Various - Classic Rave 2

Moonshine Music: 2000

It was the Year 2000, and the first nostalgic pangs of rave's early years was hitting everyone's memory membranes. Or Moonshine was just looking for another genre to corner in their relentless output of compilations and DJ mixes. Perhaps both, though probably more the latter.

For sure there would always be some reason for some label to trot out another round of licence-friendly 'classics', but there wasn't a super-high demand for it either. Rather, such discs were more for the impulse buyer, a dude or dudette glancing over a track list, recognizing a tune or three they didn't already have, and going from there. For the record, the tunes in my case were Orbital's Chime, Felix's Don't You Want Me, and The Good Men's Give It Up. No shame.

I can't deny my recollection of just how pervasive 'classic rave' CDs had become by the turn of the century is hazy – I'd imagine more so in the UK than anywhere in the Americas. And to be fair, Moonshine's Classic Rave series wasn't specifically meant to be just about old-school hardcore. Rather, a whole run of Classic [Genre] was planned, kicking off not just with a Classic Rave, but a Classic Acid too (oh look, three Hardfloor tracks you already got!). Unfortunately, the Electronic Music Classics run sputtered before it really got started, this Classic Rave 2 thrown out with little fanfare before the series folded. Going by the selection of tracks on here, it's easy to see why.

Like I said, I got this mainly for three out of the eleven tracks, which is a fair when paying used shop prices for a CD. Give It Up has always been a guilty pleasure, and Chime is Chime. D'at Felix track though, one of the earliest examples of Rollo's penchant for big synth chord anthems, and steering Hooj Choons down the prog-house road we all love and adore (well, some did). Others I'd heard about, but hadn't heard yet, so figured Classic Rave 2 a handy pick-me-up for a knowledge drop. Let's go over those tracks now!

2 Bad Mice's Bombscare: definitely an important record in establishing Moving Shadow's footprint in the proto-jungle scene, but I've heard better. Acen's Close Your Eyes: definitely on that 'Prodigy: Phase 1' tip, but I prefer Trip II The Moon. X-Press 2's London X-Press: wow, they were able to sustain a career into the new century with this run-of-the-mill slice of New York house? N-Joi's Anthem: alright piano house with some nice string-pads, but Papillon's better. Also, what are house tracks doing on a rave compilation?

As if that wasn't enough to convince Classic Rave 2 was a slapdash afterthought from Moonshine, the chemical breaks of Electronliners' Loose Caboose and big-beat of Basco's The Beat Is Over fills out the rest. Yes, two cuts that have almost nothing to do with 'classics' or 'rave', and weren't even half a decade old yet. What, couldn't get any Praga Khan up in this warehouse?

Tiga - Ciao! (Original TC Review)

Turbo: 2009

(2022 Update:
Mr. Sontag certainly seemed primed for a shot at super-stardom in this long-ago time of 2009, especially as the Era Of Guetta was nigh. Instead, he waited over half a decade for a follow-up album, and hasn't released another LP since. Still out there DJing and making collaborative singles though, so seems to be doing alright for himself.

Nothing much else to add to this review. The 'maximal' Ed Banger stuff is very much stuck in the '00s, but all the charming synth-pop tunes hold help. I still randomly get Shoes stuck in my head, though that might be more due to Neebs Gaming naming one of their NPCs in Conan Exiles that. It's funny when you know the context, I swear!)


IN BRIEF: Getting better.

With Ciao!, I think we can finally put an end to the big question surrounding Tiga’s career as a solo artist: just how serious is he being? The answer is rather serious after all, at least as serious as anyone can get when it comes to synth-pop of this sort. It was tough to tell, though, since there was always this sense that he was merely toying with the novelty of the genre, making it his personal playground to indulge himself with surprisingly fun covers of unexpected tunes. Then, once the faddism of it faded, he’d move onto whatever whim fancied him from there (remember, this was the guy that at one point wasn’t averse to pushing drum ’n’ bass DJ mixes on his label Turbo). Yet, after the relative success of Sexor, it seems he decided to properly pursue this avenue further.

