Ruptured World - Xenoplanetary

Cryo Chamber: 2023

Just when you think you've heard it all when it comes to 'cinematic dark ambient', Cryo Chamber goes and throws yet another new angle into the mix. Or it's a style that's existed in some form or another, and this is just my first exposure to it. Come to think of it, even if not via dark ambient outlets, much of what I'm hearing on Ruptured World's Xenoplantary has existed in other mediums, but typically drawn out over the course of several hours, spaced between various forms of busy-work. I am, of course, talking about the spoken word genre known as the video game Datalog.

You scoff, but think about it: for as long as puzzle PC games have had the capability to provide audio clips of individuals gabbing on about daily activities or pet projects or failed experiments, we've heard some form of datalog. Sometimes they're implemented as clues to solving mysteries, other times they're sprinkled about as setting dressing. More commonly these days, they're used as narrative cheats in world building, where the quality of voice acting can range from transcendentally gripping to instructional video hilarity. Whatever your preference of such content, one thing is clear: there really isn't an after-market for datalog recordings.

Not that I imagine a huge demand for it, but you'd think with video game soundtracks so readily available, someone had an entrepreneurial flash in thinking all that voice work could earn a little extra scratch outside its gaming context. The closest we get, it seems, is just collected records of all the datalogs one discovers through the course of a play run, and typically only accessible in-game. I'm sure unofficial compilations float about YouTube and the like, but wouldn't it be neat to have all that material available on a nice set of wax? Or, even better: tapes! Really sell that authentic datalog feel, y'know? Okay, probably not, but that hasn't stopped Alistair Rennie from giving it the ol' college try with his Ruptured World project.

Whereas many artists may offer an introductory monologue or epilogue to a given work, Mr. Rennie makes his dialogue an integral part of his album narrative. I wouldn't go so far as to say they're full-on datalog outing, each recording interspersed with ambient music and cinematic drone. Yet nor are they audio books, as he'll garble the voice recordings with all manner of digital distortions, as though you're replaying them from some recovered, weathered archive of an explorer detailing their experiences – a datalog! What I'm sayin' is, ain't no way Scott Brick or Davina Porter would allow that in their works.

And what does Xenoplanetary offer within the Ruptured World milieu? A little survivor horror, a little sci-fi horror, a little body horror... typical dark ambient stuff. The music itself honestly isn't that terrifying, and sometimes Alistair's narration lends itself to wonderment rather than fear of his predicament. Of course, this being a Cryo Chamber outing, things can only end with an ironic existential crisis...

Tracing Xircles - Xenolith

Blue Hour: 2022

Not too much to dig into with this EP. The particulars are already mostly covered elsewhere on this blog, the names behind this moniker and all that. Well, half of it at least, as Tracing Xircles is a collaboration between Blue Hour head-honcho, erm, Blue Hour. Luke Standing, that is. The other goes by A-JX on Bandcamp, but Lord Discogs lists him as Simon Pilkington (also: AJ-X ...which is it!?). There isn't much else on him within the Discoggian tomes, so can't help you there.

In any event, the two paired up half a decade ago for a debut EP titled Gaia's Requiem. As befitting a record with that sort of name, it's a rather chill affair, but as this was still Blue Hour's early years (the label and the artist!), some exploratory works are allowed. By the time the two reconvened for a second record, Air Lock, they got back to the spacey techno pulse that defined much of Blue Hour's work. And when I finally stumbled upon this label, they had just put out their third EP, this here Xenolith. Not a bad run at all, but it's apparently gotten even better, landing a record on the Candy Mountain print, helmed by one-time Ostgut Ton favourite Steffi. She actually has a lot of little labels, including various Dollys. Becoming a regular Ellen Allien, that lass is – notch another artist I've overlooked for far too long.

Anyhow, this EP. The kick-off is also the titular cut, and almost immediately you're gonna' get transported back to the '90s with its big, brash broken beats. The echoing piano and sinewy synths don't hurt either, basically mixing and matching a lot of early rave and trance sounds into something of a New Beat soup, but done in an electro way. All with that ultra-beefy modern production, keeping things sounding as current as possible. If you turned down the gains, muffled the sounds, and flattened the dynamics... yeah, I could imagine this appearing on some long-lost Music Man Records B-side. Sounding 'modern-retro' has been one of Blue Hours' appealing traits though – it's why I started scoping them out, after all – so no surprises here.

