Jochem Paap - Vrs-Mbnt-Pcs 9598 I

Fax +49-69/450464: 1999/2021

Hey now, I still haven't told any lies. I totally am finished with Speedy J and his handful of aliases at this end of my alphabetical queue. I never said anything about material Mr. Paap released under his actual name. You only didn't see this loophole coming from a mile away because you didn't know Mr. Paap released anything under his actual name. And... fair play on that angle. This wasn't widely advertised, perhaps only known by a select few deeply immersed in ambient techno circles of the late '90s. Clearly his regular label Novamute wasn't interested in hearing Jochem indulge himself on some experimental drone.

Or even if they were, Jochem wasn't keen on piggy-backing this off his Speedy J fame. Yeah, he'd shown an ear for ambient doodling on G Spot, but for the most part, Speedy J is his techno outlet, where the bulk of his brand recognition lies. While there may be a small contingent of Speedy fans that'd be down for a selection of ambient works too, sometimes it's just good business sense shuffling those off to a side-gig, should the opportunity arise. What label, though, would be willing to provide that outlet?

Lots, probably, but surprisingly, Jochem ended up on Pete Namlook's Fax+ print for his ambient excursions. I honestly had no idea this was the case until I bought Speedy J's Bandcamp catalogue, if for no other reason I seldom ever see Mr. Paap's name brought up in discussions of Fax+ alum. I guess it shouldn't be that shocking, as plenty of techno's luminaries has crossed the famed Frankfurt label. It's just when you think of artists instrumental in the original Artificial Intelligence run, most of them found welcome homes within that particular circle, whereas Fax+ was kinda' an island unto itself.

Even more so, Vrs-Mbnt-Pcs 9598 I seems like something that should have ended up on Warp Records; or at least, say, Rephlex or Astralwerks, not Fax+. For sure it's ambient, but completely in that distinct Aphex Twin and Autechre lane of lucid dreamscapes, sounds emanating from the outworld and beyond. Seriously, pieces like the eerie Spk, the gentle Dtnd-Jn, the droning Trpp-Bll, and the weirdo Trmml-Dx could have easily fit on Selected Ambient Works II. This isn't so much a style-bite, just IDM artists finding similar aesthetics.

Specifically though, it's not really the usual Fax+ aesthetic, that label often indulging in lengthy ambient jam sessions, with more an ear towards Berlin School synth noodling. A couple tracks do touch upon such vibes, like the gentle, swaying opener Jn-Klkkn, the pure, bright pad drone of shorty Flm, and the minimalist, soft keyboard jam of closer Mbnt-Plng. Clocking in at over sixteen minutes, this piece is the sort you'd expect on a typical Fax+ release, wherein an artist is free to indulge themselves for however long they wish. No expectations of song structure or sound design, just some simple melodic tones playing out for however long said artist feels appropriate.

Dub_Connected - Vol. 1 - Mind The Gab!

Liquid Audio Soundz: 2000

I've dabbled in Gabriel Le Mar's material here and there, but there's more I should be digging into than his prime project and that Saafi Brothers joint. Like, the Ambient Dub compilation (no, not those ones ...Or those other ones). It featured his production on nearly half the tracks. What about Banned-X and Dublocation and such? Just how far deep into the Gabriel rabbit-hole can one go? And how much effort will it take doing so? A little, I wager, but the good news is artists are making things much easier by uploading their back catalogue to Bandcamp. Ooh, I spy a couple Dub_Connected selections there. The track Dublicity got itself an Ace Track honour back on Ambient Dub. Seems an easy choice to start on, then.

And by Ongoing Alphabetical Decree, I'm covering Vol. 1 – Mind The Gab! first. Hey, it's got Dublicity on it as well! Good to know I'm not going into this one utterly blind, then. That said, I can't tell if this is an album or a compilation. Like, I'd assume an album, since most of the tracks seem specific to this release, but Lord Discogs says this is a compilation, and the Lord knows all. Far as I can tell, this was a side project Mr. Le Mar had as The Gab! working with an assortment of other producers. I guess that can make this a compilation, but I dunno'. That would be like saying every album from The Orb is a compilation, what with the rotating cast of artists working with Alex Patterson.