In that regard, Ciao! is a very easy record to form an opinion on. Do you like synth-pop that holds silly-silly nonsensical lyrics about shoes and the time being “sex o’clock”? Then you’ll love this, no question. Not to say Tiga doesn’t stretch lyrically elsewhere on here, but that isn’t the aim with Ciao!. This is dance-pop at its simplest, and complicated wordplay only gets in the way (just ask The KLF).

That said, there is a degree of musicianship going on here that prevents Ciao! from easily being dismissed. Having Soulwax, James Murphy, Jori Hulkkonen (naturally), the better-half of the Dahlbäck brothers, and Gonzales of Feist-production fame in the studio with him certainly helps, but fact of the matter is Tiga has long had an ear for knowing a good hook, even if he’s liberally borrowed from others. Beep Beep Beep? Shoes? Luxury? Mark my words, those songs are going to lodge in your head and set up residency for a while. Elsewhere, you’ll swear you’ve heard some variation on these tracks on your local Jack.fm radio station. The piano in Turn The Night On, for instance - damn, where have I heard that before? Or those backing “ah-ah-ah, ah”s in Speak, Memory (oh, that’s right, Billy Idol’s Dancing With Myself).

The funny thing is, for a guy that made his early reputation as a purveyor of great underground music, Tiga’s pop leanings fare much better than most of his purely techno tracks. What You Need’s abrasive out-of-tune maximal-synths is fun enough and Overtime has a good deal of solid instrumental build-up at the beginning, but Mind Dimension is just… ugh. What the hell is even going on in this? The beats limply plod, sounds interchange aimlessly between spits of acid and farty squelches, and by the end you realize the track has amounted to nothing of note (Jesper Dahlbäck, who co-wrote this, must be picking up some bad habits from his brother John); Shoes, such a ridiculous (though fun!) song on its own, sounds utterly brilliant as a follow-up. And yet, somehow, Mind Dimension too gets lodged in your head. Damn that Tiga!

Then, at the other end of the spectrum (and the end of the album), we see Tiga’s songwriting mature in such a way I’m sure no one could have predicted. Gentle Giant’s melancholy keyboard tones and solemn mood seems to bring out the very best of Mr. Sontag’s singing capabilities, but more impressive is he can be credibly serious if he so chooses. The ten-minute opus Love Don’t Dance Here Anymore then solidifies this assumption, and you’re left wondering, if he’s clearly capable of this, why fall back on simple synth-pop ditties?

In that regard, Tiga seems to have come to occupy an intriguing musical area between hipster-faves Chromeo and festival-faves Hot Chip. On one hand you have music that is clearly satisfied in being somewhat campy, yet it still displays a creativeness that belies its pure-pop sensibility. Tiga seems to be stuck at that crossroad of where to take his music next.

This isn’t to say Ciao! is some kind of revelatory genius of songwriting - it honestly isn’t. The final couple tracks aside, the music is about as candid as dance-pop gets. Whether you enjoy this album in the long run will probably boil down to how long you find Tiga’s performance charming. As it stands, Mr. Sontag still is an incredibly charming fellow, but unless he’s willing to grow as a songwriter, charm will only carry him so far.

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

Neil Young - Chrome Dreams II

Reprise Records: 2007

I do wonder, if this may be my last Neil Young review. Like, I'll get Archives Vol. 3 whenever that comes out (surely before the heat death of the universe), but far as mainline albums go, I've gotten just about all I've ever cared to get (and then some). What's even left? His wayward '80s material? More Crazy Horse jams from the '90s? That ultra middle-of-the-road music from the turn of the century? The almost insufferably preachy albums with Promise Of The Real? Maybe at some point, I'll take a nibble - Mirror Ball's gotta' be in some used shops - but I'm in no need either. If Chrome Dreams II truly is the last time I write about a mainline album from ol' Shakey, it's a suitable bowing.

For those just tuning into this electronic music blog's inexplicable, excessive coverage of Neil Young, Chrome Dreams was a '70s album that may have gone down as an all-time classic of rock and folk music. In typical Neil fashion though, it was scuttled for something more slapdash, persistent musings of 'what if?' lingering over his catalogue ever since. When the Young team started putting together the first Archives collection, I'm sure some quips came about maybe releasing that album as once intended.

