G-Prod - Space Time's Bubbles LP

Intellitronic Bubble: 2020

What's it take for an aspiring pair of French brothers making Detroit techno to get noticed, huh? Misters David and Nicolas Gaugain have been in the game for a decade now, and have many singles out across many labels. It wasn't until getting a lone track featured on an R & S Records EP (RV Trax) that they finally seemed to break out of digital-only obscurity. And right they should, D-Light a lovely slice of vintage, floaty Detroit techno. Was it enough to finally get recognized by the larger techno audience though? Eh, well, the folks at Móatún 7 sure seemed to take a liking to them. And if Futurgrapher takes a liking, you can bet you have an in with Lee Norris as well, and opportunities for all manner of releases across his labels. Or, in a pinch, a shared double-LP on Intellitronic Bubble.

And I don't know what's feels sadder: that I.B. continues to release such dope music without much fanfare, or the debut albums that artists released on said label go unnoticed. Had G-Prod's Space Time's Bubble LP come out on some Very Important Detroit label – or heck, maybe even FireScope Records – I'd likely find more hype surrounding it and this duo. Seriously, I can't be the only one giving Intellitronic Bubble any semi-proper coverage to this point, am I? *checks Google* Son of a...

Well, whatever. It's clear techno has its niche audiences even within its niche interests. With so much being available everywhere all at once, getting noticed by any reputable rag is simply a luck of the draw now (much less a rambly blogger). If G-Prod's Space Time's Bubbles LP gonna' go down as one of those retro-classics future collectors will beat themselves over for not finding it sooner, so be it!

Wait, am I over-hyping this album a bit much? I think not. Opener 2mass gets us right into the proper Artificial Intelligence ambient techno groove, so expertly crafted that you'll wonder how the Brothers Gaugain didn't release on FireScope after all. Follow up Air Miles gets us into a steadier groove, constantly evolving over the course of its runtime in that oh-so sweet the best techno jams do. It's like... it's like... Gosh, am I ever getting some ol' school Laurent Garnier vibes here. Guess there just is a certain vibe to the French Touch.

And while the general tone of G-Prod's album doesn't vary much, they offer enough variety between tracks keeping you engaged. The more menacing electro cuts (IPS Cells, Space Muffin's), the techno workouts (NGC's 1300 and 6188), and that one extra-long ambient techno excursion that never gets old throughout its eleven minutes runtime (Le Cycle de la Vie). Yep, Space Time's Bubbles LP has everything a purported disciple of Detroit techno should love and praise, and hardly a single soul seems to know about it. Maybe if it got released as a quadruple vinyl box-set instead of CD, folks would take it more seriously.

ILUITEQ - Soundtracks For Winter Departures

...txt: 2018

You know how some cover art just speaks to you, recalling moments experienced over and over again? Glancing at this grayscale image and thinking, “Yeah, I've driven that highway.” It's apparently somewhere in Norway, but given how similar the country's coastline mimics mine, you bet your bottom kroner I get all the nostalgia feels from it. So many drives surrounded by misty mountains, looming over your sense of being as you cruise by dense, northern rainforest foliage, just so many... Soundtracks For Winter Departures certainly was high on my 'must get' list of ...txt releases, whenever I perchance'd a purchase there again, which happened sometime around 'pandemic time'. Yep, it's taken me this long to get to it.

In fact, given the name of this project, I initially thought it some producer based out of British Columbia. It certainly sounds like a word that may have come from one of the original languages that dotted the region: Tsimshian, Gitxsan, or maybe one of the smaller ones, like Haida or Kwakiutl. But nay, ILUITEQ comes from a pair of Italians, Sergio Calzoni and Andrea Bellucci. No, not the blind opera singer, that's Andrea Bocelli. Big difference there, my anglophonic friends. Believe me, as an individual with an Italian last name that's seen centuries of variants (since the days of Odysseus!), those two couldn't be further apart in pronunciation.

Anyhow, Andrea Bellucci has been active for some time now, making sporadic records of various genres since the mid-'90s. He had a little success with techno as Red Sector A, which he dusted off for a 2014 record on Italian ambient label Silentes. I'm assuming this is how he fell into the orbit of Mr. Calzoni, who was starting his own ambient explorations as Orghanon at the time. A few years later, the two teamed up to formed ILUITEQ, releasing this here Soundtracks For Winter Departures, where they've maintained a tidy pace of album output ever since.

