen to those fuckin’ FAT beats and... oh fuck! Dude!! Check out those two sluts fucking frenchin’, bro! That’s fucking AWESOME! Yeah, you go, bitches!! Wooooo!!!!! Oh, hey, bro! Benassi’s fucking the SHIT, man! Look how he gets those skanks wet and horny. Damn, I’m gonna get me some pussy tonight, I shit you not, bro! Benny Benassi, woooo!!! This shit’s off the HOOK!

Hey, bro, got any blow?

*sobers up*

Ugh, what happened? Where was I? Ah, right. Guest vocalists. If you like your male vocalists sounding overly emotional and earnest, you’ll probably enjoy the guys on Rock ‘N’ Rave. And I have to admit Shocking Silence isn’t too bad of an offering, even if it’s merely style-biting Marco V’s False Light.

The second disc is mostly remixes and some of Benassi’s ‘vs’ projects assembled together. None of the remixes are worth your time (Eclectic Strings is a dub of My Body, and sounding woefully inept without Mia's skanky vocals). The rest sounds like Benny’s attempt to replicate the success of Bring The Pain by capitalizing on some other current trends (classic house revivalism in the case of Black Box, and punky indie rock in the case of Iggy Pop); Bring The Pain actually is some fun, even if I can’t help but be reminded of Jason Nevins and Run DMC, but the other two are wholly unnecessary and uninspired reworks, making me just want to listen to the originals instead. Pretty much a toss-off, CD number two is.

So, perhaps this was to be expected after all. There’s no doubt Rock ‘N’ Rave has moments that’ll entertain, even if it’s mostly in a drunken-dumb kind of way. As an album, though, it isn’t the kind of thing you’ll be playing much from front-to-end. While you may whole-heartedly accept Benassi’s change of direction, his execution of it all sounds uncertain, as though he’s only doing this in order to keep up with contemporary clubbing consciousness. Whether his fanbase picks up on this remains to be seen but, in the long run, finding any kind of Satisfaction on here will be difficult. Oh yes, I went with the bad pun; deal with it, bro!

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2008. © All rights reserved.

ACE TRACKS: August 2013

Huh. Spotify’s gone a little screwy after downloading one of their updates. Despite registering ~14,400 songs, my Local Files no longer show. Meh, serves me right for figuring a newer version of a Desktop app would somehow be better. There’ve been a few minor features that disappeared lately, though nothing as inconveniencing as this. I suppose it doesn’t make too much difference since most y’all couldn’t hear the missing tracks anyway. For a short Playlist such as AUGUST 2013’s, however, even having those songs in a track list would help some. Guess I’ll add them in whenever Spotify sorts their shit out.


Full track list here.

MISSING ALBUMS:
Various - High Karate
DJ John Kelley - High Desert Soundsystem
DJ John Kelley - High Desert Soundsystem 2 Various - Dirty Vegas: Homelands 2002 Preview
Various - Helsinki Mix Sessions: Jori Hulkkonen
William Orbit - Hello Waveforms
Various - Heroes! Rewind!!

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 0%
Percentage Of Rock: 0%
Most “WTF?” Track: Daft Punk - Alive (how’d the end come so soon!?)

Vacation time already resulted in a lean month for reviews, but with half the albums covered not even available on Spotify makes for one very, very short Playlist. Remarkably, almost everything that made it is house music, and a rather specific sort at that. It’s like Frankie Knuckles, Daft Punk, and Hercules & Love Affair are kindred spirits in alphabetical coincidences. Even the tougher tech-trance from L.S.G., Trancesetters, and Jan Driver don’t sound out of place.

What obviously will though is that Hits Unlimited CD from 2 Unlimited. It seems Spotify finally has a version of the group’s greatest hits package available, so I’ve lumped it all at the end of the Playlist like the fanboy I am. There were also current remixes on it too, from the likes of Steve Aoki, Big Dawg, and Joachim Garraud. Naturally, I jettisoned them to the bin. Why make you suffer more than necessary?

Various - Renaissance: The Masters Series Part 15 - James Zabiela

Renaissance: 2010

Maybe I should just go back to the beginning, those early seminal mixes that elevated James Zabiela into the progressive elite. Yet would I be let down by those too? There’s so much hype for Utilities, Sound In Motion and ALiVE, their legacy as essential contributions to progressive house/breaks/tech, I fear they can’t help but not live up to their praise. Were they just good for the time, or had ol’ Zabs’ earned enough good will with live shows and Sasha nods that they forgave whatever faults those CDs might have. They certainly can’t have that same sense of missed opportunities as his contributions to Renaissance’s Master Series have.