Then Neil would chuckle to himself, saying, “How about I release a sequel instead, with songs I still haven't released from back in the day?” His team would look at him, concern crossing their face, fearing what mischievous ideas Neil was cooking: “Um, how far 'back in the day', exactly?” Mr. Young's eyes sparkled. “Remember that stuff I did with the Blue Notes...?”

And so, not only did Neil unearth the live-only Ordinary People from his big-band blues period, but recorded an eighteen-minute long session of it! The song ended up being his longest track committed to disc to that point (Arc doesn't count), and wouldn't be exceeded until the uber-jams of Psychedelic Pill. I think it's cool – hearing his wild guitar distortion with a triumphant brass section is quite invigorating – but I know I'm kinda' in a minority in actually liking the Blue Notes stuff. Yes, even among Rusties.

That's the only song like that on Chrome Dreams II though, and oddly placed at track three, leaving one exhausted for the rest of the album. The ramp-up was nice, a couple country folkies including Beautiful Bluebird. A couple more country folkies follow Ordinary People, then we're into some Crazy Horse styled rawk, even if it's only Ralph Molina on hand. Dirty Old Man sounds like a dumber, drunker version of Piece Of Crap, and at over fourteen minutes in length, No Hidden Path drags some – maybe needed the proper-Horse for that one.

Some more gentle tunes round out the rest, and you have yet another Vintage Neil Young mish-mash of clashing styles album, not seen since Freedom. If only Chrome Dreams II had its own Rockin' In The Free World, it'd be a classic.

Various - Choose 80's

Mercury: 1997

At first glance, this appears nothing more than what it is, another compilation capitalizing on '80s revival from the turn of the century. I certainly thought so, or at least was my recollection of it when I got it from a co-worker's bundle of CDs. For sure I remember it as an item in the little music shop I worked at for a time, and maybe even saw a TV ad on the national music station. Still, something kinda' tugged at me about Choose 80's, like I was forgetting a couple quirky details about it that would reveal themselves when I finally (finally!) reviewed it proper-like.

For instance, this CD actually pre-dates the '80s revival by a few years. Yeah, 1997 may not seem that for removed from the year 2000, but trust me, resurrecting the decade of new wave and synth-pop was furthest from the minds of most label heads. They undoubtedly had a potential retro market in mind at some point in the future, but were making far too much jack from way '90s music like alt-rock, club thug rap, R&B, and 'electronica' to pull the trigger. There wasn't much nostalgic interest in '80s music from Johnny and Jane Q Public yet, so little need to dust anything off in a label's archives.

Yet something encouraged Mercury to go forward with this compilation just the same. For the longest time, I couldn't recall why – it certainly wasn't because they were ahead of the retro curve. No, something else, something that had to be buzzing in pop culture that would send casual consumers en masse to buy a copy. Was it that Da Da Da track from Trio? There was a charming Jetta commercial that used it, the sort of thing that would get people rushing to a music store asking about “that song in that car commercial” (known as the Mitsubishi Effect in later years). What year did that come out anyway? Well by jove, 1997. Yep, that's all it would take for a compilation like this to hit the shelves. Just get a bunch of other '80s hits from the Mercury/Polytel archives, and voila, capitalization on a hit commercial. It's how we memed back in the '90s.

That solved, what's even on Choose 80's that's worth talking about? Lots of familiar names with familiar tunes (Yello, New Order, The Buggles), others digging a little deeper into discographies (Tears For Fears, Iggy Pop, R.E.M.). Post-punk and new wavers get a lot of representation, some I've heard of (Violent Femmes, The Jam, ABC), some I only know by ear (Shriekback, Level 42, Split Enz, Black (2)). One song I never realized came from the '80s is Squeeze's Pulling Mussels, sounding like a '90s alt-rock jangle that'd be featured in a third-rate sitcom.

