ASC - Sci-Files Volume Five (Jack Moss Review)

Covert Operations Recordings: 2008

(note: why have one guest spot review when you can have two for twice the price, especially when the bill is a tidy zero dollars to begin with? You can read more reviews from Jack Moss on his blog, even if he hasn't updated in a while. How long's his hiatus been, a little over two years now? Huh, sounds familiar somehow...)


So, Sci-Files Volume 5, eh? Having played all my overlong intro cards in the previous review, how the Hell am I supposed to drag out a description of two tracks to another Sykonee-imposed word count? Even if they are two of the most gorgeous, evocative pieces of electronic music ever committed to, um, file?

Ah, the hell with it.

The Elements starts with the most unpromising sample on the whole damn series, a MOR guitar strum that immediately brings to mind memories of criminally tepid coffee table jazz ‘n bass from 1997. Are you sure you’ve locked the right coordinates into the navigation system, Captain Clements?

I think this incongruous sample is the reason The Elements is my least-remembered tune on the whole album-not-album (look, we’ve discussed this). Which makes it all the more joyous to be reminded that The Elements, once it gets past its distinctly unpromising first 70 seconds, is actually one of the best tracks of the lot. So many drum ‘n bass hacks out there would have looped those 70 seconds, thrown in a mournful trumpet sample and some third-hand soul diva vocal over the top, sat back and sparked up. But not ASC! Instead he mutates the coffee table into a sublime cyborg symphony of fluttering melodies, topped off with a delightfully suggestive vocal sample.

Blueprint doesn’t quite rewire the hackneyed so unexpectedly, but once again the intro, dextrous as those breaks may be, doesn’t even begin to hint at what’s to come. Within minutes Clements is layering galactic synth washes, bleeped-out melodic transmissions and electro-tinged robo-bass into something that’s dnb but also so much more.

Listening to these tracks with my critical faculties fully engaged and a desperate need to pad out word count looming over me, I can hear more than ever how ASC takes the tropes of atmospheric drum ‘n bass, which let’s face it was running distinctly short of ideas even in 2008, and splices them with the genes of ambient, IDM, film score and just sheer sci-fi sonic wizardry to push the boundaries of the genre into uncharted quadrants of deep space.

Okay, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that I don’t know what you’re thinking and that I’m just using a cheap rhetorical trick. But you’re also thinking that I’m over-hyping this shit, aren’t you? Well maybe I am. As a sci-fi sucker who originally fell in love with electronic music because it sounded like the future I wanted to live in, I’m definitely the target audience here. But if you like music that stirs the imagination, that paints pictures behind your eyelids, that forces adjective-strapped music-journos to wheel out the hoary old one about “the soundtrack to a movie that doesn’t exist”, then don’t read another word of my blather and run instead to the nearest music-streaming service, cue this whole thing up start to finish and then tell me I’m over-hyping this shit.

Just don’t search for “The Sci-Fi Files”. Only an idiot would do that.

ASC - Sci-Files Volume Four (Jack Moss Review)

Covert Operations Recordings: 2008

(note: reading five reviews of ironclad word count detailing so little music grows boring, so spicing things up is a different voice, Jack Moss, my old writing partner at TranceCritic. He knows these EPs more intimately than I as it is. Also, check out his blog for more of his reviews, even if it's currently on hiatus)


When someone asks me what my favourite album is, I usually tell them it’s The Sci-Files by ASC. This is despite the fact:

1. The Sci-Files isn’t actually an album at all, but rather a series of EPs.
2. I don’t even actually own the series in its entirety.
3. I’d actually been erroneously calling it “The Sci-Fi Files” for years, right up ‘til Sykonee commissioned me to write this here review and used its proper name.

This isn’t out of sheer hipster point-scoring (“My favourite album? It doesn’t actually exist as an album”) but rather because The Sci-Files is an album in all but the trifling technicalities of how it was actually released. ASC originally wanted a lavish series of vinyl releases before the woes of his label Covert Operations forced him to abandon the plan and relegate his masterwork to a poxy series of MP3 releases. Imagine that gorgeous artwork in a series of themed 12” sleeves. You bet your ass I’d own the full series if that had happened, and I don’t even own a turntable. But it didn’t happen, and so I was free to collate the series on a Spotify playlist and play it through just like an album without ever having to pay for each individual track.