Let me repeat his CD1 mix from Part 12 remains a great collection of tunes, arranged with wonderful narrative flow; however, the whole package is undone by the hopelessly dated, drab techno of CD2. Part 15 is another double-disc set that would have benefitted from reducing it to one. In this case though, we’re dealing with two half-good mixes rather than one ace and one bunk.

Make no mistake, I was looking forward to hearing this one based on the tracklist alone. So many artists I enjoy, plus others I deeply respect despite not indulging their material as often. Like who, asks you, before knowing the imminent namedrop shall commence. There’s Gui Boratto, Robert Babicz, Guy J, Hardfloor, Spooky, Josh Wink, Kaito, Jori Hulkkanen, Siriusmo, Ellen Allien, Boys Noize, ASC, plus a chap by the name of Peter Benisch I’ve gushed all too often about. Part of what intrigued me about Part 15 was how Zabiela would arrange all these artists into a cohesive DJ set, and the answer is he barely does at all, mostly opting for the mixtape treatment of tracks instead. Okay, cool, I’m sure Zabiela’s got some great selections to showcase throughout the course of these runtimes. Ehh…

CD1, subtitled A Life Less Ordinary, suffers most from this, never gaining any traction until well over the half-way mark with a comfortable groove. Before that though, we run through dubby downbeat (Nosaj Thing’s Fog), clicky chill (Zabiela’s Burnt Bridges), shoegazey electro (R3volve’s Bootpacker Alpha), microfunk (ASC’s Porcelain), and acid-ragga breaks (Ruxpin’s A Sunrise). All cool music, but little connection between any of it beyond tunes Zabiela’s fond of, and the distracting, injected dialog snippets don’t help matter either (shame, because such recordings were also a plus in Part 12’s favor). Still, a strong finish for this disc, even if it’s thanks to Benisch’s Skymning pulling it forward (no bias!).

CD2, subtitled Afterlife, almost has a good start with some melodic Detroit techno (Vince Watson’s Long Way From Home, but is followed upon deep tech-house that has all the substance of a rice cracker. At least it isn’t plodding, and once Zabiela gets out of the fussy bloopiness of it all, he settles into an enjoyable proggy outing with a little acid funk thrown in. There, that wasn’t so hard. Why you no do that from the start?

Amon Tobin - Out From Out Where

Ninja Tune: 2002

Out From Out Where marks a transitional period in Amon Tobin's career. I know this because that's what many ten year old reviews tell me, and I've no reason to disbelieve them. True, I should know this more intuitively than second-hand Wiki links, but my Tobin experience has thus far only been his earliest efforts for Ninja Tune. That leaves a near half-decade gap between Bricolage and this one, of which ol' Amon could have taken all sorts of weird and crazy musical tangents. No no, don't tell me what Supermodified and Permutation sound like, Dr. Spotify, I savour the mystery that still exists, music that I've yet to discover and properly take in with attentive ears. We need not know all the things all at once, right?

Thus, we jump a few years over the rest of Mr. Tobin’s ‘90s output, away from the jazz-fusion signifiers that won him plenty of plaudits. A little branching out never hurt anyone as talented as ol’ Amon, even if it was sometimes in weird ways (a field recordings album, really?). Out From Out Where seems less concerned with artistic endeavours though, going for something more accessible, with big nasty beats that the kids lap up in the streets.

Seriously, everyone going on about the awesomeness of glitch hop these days would cream their shorts after hearing the opening salvo of this album. There’s still more than enough micro-editing and beat stitching that’ll have your Squarepusher triggers flashing, but Tobin doesn’t go so braindancey in this outing, tracks coming off like turntable cut-ups as only capably performed by an arachnid DJ. Back From Space has funky bass licks, stuttering hip-hop rhythms, flanged-out string sections, and gnarly bass action. Verbal is a complete funk-hop stomp rock-out, including acoustic guitar strums, cannon-blast bass, cavernous percussion, and stitched in MCing. Chronic Tronic bounces along with drums and woodblocks echoing off huge halls, nasty low-end wobbles, vicious beat craft, and wonderfully contrasted with ethereal orchestral passages. Yes, that’s a thing, got’dang it, Amon Tobin’s made it so. He also makes my inner b-boy bust out some sick moves – if only my aging body could pull them off. *sigh*

The rest of Out From Out Where doesn’t reach the same thrill as the opening three provides, but does offer its share of mint material too. Cosmo Retro Intro Outro may as well be Tobin’s official “hey advertisers, here’s a track!” big beat offering, while Triple Science has him getting his drill ‘n’ bass on. Meanwhile, Hey Blondie has a little krautrock vibe going for it, and El Wraith shows the ill-fated illbient genre still had some life in it for the new millennium. The rest is the sort of trip-hop many associate with Ninja Tune with a little added Amon flair, though I understand why some might not be as impressed with such music since its well tread ground since the ‘90s. Whatever, it’s still great headphone tuneage. Pardon me as I go swagger down my street now.