Xenolith is about as 'pretty' as this EP gets, however, as follow-up Surface Level gets down to some serious electro business. Nothing too fancy with this one, just a steady thudding breakbeat, menacing robot sounds, and ominous backing synths. Blindspot gets a little fancier in its beatcraft, opting for something more skippity and post-dubsteppy. Future-shock electro menace vibes are still in full effect though.

But enough of that, how about some acid breakcore for a finish? Closed Circuit is definitely that, or at least treading as close to the realms of acid breakcore without actually going full tilt. I don't know if the Blue Hour faithful are really down for that. Or maybe they are, the label having multiple examples of the stuff scattered about. Still gotta' get on digging into more releases, I do.

Nightmares On Wax - A Word Of Science (The 1st And Final Chapter)

Warp Records: 1991

Probably not the only Nightmares On Wax album you're supposed to have, much less start with if you're beginning a Nightmares On Wax collection. Indeed, many point to Smoker's Delight as the true beginning of the NoW legacy, what with its clear demarcation within the trip-hop pantheon. Hell, the genre technically didn't even exist yet when A Word Of Science came out, though a few tracks here definitely helped create the DNA that would form the basis of all those depressive downtempo vibes. Nay, the Nightmares debut is still very much a product of its era, and that era includes the bleep techno of the UK rave scene, of which early Warp Records were prominent champions of. Who's got time to chill the fuck out when there's illegal parties to hop about?

Still, it's that Warp lineage that's retained A Word Of Science's cultural cache to this day. It sits at a significant crossroad, lodged between the LFO debut Frequencies and the seminal series debut of Artificial Intelligence. Where even though the ravey roots of the label are still present, time is spent on tunes feeling the downswing of a night, preferably enjoyed while loungin' about with a spliff in hand. A big part of this is due to the brains behind NoW, George Evelyn, leaving no personal influence off the table. He may have felt this was his one shot at getting his vision of music out there – a 'first and final' one, if you will. So even though the Nightmares On Wax story kicked off with some techno records, here come the funk, soul, and hip-hop samplings sharing album space with the warehouse tools.

Of course, if you're coming into A Word Of Science from the future, with little historical context, you could very well assume this being more of the trip-hop groove that defined Smoker's Delight. Right from the jump, we're greeted by Nights Interlude, their classic easy-going, laidback downtempo jam of jazzy solos and soulful strings. A tune so timeless, it continues to appear on 'chill out' compilations. A vibe so sweet, George basically opened Smoker's Delight with a remix of it. That's about it for such tracks on this album though. Playtime gets a little more sultry, Back Into Time a little more Steve Miller Band-y, and E.A.S.E more playful (you can hear Gorillaz in this one), but the rest of A Word Of Science...? Yeah, not so much.

Instead, you get bass-rattling, minimalist UK techno (A Case Of Funk, Biofeedback, Aftermath, Dextrous, Sal), stabs at vintage house (Coming Down, Fun), and a little Brit-hop for good measure (Mega Donutz, How Ya Doin', the beatbox outing of B.W.T.M.). Very little of this excels beyond the year from whence it came, their dated attributes front and centre. And hey, if you're down for such 1991 sounds, then A Word Of Science will serve you fine. For many though, an adjustment of expectations is a must. Maybe borrow your older uncle's nostalgia headphones for a session.

N:L:E - W:O:O:D

Liquid Frog Records: 2021

Yeah, yeah, get in your puns here, Beavis. I know you can't help chortling seeing two tracks titled Log, Butthead. I'll grant the dimwitted duo's commentary for the Christmas Yule Fire video is legendary, but not everything must refer back to that. Sometimes, a lump of fallen bark is just a lump of fallen bark. Still, I wonder if ol' Juan Pablo suspected some potential sniggering over titling an album Wood, hence breaking the lettering up with colons (“hehe, heh”). Also, he'd condensed 'Natural Life Essence' to N:L:E by this point, plus would soon adopt H:U:M for his space-leaning works, so maybe he was growing fascinated by the double-dotted punctuation. It must have been a brief flirtation though, as W:O:O:D is his only album released with such quirky titling. So far...

