Speedy J - Public Energy No. 1

Plus 8 Records: 1997/2021

It's weird to think of a Speedy J album as contentious, but as I scoured about for impressions of Mr. Paap's third album, that does seem to be the case. I get it though, I really do. G Spot was an almost impossible record to meet follow-up expectations with, at least without rehashing a bunch of the same ideas again. Jochem though, he don't play like that, always in a state of change and exploration (until he settled upon 4am bangin' techno as his bread 'n' butter). Still, while Public Energy No. 1 is far from as wild a departure from Speedy J of old as it could have been (just check out the singles prior to its release for an idea), it's certainly more abrasive than much of his previous catalogue.

You know you're in for something harder and challenging when opener-proper Patterns emerges. Things seem on a nicely tranquil, melodic tip for the lead in, then over-driven, distorted broken beats get bit crunched and digitally spewed back out into your face. Oh, we're doing that IDM thing, like Aphex Twin and μ-Ziq, are we? Well, sure. I mean, Mike Paradinas did offer a remix on Ni Go Snix, so it's only natural that some of those influences would start emerging into Jochem's sound. Still, unlike the remix of Patterns' single, there's more of a melodic through-line in the album version, keeping things at least a little accessible for those looking for more Fills.

There's a definite push-pull going on with Public Energy No. 1, Jochem clearly anxious to get more experimental in his techno outings, but still feeling it necessary to give his fans what they're familiar with. In-Formation carries on with the crunchier beatcraft, all the while maintaining an eerie atmosphere with airy pads. Pure Energy is basically Speedy J going big-beat. Drainpipe is basically Speedy J going trip-hop. Haywire hints at more digital abrasion, but still finds the time to work in some quite pleasant pad work, while Hayfever carries on the beats while saying nuts to anything melodic. And just to show these new-form sonic adventures aren't everything Jochem's been influenced by, Melanor's's sinewy ambience, Tesla's dusty ambience and Canola's abstract ambience reaches well into '70s synth weirdness.

And that's pretty much the album fully detailed, over and done in little over a paragraph. For sure the music's fine, but it doesn't have the same talking points as other Speedy J records do. Maybe some discourse about how Jochem continued evolving and all, but when stacked against his larger body of work, Public Energy No. 1 is very much a stepping-stone LP. The sublime melodic moments of records past, or the take-no-prisoners techno workouts of records future, simply aren't present here. I feel like this was a necessary album for him to get out of his system, to show he could continue down roads less ventured. Whenever I reach for a Speedy J album to play, however, this one doesn't sit high on the pile.

Various - Psychotrance 2: Darren Emerson

Moonshine Music: 1994

Why have I put off returning to the Psychotrance series for so long? It certainly isn't because of dashed expectations. I've long known these early editions are almost entirely devoid of trance – I only listened to one to come to that conclusion. Could my techno sensibilities simply refuse the titles out of hand, a quirky artifact of '90s compilation marketing gimmicks? I don't see why not, but something else always twigged me. Lack of DJ familiarity, that's it. Or at least, somewhat. Like, I know who Mr. C is. I know who Slam is. I know who Darren Emerson is. Eric Powell though? Daz Saund? Utter blanks.

No, I must be honest with myself. The only reason I've skimped on early Psychotrance CDs is because I just haven't ever found them around on the cheap. Or rather, I haven't made the effort to find them on the cheap. I'm sure Lord Discogs' marketplace has plenty, but eh... Unless they happen to be in a seller's stash I'm already buying from, they just don't register high on my 'Want' list.

They should be though, if Darren Emerson's set is representative of just how bangin' these CDs can go. Yeah, there's precious little trance here. Even the most liberally minded genre enthusiasts couldn't argue that Josh Wink, The Advent, Dave Angel, or Acid Jesus (aka: early Alter Ego) were ever considered trance. This is a techno set through and through, with ample amounts of acid and Detroit futurism. I suppose the more shocking thing about Psychotrance 2 is that it comes from Darren Emerson, whom a great many only knew as part of Underworld at the time. He had a robust DJ career before that though, and carried on with gigs on the side while maintaining his role of Awesome Beatmaker with Karl and Rick. Psychotrance 2 was his first official mix CD, though I don't think much hullabaloo was made over it. Dude didn't even get his name on the front cover!