Faithless - No Roots

Arista: 2004

Faithless had to know they needed a shakeup. The various members weren't feeling the synergy quite so strong as the years wore on, other pet projects taking their time away from being one of the biggest bands in the UK (huh, that sounds familiar). They had enough built-in good will with their fans that stretching their musical ability wouldn't alienate many anyway, so why not try something different while the opportunity was there? It's not like it'd abruptly end the group. Haha... eh, well...

Still, No Roots was popular enough, earning Faithless their first number one album on the UK charts. It’s mind-boggling that they never accomplished it with any previous LP. You’d think at least Sunday 8PM or even Outrospective would have climbed that high since those had much bigger singles in their favour (the group was still too ‘underground’ in their Reverence years). Generally speaking, Outrospective did have better success abroad, but most of the world had moved on from Faithless by 2004, whereas their native land still had much love for them (for a couple more years anyway).

No Roots may not have garnered the same mass appeal as their previous albums, but I wager this is Faithless’ best album-album after Sunday 8PM. Though the group dared to blend genres few others would in their previous LPs, their old formula was getting all too predictable. Here’s the trip-hop conscious track with Maxi Jazz. Here’s the Big Obvious Club Anthem. Here’s the world-weary folksy singer song. Here’s the Dido guest spot. Here’s the other Big Obvious Club Anthem. Here’s the other trip-hop conscious track with Maxi Jazz. Here’s the quirky track. Here’s the blissy instrumental. Hey, it was a very effective way to arrange an album, but doing the same thing three times in a row seems self-defeating for a group known for their dynamic musical abilities.

No Roots opts for a different, erm, route. You still have the same markers, but they’re blended into the flow of the album far more effectively. Heck, the entire record flows wonderfully between tracks, making the whole thing come off like one long song. Example: after the rousing build of I Want More (the first of the Big Club Anthem on here, though not as Obvious as prior hits), the drop into chipper, jazz-hoppy Love Lives On My Street is hardly forced, sounding as natural a follow-up as anything could. Another significant change to No Roots is the inclusion of LSK, providing an urban R&B croon in contrast to the khaki-clad style prior guest singers had (Jamie Catto, Boy George).

Elsewhere on the album, you get deep house (Sweep, Miss U Less, See U More), classy clubbier stuff (What About Love), acid ambient (Pastoral), and a little rock action too (Swingers) among the dependable trip-hop tracks. Plenty of reprisals throughout too, adding to the sense No Roots was designed with a full play-through in mind. Listen to a Faithless album in full? *gasp* No skipping to the hits for you, pal.

Cosmic Replicant - Mission Infinity

Altar Records: 2014

No, really, Altar Records is more than psy-chill compilations and AstroPilot albums. I know it doesn’t seem so if you’ve only learned about them through this lonesome blog in the backwaters of interwebland, but that’s because… Okay, for a good portion of their first couple years, Altar Records pretty much was psy-chill compilations and AstroPilot albums. It didn’t take long in branching out though, growing their roster of acts and expanding their offerings of ambient, dub, and, um, New Agey meditation music probably (some covers are suspect). They haven't strayed far from the scene that nurtured them, but considering their ridiculous rate of output (nearly triple digits in six years!), Altar's had plenty of opportunities taking a few chances outside their comfort zone.

Cosmic Replicant's one such act, another in what seems like an endless supply of Russian and Ukrainian producers involved in the psy scene in some way. Do they have breeding vats pumping out these guys in Eastern Europe or something? Mr. Pavel Shirshin's released a few albums on Altar already with this guise, Mission Infinity his third in a two year time span (there’s also a fourth self-released LP as well – geez, what a work rate). I haven't checked out the other two yet, and didn't know anything about Cosmic Replicant before buying this in my Altar splurge, if only to go through the blind purchase thrill even with a label I'm quite comfy with. If Mission Infinity's anything to go by though, I gotta' dig into those early efforts.