I feel well entrenched in Mr. Giacovino's particulars now, and there's little minutiae I can find surrounding this release. It seems, in his never ending quest to find inspiration in all the ferns and fauna of our realms, he finally found the forests with W:O:O:D. Why, then, does the cover art look like moss on stone? Gotta' save the tree beauty shots for the Caravan Of Healing Sounds series? Whatever the case, it's clear I'm dawdling to burn up self-imposed word count, so enough of that. Let's get into music proper-like.

Following a vigorous two-minute intro of shimmering synths, things get scaled back to chill-out territory on Ancient Echo, a calm, languid pace of digital dub. Eventually layers of bright synths emerge, though not as pronounced as the Intro. A gentle violin adds to the pleasant tone, and that's about it before a nice wind-down. Log gets dubbier with its rhythms, including all the traditional elements like off-beat pulses and endlessly trailing echo with flange thrown on. I've been digging these sounds the earliest ambient dub days, and ain't no way I've tired of them yet. Heck, the Walking Again Mix that closes the album even adds some philosophical dialogue, which is about as cliche as it gets. Ain't no bad thing from my end though.

Appropriately for a track inspired by the little skittering critters you find when you overturn said logs, Drill Bugs goes more minimal with sparse percussion and spritely melodies, while South Winds does the ultra-subtle psy-dub builder business. Speaking of psy-dub – or one-time psy-dub adjacent - Reforest [ Birds And Leaves ] sparks some vintage Ultimae Records vibes from yours truly, including the spacious dub effects that let you hear all the emptiness between bass throbs. Maybe not so widescreen as you typically hear out of Aes Dana's studio, but for a self-produced item, Juan Pablo comes remarkably close. Through The Cracks In The Wood gets back to the groovier ambient dub lane.

Yeah, groovier is a way I'd describe W:O:O:D, at least compared to the other N:L:E albums I've thus far covered. It's been a few since I've started on Mr. Giacovino's catalogue, but there's still a whole lot more to come.

Warmth - Wildlife

Archives: 2019

Agustín seems to have done well for himself now, finding his footing in a way overcrowded ambient scene. Something has to be that tipping point though, where one's success goes from ultra-niche hobbiest to algorithmic search engine approved. It'd be easy enough pointing towards landing some prominent names for his Archives print as one such tipping point, and having acts like Purl, Halftribe, and Gallery Six certainly were gets. I'm more curious about Mr. Mena's own output though, where his Warmth project was seen on equal footing as other ambient luminaries. It's not like his pre-Archives material was gaining much attention, mostly floating about various ambient and dub techno netlabels with little notice. Even his initial material on Archives didn't generate that much buzz.

Is Wildlife that one Warmth album you need to hear, even if you're not a fan of Warmth, then? Hard to say, but it certainly feels unique among his catalogue. Unlike other releases within Archives', erm, archives, this one does not feature some lovely bit of natural scenery. Rather, a big ol' mama grizzly bear adorns the album's cover art. At least, I assume it's a mama bear, as the inlay has a couple cubs running about, plus the Wildlife Addendum record features a shot of the whole family together. Right, having some sort of actual wildlife as the art for your album called Wildlife makes one-hundred percent sense, but what I find interesting is Warmth's Retrospective (2016-2021) collection also features a prominent grizzly. Agustín must feel some personal connection to these magnificent ursine to reuse their visage, is what I'm saying, which leads me to believe Wildlife is, indeed, that one Warmth album you need to hear, even if you're not a fan of Warmth.

Is the music any good though? Well, it's more ambient drone in that Archives stylee, so if you're down for more of that, you're likely down for this. I haven't tired of it yet, and don't sense I will anytime soon. Gads, there's just so much music in Archive's catalogue!

But yes, you have that fuzzy, dreamy timbre the best of dubby drone has to offer in Wildlife. Where gentle tones seemingly drift across fog covered mountain lakes at dawn. Where subtle, echoing sounds emanate from distant corners of pre-dawn shrouded forests. Where melancholic pads settle layer upon layer such that you're lost within their sonic embrace. Some tracks offer quiet, reflective moments (Owls, The Bear, Wildlife, Dawning), others a more disquieting tone (The Woods, Sonora, Shine, Soil). A couple artists add some acoustic flair to the dense synth drone (Pepo Galán in Shine, Robert Farrugia in Dawning), but this is primarily Agustín's show.

