The Frozen Vaults - 1816

Voxxov Records: 2015

A super-group of modern classical? Well, I wouldn't know anything about that, but there are a few folk lending their talents to this project. Yuki Murata on piano. David Dhonau on cello. Tomasz Mreńca on violin. Whether they are major players or not, you'd have to sift through oodles of Discogs documents to figure that out, but they seem active enough. All well and good, but as usual, I'm coming into this from a different angle. Another player involved with The Frozen Vaults is Bartosz Dziadosz, whom I've covered here a couple times as Pleq. He's worked with the fifth member of this conglomerate, Harry Towell, who often releases similar lowercase ambient drone as Spheruleus. I guess they wanted to take their muses to another level, hence bringing in some modern classical musicians to craft this love-letter to one of the darkest years in modern human history.

Why so dark, you ask? The ridiculously massive explosion of Mount Tambora in Indonesia the year prior, is why. It ejected so much particulate matter into the atmosphere, the global temperature cooled significantly such that it was called The Year Without Summer – didn't do much good for crops, nosiree. And since this was still an era where communication across continents was limited by sea and sail, word of Tambora's mighty spew never reached the Western world, even if its after effects did. It was a mystery for many, this winter-summer, where good ol' uncertainty and superstition can take hold. Sounds like a perfect bit of inspiration for artists known for a little frigid, melancholic drone.

And this group doesn't waste time getting you settled into an appropriate mood. Opener First Moments features wind-swept field recordings with desolate atmosphere (yet also some chirping birds?), orchestral strings soon emerging as featured cello and violin solos forlornly glide along, finally ebbing to footsteps crunching under snowy streets. Not the most inviting introduction to the year 1816, but with cover art featuring an ice-encrusted sea vessel, what else would you expect?

The album mostly plays out in similar fashion. Field recordings place the listener into an old-timey environment, followed upon by Yuki, Tomasz, and David doing their thing in tandem. Sometimes the piano is given more prominence (God Rest Yet Merry Gentlemen), other times the violin or cello (Stilled), but throughout it all, always an omnipresent, low thrum and crackly white noise. Like, imagine you're watching some archival footage of folks trying to go about their business, even as an almost unnatural chill envelops their lives.

All well and cool, but one thing in particular sold me on this album sight-unheard. Okay, two things, but cover art notwithstanding, the fact that 1816 was mastered by Aes Dana truly sweetened the deal. His own label's output may be hit or miss, but that impeccable Ultimae touch on other artists' material always elevates things to another level. Bringing that to an album filled with lovely piano and violin playing? Can't be beat, yo'!

Various - The 50th Parallel

Suntrip Records: 2018

This is what I mean. Time skip a decade later, many releases between, now the quality of retro-leaning goa and psy trance coming out of Suntrip Records is much improved over what was heard on Ra's 9th. And their album wasn't even bad! It just felt a tad safe and mild compared to what I knew what was coming down the line. So it goes when indulging a label catalogue in non-chronological order. Sometimes the older stuff just can't hold a candle to the newer stuff. Then again, same can be said the other way around, but I cheated a little, splurging on Suntrip because I heard a couple newer releases first. Their ol' school rep' just helped sell the impulse buy.

By logical standards, I should be reviewing The 50th Parallel after having reviewed fifty of Suntrip's releases, but I don't do things that way. Instead, alphabetical standards decrees I must review this anniversary compilation super early into this discography dive. Yes indeed, this double-CD set marks the fiftieth outing for the little neo-goa trance label that could, no small feat considering how ultra-niche their sound is in the new millennium. Never mind folks hearing it always enjoy it, goa trance simply doesn't get the same broad recognition as popular full-on psy or trendy prog-psy does. As for why The 50th Parallel, I'm assuming it's referencing where Suntrip Records' head office reside in Belgium. And is just one parallel north of where I live, incidentally. Ah, the good ol' 49th, forever dividing Canadians and Americans across vast swaths of mountain and prairie.

As befitting a milestone release, all the Suntrip heavy-hitters are on hand for the party. Khetzal is here! Ka-Sol is here! Clementz is here! Cosmic Dimension is here! Cosmic Serpent is here! Uh, Crossing Mind is here. So is Hada, Triquetra, Morphic Resonance, Battle Of The Future Buddhas... Okay, I can't front – I have no idea if these are the A-listers of the label or not. Like, I know for certain Khetzal is, as his Corolle album put the label on the map. And I know Clementz because I reviewed his album last year. Ka-Sol I recognize more for the unique artwork of Fairytale than anything else. The rest though? Not a got'dang clue. Guess I'll find out in the coming year!