[Painful pseudo-intellectual amateur music-journo angle about playlists being the new albums sold separately.]

Anyway, the point is that The Sci-Files plays through like an album, and a fucking brilliant album at that, an album with a subtly varied but remarkably vivid and consistent mood, an album that explores the realms of pre-Autonomic experimental atmospheric ambient drum ‘n space as though that were an actual assured genre and not some nonsense adjectives I’ve just flung together. So to extract two tracks from the middle of this album-not-album and talk about them as an EP just feels hopelessly incomplete. Because how can you stop at just two tracks?

But stop there we must. So what have we got on Volume Four? There’s First Snow, which is actually one of the most conventional cuts out of the whole series. Despite its desolately inhospitable atmospherics and pleasingly over-dramatic percussive avalanches it’s not a million miles away from the kind of glistening frosty atmospheric jungle that, say, Alaska has been doing for decades. As far as desolate, inhospitable percussive avalanches go it’s still a blinding tune though.

Holosphere, on the other hand... This is the kind of tune that makes The Sci-Files so special. It’s drum ‘n bass alright, but not as we know it, Jim. The spacious, tech-y drum programming might just be some of James Clements’ finest rhythmic work and the bassline rends and tears at your subs like your head is being dragged through a wormhole. And the atmospherics, my God. ASC has a tendency of late to lapse into an over-explored seam of murky glitched dystopia, but Holosphere tickles your mind’s eye with visions of an uninhabited alien landscape, bleak but unimaginably beautiful.

Top shit, basically.

ASC - Sci-Files Volume Three

Covert Operations Recordings: 2008

Slight oversight on my part from the previous Sci-Files review. ASC's former home on Covert Operations Recordings was also a house that he built, so by all accounts the label would have been fully behind the project, had lack of funding not nixed plans for a vinyl run. What fun is theorizing if you knew everything though, eh? Plus, in some weird way, it'd be funny if Mr. Clements himself wasn't entirely satisfied with where Sci-Files was heading, his muse already wandering away from traditional forms of d'n'b in favour of trying out new things like dub techno, drone ambient, and whatever it is that he made for Autonomic (microfunk!). And it still doesn't excuse a limited run CD venture being unavailable. Kickstart that shit, mang!

Anyhow, here we are now with Volume Three of ASC’s Sci-Files series. Offworld Tides Part 2 is our opener with this two tracker, yet another slice of dreamy atmospheric d’n’b. It’s also a very apt title, imagery of seaside shores floating in your head as waves ebb and flow, though I’m still feeling the Balearic vibe over anything cosmic. Maybe aliens have their own Ibiza around Tau Ceti. Incidentally, the original Offworld Tides appeared way back in 2003, as an AA1 side on Inperspective Records. Geez, how many labels has ASC appeared on? No, don’t answer that, it was rhetorical.

The B-side of this digital collection, Firesign, is where things get interesting as far as the Sci-Files are concerned, marking the first instance of ASC forgoing the atmospheric jungle that marked the previous number of tracks. It’s relatively short, and much, much more chill and minimalist, with deep, dubby pads, yet maintaining the brisk, steady groove d’n’b adores making its calling card. Firesign is the sort of tune you’d expect as a transitional cut on an LP, but more importantly it’s something of a transitional track for ASC as a whole, a taste of the sort of music he’d begin exploring in subsequent years following Covert Operations’ folding. I wouldn’t call it an essential addition to your collection, as Mr. Clements has produced better offerings of this style elsewhere, but a noteworthy tune it does remain.

And with that, I must admit I've hit a wall in my coverage of Sci-Files. I’m struck dumb for additional information, and with three more to go, there's no way I'll keep these interesting by covering just two tracks per review. Why did Mr. Clements insist on having such classy cover art for these, forcing my hand in presenting each volume proper-like? I could blather nonsense between the analyses, but that would do them a total disservice. Methinks it’s about time to call in a favour for another guest review spot, and a sensible one for a change (sorry, Zangief). An individual who'd have no problem pinch-hitting a couple reviews, someone who knows these EPs inside and out. Hell, he was the one who turned me onto them in the first place (ASC in general, at that).