As befitting an album with such a title and cover art, Misters Bellucci and Calzoni make contemplative, moody ambient music, with melancholic tones and reflective drones. Some pieces even dip into more modern classical territory, such as the strings of In Every Place and piano of Springtime Return, but by and large, we're dealing with traditional synth pads ebbing and flowing throughout each composition. Subtle glitch effects add a bit of spice to each track, and nothing lasts longer than six minutes in length. It don't do much more than what you'd expect, but it do it quite nicely while it do it.

And that kinda' leaves me a bit underwhelmed, if I'm honest. My expectations for ambient music is such that when a pair of competent composers provide a perfectly adequate collection of rainy day drone pieces, I'm left with little else to write about it. I like Soundtracks For Winter Departures as it plays, but were it not for the nostalgia triggering cover art, I wouldn't be able to ID it out of my ambient pile either.

Bålsam - Soul Offerings

Neotantra: 2019

It cannot be denied: the ambient scene is filled with hippies. No, I'm not talking about anarchist crusty-punks you might see at 'free tekno' parties, though there is some bleed when it comes to the psy side of things. I'm referring to the more New Age sort, who are about yoga, granola diets, herbal remedies, and naturalistic life-styles. All the calm, meditative tones that comes with many forms of ambient music, it's a natural lure for those who fancy themselves living on the mystical side of counter-culture existence. I cannot deny also retaining some minor attributes of this, but nor do I delude myself into thinking I've unplugged from society at large – I'm very much a willing participant of the rat-race. How else can I afford to constantly buy music, after all?

This here Bålsam (Anthony Asher-Yates to the Minnesota census board) is one such person who has managed to get off-grid, so to speak. Inspired by his travels through South America, he decided it was best for his life to retreat to the mountains of Columbia where he could spend his days debugging his soul from the trials modern society had wrought upon him. There, he could indulge in all the healing activities denied him by Western culture – the spiritual ceremonies, the ritualistic music performances, the horticultural medications, and such as. Y'know, real hippie shit.

Okay, I tease – do what works for you, right? I guess I just find it funny how, for a label that's got 'tantra' right in its title and even features a running, free compilation series named as such, it's mostly cultivated the more arty side of ambient musicians. Bålsam is one of the few who could be considered a full-blown hippie among its roster, at least that I've come across.

And what sort of ambient music does Mr. Asher-Yates create? Little in the way of actual music, turns out, heavily reliant upon field recordings with accompanying harmonic tones. Makes sense, feeling inspired by his natural settings, wishing to share the feelings of being immersed within tropical rainforests. It's not all wind through palm leaves and birds of paradise singing Amazon songs though, an ample amount of urban recordings finding their way into his pieces as well. Or at least, it sounds like I'm wondering some city streets, what with heavy use of echo and reverb used in his sampling.

Come to think of it, Soul Offerings doesn't so much have me imagining wandering about dense tropical foliage, but rather within a gigantic biodome containing said environment. It's the way all the natural sounds seemingly echo, sounding like they're bouncing off enclosed concrete walls and glass ceilings. I assume this is a result of Anthony's manipulations of said field recordings, leaving things sounding less 'real' than their source. Was this his intent in crafting these pieces? Or just a happy accident? Whatever the case, Soul Offerings does bring a unique angle to an admittedly over-saturated genre of tropical ambient music.

ACE TRACKS: February - March 2023

Y'know, I'm starting to dread retirement.

Oh, I'm quite the ways off from that date, believe you me, but at the moment, I'm getting a taste of what that might be like. As per my job's union benefits, I'm entitled to Accumulated Time Off (ATOs), wherein after every 10 hours worked, I get 1 hour of paid time off – essentially, one day off every two weeks worked. These are 'banked' over a period of time, but my job can also 'put me in the hole', so to speak, when there's little need to have me around due to lack of business (March is typically rather slow). Because the individual who's normally my back-up at work is leaving, my boss saw fit to put me into this 'ATO hole' rather deeply while he still had the chance, so he wouldn't have to worry about scheduling around them down the road. Thus, I've ended up with a three week 'forced paid vacation'!