So yep, this is definitely another solid outing from Warmth, and if you're unsure where to dive into his discography, about as good as any place. Well, unless you want to get the whole kit and caboodle with Retrospective (2016-2021). Either way, you're getting at least one more release with a prominent Kodiak on the cover.

Sykonee's 'Sportsing' Surveys: STEREOLAB

Some bands seem to exist just on the periphery of one's attention forever. A name you know you've seen many times, occassionally in association with some other artist you're fond of, or misattribute to a different act due to similarities. You may go decades never hearing a single song from them, or heard dozens without realizing it was them all along. In ye' olden days, the only way to get confirmation one way or the other was to scour the music shops, looking for any hints or clues that might trigger some memory synapses, spurring you further into actually listening to their catalogue, should the means and wants perfectly align. However, when I finally found out it was Cappella that was behind the line-up roll-call of the '90s Houson Rockets, I was disappointed to learn they didn't release much at all. Oh, and Stereolab is another such band, but at least they've released a whole lot more!

Primarily helmed by Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the band has seen many members rotate in and out (including an unfortunate death), mostly serving whatever musical angle they wish to explore. And explore many they have indeed, carving out a lane in the nascent '90s scene of lo-fi indie rock and electro pop. At least, that's what I assumed going in, but that's barely scratching the surface. With nearly two decades worth of music making, they had plenty of time dabbling in whatever floated their fancy. Didn't know if it'd make for a good 'sportsing' soundtrack, but I've been pleasently surprised before. So let's dive in.










This was a bit of a weird one for me. I can't say I disliked anything I heard, but nor was I inspired to buy up a bunch of Stereolab records for personal use either. Which is a bit of a shame, because this is a band that needs more than one listen for their music to truly sink in, not the sort that can be shrugged off as 'one-and-done', as most acts in these surveying exercises are. I feel like I owe it to them to at least pick up Dots And Loops, since that album was kinda' the catalyst in all this, but that feels I'm doing them a disservice settling on just one. Ah well, there's plenty of time to continue mulling it over - it's not like their catalogue is going anywhere, right?

Anyhow, now that we're coming upon the one-year anniversary of this little gimmick (and of me getting back into shape ...holy cow!), I figure it's time to take on a talent that I've long included in Mastodon polls for surveys, but for some reason has always brought up the rear: Tipper!

Various - Sven Väth: What I Used To Play (CD3)

Cocoon Recordings: 2023

Can I say how weird it is seeing photos of Cherub Sven? RIght, I've chosen his most puckish mug shot out from the ones included with the booklet as CD3's cover art, but most aren't that much older looking. I'll grant decades of clubbing will age anyone in rapid order, but he looks like a wee chile' compared to the soul-patch sporting harlequin of his Harthouse days. To say nothing of the Papa Sven look he adopted at the height of his Amnesia fame. Heck, for a large portion of contemporary punters, the grizzled German has always been 'that kooky uncle you love'. I, of course, knew of him earlier than that, such that the 'wet look era' came off quite shocking to yours truly, but man, just how young can this man actually get? Yes, I know that don't make a lick of sense.

We're into the rave years of What [Sven] Used To Play on the final disc, though nothing too bangin' or hype, so if you're expecting some vintage Frankfurt trance, this ain't it. Yes, even though we're definitely in the OMEN era, and even dip our toes into the '90s with tracks like Bobby Konders' Nervous Acid and Primal Scream's Loaded with Andrew Weatherall on the rub. Oh hey, it's that remix, which basically kicked off that whole 'rockers go rave' movement of the Second Summer Of Love.

Other essential rave classics here include A Guy Called Gerald's Voodoo Ray, Ecstasy Club's Jesus Loves The Acid (that's “Aciieedd!” to you), and Meat Beat Manifesto's Helter Skelter. You probably know this tune more for its wildly popular b-side Radio Babylon; aka: that one with the rhythm break knicked by a lot of folks after. And speaking of sampling, here's the first proto-plunderphonic single that charted, M|A|R|R|S' Pump Up The Volume (“Pump up the volume... Dance! Dance!”). Man, did that ever set off an arms race of throwing whatever one could into the production pot, soon after getting suits paranoid over what the actual legalities of all that cribbing of 'found sounds' actually was.