ASC - Sci-Files Volume Two

Covert Operations Recordings: 2008

Damn precedents. I never should have established them. Lack of foresight on my part perhaps, but I must have subconsciously looked forward to the challenge they presented too. I knew I had a few runs of CDs where coming up with consistent, interesting content would test my writing ability, even if it meant turning into a robot or calling in guest spots from street fighters to do so. In a pinch though, I could always count on every reviewer’s default crutch when struck dumb for an angle: detailing the music track-by-track, A full-length CD's worth easily eats up my self-imposed word count, hence why I typically only cover the essentials as necessary – makes for better reading to boot. With ASC's Sci-Files series, however, I'm offered no such recourse, each volume consisting of two tracks each, and no more. Son of a...

I understand the marketing behind something like this. A producer gets a concept swirling in their noggin, but wants to treat it with artistic care so fans and consumer can appreciate it more. Each successive single builds upon what came before, another chapter in the musical journey with unique cover art proudly displayed on record shelves like collectibles. Great for vinyl enthusiasts, but ASC’s Sci-Files never saw a run with the black crack format, instead relegated to the shrug-inducing realm of digital downloads and online streaming. Guess Mr. Clements’ old home on Covert Operations Recordings didn’t have enough faith in his concept, or simply lacked the funds for a proper hard-copy deal. What I want to know is why didn’t they at least provide a CD version consolidating everything? Surely a run of a few hundred wouldn’t be that costly – even ASC’s new pseudo-home with Silent Season offer that, and they’re way out in the middle of West Coast Canada nowhere!

Of course, I’m moaning for the lack of a Sci-Files CD more for my own benefit, as it’d make my hobby-job easier this week. But nay, I must do each of these EPs one-by-one, as is my rule with any series of CDs. Except Volume One, as I don’t have the first.

Since we’re dealing with ASC of the ‘00s, ol’ James is still in traditional d’n’b mode, and Volume Two opens with Datura, as fine an offering of the atmospheric sort as you’re likely to ever hear. Okay, not ever-ever – I can’t know how much some of y’all consume. Datura though, she hits all the key components I vibe on with this style: deep echoing pads, light floating melodies, vocal samples transmitting from the cosmos, and enough clever drum programming that things never fall into stale loops. Following it is Earthtones, touching on most of the same atmospheric points, but settling for a tone that’s more grounded than the spacey Datura. Definitely recommended for those in need of LTJ Bukem alternatives.

Off to a good start then. Only four more to go. Dear Lord, I pray I don’t succumb to anecdotes too soon.

ACE TRACKS: May 2015

This past weekend, I did something I hadn’t done since the earliest days of this blog’s revival: go to a used CD shop. Problem is they just don’t exist anymore, at least in any Vancouver neighborhoods I can easily get to. Used to be a stroll down the main strip of city central offered half a dozen such joints, but now they’ve all been taken over by joint supply shops (seriously, marijuana store fronts are multiplying like hemp rabbits here!). Peruse one I did though, and boy do I miss the casual flipping through unsorted stacks of discs, 99% of which don’t interest me in the slightest (a whole section of Christmas albums, seriously?). Every so often though, an album catches your eye, one that never even crossed your mind getting – buying exactly what you want is what Amazon’s for, after all. But here sits, looking for a new home, and with a money burning a hole in your pocket, you don’t spring for a new pair of pants, but a little extra music to play while wearing slacks. That truly blog-worthy paragraph out of the way, here’s the ACE TRACKS for the month of May. (I’ll stop rhyming now).


Full track list here.

Missing Albums:
Sandoz - Chant To Jah
Kraftwelt - Retroish
Escape - The Futurescape
Various - Die Welt Ist Klang: A Tribute To Pete Namlook
The Beatles - Abbey Road
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
RZA as Bobby Digital - In Stereo

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 0%
Percentage Of Rock: 10%
Most “WTF?” Track: Dire Straits - Sultans Of Swing (…just because)

The Pete Namlook tribute box set isn’t on Spotify. *whew* Thank God for that, as I didn’t want to go through the effort of putting all those tracks in this playlist. Besides, if you gotta’ hear those tunes, they’re all available in full within each CD’s review via their Bandcamp link. Might be a pain skipping all the way to CD8’s clutch of Ace Tracks though.