And you may say, “Quit y'er bitchin'! That's awesome!” Well, yes and no. I didn't plan for this myself, so I'm hardly in a financial position to travel anywhere. And the funny thing about having all the free time in the world to do all the things you've wanted to is you end up paralyzing yourself with not knowing what to do with all that free time – truly a curse of having ADHD. At least having a job to go to on the regular forces you to schedule your free time around that. Now, it feels like all the things I've normally done (writing, working-out, etc.) has been slipping from my rotation. And if this is what retirement is gonna' be like, dear me, maybe I should want to put that off for as long as I'm physically capable of!

Anyhow, here's the ACE TRACKS for the past couple months:


Full track list here.


MISSING ALBUMS:
_Nyquist - Sonic Periapsis
Skua Atlantic - Silfra Diving
Daniel Pemberton - Silent Sky

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 0%
Percentage Of Rock: 14% (but only if you include some Gorillaz and Dance With The Dead)
Most “WTF?” Track: Squigglasonica, mostly for that title.

Perhaps way too heavy on the ambient this time around. Like, there's gonna' be a fair amount for as long as I'm still going through that Lucette Bourdin box-set, but even after that, we're pretty heavy on the beatless drone musics. Otherwise, an alright collection of tunes. Oh, and nothing from Jack's 'Token Prog' series included here, since highlighting specific tracks wasn't really a point of those reviews.

In other news, I've discontinued my Twitter account. With that app turning into a 'pay to be seen' scheme, I see little point in using it anymore. My reach already was limited during the 'good years', and this will effectively render me invisible to all but whatever artist happens to be searching for their names at a given time. I haven't deactivated my account though, instead setting it to Private, as I'd rather keep that handle from being taken over by someone else. So if you do see a 'Sykonee' active on Twitter, I can assure you it's not me.

_Nyquist - Sonic Periapsis

Intellitronic Bubble: 2020

Not as prolific an artist as I initially assumed, but that's only because when I first came into contact with _Nyquist, he definitely was a prolific artist. Or at least, about as prolific as one could be releasing multiple records with Lee Norris over the span of a few years. When the two finally committed some tunes to the LP format in Synchronized Minds, it looked like they'd keep that momentum going for some time still. I guess Lee got side-tracked with his usual multitude of side things (label managing, other collaborations, life issues), leaving the man behind _Nyquist – Frank Rumpelt – to pursue other interests in that time. Most of these were as different aliases exploring other sounds than techno, a tradition as old as... well, as long as there's been electronic music, at least.

Before that though, he did release a solo _Nyquist album, this here Sonic Periapsis. In typically odd fashion, it was bundled in one of Intellitronic Bubble's double-LPs, paired with The Shape's Waveshape Fiction, who is... well, I won't say just yet. Regardless, this isn't such a bad deal when you're dealing with physical mediums, but the download of this release doesn't separate the two albums. I technically should be reviewing both right now, but adherence to alphabetical OCD compels me to postpone The Shape's album for whenever I get down to the 'W's. Anyway, it seems a moot point now, as Frank recently uploaded the album on its own to his Bandcamp page. See, it pays to be two-to-three years overdue in covering new releases!

Mr. Rumpelt doesn't waste any time letting us know what sort of music we're in for with Sonic Periapsis. A simple electro rhythm, a little chunky acid bassline, and soon enough, we're cruising retro-future streets, passing sleek chrome vehicles in search of cyberpunk hangouts for some cyborg break-dancing action. Some tracks get more on that pure Detroitism (Micro Expression, Mydentity, Electric Rain), some maintain the electro acid fonk (Abstract Mind, Velocity Vector, SCIPRIDC), and Sudden Void sets off some of my trance triggers, despite most evidence pointing out it's not trance. Tack on a requisite chill tune at the end with Time Safari, and you have... whoa, wait a minute! D'at bass! Damn, does Time Safari ever remind me of some of those old 'audio bass' tunes from the '90s.

