Various - Quinq

Spiritech: 2017

Just how insane is the alphabetical backlog I'm currently trudging through? This is my second 'Q' album in a row. You might recall that I only added a second 'Q' album to my entire collection just last year. This backlog has effectively doubled the quantity of something that previously took up ~0.13% of all the music I have. I've quite often gone on about “The Odds!” and whatnot, but this... this beats all, y'know? I didn't think there were enough 'Q' albums in my very specific niche of musical interests to make this happen – no must-have classics that I can think of at least. Plenty of producers, though.

Quinq was intended as the five year anniversary for Lingua Lustra's tiny yet robust digital label Spiritech. Not only a celebration of staying afloat in an overcrowded ambient market, but a statement of intent to keep the fire burning for as long as possible! Quinq is also apparently Spiritech's final official release, the label discontinuing operations almost right after it came out. Aw, now where will Lingua Lustra flood the market in perpetuity? Everywhere else, that's where! Seriously though, it's a shame they pulled the plug when they did, having just ventured into the demanding domain of physical production. Ah well, at least there's still their Bandcamp page, and its nearly eighty offerings. Not a bad five year run, that.

As per label anniversary rules, Quinq rounds up artists past and present as a showcase of the print's various talents, featuring fresh tunes unused in prior releases. At least, I assume they're unreleased, almost none of these tracks appearing in Lord Discogs' archives. Then again, nearly half of Spiritech's full discography remains unsubmitted to The Lord That Knows All – heck, I've uploaded these past few reviewed items myself. You'd think someone at Spiritech HQ would have been on the ball about that, but I guess Mr. Lustra had better things to do, like making his eighty-zillionth ambient piece.

You think I'm exaggerating, but four of the nine tracks on Quinq come care of ol' Albert Borkent. I guess it's appropriate, seeing as how he made up approximately 77% of Spiritech's output. Interestingly, they're all lumped at the end of the compilation, as though he's letting the other artists have some shine before taking us out with his usual, skillful ambient. Yeah, his music remains kinda' noodly and leans heavily on classic approaches to the genre, but is never boring, with enough field recording touches and dubby treatments keeping you engaged.

Still, I've heard more than plenty from him, thus it's the other artists that pique my interest. Olexa's Lyrical Love has shades of psy-dub, State Azure 's Mono has a chill trance vibe going for it, Ascendant's Sursamen treads into ambient techno's waters, while Data Rebel and Snufmumriko do their own droning ambient takes. Definitely want to check these guys out further. Might even break my 'Buying MP3s Iz Bad' rule to do so.

SiJ & Item Caligo - Queer Reminiscence

Reverse Alignment: 2017

Having taken in more of SiJ's music since my first dabbling last year, I'm surprised he's ended up with a couple albums on Cryo Chamber. For sure his style of dark ambient and sonic experiments works within the label's overall manifesto (cinematic drone, and all that), but his sense of sombre melancholy feels more benign than this genre typically goes. He's less about the bleak outlook and crippling depression, and more about quiet contemplation, reflective of inner struggles rather than chaotic turmoil. Or perhaps it's music capturing the moments following the strife, of accepting complacency, the calm of clarity that comes when all hope is finally lost. Not a cheering thought.

Still, that leaves Mr. Sikach in good company with his latest pairing, Item Caligo. More of a modern classical composer, with distant pianos and crackly strings his most striking features, he's released numerous albums with such reflective titles like The Night Of Escapism, Self-Deception As Rescue, and Go Away, I Want To Sleep. Even more intriguing is a one-time collaboration with a chap named 'i want to be dead' called Lifelong Suicidal Thoughts. According to Lord Discogs, that individual also goes by, Waqs, Serializer, Amen Weed, amphetamine hysteria, Freak Bwoy, 'born to be buried in the grave', I Cry When I Think Of Past, 'my family members were awful so i killed them in a particularly brutal form', and DJ Sailor Moon, among numerous others. I'm not joking.