The drawback of not having a week’s worth of music here is it makes for a rather short Playlist. Heck, even if Spotify did have it, there’s still another half-dozen albums missing. On the other hand, we get ourselves a nice, easy, breezy collection of progressive house and groovy trance that remains in total denial of what it is – tech-house and techno, sure. Throw in a few laid-back dubby jazz numbers, spots of high-octane acid, and your requisite outliers, and this playlist turned out better than expected. Oh, and yes, I did include the opening three tracks off Interchill’s Sanctuary in their sequence off that compilation, though not right at the very beginning – I’m not that predictable.

Eat Static - Science Of The Gods

Mammoth Records: 1997

I may have pre-hyped this album a bit much, what with so many namedrops in past Eat Static reviews. For all I know, Science Of The Gods was unanimously rejected by the psy-trance faithful, seen as a betrayal of all that the goa scene held true. The hippies and techno crusties were in no need of their chosen heroes getting in on that surging d’n’b action, and junglists were even more insular, waging their own war over classic Amen Break darkside productions versus the new tech-step hotness. There’s no way these two disparate scenes should have any business interacting. It’s poison. It’s toxic. It’s catastrophic. You don’t cross the scenes!

So of course Eat Static said nuts to all that and delivered some of the gnarliest d’n’b I’ve ever heard. In adding the tricks they developed performing goa and psy, these aliens don’t so much invade the junglist’s realm as take some artefacts for themselves for display on their own world. The main tune off here, Interceptor, features a pummelling tech-step rhythm with thick, chunky kicks and a grimy acid bassline, serving as a rudder for all manner of sci-fi sound effects, knob tweaks, drum fills, and general psychedelic craziness to hang off. If Eat Static made this track specifically as a tie-in with the RTS game Conquest Earth, it’s about the only saving grace in that forgotten crap game. Come, bask in its glorious ‘90s CGI alien invasion video. It’s like watching a demo episode of Babylon 5!

Two other tracks on Science Of The Gods work the d’n’b angle, Dissection going deeper with Amen Break business with their usual assortment of sci-fi sounds and noises. Following a brief interlude, they tentatively dip their toes in jazzstep’s calmer waters on Bodystealers before going full-in with experimental beatcraft of micro-bleeps and reverb effects. Can’t ever say these guys never ventured where no others dared, even if this portion grows overindulgent after a couple minutes.

For all the supposed talk of this album straying from Eat Static’s core audience, folks forget that’s only three tracks out of eight, the remaining attending to the needs of their loyal outdoor followers as expertly as ever. The opening titular cut is all kinds of trippy fun, giving us a dirty bit of twisted acid funk before seemingly falling off the rails. Nay, it’s just the duo playing, soon enough unleashing a beast of acid techno for the remainder. Elsewhere, Kryll floats about with a spacey, proggy vibe, Spawn will kick the shit out of you, and Contact leans way old-school goa, sounding like a leftover from the Abduction days. Finally, The Hanger is one seriously dubby, low-riding monster of a track – imagine Predator cruising the cosmos with blunts billowing against the stars, feelin’ chill after a successful hunt.

I’ve no more else to say about Science Of The Gods. It may look campy, but that’s always been Eat Static’s charm, fooling the suspicious with the weird before unleashing their face-melting weaponry upon your ears.

Alex Theory - Saturn Returns (2015 Update)

White Swan Records: 2009

(Click here to read my original TranceCritic review ...for the first time!)

No matter how many times I gave Alex Theory’s Saturn Returns another spin, something felt a bit off about this album. Something lacking. Something flat. Something I dodged in my original review because I couldn't figure it out, so I rambled on at great length about my buying habits. Good Lord, was that unnecessary, and screws me in the here and now because that's the sort of stuff I'll burn up self-imposed word count on 20xx Updates for records folks don't give much hoot about. No, don't deny it, I know almost everyone that bothered clicking here has already checked out – it's not like what I wrote for Saturn Returns way back in 2009 got much attention anyway. Heck, I could probably re-do the whole review and no one would be the wiser, but all that effort for an Alex Theory album? Eehhh..........

I’m sure ol’ Al’s a fine enough chap, but he didn’t necessarily light the world on fire following this. Hell, I just discovered even Lord Discogs has never heard of this album. I had to submit the sucker just so The Lord That Knows All could know a little more. Not that it’s surprising some records and CDs slip through the cracks (to say nothing of the bundles of digital EPs released by the minute), but with four Theory albums already in the Discogian Archive (another elemental theme collection, yay), you’d think there’d be some others out there having picked Saturn Returns up. Over a half-decade has passed since this came out and no one bothered submitting it? I mean, I never did, because I just assumed it was already there. Come to think of it though, why didn’t I add it to my Discogs Collection in all that time? Seems like quite an oversight for someone so obsessed with his CDs that he’s reviewing them one by one.