Come to think of it, Sonic Periapsis has quite the technobass vibe going for it overall. Yeah, there isn't much of a leap from that genre to Detroit techno and electro, but hearing some trunk-rattling basslines out of a label that isn't quite so known for it, well, that tickles my fancy. Or maybe Intellitronic Bubble does, and I simply haven't heard it yet. I have picked up a bunch of their compilations, but they're titled as numbers, I won't be getting to those until I wrap around again. And given my current pace, that won't be until... 2025? Ha-ha, no, I'm that tardy with this blog. I hope...

Gorillaz - Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez (Proper Review)

Parlaphone: 2020

Strange days indeed. The global pandemic almost may have benefited the Gorillaz project, at least with regards to the Song Machine cycle. Being forced to strip back all the indulgent studio time and guest collaborators made this album a far leaner outing than the bloated Humanz. Even better, with no pressure to go on tour in support of a new record in the foreseeable future, Damon and Jamie could primarily focus on other multi-media aspects of the band, in particular music video and animations.

Because let's face it: for as much as we enjoy Gorillaz music, it's the videos and such that truly grab our imagination. Trouble is animation is expensive, and with more money being allotted for studio production and tours, this aspect of the project sometimes gets shuffled to the side-line. Again, just look at the Humanz roll-out for proof, only one video of significant note released in support of that record.

In treating Song Machine as an episodic venture, however, you were basically guaranteed a video with each song this time out. Whether an elaborate 'lore' builder with The Lost Chord, a simple loop session with Aries, or 'Roger Rabbit'ing their way about Kong Studio with guest musicians (Momentary Bliss, Pac-Man), it definitely felt like you were getting your dollar's worth. Oh, wait, watching the vids was free on YouTube. Erm, I mean, it definitely felt like you were getting rewarded for sticking with this fickle project even during the less-than-great times.

And even with all that, holy Hell, but does Song Machine ever come loaded with ear-worms! You could always count on a number of them per album, but even the best Gorillaz records will have a few tunes that could be left aside. Not so here, every song a winner. Well, okay, I could maybe leave Friday 13th off, but that's more because I'm not much a fan of mumble rappers, and Octavian doesn't do much to convince me otherwise. At least The Pink Phantom has Elton John's big, boisterous voice on hand to counter 6LACK's mumbling. Everything else though – from rowdy rockers (Strange Timez, Momentary Bliss, The Valley Of The Pagans) to electro boppers (Pac-Man) to soulful poppers (The Lost Chord, Désolé, Dead Butterflies), and all else between, Song Machine's got all you could want from a Gorillaz album.

It's funny though, because there's a hint Song Machine could have had some of the same issues as Humanz. The bonus disc includes half a dozen nifty tunes, mostly on the hip-hop side of things, but definitely don't quite fit the vibe of the main album. Which is how bonus tracks should be treated, the b-sides that are here for your enjoyment without sullying the flow of the main feature. Somehow though, I sense had this been Humanz-era Gorillaz, they would have tried to force them in, once again bloating an album beyond what was necessary. Song Machine is perfectly paced at its eleven tracks, once again showing smart restraint in the final product.

Gorillaz - Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez (Kayfabe Review)

Parlaphone: 2020

Last time I talked up Gorillaz, I lamented we'd never seen a truly collaborative effort from this group. Yeah, they've all been present for a number of albums (their self-titled debut, Demon Days ...Humanz, if only barely), but generally speaking, one or two members are the driving force behind a given record, leaving the others to simply contribute their requisite parts in support. No, what I wanted to hear is a Gorillaz album where everyone - 2-D, Noodle, Russel, and yes, Murdoc – all have equal share in the writing process. Given the chaotic nature of this band, it seemed it'd take nothing less than an Act Of God for such a thing to happen. Or, in a pinch, a global pandemic.

Details are hazy what the initial ideas for Song Machine were going to be – something to do with a music device Noodle acquired. Regardless, the lockdowns in the following year essentially isolated the band within the new Kong Studio. Never mind their corporeal nature likely wouldn't be an issue in dealing with meat-space viruses, they stood in solidarity with society at large.