That's most of the familiar tunes sorted. Can't say I ever heard Foremost Poets' Reason To Be Dismal or Lhasa's The Attic, so it's cool filling out a couple personal blanks. The latter sounds like a very primitive piece of New Beat trance, so I can understand why Sven included it, the sort of tune that'd go on to inspire much of Eye Q Records' output. Just, y'know, up the BPM some twenty to thirty notches.

Rounding things out is a re-interpretation of Manuel Göttsching's epic E2-E4 from Sueño Latino – and by 're-interpretation', I mean sampling the tune for their own Balearic house jam. And what collection of early Väth vibes would be complete without at least one OFF track, in this case Electrica Salsa. I dunno', was this popular? I appreciate it for its historical context, but yeah, I'll take Rhythm Is A Dancer or An Accident In Paradise over that any day.

Various - Sven Väth: What I Used To Play (CD2)

Cocoon Recordings: 2023

By the by, I wasn't kidding in suspecting part of the reason this compilation was made was for the boutique vinyl market. In fact, I can't help but think it's the sole reason, as the record option features twelve 12”s. Yes, that means only one or two tracks per side! Which hey, is kinda' handy for record collectors who don't want the fuss of scouring the internet for original (or re-issues upon re-issues) of all these tunes. Yeah, some of this is undoubtedly redundant for serious black crack enthusiasts – having New Order's Blue Monday is almost mandatory for any proper collection – but at least they're all here in one box-set with Sven's seal of approval, right?

Speaking of, if I must levy a major nitpick over What I Used To Play, it's that the presentation is rather bare-bones. The included booklet just features all the various mug shots of Mr. Väth in the cover's collage. There's no liner notes about the tracks, no written blurbs about their history or what they mean to Sven's career. Not even some insight into his early days as a DJ at Dorian Gray in the '80s or setting up Omen later that decade. Highly detailed historical context doesn't seem to be the point of What I Used To Play, letting the music speak for itself. I suppose if you really wanted to know that stuff, you can easily find it all over the internet. Again, disappointing if you wanted more out of this compilation, but far from a deal breaker as a whole.

After an opening salvo of synth-heavy new wave music (holy cow, is Anne Clark's Our Darkness ever an early precursor to New Beat!), disc number two brings us to the midlands of American. That's right, folks, we got our acid (Phuture), we got our Detroit techno (Model 500), and we got Chicago house (Frankie Knuckles and Quest). Okay, hearing No UFO's and Your Love is rather redundant in my case, but at least Sven picked the less obvious We Are Phuture over Acid Tracks, not to mention a real obscurity in Quest's Mind Games (Street Mix). See, there's some merit to this compilation for even the hardiest of crate diggers!

Then CD2 takes turn for the ...world beat? Okay, not really, as that was really a thing yet in the '80s. More like jazz fusion musicians fusing whatever they could get away with, and if that included some Afro chant with drum machines, so be it. So we get the epic fifteen-minute digital drum jam of Jasper Van't Hof's Pili Pili, the pure percussive workout of Guem Et Zaka Percussion's Le Serpent, the Afro trumpet-boogie vibes of Hugh Masekela's Don't Go Loose It Baby, and the... wait, hip-hop of Sly & Robbie? I thought these guys were reggae and dancehall. What are they doing here sounding like something straight out of the vaults of Rick Rubin? Never would have expect such guitar shredding from these chaps.

Various - Sven Väth: What I Used To Play (CD1)

Cocoon Recordings: 2023

Hey, it's the return of the 'let famous DJs show off their neglected records' compilation! This once was a rather fruitful genre of CDs, several series springing up at the turn of the century, Back To Mine probably the most famous of the lot. However, as streaming services took over the market, it made more sense to curate sets and playlists of favourites on such sites rather than deal with the messy business of label legalities. And yet, interest in physical copies of such collections must have started up again, as I've seen a small resurgence in 'what I used to play' compilations. Heck, even Back To Mine emerged from the ashes in recent years!

I honestly have no clue what's spurred on this physical resurgence. Something to do with the boutique vinyl industry? A growing concern of just how 'everlasting' music left on the internet cloud truly is? Whatever the case, it at least gives me an excuse to fill in more blanks of my own collection.