Anyhow, supposing someone picked this up because of that Underworld connection, I do wonder what their initial reactions would be. We're dropped in Detroit techno's domain quite early, by only second track Son Of Norma from Norma G (technically Dutch, but the Detroitism is undeniable). Following that is the brisk acid stomper Liquid Summer from Josh Wink, and the pace only quickens from there. Stefan Robbers' Validate (Funkybizmix) gets a little trancey (pst, it's that 'Norma G' fella' again), but then Nüw Idol's Zim brings us right back to some future-shock neo-urban broken-beat business (with a melodic assist from Acid Jesus' Move My Body). This, from the Underworld guy!

Did I mention this is also a live set? Okay, maybe that's not as impressive - a lot of mix CDs (without access to fancy studios) were recorded live back then. It just caught me off guard hearing a bunch of scratches in a supposed 'trance' set. Yeah, yeah, Psychotrance was never about trance. Damn Moonshine marketing.

Devroka - Processor Overlord

Intellitronic Bubble: 2020

Boy, it's been a spell since I talked up this label, eh? I've a whole pile of material from them sitting in my queue, but because of that niggling, OCD, alphabetical sorting of mine, most of them have been languishing in the “#”s. Yeah, there's properly titled albums as well, but as it so often goes, many of them hang out in the “S” group, or the “W” gang. These things take time attending to, especially when, in the meanwhile, one buys up a few full discographies of other artists.

Intellitronic Bubble mostly started out as a typical techno label, releasing EPs, with compilations plucking the highlights along the way. It wasn't long before they dipped into the albums market though, Norken & _Nyquist leading the charge (because of course Lee would). Tradition dictates a slew of other albums from artists of similar ilk would come next, but I.B., they did something a little funky in doing so: releasing paired-albums! As in, each release would, in fact, be two, bundled together. Certainly a different way of doing things, but hey, I'm game, unable to resist getting more bosh for my buck. Ironically, the album I'm reviewing today is from a bundle I didn't spring for, as its paired LP is a re-issue of Skua Atlantic's Atlantic Fusion, a CD I already have. There's a story for this being the case, but eh, you're here to read about music, not my music buying adventures.

So Devroka. I knew nothing about this artist going in, which is always fun for those critical first impression. And said impressions are... holy shit, this is some retro electro! Pure robot body muzik, but, like, second wave, when Anthony Rother and Boris Divider were reviving the genre for the new millennium. The broken beats, the menacing digital atmosphere, the vocoder voice rapping about vector grids and cybernetic wars. I know Intellitronic Bubble dabbles as much with electro as it does Detroit techno and funky IDM, but I never expected something so distilled and pure from them either.

And it gets even wilder, as the man behind Devroka is none other than Devin Underwood. You might remember him from such reviewed projects as Gapfield and Specta Ciera. Yeah, one of those ambient guys! I've heard hints of his muse drifting in sci-fi directions, but never would I have imagined he had a full-blown robot revolution work within him. Then again Anthony Rother also appeared on Fax+, so maybe there's more crossover among electro and ambient guys than I was led to believe.

Anyhow, as cool as it is hearing electro of this sort, Processor Overlord is kinda' one-note as an album experience. There's some variety - Alleyway goes more technobass, Reverse Thruster more laid-back, Blockade less menacing, Vector Skyline way chill – but the electro aesthetic dominates throughout. I guess that makes sense when you have 'overlord' in your album title. You will get down to these sounds, even if you have the grace of a cyber-giraffe.

Various - positivesource 'Bundle'

positivesource: 2022

Two 'label compilations as Bandcamp downloads' in a row now. Do I have any more? Eh, not in the pipeline, but it is funny how this pair lined up, especially as they couldn't be further apart in genre if they tried. Well, okay, maybe if that Green Bay Wax print was actually nosebleed hardcore, and positivesource was lowercase ambient, then yes, that's about as opposite extremes as it gets.

And I suppose there is some similarity, if not in genre, then definitely in manifesto. Whereas Green Bay Wax is all about that ol' skool jungle, positivesource seems to be all about that ol' skool techno-trance. Yes, I'm talkin' early '90s, Harthouse-era, high-BPM spaced-out trance-trance. When I say no genre dies, I ain't tellin' lies.