These tunes are some of the best, recent examples of the classic, bleepy ambient techno I’m always banging on about (obligatory Higher Intelligence Agency namedrop). Obviously these lean a little in psy’s direction, but primarily on the rhythmic front. Tracks like Overnight Journey, Perception Of Doors and Overnight Journey have that downtempo dub thing going for them, whereas latter tracks like Quantum Leap, Yesterday Tomorrow, and the titular cut wade into prog-psy’s waters. Other tracks though, like opener Flexible Minds and Waves Bubbles are totally old-school Bobby Bird.

It’s Cosmic Replicant’s choice of sounds that draws the strongest comparison though, synths, pads, acid, and samples harkening back to the days where ambient techno was more fascinated with space and the future. It’s not that this is a total retro homage either, the production quality as current as anything Altar’s put out – C.R.’s merely used plenty of vintage sounds as compliments to contemporary styles. And unlike the pure experimental tone of that Antendex album Photons (my last direct HIA comparison), Mr. Shirshin is intent upon writing proper pieces of music here, the sort that can take you on nice little journeys within your head. Mission Infinity isn’t quite so brilliant at as the masters of the craft, but it’s been a while since these particular pleasure centers have been tickled so wonderfully (obligatory Distant System namedrop). Do check Mission Infinity out if you’ve a little early ‘90s space-bleep ambient techno love kicking about.

Various - 6th Element (The Missing Elements)

Altar Records: 2011

Okay, now you're just milking your concept, Altar Records. Even going for a fifth was dubious, but the nebulous idea of a classical element that consists of ether or souls or whatever ('love'? Arrgh!) has enough traction within pop culture to allow it. A sixth though? I seriously can't even. What's this supposed to represent, the substance within hyperspace? The singularity centre of a black hole? The whiskers that makes up Evil Spock's beard? The last digit of pi?

I jest of course. A year after Altar wrapped up their Elements series, they released this download-only bonus of unreleased material that didn't make the cut for various reasons, hence Missing Elements as a subtitle (and why it's getting reviewed with the 'M's – t’was sorted that way). Normally such releases don't interest me, but since it came included with the purchase of the Elements set, here’s my six pennies' worth of opinion on 6th Element.

First off, holy cow, but do these ever sound 'unreleased'. Okay, under-produced is a better term, but that's only in comparison to the strong mixdown Altar typically provides on all its material. These feel like a layer’s cut off, or even missing an ele- *slaps self*.

What I mean is, the production quality isn’t that far removed from the sort of tunes you’d find on small sub-labels of Israeli psy trance in the mid-‘00s. Come to think of it, DJ Zen started out on one such label, Sunline Records (Quebec based), which was an offshoot of Kagdila Records (California based). I can’t say I’ve heard of anything from either print, so I’ve no idea whether their mixdown standards were up to snuff with the Twisteds and Ultimaes of the time. What I can tell you is when Zen went proper independent with Altar, he must have gotten his hands on Aes Dana’s notebook of mixdown techniques. No sense on spending that extra studio time on ‘unreleased’ material though.

So the production isn’t as exquisite as the rest of the Elements series, but there’s still some cool stuff on here. Zen gives AstroPilot’s Inside The Harmony an eighteen minute ethno-ambient remix, which may sound daunting, but the original off the Solar Walk album’s even longer! At the other end of 6th Element is Asura with a track that sounds like Vangelis at his poppier moments, suitably titled, um, Vangelis. Everything in between runs the usual gamut of psy dub, chill, and prog, from regular contributors like Zymosis, Tentura, and Chronos, to first-time outside helpers like Elea, Suduaya, and Dreaming Cooper (Lord Discogs lists this as his only credit!). And man, are there ever some corkers in this collection, tracks building as some of the best prog-psy goes. The fact these remain strong pieces of music even without extra engineering polish goes to show Zen’s surrounded himself with some incredibly talented people.

That said, I wouldn’t bother with 6th Element unless you’re already keen to Altar Records output. More a pleasant bonus to their main series, this one.

Moss Garden - In The Silence Of The Subconscious

Carpe Sonum Records: 2014

If you’re getting a sense of Namlook déjà-vu with that cover art, it’s deliberate on the Carpe Sonum’s part. Following Mr. Peter Kuhlmann’s death, many of his labels ended too, including several offshoots and cross-sea distributor partnerships. One of these, EAR/Rational, set up a short-term label called Carpe Sonum Records with the sole intent of releasing that tribute mega-boxset all you ambient lovers undoubtedly heard about and snagged up. Hell, are any of those left now? *checks* Holy cow, only three remaining? Bought! *whew* Almost missed out on that. Where was I now? Right, Carpe Sonum.