One final oddity before the wrap. Choose 80's is fine for a nineteen-track collection of adventurous new wave and quirky synth-pop, but does it ever reek of sausage too. It's like women musicians never existed that decade.

Various - Choice: A Collection Of Classics - John Digweed (2022 Update)

Azuli Records: 2005

(Click here to read my original TranceCritic review)

In my original review, I waxed on a bunch about the need for compilations such as these. A chance for famed DJs with deep crates to show off the influential but outdated tunes from their collections. Music they could no longer reasonably rinse out on the weekends, but hold special or sentimental value to their developed playing styles just the same. Granted, the '00s compilation market grew rather bloated with multiple series covering similar ground, such that a few are all but utterly forgotten nearly two decades on. Yes, I'm including Choice in that category. Don't get me wrong, it had a decent run. It didn't last past 2007 though, bowing out when Azuli Records went into liquidation by the end of the decade, and isn't brought up in The Discourse anymore. Gosh, maybe I can find a couple on the cheap-cheap now!

I'd like to assume, had the CD market not collapsed in the wake of streaming services, such compilations would still exist. Would it, though? Like, you'd think curated favourites of famed individuals would be big business with so much music available to the masses now, but I don't see much hype around it. Yeah, a Drake or a Kardashian or a Gorillaz might share some mixtape release on social media, but I'm thinking more than that.

Like, those artist Radios you get on Spotify. Wouldn't it be neat if they were actual radios, music they'd play over radio waves, each their own version of a college rock station show? Instead, it's just another algorithm generated playlist, featuring a selection of artists that are similar to the one you clicked the Radio button for. Maybe handy for those just getting into some genres or producers, but wholly redundant if you've been at this a while now. Why can't the algorithm provide some proper deep dives, yo'?

Or maybe there actually is a thriving social media community out there making ample use of such services, one I simply haven't stumbled across. For sure outlets like Mixcloud or Twitch should provide the means, but then you're kinda' shouting into the ether-void to get attention. Unless you already have a brand with a prominent base, establishing yourself as some modern John Peel is an almost futile gesture. And to be fair, a series like Choice would never have gotten off the ground if it hadn't relied on DJs with some brand reputation behind them, ensuring some curiosity from consumers in such a product. These were always an additional item of interest though. You needn't get a Choice from Digweed when he still had Bedrock or Transitions as his primary outlets.

I dunno. Feels like this is just more 'old man yells at cloud' musing. Why can't things be like it once was, and such as. I'm sure music compilations like Choice or Life:Styles or Back To Mine still exist out there, even as a nebulous streaming service concept, but it sure was easier finding them back in the day.

Various - Chilled Kutz IV

(~): 2003

Track List:
1. Jam & Spoon - Garden Of Eden
2. Swayzak - Illegal
3. Kitaro - Silver Moon
4. The KLF - Chill Out
5. The Future Sound Of London - Amoeba
6. The Future Sound Of London - A Study Of Six Guitars


If anyone wonders where the f' The KLF's Chill Out is in my collection, th'ar she be, lodged among a pile of unrelated tunes. I wanted the seminal piece of plunderphonic ambient, but good luck finding a copy of the CD while living in the hinterlands of Canada. I actually came across it at a university kiosk once, back when it wasn't so highly sought, but passed due to a lack of cash-money on my person at the time. Good thing those P2Ps can find rare stuff, and Chill Out wasn't hard either. Now looky here, someone ripped the full album as one, singular track, which makes sense as the whole thing mostly plays out as a long singular track, capturing the vibe of a long, singular trip on a long, singular train-track. Or driving by one.

What else can even be said about this record? While the notion of a 'chill room' in rave circles did exist, it wasn't until The KLF put a prominent stamp on it that chill-out as a genre properly took hold. Of course, they called it 'ambient house' then, because everything was either house, techno, or ambient at the time. Some freestyle too.

What set Chill Out apart from all the stodgy Eno clones or Berlin-School synth wizards was how grounded everything was, meditation music for the common man and mentally gassed raver. Not just New Agey calm pads and pastoral field recordings, but slide guitar blues and entrancing throat singers. Radio DJs getting you hype, but as heard from somewhere else, a memory of before the party started. Bill and Jimmy were crystal clear in their manifesto with Chill Out, the perfect sonic soother for your sketchy Sunday needs. Skychurch music for the loved up generation.