Sorry for the side-track. Let's get to Queer Reminiscence, an album with song titles like So Terrible To Contemplate, Her Soul Involuntarily Yearned For Rest, It Was Good To Destroy Once Again, Life Loves Your Pain, and a final, fourteen-minute minimalist drone closer called Oblivion Is The Reward Of The Former. Yeah, it's one of those kinds of albums. All aboard the mope-mobile!

Heh, no, not really. Queer Reminiscence does have its brooding tones, but as mentioned, SiJ's craft with this music is often the sort of melancholy that feels strangely warm and comforting, like the embrace of an old, familiar blanket, even as you stare out a frigid window pane into a grey winter landscape. Add in Item Caligo's modern classical touches, and you have yourself an album perfectly suited for those with acute cases of SADS (*cough*). The titular track features forlorn pad work gently ebbing with layers of timbre, Her Soul Involuntarily Yearned For Rest is a soothing piece of traditional ambient, while If Our Hope Not Fades lets Item Caligo indulge the ol' ivories some - I'm assuming, since it's his thing.

Really, Queer Reminiscence mostly sounds like an Item Caligo album, with SiJ providing sonic treatments and field recordings. There's little of the dark ambient that typically keeps him in those folds, the music here more of a modern classical outing with drone tendencies. Good mood music, all said.

(PS: Vincent Villuis gets a 'samples credit' here, which can only mean, eventually, Ultimae's gonna' go dark ambient too!)

Various - Pure Trance: Solarstone + Orkidea

High Note Records: 2012

Not to be confused with the late '80s Pure Trance series from The KLF, nor the '90s Pure Trance series from Avex Trax, nor the '00s Pure Trance series from Water Music Dance. No, this is the '10s Pure Trance series from Solarstone, hailed as the one true Pure Trance series above all else. Not that I blame the trance brigade for such a proclamation, the trance here definitely of a purer stock than an EMI 100% Pure Trance release a year prior, what with such non-trance entities like Swedish House Mafia, Arty, and Afrojack included.

But yes, at a time when the standard bearers of trance were driving their scene into unwanted territories like Dutch house and brostep, Solarstone's 'back to basics' concept was a relief for the faithful, though not unprecedented, every long-lived scene having some type of 'pure' revitalization within it. Eurotrance goes through its own retro waves every so often, though I was surprised Rich Mowatt ended up the current champion.

Still, all that critical praise for Pure Trance: Solarstone's Kick-Off has kept me intrigued all these years. Like, I knew it wouldn't be a 'proper' return to the sort of trance I prefer, but was it really the bastion of hope I'd heard it to be? Eh, not really. Sure, compared to what passed itself off as trance in the year 2012, Pure Trance must have sounded like a godsend. Melodic leads! Consistent energy! Builds that deliver, and don't fuck around with grating noise and anti-climaxes! A problem still persists though, one I've touched upon regarding the post-Armada/Anjunabeats era of trance: homogeny.

Many of these tracks sound so alike as to render Solarstone's mix one long, energetic, uplifting excursion, but little personality between tunes. Looking at the tracklist, I'm not surprised it comes off like this, names like Rex Mundi, Mark Pledger, Guiseppe Ottaviani, Kyau & Albert, Ronski Speed, and Solarstone himself all having similar styles to one another. There are some nice tracks in here, and most of the naff stuff (vocals, momentum killing breakdowns) is kept to a minimum, but man, is it any wonder that the updated mix of Seven Cities leaps out at you as a finale? Now there's a song with personality!

All that said, most folks claim it's Orkidea's mix on CD2 that's the real highlight of Pure Trance, the whole series included. Lofty hype, but I can buy into it, as this mix has something CD1 doesn't: tracks with personality! Every tune sounds distinct from one another, with room to musically breath among its brethren, thanks in large part to class names like Way Out West, Vibrasphere, Michael Cassette, and Orkidea himself making up this set. Dammit though, why does every track gotta' have an overlong breakdown? Such momentum killers, but if that's the trade-off for having a trance mix where each tune actually stands out from each other, I'll accept it. Makes it the closest thing to an actual 'throwback' eurotrance set we'll hear these days.