As or the music, eight tracks make up each disc, the first designated Sun (re: goa trance), the other Moon (re: psy trance). And, um, that's kinda' about it, if I'm honest. Whatever sound you associate with those genres, these CDs offer them in spades. Soaring melodies with a slightly Indian tonal scale? Sure thing. Twisty acid tear-outs with peppy rhythms? Yep, that too. I rather like the ones that dip close to vintage Juno Reactor waters, but that may be recency bias, having just re-listened to some of their early albums again. Regardless, The 50th Parallel is '90s as fuck, but it wouldn't be a Suntrip Records collection if it wasn't, right?

Ra - 9th

Suntrip Records: 2008

Okay, I could have sworn Ra were super old-school goa trancers. I mean, they certainly have been around since the early years, technically forming way back in '94 (so sayeth Lord Discogs). Apparently they never released much until well after the fact though, their debut album To Sirius coming out in the year 2000. I dunno', I'm just getting some serious Mandela Effect on their name, one I thought cropped up on numerous psy trance compilations throughout the '90s. They got some tracks on the endless Goa-Head series, but not until after the turn of the millennium. Is it because they also featured on numerous Altar Records CDs, including features on that label's 'Elemental' run? That may have something to do with associating Ra with a solid compilation game, but not thinking they've had numerous albums out before then.

It's the title of this one that's got me all confuzzled, isn't it. When an artist names their record 9th, I just assume it's their ninth record. But this isn't their ninth – it's their second. Why is this called 9th, then? Maybe I should actually read the liner notes, get some insight into the inspiration for this album.

Uh huh, uh huh... Hmm, something about the 'ninth insight' required to raise one's spirit density level. Erm, why does that remind me of New Age mumbo-jumbo? Let me check double-check that... *commences with the Googling* Ah, The Celestine Prophecy. Of course it is. Well, I won't hold it against them.

Anyhow, as mentioned, Ra have been around the block for some time, a pair of Norwegians teaming up to release a resolutely ol' school goa trance album with To Sirius. This actually garnered them some positive attention, as this was in the era of psy getting very minimal, proggy, fussy... y'know, all the things that classic goa wasn't. It makes perfect sense, then, that when resolutely ol' school goa trance connoisseurs Suntrip Records were getting their stride on, Ra would be among their earliest acts to sign. Despite a slight delay, the album came out in 2008 to much... appreciation, I guess?

I personally feel 9th is a solid enough excursion into what folks were (and still are?) calling the Neo Goa sound, which Suntrip are very much proponents of: classic goa trance vibes with (then) modern production values. In a nutshell, stuff that maybe wouldn't have stood out as classic 'back in the day', but compared to the prog-psy plod and full-on fluff that was making the rounds when it came out, definitely material that stands out from the pack. Aside from an opening vocal that reminded me Snap! sans Turbo B, I very much enjoyed the tunes on 9th, but generally only as they played. Perhaps Ra's use of synth leads are a tad too subtle to really stick after. Or I'm just mentally hedging my exceptions because, got'dang, have I got a lot more Suntrip to sift through in the coming year. Could be, could be.

Autumn Of Communion - 3

...txt/Fantasy Enhancing: 2013/2023

I cannot deny a little disappointment in the cover art of these AoC reissues. They're fine as is, but the originals were a class unto themselves. I get why its sometimes done, rights to original art perhaps only valid for the label they're originally released on. I don't understand why this particular release was changed though. The original Autumn Of Communion 3 came out on ...txt, another of Lee Norris' many labels. Shouldn't it track, then, that he could retain the rights to 3's artwork, even if it comes out on a different label? Polydeuces, also initially out on ...txt, kept its Saturn beauty shot for its recent reissue, so why couldn't 3 have kept the image of a wooden skiff in a dry lake at sunset? Right, its mostly playing to my weird fascination with land-locked water craft, while the alpine terrain of the reissue makes better sense as visual accompaniment for the ambient within. Just, y'know... abandoned boats, yo'!

So I didn't have much to say about 3 when talking up the rest of the Autumn Of Communion albums last review. I'll grant this is technically the last of the numbered self-titled albums that I finally heard (do single track 3.5 and remix LP 3.9 count in this? I wager not), so didn't have months or years worth of settling thoughts of it regardless. Even if I had heard this when it was new, however, I'm sure general consensus is this is the black sheep of the original four AoC albums.