The label is an off-shoot of Blue Hour, a print helmed by an artist of the same name, though goes by Luke Standing when dealing with the German auto license depot. It started as an outlet for his own techno material, but gradually grew to incorporate other artists, and now a sub-label with positivesource. Three four-track compilation records were released over the course of a year, which provided just enough material for a charmingly retro 'label compilation' consolidating it all. Now if only there was a CD option, the '90s retro feels with this release would be complete.

And right from the jump, we're dropped into the brisk BPM business, Oprofessionell's SXTOOL pushing the pace pretty high, far higher than cavernous dub techno of this sort ever dares to tread. Still, this is more of a minimal outing, and I promised trance. Wh'ar tha' trance, wh'ar? Follow-up Maniac from Newa gets us closer, with a rolling bassline and punchy synth stabs that tease out brighter chords over its seven minute run-time. And... are those choir pads I hear, towards the end? That's about as ol' skool trance as it gets, ain't it? If that's not 'trance' enough for you, then here's Alan Backdrop's Liaq, with floating pads, burbling acid, and flanged-out percussion that's gotta' get your Oliver Lieb triggers flaring. Not to mention the follow-up to that, Rove Ranger's Future Starts Today, is some straight-up vintage Spicelab action.

Other tracks, like Lady Starlight's G 3.1, Mikkel Rev's Entrance, and Less Distress' Crush The Candy, recall the Platipus side of trance, while Blue Hour reaches back even further to ravier roots on Flashback. And what classic trance compilation would be complete without those weirdo techno cuts that defy easy classification, such as LDS' too-fast t.m. (fm mix), or the oppressive minimalist dub-drone of Ryan James Ford's Purity, or the distorted acid stomp of D.Dan's Raw Jam. A little something for everyone!

Does this 'bundle' promise a proper trance revival then? Eh, no more than Green Bay Wax does for darkside jungle. This is still very niche music in today's clubbing culture, but it warms this old raver's heart knowing it is out there, for those who wish to hear it.

Various - Planet Wax Volume 1

Green Bay Wax: 2021

Once again proving the old adage that 'no genre truly dies', here's Green Bay Wax, putting the music where their mouth is. Or at least, keeping the ol' school jungle vibes alive and well into the modern era. What's funny is, some of their stuff, particularly the ragga jungle cuts, don't sound dated in the slightest. Maybe it's because, unlike most genres that get a revival, ragga never really fell off because it hadn't 'gotten on' in the first place. Like, whenever I hear some contemporary tech-step or darkside or darkstep, I'm taken back to when those sounds first imprinted onto the d'n'b scene. Ragga though, always remained this forever-niche thing, unable to take root to any specific time or place. Thus, its timeless, the tracks offered by Kid Lib & Percussive P on this compilation sounding just as fresh today as they did when they were released a decade ago as they could have two decades prior during the genre's birth.

That isn't to say the rest of this label showcase doesn't have jungle worthy of your attention. I just find it funny how some tracks sound so very, very old school, deliberately so, but the ragga stuff, it just can't age, won't age in the slightest. You say it hasn't evolved since its inception? Mang', that's it's whole appeal! Its recognizable tropes – spastic Amen Break manipulations, knee-cap demolishing basslines, incomprehensible toasting rastas – are its appeal, needing nothing else sullying things up, the core elements working best. Ragga jungle: the horseshoe crab of the d'n'b scene.

Enough waxing on about genres. What's up with this compilation, then, and who is Green Bay Wax? Not based out of Wisconsin, but rather Sheffield, the label is a loosely tied group of ol' school jungle enthusiasts making tunes with propah' vintage vibes and nothing else. Yeah, the ragga stuff doesn't sound quite so retro, but when other artists pop in with their love-in's, you can't help but be transported to the early '90s. With the label's original vinyl releases well out of print, Green Bay Wax felt it about time to compile their catalogue into a series of double-LP digital compilations. Y'know, for those who discovered them late (*cough*). Volume 1 naturally sums up their first five releases, so let's take a quick gander.

I've already covered Kid Lib & Percussive P's ragga takes (kinda'), so let's move onto some Champa B, who gets into some gnarly darkside business while never losing his hardcore. And speaking of, Bazia's Lovin' You is pure, unashamed ol' skool, what with the piano lines and synths stabs and wistful soul singing: proto-jungle! Further along, tracks from Phineus II and Darkman (with Kid Lib on the rub ...a lot), inch towards the more atmospheric and 'intelligent' side of the genre, what with pads and drum programming that's just a little more complex than your standard Amen rat-a-tat-tat-tles. Day'um, feels like I've just taken a crash-course in all of jungle's early permutations with this one.