Straight up, Mr. Väth's selection here isn't terribly adventurous if you're already well-versed in '80s club music. Granted, few of these tracks would get play on retro radio these days, and only a handful ever cracked the pop charts when they were new, especially in stodgy America. For a young German making his way in Cold War era nightlife, some of these probably were considered edgy and daring to rinse out. If you were looking for some ultra-deep digging on Sven's part though, this is clearly the wrong 3CD set to come into. He's showing off what he used to play, and that included plenty of familiar crowd pleasers for less discerning heads.

While there aren't any specific themes associated with each disc, there are some stylistic consistencies among each other, which is perfect if one intends to review Every. Single. CD. in the box-set. As I do! So let's dig into CD1 of Sven Väth's What I Used To Play.

Save a couple nods to early hip-hop from Whodini and Rockers Revenge, this is about as 'euro' as these CDs get. We got Kraftwerk! We got Yello (but not Oh Yeah, thank God)! We got Liaisons Dangereuses (such accent)! We got Clan Of Xymox (much darkwave)! Hell, even the Americans and Australians sound like they're trying to be Europeans! Lots of new wave fusions stuff (The The's Giant the most epic of the bunch), and lots of spritely Italo synths (Klein & MBO's Dirty Talk, A Split – Second's Flesh, Severed Heads' Dead Eyes Opened). Plus, a little Easter egg in closing out with 16 Bit's Where Are You?, the duo who'd go onto massive success as Snap! Oh, and team up with Sven as Off. Guess they really liked his guest vocals on this track. Come to think of it, I don't think I've heard Mr. Väth's voice outside a musical context. Just how thick of a euro accent does he actually have, I wonder...

Natural Life Essence - Wetlands

Liquid Frog Records: 2020

Yep, didn't take long at all getting back to a little N:L:E action. This is probably what a hefty chunk of the next year is gonna' look like on this blog: some item from Mr. Giacovino, some random psy trance CD, and whatever else I happen to get sprinkled among them. Hmm, may need to bulk buy something else to break that up even further, but what? A proper dark ambient splurge? Some random retro-jungle net label? Another in the seemingly endless ambient drone options? Or maybe a genre wildly outside my wheel-house, like contemporary outlaw country or Victorian opera! I'm sure there's some Bandcamp newsletters covering such things to get my feet wet with.

Keeping with a somewhat soggy theme of his explorations of our planet's various biomes, Wetlands finds Juan Pablo taking a tour of the marshier realms of our planet. He even recently released a sequel to this, but after I did the full discography purchase of his Bandcamp catalogue, so that won't be getting covered at this time (if at all). For an idea of just how relentless our intrepid Argentinian has been in releasing music, Wetlands 2 came out just a half-year after I bought all he (then) currently had, and is something like the thirteenth item out since. Oh, and another five items have come out on Liquid Frog Records after Wetlands 2! At this rate, by the time I get through all the material I have bought from Juan Pablo, he'll have essentially doubled his discography.

Straight up, there aren't a pile of field recordings in this album, so if you were coming in hoping to hear frogs croaking, crickets chirping, alligators growling, egrets squawking, and mosquitoes buzzing, you've come to the wrong record, my friends. I actually had to look up what variety of sounds you might hear in a swampland, surprisingly few noisy fauna existing in such areas. Not that I was expecting critters like whirligig beetles and water skippers being terribly vocal, but who knew frogs were so dominant?

Anyhow, Wetlands is a tidy little nine-tracker of pleasant chill-out vibes and dubby grooves. Everything sounds nice and spacious, letting echoing synth pulses glide into the distance. Melodies maintain a relatively calm and tranquil atmosphere, with enough variety such that tracks do stand out, even if the overall experience may not (Juan Pablo isn't straying far from the roads typically taken with this genre). I was given hardcore Kitaro flashes in The Bioreserve (those whistling synths!), Liliums features a nice bit of acoustic guitar plucking, and Water Hyacinth [ Moving And Full ] has a surprisingly thick bassline compared to the rest of the album, even getting a little 'croaky' at parts. Huh, would have expected that out of Frog Pond.

So another solid outing from Natural Life Essence. I've a feeling I'm gonna' be typing that a lot, no matter how deep I've gotten into his discography. I mean, that kinda' was a reason I bought the whole damn thing.