Naturally, all the other tracks I smashed into this Chilled Kutz look woefully out of place. Well, not so fast. While Kitaro and Swayzak have no place here, that Garden Of Eden from Jam & Spoon ain't so bad, very much on a '70s space rock vibe (are we sure they didn't sample Pink Floyd?), and a nice prelude to Chill Out. Meanwhile, Amoeba from FSOL segues remarkably well from The KLF, its sputtering choir pads and hazy drum loops maintaining the come-down mood. I suppose Study Of Six Guitars is fine as a closer, but I've heard it utilized better elsewhere.

Oh, I guess this explains why I never got ISDN either. Yeah, I only grabbed a few tracks off that album and scattered them about my burned CDs, and felt it enough a representation of the FSOL record to not bother buying a proper copy. I really should rectify that. It's certainly much cheaper than Chill Out these days.

Various - Chilled Kutz III

(~): 2002

Track List:
1. The Higher Intelligence Agency - Secret Location
2. The Higher Intelligence Agency - Conoid Tone (Reformed by Autechre)
3. The Higher Intelligence Agency - Intruder Detector!
4. Bill Laswell - Maps Of Impossible Worlds
5. Dub Squad - The Lost Mountain
6. Bill Laswell - Babylon Ghost
7. The Higher Intelligence Agency - Hubble (Reformed By The Irresistible Force)
8. The Higher Intelligence Agency - Selinite
9. Wally Lopez & Dr. Kucho - Sheperd Divine Street
10. Waveform - Slumberland


Yep, that's another mislabel at the end there. Well, a couple of the HIA tracks too, neglecting to include Pete Namlook's name with them, but that's kinda' expected. Even in our modern times, digital file labelling really, truly hates that '&'.

I knew the compilation Slumberland from Waveform Records existed, and was curious of what it might sound like. Without a clue of what artists or songs might be on it though, I had little hope in finding it on AudioGalaxy, right? Or maybe not, if I punch in the correct search query. How about “Waveform Slumberland” then? And wouldn't you know it, a seed popped up with exactly that! I naturally grabbed it, played it, and gosh, is this ever a blissy, chill bit of ambience with some prog guitar jamming along. I'm almost positive this is a track from the CD, but which one? The Golden Needle from A Produce, for the record, but I wouldn't confirm it until I got the dang compilation proper-like many years later, so I left the mislabel as was.

Welp, that's a bunch of words burned on yet another tale of wacky MP3 downloading. No blame though, as I unfortunately burned through a bunch of potential talking points this past year when I finally picked up the releases a bunch of those HIA tracks were featured on (Preform, Reform, S.H.A.D.O). Isn't that crazy? Had I somehow gotten to these Chilled Kutz but two years ago, I'd have had plenty to talk about, but now? At least I put Secret Location at it's natural spot, at the start of the CD, rather than its oddly placed second position on S.H.A.D.O.

More Bill Laswell, then? Maps Of Impossible Worlds was actually a Buckethead collab', under the name Death Cube K, though this cut coming from Laswell's Ambient Compendium. And I've talked Babylon Ghost plenty times elsewhere, though this version does sound a little more vibrant with extra instruments. Meanwhile, The Lost Mountain from Japanese group Dub Squad is an outlier, sounding more on that Tosca vibe, and probably nabbed based on a Muzik Magazine recommendation.

If you want a real outlier though, here's Sheperd Divine Street from Wally Lopez & Dr. Kucho. Almost certainly another Muzik Mag' grab, the orchestral deep house cut is at total odds with all the surrounding bleep techno and ambient dub. Think I just liked the feel of something more uptempo to take the CD out on.