Anyhow, Mind the Gab! kicks off with a collaboration with Ronda Ray called Martha. Oh man, I wonder if Mr. Mastichidis has any idea how much cultural cache that name has these days! Regardless, it's a suitably groovy, dubby little number, closer to the realms of acid jazz really. A 'Dubbed' version closes things out, though it's more like a 'stripped' version. Interesting that Gab' was doing such remixes even this early on.

From there, we get the crunchy techno dub of Dublicity and High Moon with 10Cars. The Rootsman pairings find the two going more tribal techno. Plug-A-Dub with Carson Plug gets minimalist in its dub, while 13 Monde (whom Lord Discogs knows nothing about) coerces the bangier, ravier side of techno dub from Mr. Le Lar with the tracks Drop Worlds and Mental Chant. And finally Jack “No, not that one, obviously” Black provides Gab! with a simple dubby groover in At The End Of The Century.

So a decent collection of techno dub, all said. It won't light your world on fire, but it's fun while it plays. In the end, I'm just glad Gabriel made this available on Bandcamp, as I'd hate to have broken the bank paying huge Collector's Market sums of cash for this. Say, how much is the original CD going for now? *checks*. Huh. That cheap, eh. Well, I'm sure Mr. Dub_Connected appreciates my direct financial compensation.

Night Hex - Viziuni Nocturne

Suntrip Records: 2015

Ended one box-set, time to start another. Okay, this technically isn't one, anymore than going through N:L:E's Bandcamp releases is. When one receives the bulk of a label's CD catalogue in a big ol' box though, it kind of counts. And Suntrip Records, they offered a deal I simply couldn't refuse - nor afford, so it was nice of Ishkur to chip in halfies for the collection. If any future updates to the Music Guide seems weighted way in favour of this label, now you know. Also, Suntrip releases really good goa trance, it does.

Yet in typical EMCritic fashion, I am not kicking off this journey into Suntrip Records with an album that typifies the label's 'neo-goa' sound. I mean, I kinda' already did, with Clementz' Kretsløp a year ago, but that doesn't really count – the notion of deep diving this print was hardly on my mind back then. What I'm getting at, though, is this mini-album from Night Hex is more of a standard prog-psy outing than the retro psy you'd expect out of Suntrip. Or maybe they do more than I could have guessed – it's not like I've listened to everything in their catalogue yet. Gotta' mix things up some, lest you get pigeonholed as a one-trick pony. Right, I'm sure there's some in the psy scene that would love nothing more than having every release on this label be a strict genre exercise, but I prefer things mixing up some, especially now that I've committed to giving coverage to Every. Single. Item.

Geez'it, am I ever rambling now. That usually happens if I don't have much to say about the given item I'm set to review, but maybe that's not the case. Maybe I'm typing this way because I'm writing this while still high on dental sedatives. Is that worthy an excuse here? No?

Look, there really isn't much to say about Night Hex. There's plenty to say about the man behind Night Hex, one Emanuel Carpus, but I don't want to spoil that fun just yet. Besides, I've already covered a couple of his releases, and have plenty more from him down the line, so don't want to get deep into what appears to be a simple one-off alias. Lord Discogs lists no other releases than this one, with but a couple stray compilation tracks rounding out the rest.

Four tracks make up this CD EP, plus a remix. Opener Night Visitors works the stready prog-psy vibe with mysterious sounds floating about with simple hooks at the peaks. Sleep Paralysis ups the tempo a smidge, carried by an almost melancholic melody before letting the twisty psy riffs do their thing. Distorted Visions ups the tempo more, getting into some proper goa trance pacing, with trancey multi-tap hooks and acid along for the ride. Katharsis is the requisite slowbeat psy-chill closer, while the ten-minute plus cut is a chugging prog-psy remix of the E-Mantra track Ninive Under The Stars. And now you know more.

Lucette Bourdin - A View From Afar

Dark Duck Records/Fantasy Enhancing: 2012/2021

Thusly, we reach the end of Retrospective Box Set (2005 – 2017). Well, not quite the literal end, the remix album Glimpses Volume 1 the official last numerical CD of this twenty CD collection. Chronologically though, A View From Afar is darn close to the last item within Lucette's actual discography, this and Breath Of Grace released less than a month apart. And since it was released after her passing the year before, these pieces may very well have been the last she crafted before her battle with breast cancer was lost.