Eh? Oh, right, that ‘something lacking’ I mentioned earlier. It didn’t hurt hearing Laswell’s Sacred System so recently prior to this one again to figure it out. I mentioned in the old review that Theory’s style does seem influenced from Laswell’s approach to dubby world beat reggae jazz splatooncore; heck, the echoing pianos of Strange Land sounds practically lifted from the same kind found in Book Of Entrance, though the effect is rather common in this genre. Nay, my point of contention is strictly in the rhythm department. Mr. Theory can craft some good beats, and does with a few of the latter tracks on here, but for some reason he utilizes kits that are incredibly flat. It’s difficult finding your groove when your primitive brain demands drums with more texture.

Once I accept this is simply the Theory Stylee, I’m fine with what I’m hearing (well, some of those ethnic chants could have been less cliché) and do find my groove, albeit after some acclimatizing to the music. Who knows how many others did though – certainly not The Lord That Knows All.

Sasha - The emFire Collection (Original TC Review)

Ultra Records: 2008

(2015 Update:
Ugh. This review's clunkier than I remember, and unfortunately suffers from an opening paragraph dependent upon reading prior material on TranceCritic. I don't even recall specific details regarding Sasha's short-lived label now. I think it was intended as a means of officially releasing Coma after enough interest in it grew when it was a self-titled white label, but my memory's hazy on that. Whatever the case, it seems the emFire portion of Sasha's career has been reduced to a mere footnote, a blip of information in what he was doing during minimal deep-tech's era of clubbing dominance. It sure didn't do the music on here any favors.

Coma remains a blinder of a track, and I've developed some appreciation for Who Killed Sparky?, but Mongoose and Park It In The Shade are wholly forgettable. Compounding the problem is the utterly pointless CD1. Slam's remixes were fine for Slam remixes - you kinda' know what you're getting with their brand of techno - and The Field's second remix holds up by feeling so old school. Audion and Radio Slave though, dear God are their rubs balls out boring. And while there's nothing musically at fault with New Emissions, the lack of indexing for all the various pieces holds back whatever potential repeat plays it may have had. I was entirely too kind in my conclusions to this double-discer back in the day. Sasha productions are rare enough, and The emFire Collection feels like such a waste of studio time now.)


IN BRIEF: Better than a stopgap.

Right. No sense in getting into the background particulars of this release then. You should all know who this Sasha character is, and, fortunately for me, the history of emFire was already covered by J’ [2015 Edit: whoops, that review’s gone]. All I have to do now is tell you whether all those remixes are worth your attention and fill you in on the details of that forty-minute long track that’s undoubtedly caught your attention. Eh? You want more than that? *sigh*

Thing is, even though you’ll find this filed under ‘Sasha’, The emFire Collection isn’t a fully fleshed-out release from Mr. Coe and his production associates. It would seem, as with the vinyl editions of his four recent singles, Sasha wanted to do something a little extra special for the CD release of them. He didn’t have enough material to make a proper album, yet an EP release like Xpander wouldn’t do either. So, he called up some of the hottest names in contemporary club culture to provide remixes. Par for the course where dance music is concerned but somewhere along the way, the idea was planted the remixers should flex their muses as well with two versions on their chosen emFire single: one for the dancefloor, and the other something more for the home-front (re: experimental). The result is a full disc’s worth dedicated to this project, with Sasha’s originals now shuffled off onto a second disc.

So, we have neither a true artist album but more than just a remix package. This places The emFire Collection somewhere in leagues with The Qat Collection when one glances at Sasha’s discography. All that’s left to answer is whether this Collection is worth your hard earned coin to place in your collection. That entirely depends on what you’re looking to get out of these CDs.