Various - Pure Energy Volume 5

SPG Music LTD.: 1998

The Pure Energy series was one of the more successful runs of dance pop compilations in Canada, lasting a solid decade before folding after the ninth volume. Considering the Toronto label that promoted them, SPG Music, flooded the market with numerous such CDs, it's remarkable it stood out from the crowd at all. However, unlike long-forgotten series like Euromix, Warehouse Grooves, or Dance To The Underground, Pure Energy had one, key factor working for it: name recognition. For this series had all the big names of euro house and dance pop on its tracklists (plus a bunch of no-name locals), making them the must-have CDs in your shops should the other CDs that had all the big names of euro house and dance pop not be available. I rib, but I won't front either, my (sister's) copy of Pure Energy 2 an early favourite of yours truly. Mr. Vain, More And More, The Rhythm Of The Night, Shoop, Give It Up, Can We Get Enough?, Love Sees No Colour (Version 2)... hot damn, what a tracklist!

Fast forward a few years, and the scene has radically changed, new names and new sounds replacing the tropes of old. Except Culture Beat, they're on this volume again. And Shaggy too, who's got a feature credit on Maxi Priest's That Girl (ooh, yeah, That Girl, now you recall, That damn Girl). Yeah, for some reason, Pure Energy 5 isn't hot up to speed in its selections, some songs nearly three years old by the point this came out. That ain't no way to catch the iron while it's hot, boys, but whatever, it's the actual hits folks want that's important, so what's this CD got?

Spice Girls, Blackstreet featuring Pay-Day Dre, Aqua, Jocelyn Enriquez, “Not-Will-Smith” Space Factor. If I need to tell you which tunes, you sure don't remember 1997 well, do you. Oh, fine. Wannabe, No Diggity, Roses Are Red, A Little Bit Of Ecstasy, Men In Black. Ah, now the ol' memory membranes are firing, I bet.

Listening to Pure Energy 5 is pretty much a nostalgia trip to that year, so many songs generating, “Oh yeah, that one!” reactions when I played it back. Ultra Naté's Free, First Base's Love Is Paradise, Carrilio's Samba de Janeiro (such fiesta!), Amber's This Is Your Night, Tania Evans' Prisoner Of Love (La-Da-Di), Herbie's Right Type Of Mood... even Alexia's Uh La La La!, regrettably. It's honestly astounding how many songs here I'd completely forgotten about, but do recall them being major hits back when. Like, that Maxi Priest jam gave Shaggy his greatest mainstream exposure to that point (1996, for the record), but nowadays, all the radio stations ever play is Angel or It Wasn't Me, That Girl reduced to “Nineties Artifact” status. Poor Maxi Priest.

One last point of amusement before the wrap. The flip of the CD has a giant “DJ Approved” stamp, which is hilarious since this is a continuous mix compilation, rendering them effectively useless for actual DJing purposes.

Rapoon - Psi-Transient

Aquarellist: 2013

I first stumbled upon Rapoon way back in my initial ambient explorations, and have consistently seen his name crop up ever since. However, an impossibly high work-rate has left Robin Storey with an incredibly daunting discography, Lord Discogs listing over seventy albums to his name. Hell, there's over twenty listed since Psi-Transient dropped four years ago! And that's not to mention his pioneering work with seminal dark ambient act Zoviet France before he went solo. So a regular busy-body all said, one I probably wasn't ready to take a plunge with back when, but definitely ready for here-now. Only trouble is where do I start? With a discography this extensive, I'll have to do some serious research, verify expert opinions, study scene influ- oh, never mind, I'll just buy this particular one I see on sale at Reverse Alignment's online shop.

Along with his Zoviet background, one of the things that made Rapoon stand out in the nu-Nineties ambient scene was his inclusion of ethnic and tribal sounds. This could be anything from drums, woodwinds, or chants, but always manipulated in such a way as to fit his looping, droning sound experiments. I honestly don't know how much of this has carried over to his recent output, as there's no possible way I'm taking in all of his music in such a short amount of time. I'd need a full day to just get through what's offered on Spotify alone, and there's not a person alive with that sort of attention span anymore. What I can tell you is if you're expecting some of that ethnic styling in Psi-Transient, you'll be left wanting.