With nothing better to do than hang out together making music, that's basically all they did. No ideas for a specific album concept or contractual obligation, just jam away and see what sprung forth in a given session. That isn't to say some didn't have other things on their mind while holed up at Kong – you just know Murdoc would look for any opportunity to get out of house, especially having just gotten out of prison the previous year. Overall though, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez is possibly the band's most satisfying album in... gosh, a decade? However long it's been since Plastic Beach, at least.

Again, it's all about bringing every member's influences and interests under one big tent. Gorillaz have always been adventurous in their genre fusions, but you can generally tell who's doing the most production in a given project. 2-D likes his electro pop, Russel likes his American hip-hop, house, and soul, Noodle likes her esoteric indulgences, while Murdoc likes his punk and bass-driven rock. Indeed, there are songs on here you can tell who's influence is felt. Peter Hook on Aries? Oh, that's gotta' be a Murdoc get. ScHoolboy Q on Pac-Man? Russel, absolutely. Beck on The Valley Of The Pagans? Seems like the sort of musician Noodle would have on dial. And of course Elton John and Stuart Pot have talked collab' at some point.

Yet as mentioned, no one song feels like someone's taking a back seat in the writing process, everyone part and parcel in some way. Maybe that's why, for the first time in Gorillaz history, the album's unofficial song-writing credits goes to 'Gorillaz'.

According to lore, Murdoc and Russel did Humanz and the self-titled, Noodle did Demon Days, Mr. Niccals did Plastic Beach, while 2-D did The Fall and The Now Now. Song Machine though? Everyone! And it's all the greater for it.

Sykonee's 'Sportsing' Surveys: CYPRESS HILL

Like 99.5% of suburban Canadian white boys, I first learned about Cypress Hill when Insane In The Brain became a juggernaut of rap music. You could not escape this tune on your regular MuchMusic (re: Canuck MTV) rotation, and was practically guanteed a rinse out at the high school dance. Everyone loved the tune, including me, but over-exposure led to disinterest on my part, and I never gave the group much attention after.

Not so for some of my peers, the clutch of skaters and potheads I knew always blasting the Hill's weed anthems wherever they could. Even while working that little music shop at the ends of the earth, I'd still sell the odd copy of Black Sunday to a fresh batch of marijuana connoisseurs. I sometimes wondered, was there more to this team of B-Real, Sen Dog, and DJ Muggs than I gave them credit for? Some of their newer stuff I'd play didn't really catch my ear, but then I'd yet to be fully bitten by the hip-hop bug.

Fast forward many years later, and I'm playing GTA: San Andreas, hearing How I Could Just Kill A Man a whole lot while driving about Los Santos, digging it every time. Well, that's more than enough for me to want to hear if there's any more tracks in the Cypress Hill catalogue that I've overlooked. Seems like survey material to me!



















This survey certainly had its fair share of surprises. While I had a feeling I'd enjoy their first couple albums, I had no idea the Hill had some concept LPs under their belt too. Made me want to go out and get the records proper-like, so I could do a proper review of them at some point down the road! See, these aren't just mindless things to play while I'm burning calories, it's scouting for ace material too!

Who's next, then? Well, the poll I did on Mastodon ended up with a tie, Cypress Hill being co-winner. The other: Paul van Dyk! Yeah, I was shocked by the results too.

Alpha Wave Movement - Somnus

Harmonic Resonance Recordings: 2018

It's been a long while since I've talked up anything regarding Gregory Kyryluk, if for no better reason than he hasn't been on my radar much. The ambient scene is so utterly filled with prolific artists that many simply slip by the periphery of my attention, even with a few chance crossings over the years. My scene explorations only take me down a few specific roads, the natural paths made when stumbling upon producers and labels via Discogs links and Bandcamp suggestions. It's, like, scary, straying off the path you've made for yourself, lured in by the lights flickering elsewhere, drawing you away from the familiar.

As Alpha Wave Movement, I haven't happened upon Mr. Kyryluk's music, as he's mostly self-released material through his own Harmonic Resonance Recordings. He did offer a few albums to Anodize, a couple of which were under the guise of Within Reason. If that name sounds familiar, it's because it appeared on that gargantuan, elephantine Pete Namlook tribute box-set Die Welt Ist Klang. Yep, even though it's nearly a decade old now, I'm still name-dropping that release.