If the remixes were the first to grab your attention, you may come away rather disappointed. Even though names like Matthew Dear (as Audion), Matthew Edwards (as Radio Slave), and Axel “not Matthew” Willner (as The Field) have earned plenty of critical praise this past year, their minimalist musical styles are quite in contrast to Sasha’s enveloping atmospheric productions. The experimental rubs have some intriguing sounds on offer - Edwards turns in an agreeable dub techno go at Who Killed Sparky? - but are hardly essential either; Dear in particular spends over a dozen minutes going nowhere with his minimal dub loops. On the other hand, Edwards goes overboard on his Panorama Garage Mix, with a techno rework that is appropriately sinister and atmospheric but lasts a good three-to-five minutes too long; meanwhile, Dear’s dance-rub of Park It In The Shade is a nifty little groovy-woozy thing. And as for Slam, well, they do Slam with their takes on Coma: fine for the ambient/tech-house offerings they are but nothing groundbreaking. Ultimately, though, very few elements of Sasha’s originals are utilized in these remixes, beyond effects and traces of atmosphere; if you’re hoping for creative takes on Sasha melodies, you’ve come to the wrong place.

Aside from Willner’s Disco Mix of Mongoose, that is. The original was lodged somewhere between Shade and Sparky in terms of how it sounds but in Willner’s hands, it comes across like some long-lost Underworld groove complemented with classic trance execution. Long time fans of Sasha’s sound will undoubtedly enjoy this one the most.

Still, such folks are going to be more interested in the second disc anyway. Even though tracks like Shade, Sparky, and Mongoose are sparser than the types of tracks most expect from Sasha, there’s still more vitality to them than anything to be heard on the remix disc. And Coma remains a lovely slice of melodically lush atmospherics, once again proving Misters Coe and May are a potent team in the studio whenever Sasha feels the ol’ muse tickling his noggin.

However, in a move that will probably irk those who held out on the vinyl and MP3 versions of these emFire singles for a copy on CD, the tracks are edited; honestly though, this does make better sense from a home-listening standpoint. And besides, if Sasha hadn’t pared them down a little, then he wouldn’t have been able to fit that little film score onto this disc. Yes, finally I’ve gotten around to that. For those not in the know New Emissions Of Light And Sound is a DVD featuring surfers. I haven’t seen it, nor can I say I’m particularly inclined to do so anytime soon; however, the music Sasha made for it is definitely worth your attention.

Not the first time Sasha’s done soundtrack work (he provided music for WipEout 3, remember? Oh, you don’t. Never mind then...), the music he’s made is somewhat simpler than his usual output. Still, a ‘simple Sasha’ tends to be far more intuitive than a good eighty percent of electronic musicians out there, and New Emissions is a lovely listen. There’s blissy ambient passages, moody funky moments, gentle synth washes, Coma, and brief stabs at experimentalism too. And although I can easily picture waves and beaches and surfers set against sunset backdrops as this plays, it could work just as fine for any number of scenic pieces. The only gripe about New Emissions - and it’s unfortunately a serious one - is that none of it is indexed. There are definite individual tracks on this, with names like Gothic Mood, Rooski, and Stars, but instead of being able to skip to the bits you’d like to hear at any given time, it’s all arranged into a continuous mix with obvious transitions.

And really, that kind of sums up emFire Collection as a whole. There’s a fair amount to enjoy here but it’s presented in such a way that leaves something to be desired. Honestly, given how disparate everything is on here, I’m not sure Sasha could have made this a fluid sounding release across two discs. I’d still call this a welcome addition to anyone’s music collection but compared to other releases with Sasha’s name on the cover, it probably won’t get as many plays.

Sandoz - Chant To Jah

Touch/Soul Jazz Records: 1998/2002

Swell, not even a week deep into my collection of ‘S’ albums, and I’ve already hit two mislabels. Technically, Sandoz In Dub is a subtitle, specifically for a series of LPs Richard H. Kirk released in the latter years of this alias, but leave it to Media Player to get that backwards. Not even sure how the next album in my alphabetical order got so messed up, but let’s ignore the near future for now, going back to the past with another anecdote of my buying habits.

No, I’m kidding; though I should mention that Chant To Jah was the first Sandoz CD I bought. Somehow even finding one on store shelves feels like a fluke, except as with Digital Lifeforms: Redux, this was a re-issue, in this case by Soul Jazz Records – it’s kinda’ their thing. Why they went with this particular Sandoz album though, I haven’t a clue. Chant To Jah only had a few years behind it, and while undoubtedly hard to find, no more so than any other early Sandoz album. Maybe the relative ‘newness’ of the album made it an easier sell, or Kirk grew tired of Touch’s ‘scarcity is art’ marketing; or Soul Jazz head Stuart Baker adored Chant To Jah above all other Sandoz LPs. What strange machinations these record labels concoct in the odd hours of our times.