I sense Misters Norris and Chillage spent plenty of hours just jamming away with their synths and such while crafting the first two AoC albums. Some structure in the final product had to be maintained though, since they were putting them out on other labels (Fax+ and Anodize, respectably). Same is likely true of Autumn Of Communion 4, initially a Carpe Sonum Records joint, so another LP with more variety of tempos. Something out on one of Lee's prints though? Hell, indulge to your heart's content in lengthy ambient drone sessions, and make a full CD's worth of it.

Right, things don't get too unwieldy on 3, the longest piece being opener In The Valley Of Tanaro at some twenty-three minutes. An ever-evolving track, it runs the gamut of gentle, wispy tones to wide-screen synth pads and burbling electronics, effectively capturing the sensation of being out and about open spaces – or cruising a river of northern Italy, in this case.

Follow-up Shoni provides the most rhythm of any piece, but is little more than the soft pitter-patter of ambient techno buried beneath grandiose synths. Rhea gets more mysterious and crystalline in its use of pads and echoes, is quite lovely, but not sure it needed an hour-plus exploration on 3.5. Disentastra gets back to the more opulent side of this album, while Teles feels of an experimental piece with its discordant layering of tones and timbre. Almost reminds me of Banco de Gaia's more minimalist moments.

Autumn Of Communion - 2

Anodize/Fantasy Enhancing: 2013/2022

For the longest time, I regarded this AoC album as one of their hardest items to procure. Yes, even more than the Autumn Of Communion debut on Fax+. Their second album on Anodize though? Forget about it. Never mind the short-lived ambient techno label is cultish even on the 'cult ambient techno label' spectrum, existing a mere two years and thus rendering their CDs extremely rare. Nay, saddle on the fact Autumn Of Communion 2 was released in a tin box, upping the 'collector's item' factor, creating one pricey item on the resell market. Definitely one in need of a reissue for those desiring a hard copy version, is what I'm saying.

It took nearly a decade (ignore the AoC box-set for now), but we finally got that reissue on Fantasy Enhancing. The first four Autumn Of Communion albums, in fact, with more on the way? Eh, I don't know if 5 and 6 really need them, but I see Polydeuces got one too. Point being, nearly everything worth having gets reissued eventually, if you're patient enough. One doesn't really need to break the bank on out-of-print items if you're a regular consumer of musical products. But man, some of those old, vintage tins, sure look nice and unique on one's shelves...

Anyway, Autumn Of Communion 2 is a great album, possibly the best of the duo's first run of numbered LPs. Not that the first and 4 are slouches, but if I were to do one of my 'Sportsing Survey' rankings, 2 would definitely rank tops.

For one thing, it refines most of what was presented on the debut, creating a much stronger flow between tracks. The Intervals, for example, are more evenly spaced, and feel like proper pauses between centrepiece tracks rather than sonic doodles there for their own sake. And while some may find them hokey, I quite like the included vocal samples of science talk and sci-fi jargon – really lends itself to that classic Fax+ vibe that inspired Lee and Mick's desire to work together in this project.

Opener Interpreter Of The Signs really hits those vintage Pete Namlook notes, what with the soft, slightly dubby beatcraft and spacious, spacey synths. So Powerful In The Mass gets more ambient techno, but does last a tad long at seventeen minutes in length, while Communion Signal does the tranquil, bleepy ambient for about a dozen minutes.

Then 2 practically shifts tone into Goodbye PK, Mick and Lee's tribute to Mr. Kuhlmann's passing. If this piece doesn't tug at all the feels deep in your chest cavity, you just ain't human, man. It kinda' leaves the brisk ambient techno of Cosmic Board Fusion out of sorts as a a follow-up, but the gentle field recordings of closer Perpetua grounds things back to Earth. So yeah, something of an album of two halves with a creamy middle. When most AoC LPs tend to come off just as a collection of tracks though, it's definitely a stronger listening experience.

ACE TRACKS: July - August 2023

So this sure has been a summer. Maybe not the busiest one I've ever had – how can it be when I didn't go to a single festival this year? - but certainly not for a lack of trying. One does not simply drive back to one's hometown when said hometown is at the literal ends of the Earth. A thirty-six hour drive, roundtrip, half of which I did in a single shot coming home (just to see if I could). What's a European equivalent, you ask? Start driving east from Brest, France, until you reach Moscow, Russia. Something like that, except with a lot more fuck-off mountains along the way. If that seems insane, here's a factoid I learned from this trip: the length of the Fraser Valley (where I technically live in) is about the same as the width of the Italian peninsula. Canada's real big, is what I'm sayin'.