Fluxion - Perspectives

Vibrant Music: 2020

Fluxion is another artist I feel I should have crossed paths with more often, but once again, Lord Discogs tells me that's not the case. Maybe it's because I've seen the name Flux Pavilion 'round these here parts for so many years, the name kinda' mushed into 'Fluxion' within my brain. Or perhaps it's immediacy bias cropping up, as I just listened to an album from Simon Posford with the word “Flux” in its title.

On the other hand, why haven't I seen Mr. Soublis' project more often? Dude was among the early dub techno names, getting his break on Basic Channel's Chain Reaction print. He'd later go on to release multiple singles and albums, some through his own Vibrant Music, others on that other Very Important dub techno label, Echocord. Yet if Discogs is anything to go by, his compilation and official DJ mix appearances remain slight, a track here and a tune there about all I see. There may be more that the Ogger community is simply unfamiliar with (!!), but for all intents, it seems Fluxion's name hasn't made that much of an impact beyond the dub techno faithful.

Which has little to do with me, to be honest. As is often the case, Perspectives was another blind buy from the Ultimae shop, that recollection of a name that I clearly had no actual recognition of drawing me in. And hey, a soggy side-street within claustrophobic urban architecture, stretching beyond the photo's parallax, that's enough to pique my interest with this release.

Opener Schism is promising, a gentle ambient piece with graceful reverb and dubby hiss invoking those vintage Burial feels, just without all the vinyl crackle and guns clacking. Follow-up Formation gets the groove going, also about as vintage as most dub techno goes in most eras, but with a nice little melodic through-line – yeah, I can hear why modern Ultimae would hawk this album in their shop. Further along, whopping thirteen-minute Glimpses and 'shorter' nine-minute Glimpses II provide nice, hypnotic journeys with looping rhythmic dub and gently evolving melancholic melodies. Trance, you say? Well, maybe that 'neo' branch, if The Field had gotten more influence from classic Swayzak.

Beyond those tracks though, Perspectives mostly dwells on the jazzier side of dub techno ...kinda'. Fluxion's tried-and-tested genre attributes remain the dominate force in his production, but is never so stiff and cold as this style typically goes, allowing a little emotion and soul within. Tracks like Within, Dawn, Down The Line, and Distance feature more shuffly rhythms with jammy instruments, lending almost an urban-jazz vibe to these digital atmospheres. Even a track like Cliff, with its dub techno pulse similar to Glimpses, comes paired with gentle strings befitting an uplifting moment in a noir film. Has Fluxion always been like this, or are these sounds unique to this particular album? Guess I should check out the rest of his discography to find out. I mean, anything repped on Echocord can't be half bad, right?

Sykonee's 'Sportsing' Surveys: SHPONGLE

You'd think, for as much as I've enjoyed psy-dub, psy-chill, world beat, and everything in between, the project that Simon Posford and Raja Ram built would be a shoo-in for my interests. And absolutely I've been interested in the act, having caught Shpongle live three times! ...okay, technically they were all Simon Posford solo shows, with him rinsing out a heavy amount of Shpongle tunes. Kinda' expensive bringing the whole band touring everywhere, especially when he was lugging around that Shpongletron totem.

But yes, if I've seen this project live so many times - more than I've seen any 'major' name within this scene! - why have I never bought any of their CDs? I really can't say. Maybe partly due to already knowing what to expect going in? Or perhaps I was worried my expectations wouldn't be met? Like, yeah, I've seen Shpongle a bunch, enjoyed the music while at the events, but never did it quite click the way some other acts do. It's a conundrum that's flumuxed me for a while now, so perhaps it's time to go head deep into the Shpongleverse, hear if there's anything I've denied myself all these years. Let's dive in, then!

















So that's another artist down. As an aside, thank GODS I made the switch over to Mastodon for this survey, what with its glorious EDIT button and all. You have no idea how many times I had to correct "Shpongle" from "Sphongle". Come to think of it, would anyone have noticed a difference between the two? Regardless, misspellings are something I'm just gonna' have to deal with for my next Discography Dive, DELERIUM! Yes, starting from their earliest dark ambient days, all the way up to... whatever it was they got up to in later years. I kinda' fell off.