Various - Chilled Kutz II

(~): 2002

Track List:
1. Bill Laswell - Cybotron
2. Banco de Gaia - Alpha (Waves in My Brain)
3. Deep Forest - Sweet Lullaby (Natural Trance Mix)
4. Deep Forest & Enigma - Rain Song
5. Audio Science - 2.5 Orbits Later
6. Banco de Gaia - 887 (Darkside Return)
7. Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia - The Challenge (Part 1) / Linkage / The Tides (They Turn)


Straight up, Track 4 is a mislabel, a quirky relic of the dodgy MP3 downloading era. Come to think of it, I'm astounded my AudioGalaxy and WinMX days yielded so few of them. Or maybe it did, but upon realizing I didn't have the actual track I wanted, would delete them. Only had a couple gigabytes of harddrive space to hold MP3s, y'see, and couldn't be fussed with wrong tunes. Still, good luck finding out what Track 4 actually is. After all these years, I still haven't a clue, and it's not like y'all can hear it to maybe I.D. it for me. I guess the 'proper' thing to do would give it an I.D. - I.D. tag, but it feels nostalgic keeping it mislabelled as I found it. Besides, it kinda' does sound like what an early '90s collab' between Deep Forest and Enigma.

[EDIT: After I finished writing this, I noticed Last.fm had scrobbled the track as by Chorus Of Tribes. I checked the Discogs entry, and lo', there's comments re-iterating my tale above! I'm keeping the paragraph though, as I find it hilarious this mystery was so easily solved after all]

So Chilled Kutz II has half the tracks as the first, due to the fact the last two tracks run over twenty minutes apiece. They're also redundant to my music collection, 887 (Darkside Return) re-emerging with the 4-CD re-issue of Last Train To Lhasa. Honestly though, it's not a good extended take on the track, at least compared to what Toby accomplished with Kincajou. Only reason I got it was because I could, those extended versions quite rare indeed back in ye' olden days. PWoG CDs were also rather difficult to come by, so imagine my glee in finding such a long cut of theirs. It was only labelled as The Challenge, but is clearly the multi-part outing that opens Ov Biospheres And Sacred Grooves. Also, Bill Laswell's Cybotron (from Dub Chamber 3) is here, because I had more Laswell and figured a 'darker' chill-out compilation was a good fit for it.

What's left, then? A true rarity in Banco de Gaia's Alpha, a track off the tape album Freeform Flutes & Fading Tibetans that never saw resuscitation. Doubt it ever will either, as it liberally samples Louis Armstrong's What A Wonderful World; the rest reminds me of an overtly chipper version of The Orb's O.O.B.E. The Audio Science track is a nice little moody ambient outing befitting a lonesome journey among space dust and rocks. I really should track down their album some day, considering how much I hype the group.

Various - Chilled Kutz I

(~): 2002

Track List:
1. Noiseshaper - The Only Redeemer (Cottenbelly Remix)
2. Bob Marley - Them Belly Full (But We Hungry) (Bill Laswell Ambient Dub Mix)
3. Groove Corporation - Giocoso, Gioioso
4. Bliss - Dunia
5. Sven van Hees - Jupiter's Quest
6. Sven van Hees - Tsunami (Inside My Soul)
7. Groove Corporation - Liberation Dub
8. Groove Corporation - Dub 3000
9. Sven van Hees - Gregorian Lust
10. Bob Marley - No Woman No Cry (Bill Laswell Ambient Dub Mix)
11. Bob Marley - Burnin' & Lootin' (Bill Laswell Ambient Dub Mix)
12. Kenji Kawai - Unnatural City
13. Sven van Hees - Breakfast With Abductees
14. Groove Corporation - A Voyage On The Marie Celestie
15. Rhythm & Sound - No Partial


Of course I'd make my own 'chill-out' series. Heck, it's surprising I didn't make more than four volumes, though I certainly could have. Truth is, most of the ambient techno, Ibizan downtempo, and ambient drone I had raided from AudioGalaxy were artist discographies, the bulk of which appeared on separate, exclusive discs. Almost all of those are long gone now, oxidized and covered with dust, made wholly redundant when I was able to actually buy the original albums that my younger, P2P-sharing ass pilfered from.