Fortunately, I have such little knowledge of Rapoon's overall output, I come in with no preconceived biases. On the other hand, I've no clue where Psi-Transient exists within his oeuvre. Maybe nowhere specific, Mr. Storey striking me as the sort that follows wherever his muse takes him. If that means shovelling out music created for its own sake, then so be it.

For instance, opening track Shake Root prominently features distorted, thunking rhythms, and had me thinking I'd be in for some noisy, industrial-leaning sonic assaults; definitely not something I was expecting in the slightest. Then follow-up track Sentire goes mellow with gentle synth tones and looping, dubby drums pitter-pattering in the background. Ah, feeding off that old-school ambient techno vibe, then. Nah, scratch the 'techno' part of that, the next couple tracks strictly synth pad noodling. Then we're treated to some modern classical dalliances, More Halls And Afternoons Of Sun a gentle piano piece, In Voice We See mostly orchestral strings played in reverse.

From there, much of Psi-Transient flits between ambient drone and experimental modern classical pieces (ooh, trumpets in Smoke Glass Weed, like elephants trippin' on acid!). It's all very strangely captivating music, in a wall-papery sort of way. A fairly pleasant album, all said, though maybe not the best introduction to Rapoon's music. Which of his seventy albums are, though?

Gustaf Hildebrand - Primordial Resonance

Cyclic Law: 2005

Dark ambient set in the impossible emptiness of deep space? Love it! Droning emptiness painting a portrait of lost civilizations of times long past? Fascinating! Derelict husks of aquatic transportation? That's... oddly specific, isn't it? Yes, and I've come across a few instances of such cover art, all of which I'm strangely drawn to. I don't know what it is – maybe growing up in coastal climes? - but seeing abandoned boats rotting on dry land is some of the most captivating, harrowing imagery I've seen associated with this genre of music. How did these vessels get there? Was there once a large body of water that dried out due to over-usage or climate change, like Lake Chad and the Aral Sea? What of the folk that once lived on those shores and rode in these vessels, where have they gone? Was there a once prosperous people that thrived off these waters, only to be brought to ruin through their own nearsightedness? All these boats, once integral parts of a functioning society, little more than skeletal, moldy shells, soon reclaimed by the land surrounding them. Throw in a backdrop of two moons, well, you got my attention indeed, Mr. Hildebrand!

Gustaf made his debut on Cyclic Law with Starscape, the sort of dark space ambient I probably would have picked up from the guy if the boats of Primordial Resonance hadn't caught my attention first. Also, I don't know if there's a CD option left, as there wasn't with this particular album either, only discovered after purchase. Eh, it's been over a decade, so no fault on Cyclic Law's part there, but at least update your Bandcamp pages with such details, eh?

Primordial Resonance takes things down to more earthly realms (because boats!), dealing with ye' tragic tales of townships torn asunder from our mortal coils. Think that's a pretentious wording of phrase? One of the tracks on this album is called Ruins Of A Failed Utopia. It features Gregorian chants, among other things like desolate emptiness and abandoned, sickly, grinding machinery continuing to chug and churn long after their utility, usefulness, or reason for existence has any meaning or bearing. Makes me want to leap into this piece and spit some WD-40 into the poor contraptions.

So yeah, Primordial Resonance is the sort of dark ambient that's all about decay and desolation, though each track offers a little variety between them so it's not one long, constant depressing drone. Omega Continuum has distant wails as though the area's deceased still carry through the wind. Post Oblivion Fields adds wind chimes to foreboding menace, eventually retreating into empty caverns. The Hollow Structures... dear God, is this where the Cenobites hang out? And what's with the crying baby at the end? Wanderer Of Strange Spheres is more subdued in its drone, almost giving the listener a chance to reflect on the scenery they've just witnessed. Me, I'll be shivering in one of those derelict boats, thank you.