But nay, A View From Afar is the final album in alphabetical order (ignore those articles!), and as such, the final album in my twenty-month coverage of this box set. Holy cow, what a journey its been! Well, okay, maybe not, but it is weird to think I've been at this for nearly two years now. There's been flurries of activity (the Nordic Waves series), there's been relative droughts (the gap between Drum-atic Atmospheres and The Mystery Of The Midnight Sun), but by and large, we've progressed through this collection at about an album per month. Have we gained greater insight into one of ambient music's more unsung composers? Or simply plugged along thanks to OCD inertia? Who's to say, but I'd like to think I've come away from this journey hearing more quality music than not.

And how does this final outing with Ms. Bourdin stack up to the rest of her catalogue? 'Tis a'ight, touching closer to her New Age and modern classical side of things compared to her other ambient drone compositions. A tidy six tracker, three pieces breaching the fifteen minute mark, the others hovering around nine-minutes in length. Opener Rising Into Bliss has some mild synth rhythms pattering about in the background before settling into swaying synth pads. Procession Of The Lesser Lights opens with light percussion as well, but is quickly jettisoned for more standard synth noodling. Dream Dancing goes quite ethereal and gentle, while Cascading Waves is bright and shimmery, almost like listening to music glistening off crystals within a waterfall cavern. Rêverie is more moody, while the titular closer is more minimalist. Again, all relatively middle of the road when stacked against the other nineteen albums I've listened to.

Sadly, not a rousing, climatic finale of my coverage of Retrospective Box Set (2005 – 2017), but so it goes. Part of me feels like I should do some sort of Album Ranking, but is that really fair? It's not like I've covered every album Lucette put out, indeed the bulk of her Earth Mantra material still out there in the internet-ether. Maybe if they're consolidated into an additional collection, I'll get to those, but for now, I'm well sated on Ms. Bourdin. I'll definitely return to albums like Rising Fog and Silver Moon and Oceanic Space and Ancient Memories, with the occasional spin of the others down the line. It's been a heck of a trip, yo'.

ACE TRACKS: April - June 2023

Bed bugs. Not even once.

Unfortunately, I've now had to deal with them at least once. Not only is it an icky thing to suddenly discover these critters have been crawling about your mattress for who knows how long (I suspect at least a month, migrating into my apartment shortly after the building tore out the hallway carpets), but in such numbers! Now, I had evidence they were lurking about, as I was waking up some mornings with what looked like hives across my forearms. It wasn't until I noticed some crawling up my nearby hanging decor that I finally tore up my bedding to find them all over the place, particularly nestled in a nook of my futon frame.

Okay, so I have bed bugs. Clean everything, then call building management to get a pest controller to do a spray or steam job to get the ones I can't find, right? Right, except my building 'management' is handled on the other side of the continent, correspondence handled through a web-portal, and hardly timely at that. Long story short(ened), after two weeks of inaction, I finally called a service myself, paying out of pocket, and by g'ar, it got the job done (hot drying ALL my clothing and bedding didn't hurt either). Guess I didn't need to buy all this peppermint oil to detract them from my blood but hey, at least it keeps my flat smelling minty fresh.

So that's how this past month went for yours truly. Anyhow, here's some ACE TRACKS from the past three months! Yeah, felt it necessary to stretch this one out some, get a few more genres in there that aren't ambient drone. Look, it's not my fault some of the more interesting techno, trance, and electro aren't on Deezer!


Full playlist here.


MISSING ALBUMS:
Yahgan - Ushuaia
H:U:M - Universal Code
Stimulus Timbre - Unfolding Cycles
N:L:E - Uncharted Lands
Various - tʌntrə x
Various - Tranceculture > Endless Universe
Tomas Jirku - Touching The Sublime
Yamaoka - Time To Time
Procs - Stuck In The Oven With Me
G-Prod - Space Time's Bubbles LP

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 5%
Percentage Of Rock: 5%
Most “WTF?” Track: The Viking metal. Always the Viking metal.

Quite a few missing there, which I suspect is gonna' become more common the deeper I get into N:L:E's extended Bandcamp catalogue. Speaking of, Bandcamp apparently now offers Playlist options too. Should I make an exclusive Bandcamp Playlist, featuring all the tracks not available on other streaming services? I know there's quite a few in that category, particularly from artists and labels very stingy about having their music spread abroad for percentages of pennies. Would take quite a while to compile, but if I start sooner rather than later, at least I can just keep building upon it, rather than wasting an entire day over it. Anyhow, food for thought.