So it goes with this one as well. Groove Corporation? Got 'em. Those Dreams Of Freedom remixes? Have it. Even that one, lone Kenji composition, which totally throws the dubby Balearic vibe of this disc off? Yep, even found the Patlabor 2 soundtrack for that. What does that even leave me for the debut Chilled Kutz I?

Well, there's a lot of Sven van Hees, at least. I honestly can't remember how I fell into his stuff, another one of those mini AudioGalaxy raids that turned out a nifty amount of tunes. Though he started out in that R & S Records brand of trancey techno, he eventually migrated over to a Balearic chill vibe that was remarkably dubby as well. There's something about his music that perfectly captures the feeling of relaxing on Mediterranean shores, fancy drink in hand, contemplating existence. Dude's remained active to this day too. I should probably get some of his albums proper-like.

That leaves a couple outliers, most likely nabbed after a Muzik Magazine recommendation. Dunia from Bliss is more of a world beat thing, though remarkably smooth and graceful, almost befitting an aerial vista score. Is the rest of Bliss like this? *checks the Afterlife album* Well by jove. Maybe I'll scope out more from them as well. The Rhythm & Sound track is Basic Channel inching closer towards reggae dub, probably as near to the edge as their techno background would allow. Makes for a solid closer. Bassline gets my head-bobble on.

And there's nothing more I can say about this burned CD that I haven't elsewhere. But don't fret, folks, I've more interesting things to come in the following volumes of Chilled Kutz!

ACE TRACKS:
Bliss - Dunia
Sven van Hees - Jupiter's Quest
Groove Corporation - Dub 3000

Various - Chap. 2 Trans'Pact Productions (2022 Update)

Trans'Pact Productions: 1995

(Click here to read my original TranceCritic review)

Gilbert Thévenet, the man behind Trans'pact Productions, and the bulk of the label's releases, passed away last year. From what I can glean, he suffered from Parkinson's, the disease taking his life just over 50 years of age. A number of artists I enjoy have died around that age, and that freaks me out some. I've no reason to believe my health will fail as I draw closer to my half-centennial, but I'm sure many thought so as well, some illnesses coming on sudden and severe. Don't postpone those physicals, is what I'm saying.

As my original TranceCritic review was excruciatingly detailed, let's talk legacy then. It's a bit of a funny one, in that Mr. Thévenet was among the earliest adopters of goa trance. His works as Asia 2001, Loren X, and Progressive Transe helped lead the genre out of its pure acid roots into something proper India influenced, all the more remarkable considering he hailed from the lands of the francophone. Like, you could understand a UK label like TIP Records getting some Goa vibes on, being a former colony and all, but what influence in South Asia did France have? Vietnam? But yes, Trans'Pact has the honour of being one of the first goa labels, even if it didn't much thrive during psy trance's mid-'90s boom period.

I mentioned in that old review how much of a free-wheelin' experimental vibe permeates Chap. 2, as though ol' Gil' was having a ton o' fun toying about with his drum machines and acid boxes. As many of these productions came out in that first year of Trans'Pact's lifespan, it makes sense the songcraft is so laissez-faire, almost no rules to acid trance such as this existing yet. It didn't take long for trends and formulas to take hold though, so by the time this CD came out, much of that adventurous spirit was lost. 'Martin Cooper' soon settled into a singular project alias, Asia 2001, which stuck to the classic squealin' goa stylee for its duration. Just as well, as the Asia 2001 cuts off here were the best tunes by a fair margin anyway.

Trans'Pact itself wouldn't last, the label's output drying out after '95. When it finally shuttered, Gilbert migrated to Avatar Records, where he remained until the very end. For a time, it seemed his Trans'Pact productions would remain elusive items on the collector's market, but in recent years, Avatar started digitally re-issuing his back-catalogue. Well, the original albums as Asia 2001 at least. Ain't no way they'd resuscitate a woefully outdated collection of proto-goa such as this though.

Then they went and did it! I don't know how I feel about this. For the longest time, Chap. 2 felt like this ultra-obscure item only true heads would ever hear, tunes never given the attention or care they might deserve abroad, forgotten to all but a select few. And now anyone can hear it on streaming whenever they like! Good, is how I should feel.