Seriously, nothing puts the sense of scale into sharp focus like driving in Northern British Columbia. I used to travel those roads often in my younger years, but having since lived in the far more densely populated 'border regions' for just as long now, I forgot how remote it all is. A small town, followed by hours of rugged wilderness, the sporadic rest stop, gas station, or Native reserve dotting the highway between. Then you remember, there's another whole half province north of you that's even more empty than this! And let's not get into the Arctic territories. Such drives would be great opportunities to listen to some of these gargantuan streaming playlists, if I could be certain I'd get signal everywhere (note: you can't). Anyhow, here's a sampling of what you may have heard had you shared the drive with me:


Full playlist here.

MISSING ALBUMS:
Natural Life Essence - Wave Bio Generator
The Shape - Waveshape Fiction
The Future Sound Of London - We Have Explosive 2021
Natural Life Essence - Wetlands
Various - Sven Väth: What I Used To Play

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 0%
Percentage Of Rock: 8%
Most “WTF?” Track: Nothing major, though Tracing Xircles' Closed Circuit certainly stands out with its acid breakcore.


The sound of my summer! Well, kinda'. Feel like I listened to a lot more than just what's in this playlist, especially what with my 'Sportsing Surveys' taking up almost an equal amount of my potential listening time now. Wonder if I should make playlists of highlights from those sessions as well, but figure it's just easier buying up the albums I liked the most and doing proper reviews of them.

This marks the end of the current alphabetical queue, wherein I now restart the loop once more. This will also be the first time doing a straight run front-to-back, no special attention given to particular blocks of pre-blog albums. This means I'll be constantly adding to this alphabetical queue as we mosey on through, potentially putting the end of it forever on the horizon! Okay, not really. Once one letter block is finished, anything new I get within that block will be added to the next alphabetical loop-queue, and who knows when that one will start (if ever?). This probably makes a whole lot more sense in my head than anyone reading this. Trust me, if you could see how I have everything stacked, it all tracks.

Yaghan - Yaghan's Land E.P

Liquid Frog Records: 2018

Before you ask, yes, this is titled Yaghan's Land from 'Yaghan', and yes, this is still the same Juan Pablo Giacovino project that would immediately after be referred to as Yahgan. And no, this isn't some weird typo or misprint on his part. Truth is the two had been interchangeable for centuries, with many other variants floating about in that time, depending on era and European interpretation. So it goes with Native American peoples, even ones living in as remote a region of the global south as one can get without crossing into Antarctica. If you want to be respectful and proper-like with their lineage, however, Yahgan is the correct name for history's southernmost mini-civ'. I'm guessing when Juan Pablo launched this side-project, 'Yaghan' was the version he was most familiar with, then promptly switched to the traditional 'Yahgan' after digging a little deeper into the subject. And since The Internet never forgets, just kept the original EP name and title as-was. 'Tis fine, really it is.

As for how early into Mr. Giacovino's catalogue this came out, Yaghan's Land came out quite early indeed. Bandcamp chronology dates this just after Wave Bio Collector, and since this was another release of his I had to submit to Lord Discogs' archives (that whole 'Yaghan / Yahgan' thing is gonna' be a doozy for moderators, no doubt), I have to assume it was self-released. Or maybe it came out on some ultra-obscure netlabel with, like, three releases on it? I'm getting way too deep into the weeds of these details! Somehow seems appropriate given how many of his N:L:E albums focus on micro-fauna.

Anyhow, the EP opens with a titular track, lasting a mere three minutes long. Okay, that may seem long if this was any other dance music genre EP, but as this is a pure ambient piece with cystaline synths and wind-swept atmosphere, you'd think more time would be spent settling us into the frigid Yahgan climate. It's also quite grandiose compared to the rest of the EP, follow-up Travelling a far more subtle affair. There's still that sense of being out on the frontier, but remote and isolated. Soft rhythmic patters and melodic pulses gradually emerge as singular synth strings ebb and flow in support, but never reach a rousing crescendo, keeping things on the calm and tranquil, even if a little epic vibe is implied towards the end.

On the other end of the EP are two parts of Rupture In The Echo, totally some twenty-three minutes of playtime. The first is also a mostly ambient affair, the softest pitter-patter offered as a sporadic rhythm. Simple synth drones and distant waves make up the bulk of this piece, a remarkably soothing journey of minimalist tones. In case you need a little more pep in your tunes though, Part 2 brings in actual ambient techno beat to the fray, dubby effects thrown on for flair. Cool, but I rather prefer the beatless option. Makes for nice dozing music.

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.