Pet Shop Boys - Very

Parlaphone: 1993

All statistics point towards this being the Pet Shop Boys album you're supposed to have, even if you're not a Pet Shop Boys fan. It certainly charted better than any other record in their catalogue, and is critically lauded as the duo's proper coming out party, where the somewhat coy, side-glancing nods to gay culture were finally put front and centre. More so, when Muzik Magazine was ranking their choices for the Top 50 dance albums, this was the PSB album they chose. Now, some of that may have been immediacy bias, the house and ravey remixes definitely a step up compared to the duo's '80s output, but regardless, if I can't trust Muzik Magazine's opinion on something, who can I trust?

Still, ask a regular layman to namedrop a song off here, chances are you'll get met with a blank. Folks know West End Girls, Always On My Mind, and (probably) It's A Sin, if for no other reason than their never-ending retro radio airplay. Nothing of the sort emerged from Very. Its singles did reasonably fine, with Go West - the big anthem that's so audacious, it features what sounds like the sailors from Cher's If I Could Turn Back Time video singing the chorus – doing the most damage. That darn radio play again factors in though, or rather the lack of it in the ensuing years in this case. '90s Pet Shop Boys just doesn't have the lasting cultural cache as '80s Pet Shop Boys does.

Anyhow, some may recall I started this PSB journey with the intent of very slowly going through their discography in chronological order, but have clearly skipped Behaviour. Yeah, well, that one's rep' hasn't sparked my interest quite like Very's, plus I saw this CD among a Discogs seller. I've been itching to hear this proper-like for a while, as those earworms heard on Disco 2 surely sound just as good in their original context. So nuts to orderly convention, let's get to the good shit.

The only criticism I can levy upon Very is the production doesn't quite hold up, its early '90s-ness clear and apparent. Not that that's ever been a real problem for PSB before, but there was always a sense they were riding the trends in their early work. Here, they haven't quite caught up to where synth-pop and dance music had progressed in such rapid time, which was just how things went that decade regardless. Hot today, outdated tomorrow. If anything, it's remarkable they were still able to hold their own when so many of their contemporaries had been left in the dust.

Beyond that though, this is very much Pet Shop Boys being as joyful and jubilant as they ever been. Even when topics fall into bittersweet break-ups ('natch), there's just a sense of freedom and release in it all. Very may not have their most iconic songs, but it feels like a proper cap on their first decade of music making.

Amon Amarth - Versus The World

Metal Blade Music: 2002

I'm absolutely no expert on the history of Amon Amarth, nor do I feel committed enough to this band to become one. Far as I can tell though, Versus The World is their true break-out album. For one thing, it's their earliest LP that scores a solid 4/5 on SputnikMusic. In fact, only this and With Oden On Our Side achieve that mark, with Twilight Of The Thunder God nipping at their heels just 0.1 points behind. Mind, the sample size isn't quite so high, this one earning only nine-hundred votes, while the other two have... a whole lot more.

Regardless, I'm confident in making this assumption because of the deluxe version of Versus The World I snagged. Not only does it have the original album, but a second CD including the band's debut mini-album Sorrow Throughout The Nine Worlds, plus a couple demo EPs: Arrival Of The Fimbul Winter and Thor Arise. Generally speaking, one does not tag their earliest material to another album unless you consider both a Ground Zero of sorts in your musical evolution.

Anyhow, Versus The World is pretty much more of the same as I've come to expect out of Amon Amarth. Or set the template, since this is an earlier album in their peak years. Blast beat drumming from Fredrik Andersson, grinding rhythm guitars from Ted Lundström and Johan Söderberg, impossibly epic, melodic shredding from Olavi Mikkonen, and Johan Hegg going on about Viking activities and mythology under an incomprehensible guttural growl. Okay, it's not all guttural growls here, mixing things up with raspy bellows as well. Neither are of a personal preference (give me Tyr's falsettos any day!), but if putting up with death metal tropes is the price to pay to enjoy that fine-ass guitar action, so be it.