What began as a one-time effort has now evolved into a full-fledged label with the intent of carrying on Namlook’s legacy in the realm of ambient and chill. This includes the classic Fax +49-69/450464 art style, and even taking on a few latter-era FAX artists to their roster (Thomas P. Heckmann, Lorenzo Montanà, Mick Chillage). Carpe Sonum’s rounded up newer acts too, including this here Moss Garden.

Unfortunately, I’ve less background info available for this duo (and by “I”, I mean Lord Discogs and Prince Last.fm). One half is Lee Norris, who's released a pile of music across multiple labels and genres (mostly IDM stuff) as Metamatics over the last couple decades. The other half is Dimitar Dodovski, who's released far less material than Norris, and has stuck to the downtempo side of dub and techno. With plenty of crafty rhythmic skill behind them, naturally the two would find kinship in creating pure ambient music.

While I’ve gone on and on about the Namlook within this review, Moss Garden’s sophomore effort, In The Silence Of The Subconscious, has more in common with Biosphere’s brand of synthy drone. And no, it’s not just because the cover features a lone individual trekking across a snowy field, though that certainly wouldn’t be out of place on a Geir Jenssen release. Nay, the very nature of Moss Garden’s music has a chilly tone to it, delicate pads and timbre feeling like wide-open winter canvases. Even some track titles - Strange Terrain, Shadowland - conjure the desolate reaches of frozen tundra, though I could also be straining to find thematic links. Hey, maybe that’s why they’ve included a track called Daily Catachresis! Meanwhile, soft field recordings of winds, crackling footsteps, and static embers that dub techno types adore, add some warmth to an atmosphere that’s rather brisk.

So this is all very lovely, inviting ambient that never noodles too long or pointless dawdles about. Um... if I’m honest, I kinda’ wish these tracks did stretch themselves out a little longer. There’s only seven on Silent Subconscious, none of which break the ten minute mark – heck, most only average about five minutes, practically ‘skit’ length where ambient of this sort is concerned. Moss Garden’s style, though hardly unique, is still skilful enough they should indulge their synths a little longer. Ah well, maybe on the next LP they’ll feel emboldened enough to go for those truly epic Namlook lengths.

Various - Fire

Altar Records: 2009

I'm sorry, but I just can't take anything with a simple title of Fire seriously anymore. It's The Prodigy's fault, you see. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about, and if you don't, that's only because you haven't heard that old track off Experience yet. Or you did, but were too addled on goofballs to remember it. Believe me though, should you hear The Prodigy's Fire, you'll never see that word the same way again, the corny call forever imprinted upon that part of the brain that plays music from within. What I wouldn't give to have that bit of cellular membrane surgically scooped out.

The reason for this totally unrelated intro is I've run out of background information to discuss regarding Altar Records' Elements series. Wait, this is your first click into my coverage of it? Well, then check out my review for Air. Or Earth. Or Ether. Or Water, when I eventually get to it in my alphabetical order and have to recap what this series was all about since ya’ll will have forgotten about it by then. Or you can take the plunge for these CDs too, gaining the same intimate knowledge of Altar Records’ early years as I have thus far gleaned in my crash course. But Fire, now my fourth review in this series in a week’s time, has nothing more to add in the discussion. Except the music!

Obviously there’d be differences between each volume – little point in making a theme-based compilation if you don’t take advantage of it. And while these various CDs maintain a loose connection to the element they’re tied to, they’ve all kept within the chill side of psy and dub, only occasionally upping the tempo into the realms of prog psy. Not so with Fire, the near entirety of its runtime devoted to the four-to-the-floor groove. Only (proper) opener Crossroads Limiter from Asura (widescreen acid chill) and psy dub closers from Ra and Uth (Tears Of Fire and Around The Sun In Seven Days, respectively – whoa, what sort of planet travels that fast?) break the mould, which makes good sense as your bookmark tracks.

It’s not pure prog psy from the get-go either, Tentura’s Resonance easing the listener in with a dubbier outing. It’s off to the morning vibes right after with Aquascape’s Phoenix Dance, with tracks by the now-regular Altar contributors all pitching in (AstroPilot, Zymosis, DJ Zen as Astral Waves, and Chronos – ah, hm, it may be a while before I get to him after all). The Zymosis track, Summer Twilight, is an interesting contribution too, going for the psy-breaks business that we don’t hear nearly enough of. C’mon, psy parties, your scene’s already suffering from staleness, and injecting other genres into your standards is a perfect way of spicing things up (no dubstep tho’).

Fire’s a good compilation to get your feet wet with Altar Records if you’re curious about their uptempo style. The best of Elements though? Nah, guy, I just reviewed that one, remember?