(eh, you say I missed a Shpongle album? That remix project from Cosmic Trigger? The one with the shite, plastic, over-compressed dubstep riddim' beats all over the place, sullying Shpongle's vintage dynamic live drumming? Never heard of it.)

Speedy J - Pepper / Beam Me Up!

Warp Records: 1994/2021

Time to get hep to the step, when J' drops that Hot Mix of Pep! ...per. Um, represent? Okay, that was lame, Dr. Evil lame, but you gotta' give me some kudos for admitting as such, right? Not every one of these intro paragraphs will be a winner, and when you're dealing with the same artist in multiple reviews in short order, the brain, she sometimes fails at the wit. Besides, what would this blog be without the occasional bout of lame-itude?

Pepper was one of the trancey tunes off of Speedy J's debut album Ginger, possibly the tranciest track he ever made. With soaring strings, spaced-out voice pads, and a steady, chugging rhythm, it's small wonder it became a staple of the progressive house scene. It does leave a tantalizing bit of 'what if?' on his discography, if Jochem had decided to pursue this line of music making rather than exploring other facets of techno proper. Instead, it's more a reflection of the period from whence it was made, Europeans cross-pollinating techno and trance with nary a care or worry of what the Detroit Elite thought.

Still, he must have realized this tune was getting a lot of extra attention, giving it a little single love so the DJs didn't have to lug around all that Ginger wax just to play it. And just in case the original was a tad too 'deep' with all those spacey lead-ins and breakdowns, The Hot Mix ups the rhythmic energy with prog-house beats and twitchy, bouncy synth leads. Okay, so less trance than the album version, but I'm sure Sasha and Diggers appreciated this one's dancefloor utility.

That Pepper would get the single treatment isn't surprising, but of all the tracks to pair it up with, why did Beam Me Up! get the nod? The original's fine, I guess, a juanty little easy groover with twinkly synths and stuttery voices, but hardly a top choice for the clubs. This here Pegasus Mix on the single ups the house attributes, even edging close to the realm of garage with a rhythm that's almost shuffly. It's over before it even really begins though, running a svelte three-and-a-half minutes. Barely seems worth the effort having it on a record like this.

Jochem must have known this Pepper / Beam Me Up single was quite skint, so for the CD option, he included a near-sixteen minute excerpt of a live performance that includes the tracks Ginger, Pepper and Flashback (the other 'trancey' song off the album). And hot damn, is this ever a dope excerpt! If ever you needed proof positive Speedy J knew his way around a techno groove and a 303 acid twiddle, you got it right here. Only downside to Live '94 is it fades out just as you're really warmed up to it, wanting the set to go the full length of a CD. Hmm, Jochem should do that, down the line, and call it something simple yet silly, like !ive. Genius!

Speedy J - Patterns (Remix) / Pannik

Plus 8 Records: 1997/2021

Fair warning, we're gonna' be dealing with a lot of Speedy J within this upcoming block of 'P' titled releases. Mr. Paap really likes him some 'P', it seems. You'd think it would be 'G', what with his first two albums titled Ginger, and G Spot, but when it comes to singles (and one album), 'P' reigns supreme. Why are you all sniggering? You'll see what I mean by this love of 'P'!

Patters was one of the few – okay, only – singles to emerge from Speedy's third album, Public Energy No. 1 (see!?). There also was a promo record with some tracks, including Pure Energy, but as for official spin-offs, this was about it. Not that it's a surprising thing, Jochem seemingly hesitant to tie singles to albums most of the time. Ginger only got one, as did G Spot. And though Loudboxer had a couple, it made sense there since that album's nothing but techno tools in need of vinyl options.

Speaking of Loudboxer-era Speedy J, does this record ever foretell that turn of style for Jochem. Yes, even more than the other ones I've probably said. Patterns itself is a remix, seemingly a bridge between the more melodic IDM he was doing before, and the abrasive stuff he'd indulge more frequently as the '90s wore on. Calm, tranquil, sometimes distorting drone pads give us a lengthy lead-in before Mr. J' starts unleashing all manner of crunchy, boshing, frantic drill-n-bass rhythms, letting you know this ain't no Fill session. There's a storm a' brewing, folks, and as if to sell that notion just a little harder, here's some climatic orchestral string sections building the tension to a damn near fever-pitch. The final release of sonic noise is worth the wait, but doesn't last as long as you'd hope, over almost as soon as it began. Dammit, I wanted to really get my flail on there.