Plus it just makes good sonic sense hearing such primal vocals to a stomping, marching rhythm in Where Silent Gods Stand Guard. Not to mention the hilarity of hearing topics like Across The Rainbow Bridge uttered in such a tone. Yes, I know the reference – doesn't make it less amusing visualizing it in other contexts. Like, imagine Amon Amarth as the backing music in that Mario Kart race course!

So a solid outing on Versus The World Prime – how does the bonus CD stack up? Opening bonus track Siegreicher Marsch bodes well, carrying on from disc one. Then the early stuff hits and... *whoof*. Oh yeah, this is definitely some under-produced material. Talent is there, for sure, just far from refined yet. Söderberg's shredding sounds great, but overpowers everything, Hegg shouting a bunch from another room, while the drums are being played in a garage outside. And that's just he actual first mini-album! By the time we get to the Thor Arise demo... Man, save the death metal trappings, their recording of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath sounds like it could have come from the '70s. Never let it be said proper studio time won't do wonders for any genre of music.

faru - Utasava

Carpe Sonum Novum: 2018/2022

I'm really getting into some 'off the grid' music lately. What can I say? When a bit of cover art strikes my fancy, followed by sound samples that scintillate my stapes, I'm an easy sucker. This one I found particularly striking in that the sepia photo reminded me of Ultimae Records, yet the music within most decidedly did not. Nor did it sound like much of anything I've yet heard on Carpe Sonum. Neither label has ever gone quite so... world beaty.

Turns out that was something of a departure for Fabian Ruf as well, most of his musical compositions hanging out in the ambient drone category I've indulged plenty of over the years. Okay, he hasn't released a robust discography yet, his Bandcamp page only offering a handful of titles to his faru moniker, but one of those includes a Silent Season EP (Through Darkness Comes Light), so making significant inroads quite early on. From the looks of things, this Utasava is his first physical roll-out, Carpe Sonum Novum offering up a CD option for this album. And as mentioned, quite the turn away from the sort of Archives-styled ambient he was making to that point. Sometimes though, a vacation in a foreign land does wonders for one's inspiration. Having a recording microphone on hand capturing all those unique sounds doesn't hurt either.

And wander through a new realm he done did, opener Walk To Sri Pada almost entirely field recordings, folk and fauna busying themselves all around you, save a singular sitar tone and drumming guiding us along. The sounds of the street are so acute, I actually feel like those darn crows are dive bombing me! No, wait, that's those darn crows on my regular morning jaunts – the track is just giving me PTSD hearing their angry caws pan from right to left.

Regardless, the real highlight of this album is second track The Sacred Mountain, a near twenty-minute excursion into deep meditation as a temple monk sings through all manner of industrial distortion. I've seen this piece compared to Alio Die or Popol Vul, though as always my reference point remains Rapoon. It does eventually morph into more traditional ambient, but man, hearing those effects on this man's voice is some other-wordly vibes. It also kinda' makes the rest of Utasava come off rather tame and safe in comparison.

Not that there's anything wrong with tracks like Indian Ocean, Makar Sankrati and Along The Coast, it's just world beat and ambient dub paths well travelled since the days of Loop Guru. Meanwhile, the glitchy psy-dub of Mirissa and industrial techno of Summre Rain (!!) throw such a left turn on Utasava, you'll be forgiven for thinking you've somehow stumbled into an entirely different album. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the diversity. It's just bizarre going through such an intense meditative journey with The Sacred Journey, only to have gabber beats thumping some twenty-five minutes later. Well, unless you're Rapoon, I guess.

Yahgan - Ushuaia

Liquid Frog Records: 2021

Can't deny, I initially thought this was a different artist. Like, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for Mr. Giacovino to have a few other acts on his self-release net-label, and seeing a couple collaborations between “Yahgan” and “N:L:E” only solidified that assumption. But nay, once I did a tad bit more research on this (re: submitted this release to Discogs), I realized this is just another alias from ol' Juan. Gosh, are all the items there like that? I see a couple more project names (Spiritual Fields, Kiphi), so maybe so. And here I thought I was buying up a label's worth of new producers. Damn, that actually makes the rate of his output even more impressive!