The most prominent release I've heard from Gregory, however, is one I actually have, Nomadic Impressions as Open Canvas on Waveform Records. If that's drawing a blank, don't worry, it's been even longer since I reviewed it. In fact, I wonder if Mr. Kyryluk is even aware I did? He never made mention of it when he approached me to review this item for him. So it goes sometimes. Oh, right, I've a review to do!

So Alpha Wave Movement. As mentioned, this is Gregory's most prolific alias, currently up to thirty albums in just as many years. With titles like Cosmology, A Distant Signal, Architexture Of Silence, and Yasumu, it's quite clear the more meditative, New Age side of ambient is his main foray, with some explorations of cosmic Berlin-School thrown in for good measure. Like, when you've released in the excess of thirty-plus albums over your career, there's plenty of opportunities to explore the various facets of a chosen genre.

With a title of Somnus, the intention is clear: music for relaxation, drifting synapses, and serenading songs sending you to slumberland. No, not the Waveform compilation Slumberland ...though these pieces could have easily fit snug on those too. As this is very calm, droning ambient music, there's little for me to actually detail, but hey, if I've gone this far with all those Lucette Bourdin albums, I'm sure there's something here too.

Sonaoran Silence features deep pads before gently morphing into flowing harmonies. Be Here Now goes more tranquil with gentle, spritely synths and babbling brooks. Bioelectric Traces brings a sense of angelic astral planing into focus. Transient Molecules and Patterns Of Fragility are more minimalist compared to the rest, while Ting-Sha, with its sparse bell tones and sustained drone, is mysterious and, dare I say, ominous. Oh dear, there had to be that one track bringing to mind night terrors, didn't there.

Speedy J - Something For Your Mind - The Remixes

Music Man Records: 1992/2021

The other big crossover hit Speedy J landed early in his career, but hardly the embarrassment Pullover is. Yeah, the vocal nicked from C'hantal's The Realm can grate after a bit, but there's plenty more going on such that you don't have to entirely focus on it. Besides, if you need proof Mr. Paap doesn't mind this track as part of his discography compared to Pullover, just gander at the cover art he used for the Bandcamp remaster.

Something For Your Mind gets to have the O.G. Plus 8 Records glory, while Pullover features the Music Man Records art, even though this package technically contains all the music from the Music Man version. Keep in mind that the record this release got its art from, simply titled The Remixes, also featured Pullover on the A-side, yet Something For Your Mind gets to rub shoulders with all of Plus 8's greats instead. Right, I know the Pullover single came out before it was featured on The Remixes, but hey, if Jochem is a stickler for such details, why not use the Music Man art for Something For Your Mind as well?

Anyhow, while all the other singles had remixes of Something For Your Mind, and not the original cut, this re-issue does include the original! Or at least, the version as heard on the Rise EP, which was a live outing of crashing rhythms, but I guess ol' Jochem feels that's the definitive one – it's certainly as close to the sort of techno he'd eventually rinse out on the regular.

Realizing a live rendition might be a bit too bang-on for proper single consideration (and maybe wanting to add a little more songcraft compared to the dumb-thump of Pullover), Speedy J's own remix brings some ravey synth stabs, tension building strings, and cowbell. It's also rather muted compared to the live version, which makes it less powerful if you want to get folks properly pumped. It's as though Jochem forgot to add the gains for these remasters. Or were they just recorded that quietly in the first place?

The other remix comes care of Exposure, one Maurits Paardekooper and Rick van Breugel (these Dutch names, I swear). They were part of the Techno Grooves collective, a bunch of Dutchmen making techno in the early '90s, which also included Speedy J. They've been semi-active to this day, and Richie Hawtin seemed to like Maurits' Percussion Electrique under his Dwarf alias. Meanwhile, van Breugel has way too many aliases and projects for me to dig further, so let's move onto their remix of Something For Your Mind.

The longest of this batch, Exposure uses even punchier, crunchier rave stabs than Speedy J's rub, adds some choir pads at the peaks, and that's about it. Hey, it ain't bad for a '92 Dutch techno tune, but at nine-minutes long, kinda' overstays its welcome as well. Maybe needed an edited version? *listens to the 7” Remix*. Oh dear, no. That was just pointless.