Neotantra: 2021
Although I've gone off about how overwhelming all these
tʌntrə compilations are, I wonder if Neotantra's wrapped the series up for now, as there hasn't been a new edition for all of 2023 thus far. Granted, the series has had a couple fallow periods, but nothing half a year long. Some of this might have to do with the label sorting out its back-catalogue, including putting together the third box-set of
tʌntrə material just now, not to mention another
Coercion Of Deities collection too. Then there's
another box-set called
Ember Delays, wherein some of their digital-only albums were given the CD treatment, plus changing all the older artwork throughout their Bandcamp page. Yes, the slightly OCD-triggering colour gradient era of Neotantra's cover art has been replaced with various still-shots of classy photography. Which... makes those original CDs a might more precious on the collector's market now? Oh, naughty, naughty, Neotantra.
Of course, this might also have to do with the label going to a subscription-based model, wherein you get sent all newly-minted music directly, eliminating the need for free compilations that may or may not get a download. Aw, but I like tidily consolidated collections, even those as formidable as
tʌntrə XXIII's twenty-seven track, four
hour outing.
Any-whatsit, here's CD3 of
tʌntrə x, titled
Rakrita. I... can't seem to find anything about this word. The Mighty Google draws an utter blank, steering me towards similar sounding words like
rakkhita,
rakti,
yakrita, and
sutrakritanga, which 'rakrita' is a part of. Definitions seem to be all over the place too, the closest commonality being affection and attractiveness. It seems a bit obtuse for a collection of ambient music, but then perhaps there's a deeper meaning that will reveal itself as the CD play- Eh? I should look at the digital title of this set? Oh, it's called
Prakriti here, which has a definitive definition of cosmic material energy from which all matter is composed. Well, that makes a
whole lot more sense!
I only recognize two names in this set: Ambidextrous and Mind Over MIDI. Everyone else is new to my eyes. Todd Gerber, Paul Tyrrell, Michiru Aoyama, Drifts In Autumn, Clouds Are Learning, The Fold (10), and what's his name, Whatsisname. No, seriously, how is the former prog-rocker the first to ever use this alias? Seems like such a shoo-in for so many techno projects.
Musically, this is the most ambient CD out of this box-set yet. I'm talking pure, gentle, soothing, wispy pad drone, very little in additional experimentation or heavy field recordings getting in the way of things. And while that makes sense for a theme of either
prakriti or
'rakrita', it seems at odds with the actual track titles.
It Drowned Again,
Lose Me To Despair,
Rage Against Light,
Å˙¨ · º•.,
The Manacles, and so forth. I'd imagine something more dark and depressing going off these. Heck, even
Urskog could imply a foreboding setting. Ol' Fangorn Forest ain't the sort of place for a hammock doze, nosiree.