Still, this alias should have been a small clue out of the gate. Yahgan is a reference to the peoples that lived in the southern end of the South American continent since... well, since peoples ever existed there. Archaeology finds have dated artifacts of the Tierra del Fuego region as some ten-thousand years old, so a hefty amount of time existing in such a remote area of the world. The Yahgan weren't completely isolated though, other tribes dwelling about the archipelago. Being essentially huddled into the southern tip, however, led to a language and culture quite unique to anything else in the area. What I find fascinating is how this latitude compares to its northern counterpart, particularly the contrast between the indigenous peoples from my old stomping grounds. In some ways, the Yahgan and Haida are similar (isolated, seafaring archipelago folk), but how those root cultures evolved over the centuries couldn't be further apart. Maybe if Cape Horn had more lodgepole pine trees.

Anyhow, I assume Juan Pablo was inspired by the O.G. Argentinians to start crafting music with remote vibes in mind. Maybe not so dark ambient as Ugasanie goes, but something that captures the spirit of nomadic wanderings among tundra islands. Which kinda' makes naming a major port city Ushuaia a tad funny, seeing as how the Yahgan didn't really have permanent settlements. Still, the name is apt, more or less translating from the native language as “deep bay”. More proudly, and from which Juan gained his inspiration from, Ushuaia lays claim to being the southernmost city on the globe, “end of the world.”. You go, girl!

Like H:U:M's Universal Code, Yahgan's Ushuaia features four tracks, the first three of which build upon each other. Fortunately, there aren't obvious pauses between them, each piece distinctly their own, even if they're re-using similar sound assets. Once again, Part1 is the pure ambient outing, grand synth pads flowing about while a rather crisp, watery sound drips in the background. Part2 adds rhythmic synth harmonies, giving the piece momentum before brighter synths shower down at the peak. Part3 brings some actual downtempo beats to the fray, while the N:L:E Mix beefs the rhythm into dubbier pastures while adding some mildly glitchy sound effects. Ooh, were these in an Oliver Lieb sample pack?

H:U:M - Universal Code

Liquid Frog Records: 2022

The good news is it didn't take me long to talk up a different project from Juan Pablo Giacovino as I sift through his Natural Life Essence catalogue. The bad news is... wait, is there bad news? Like, I wouldn't call having to add this to Lord Discogs' tomes as awful or anything, and given how this item is only a year old (almost to the day!), I'm not surprised it hadn't been yet added. According to the Bandcamp stats, only eighteen other folks have purchased this mini-album in that time, and odds are fairly high that I'm the only one OCD enough to do the entry. Unless one of them also has a blog where they're reviewing Every. Single. Item. within their collection. And if so... hey, send a link over my way, yo'!

Would be nice if Juan added this to the Discoggian database himself, but I'm sure he's a busy man. Honestly, very few artists have the time to worry about what gets added to internet archives, typically relying on dedicated fandoms to do that sort of thing on their behalf. I imagine the Natural Life Essence brand is still a tad too new to have developed such a thing, though with luck, that exposure on Neotantra has given it a deserved boost. Hell, I know of at least one such chap where it worked out.

Anyhow, H:U:M is the alias Mr. Giacovino adopted when he wanted to specifically focus on space themed ambient music away from his Natural Life Essence moniker. Not that he hadn't done so in the past, indeed the three-part Space Caravan series released early on in N:L:E's lifespan. I guess he felt it somewhat limiting to lump all his muses under one banner, so time to spread things out some, for those fans that prefer certain sounds over others.

Universal Code features four tracks, but really it's two: one thirty-minute excursion with different sections flowing into the next, and one twelve-minute coda. Can I just pause this review a moment and mention my one gripe with Bandcamp, how there's always a pause between tracks? It's especially egregious on re-uploads of albums that I know are meant to be seamless, and thank God some include that option with the download. But yeah, having that digital break throws so many a listening experience off. Okay, gripe over.

Universal Code 1° is the standard ambient lead-in, rhythm only hinted at with the gently pulsing synths as spacey pads and dubby effects ease us in. As we *pause* slide into Universal Code 2°, a soft ambient techno beat joins, and some punctual synths build to something of a mini-climax. The track then fades off again, leading us *pause* into Universal Code 3°, something of a reinterpretation of sounds already heard. Meanwhile, Universal Code 4° goes pure space ambience, a few trace melodies from earlier gently bobbing about in the background before coming forth with its own downbeat peak. A pleasant outing, all 'round.