I was also initially put off by this album because I had no clue what I was in for. The only prior track I’d heard under the Sandoz banner was the ambient dub outing Beam, so I naturally thought this would be more of the same. Clearly not, as Chant To Jah goes full-in with its reggae roots and African vibes. On the surface, it sounded fine, but nothing terribly different than so much other musicians of similar ilk. Compounding my lackadaisical impression of this album was Digital Lifeforms itself when I finally got to hear that one. The sublime tribal techno and dub fusion going on in the Sandoz debut was unlike anything I’d heard before, and remains a remarkable unique entry in that ultra-micro niche avenue of electronic music. I constantly returned to Digital Lifeforms to pick out new little nuances to Mr. Kirk’s craft, whereas Chant To Jah would only get an occasional token playthrough.

Funny enough, it was those repeated plays of the former that finally led me to appreciating the latter. The combination of Jamaican and North African music already offers intriguing interplay of their distinct attributes, of which ol’ Rich does remarkably well for an industrial keyboardist. It’s the techniques learned from that wholly unrelated scene, however, that lends the music here a grit you won’t find much elsewhere. Snares clank, vocal chants distort, and dub reverb echoes off concrete halls. Yet despite the harsh textures, the soulful vibe of Afro-dub remains intact. That’s some serious musical skill pulled off, drawing you in to hear those same nuances that marked Digital Lifeforms. Took me damned long enough to get it, though.

Various - Sanctuary: A Shanti Mix From The Interchill Garden

Interchill Records: 2005

What is it with this CD? Nearly every time I've sat back to take it in, I conk out so utterly, the back half of the compilation remains nothing but a sub-conscious blur. Heck, sometimes it happens after just the first track, Adham Shaikh's Emergence, which doesn't happen when I play the same piece of ambient off his Journey To The Sun album. I honestly think my recent commute playthrough is about the only time I've managed a single run of Sanctuary without succumbing to the sleep demons lurking within the CD, at least in the half-decade of time Interchill's compilation has been in my possession. No, having it playing in the background doesn't count – I'm not actively paying attention to the dream-inducing harmonies in those instances. Was this intentional on Interchill's part, a subliminal collection of music with more to come in this Spectrum Series? Maybe they realized the all-too potent effects Ishq, Mystical Sun, and Suns Of Arqa had on one's psyche when arranged as they are here, as no further volumes of this series since Sanctuary came out. Darn you, denizens of Salt Spring Island, and your seductive sound manipulations!

The first few times I played this CD, I honestly thought the first three tracks were one long song – that’s how zoned out I usually got! For a more logical explanation, compiler Naasko chose pieces of music that meld so seamlessly together, they're like jigsaw puzzle pieces made of melted butter chicken sauce. As mentioned, Shaikh’s incredibly meditative Emergence opens things, and is followed by Suns Of Arqa’s Cradle, Pt. 3, which utilizes similar droning pads but reduced to background texture. Instead, a charming flute leads us through scenes of calm, psychedelic nature. Enough of the pleasantry though, as Mere Mortals comes in after with Etcetrera, dropping some serious Indian dub grooves as sitars drone about. Despite having little in common beyond a meditative Far East mood, this is one of the strongest openings to a world beat ambient dub CD I’ve ever come across. No way Sanctuary can top it.

Indeed. Perhaps that's what unfortunately hinders my memory of this compilation, dashed expectations. There’s some lovely moments throughout – Ishq’s Yu is about as calm and relaxed as this music can go before getting into New Age sap, and Alucidnation’s Skygazer is a dreamy piece of seaside chill trance – but nothing hits the high of the CD’s opening salvo. Some tracks don’t even fit the mood established at the beginning, Kaya Project’s Slide more suitable for a Cafe Del Mar collection, and Gaudi’s Tribalove way deep in the dark Amazon jungle. At least Shaikh closes things out on a mysterious tip with Call Of The Delta (under his Ekko) guise), even if it feels by way of an Aegean Sea temple. Wherever you find your sanctuary in this world, right?

Ultimately, Sanctuary is a label showcase for Interchill, older material mixing in with (then) recent offerings. It’s a good sampler, but not indicative of their whole story.