Bluetech - Prima Materia

Waveform Records: 2003

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

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

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

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

Various - Polarity (Mixed By Focal)

Ultimae Records: 2017

It was inevitable. Sure, Ultimae's been heading this direction for some time now, several releases sneaking it in with the usual downtempo offerings. Regardless of that fact though, it was bound to happen, as it happens to all long-lasting labels. No matter where you start – psy-trance, hardstyle, d'n'b, bossa nova, noise-glitch-wankstep – all paths eventually lead you to the two longest, dominating scenes of electronic music: house and techno. And now, the journey is complete, Arnaud Galoppe (Focal) given the green light from Aes Dana to provide his label with an honest-to-God, true-to-the-blue, right proper techno DJ mix, scene jumping into an untapped demographic unlike anywhere they've ventured before. Oh, and an ambient mix too, to placate the faithful, I guess.

Also new for Ultimae is the fact Polarity is their first foray into the double-disc DJ mix. Many of their past compilations had light blending between tracks, but nothing like the traditional mixing that goes on the Techno Side CD. Since much of the psy-chill they promoted had disparate rhythms and tempos anyway, doing a regular mix wouldn't be feasible. Here though, Mr. Galoppe gets to show the very important world of techno that Ultimae, too, can hang out with the Echospaces and Ostgut Tons of the globe. If they're paying attention at least.

Okay, that's not fair. The Ambient Side does bring the sort of sounds that- no, actually, even this doesn't have much to do with the Ultimae you know. Despite this label inching closer to the dub techno singularity, there's remained slight hints of psy-chill even in recent releases, but Focal says nuts to that. The only Ultimae name that shows up is Aes Dana (of course), every other artist appearing for the first time on this label. Not even current 'regulars' like Martin Nonstatic get a look in. Some of the Echospace chaps do though.

If anything, Ambient Side reminds me of a Silent Season collection rather than anything Ultimae's ever done. It's got copious amounts of flowing, droning, dubby layers of pads and field recordings, sprinkled with moody, melancholy melodies, but not too much as to get in the way of all those cavernous effects. Some tracks provide rhythms too – Valanx's Dance Of Death gets nu-jazzy, Mod21's Hunting The Black Eagle tribal, Resoe's Pressure Elements Detroity – but for the most part we're dealing with beatless music, rhythmic momentum generally supplied by dubby throbs reverberating into the distance. With that wonderfully full and rich Ultimae Mixdown™ in play, it reaches far indeed.

Which leads us to the Techno Side, where Focal takes us down a dub techno journey of, well, dub techno. Some of it gets minimalist (Area's Wanting, Beat Pharmacy's Tone), other times funky (Deadbeat's Entonación Chilena), elsewhere indulgent in effects (Beyond Air from CV313; aka: DeepChord), but there isn't much in the way of surprises either. Focal's set is generally as linear and flat as you'd expect of this genre, but boy does it sound nice on a good sound-system.

Scott Grooves - Pieces Of A Dream

Soma Quality Recordings: 1998

A deep house record is the last sort of sound I'd expect of an album with this sort of cover art, but Scott Grooves is from Detroit, so maybe Soma Quality figured sci-fi was justified. Still, what even is going on with this collage? Blue Earth, red pyramids, array of radio telescopes with a parade of elephants, flying ladybugs and butterflies. Pieces of a dream indeed, fragment of familiarity strewn about a nonsensical adventure in the land of Nod. But, oh man, once you realize you get into that lucid state of being, then the real fun begins. Here I come, Giza Pyramids Of Mars!

Patrick Scott got his start in the early '90s with Detroit-based Soiree Records International, releasing a smattering of EPs as Key Statements and DJ Scott. He soon adopted the name Scott Grooves, and signed with Soma Quality for a debut album, which did gang-busters for him. It seems, however, all that extra attention didn't suit his Detroit upbringing, and he went almost entirely independent after, self-releasing through his own, various prints (From The Studio Of Scott Grooves, Natural Midi). He remains active to this day, one of Detroit house's lasting fixtures along with Kenny Dixon Jr. and Mike Huckaby, though perhaps not as recognized as his Motor City peers. For a moment though, Mr. Grooves most definitely was, thanks to Pieces Of A Dream, and more specifically a singular track off the album. Let's talk about it now!