Ask, and you shall receive. Except I didn't ask, but that Speedy, he knows what we need, don't he. Pannik is a pure Detroit mininalist techno bosh cut, and lasts ten minutes! Okay, maybe not the longest track of such nature, but certainly an epic in Jochem's discography to that point, much of his early techno was straight-forward and of unfussy lengths. Not this one, taking you for a head-pounding, foot stomping ride with all the crashing snares and cymbals you can handle from the dude who did The Oil Zone. He'd already been dashing some expectations after the Ni Go Snix EP, but I doubt anyone would have expected him to go this dumb with techno again. Yeah, it's a 'smart dumb' kind of dance music compared to some of his actual early 'dumb' hits, but still.

Punnik, meanwhile, goes longer, cranking the feral energy up even further. Rhythms are broken, with distorted sounds and reverb making this sound like it was produced in an oppressive Detroit factory. The primal techno beatings will continue until morale improves.

ACE TRACKS: October - November 2022

So this has been a month.

Never mind regular work being a total boondoggle, or the fact I damn near wrecked my left ankle twice in the span of a week, no I'm talking about the goings-on of Internetland, specifically That Bird Site. I can't say I've completely ditched it yet, but I'm finding fewer reasons to stick around at this point. My own usage of it felt more out of a sense of obligation, utilizing social media apps to help generate traffic for this blog, but looking over the stats, I can't say it ever yielded much. Yeah, occasionally one of the artists I reviewed might give a Tweet a bump, but those numbers honestly dwindled quite a bit over the years. It's almost as if folks just don't like using Twitter anymore, and those that do, do so out of sense of obligation, utilizing the social media app to help generate buzz about their content. Frankly, I get more of a traffic bump off of Facebook than I ever do Twitter.

Which is why I'd been contemplating making a switch for a while anyway, regardless of the Musky buyout. Once folks started pumping up Mastodon as an alternative, I decided to give it a try this month, see how it stacks. And frankly, it's been a better overall experience! With its dedicated server system, I don't feel like I'm just shouting into the void for attention, a keyword or hashtag maybe getting the attention of someone more Very Important than I. My direct engagement with folks there has been far higher than it ever was on Twitter. Yeah, it hasn't generated numbers directly to this blog, but that's expected when starting over again on another social media app, especially one with a significantly lower number of marketers and bots.

Thus most of my activities have transfered over to the ravenation.club server (because there were no other 'electronic music' ones). My 'Sportsting Surveys' are been posted there exclusively now, as the 500 character limit nicely fleshes out what thoughts I may have. I've also been re-sharing 10 Year Old reviews, for a time on both, but decided to keep that Mastodon exclusive as well. New reviews and Survey unrolls will still be shared on both, but that's about it. At this point, the only two things keeping me on Twitter is to keep tabs on the content creators that haven't jumped ship yet, and to keep my front-row seat of just how much of a flaming dumpster the Bird Site will actually become. I'm terrified, yet I can't look away...!

That sorted, here's the Ace Tracks for the past two months:


Full list here.


MISSING ALBUMS:
Mind Over MIDI - Outpost
Natural Life Essence - Organic Adventures
Iempamo - ...Now What?
Speedy J - Ni Go Snix
Rapoon - Navigating By Colour
FSOL - Music From Calendars
Encym - Music For Meditation
Peter Broderick - Music For A Sleeping Sculpture Of Peter Broderick

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 0%
Percentage Of Rock: 0% (KMFDM and DWtD aren't really 'rock' enough here for this category)
Most “WTF?” Track: Nothing really, tho' the obscene amount of Lucette Bourdin may have some scratching their heads.

Yeah, I didn't tally a total runtime up, but she's gotta' take up at least half of this playlist, probably more. Mind, I didn't include many of her extra-long pieces, only Dream Traveler (because dang, it's such a sublime slice of floaty ambience), but when you cover six album's worth of music out of twenty, it can't help but overwhelm everything else.

I know I've made some whiplashy playlists in the past, but between all the Lucette, and the... well, nearly everything else (save Dr. Alban), this playlist whiplashes hard indeed. I'm sure you could get some power naps in before another synthwave thrasher knocks you out of slumber.