So Mothership Reconnection, a reworking of Parliament Funkadelic's tune of similar name. Clinton's here! Bootsy's here! Barrett's here! Worrell's here! Daft Punk is here! Okay, on the remix, but considering the French duo seldom did rubs of other people's music, you bet Soma Quality made it a huge selling point on the single. Their remix isn't on this album, of course, but don't let that dissuade you from checking out the original, over nine minutes of tight, funky action.

Getting to rework the P-Funk crew wasn't the least of Scott Groove's 'collaborations' either, rounding up several jazz musicians throughout. Opener Expansions features famed vibraphone player Roy Ayers plying his trade for a few extended solos, plus one Charles Green gets in a Rhodes solo at the end. Saxophonist Keith Kaminski struts his stuff in The Sax Speaks, and I'm thankful it's a solo that doesn't send needles through my ears (read The Verve Story reviews for more information). Bumpin On The Underground brings in Perry Hues for some smooth guitar action, and The Scat Groove has Gwen Fox doing that vintage “a-hey a'ya a'ya zim'da a'dem-dem a'daya” of jazzy lore.

Throughout it all, Scott Grooves lays down, well, solid house grooves, never letting his production overshadow his guest musicians. He's got a few, regular jams to himself for that (Pieces Of a Dream, New Day, Feels So Good), deep house with a touch of that futurist vibe Detroit is so well known for. Folks may come for the P-funk, but guaranteed they'll leave sated by the D-funk.

Out Of The Box - Out Of The Box

Werkstatt Recordings: 2013

So Werkstatt Recordings was unexpectedly generous in the swag they included with an order of mine. While not Ultimae levels of extras (no incense sticks), receiving various stickers from several releases is a nice touch – satisfies a collector's itch I didn't even know I had. The Greece label also threw in a couple bonus CDrs inside a single slipcase, one of which lacking cover art. In fact, all it has is “Out Of The Box Promo” scrawled in felt pen. “Cool,” thinks I, “Werkstatt's sending me sneak peaks of upcoming releases. How nice of them.” Nope, that's not it at all.

Turns out this already had an official release, four years ago. I mean, obviously so, if there's artwork available. It's the same seven tracks as found on Bandcamp, and there was even a proper limited run of CDs done too - probably, like, twelve copies though, as Werkstatt's really skint with physical mediums. Since Out Of The Box is clearly well past its 'promo' window, why did I receive this? Did Werkstatt have it lying about the office, and threw it in just because? Did they feel I'd get a kick out of the music within, but would never have stumbled upon it on my own? Are they planning a re-release with limited tape copies? All very good questions that honestly don't need an answer. 'Tis all just rather odd, y'know.

And who is this Out Of The Box that Werkstatt felt compelled to include with an overseas order? One Liam White, turns out, though Lord Discogs states this his only release under the moniker. He's released a half-dozen more items as Sick Robot, both with Werkstatt and self-released, most of which falls under the EBM, electro, and retro-trance side of things. Far as I can tell, Out Of The Box was his shot at breaking free of those constraints. Why, you could say Liam's forcing his way through an enclosed space into an open beyond.

First track Common Ground doesn't stretch too far from his comfort zone, though it's definitely a rougher shade of techno compared to his usual fare. Fire In The Sky says nuts to all that, and goes full neurofunk, making this the second Werkstatt release I've covered in a row that's tread into drum 'n bass' domain (the... odds!). That's followed upon by Lost And Found, a slow tech-house groover that erupts with flashy synths midway. And seemingly going out of his way to prove he's a genre-jack of all trades, fourth cut Matter Of Time gets in on that retro-trance action I mentioned earlier (doesn't sound quite “Eighties” enough to be space-synth).

The final run of tunes sticks to electro and tech-house vibes, but it's clear Out Of The Box is intended as a big ol' showcase of Mr. White's eclectic muse. A bit too eclectic, if I'm honest, the genre-jumping rather scattershot in make a lasting impression. As something different from the Werkstatt norm, however, 'tis not bad at all.