Moss Covered Technology - And His Many Seas

Facture: 2018

Of all Greig Baird's album, this one immediately caught my eye. I'll never tire of nautical themed music, whether they be ambient drone or Viking metal, so this was a shoe-in for yours truly. More than that though, I've always envisioned my destiny to be like the chap we see on the cover art, living out my greying days as an old man by the sea. Not that I'm a man of the sea, mind you, though if I could have any job in history, a cartographer from the Exploration Age certainly ranks high up there. For now, I'll suffice living by the sea, gazing wistfully at waves washing upon the shore, and all that chum rot.

While Greig's inspiration for this album had more to do with navigating his stormy feelings over a father's illness, the label that initially picked this up didn't hold back in running with the nautical allegory. Indeed, part of Facture's manifesto is loading their releases up with all manner of vintage swag and paraphernalia, such that it feels like you're unlocking some Victorian Era time capsule. I'm talking post cards, cloth-bound books, weathered prints, celluloid negatives, glass slides, film reel strips... just an insane amount of detail and craftsmanship goes into these. Naturally, they're also a bit pricey, and almost immediately sell out what limited stock they manufacture. Man, good thing I'm no longer so beholden to FOMO of these sort of releases, right? *twitch, twitch*

As with Sodium Light, where I took my Moss Covered Technology plunge, And His Many Seas simply titles each track Sea (his 'many seas', see? Sorry, had to...). For a body of music that supposedly has some narrative to it, Greig doesn't provide many hints of what each piece means. Maybe there were more guiding suggestions as part of the whole Facture package, and you can regardless glean particular feelings and emotions from the eight Seas within. If you need your ambient music more specific of intent, however, this may not be the album for you.

As for the sort of ambience MCT does offer, I found it a surprisingly varied assortment. The first couple were about as I expected, Sea #1 featuring layered, sweeping drones, while Sea #2 goes more dusty and crackly with its delicate organ tones. Neither are terribly long, so just as well Sea #4 brings us the album's centrepiece at eleven minutes. At first quiet and gentle, drones gradually build upon themselves, growing richly dense, but never overwhelming. Sea #5 is almost bright and cheery as a follow-up, and a modern classical sort of way, while the remaining pieces has me reminded of Archives' brand of dubby ambient. Not a bad comparison to make at all.

Can't deny I'm letting some personal bias cloud my enjoyment of And His Many Seas. Such music playing in my head as I rock in an old chair, porch facing west across the ocean, a stiff salty breeze bristling through long, white whiskers upon my cheek.

Goasia - Amphibians On Spacedock

Suntrip Records: 2014

I hate the word I'm gonna' use to describe this album. It's such a loaded adjective, one that has gained too much negative connotation for my liking. It needn't be so, plenty of positive sounds equally associated with its use. Yes, a lot of that is in a sort of ironic way, but not always either. Some musicians have parlayed this particular stylistic choice into highly successful careers, a few even attaining 'national treasure' status. Unfortunately, such examples remain few and far between, the rest getting this descriptive tag often mocked and derided in the process. And hey, I've been no less guilty of this too, using this word in more negative light than positive. I suppose this obfuscating paragraph is just me trying to assuage a guilty conscience over my imminent use of the word, as I don't intend to mean it in a harshly critical manner. I could just not, but I can't think of any better one within the entirety of the convoluted English language than what I'm about to use to describe my impression of Goasia's Amphibians On Spacedock.

That all sorted? Right, then. I find this album rather corny.

It's corn I like, absolutely, but I cannot deny it being there just the same. The reason calling a goa trance album corny comes so loaded is because the genre – indeed, the entire psy trance scene – cotinues having credibility issues, with good cause. A bunch of cyber-crusties flailing about the woods or desert under the stars during significant astrological events? It's just not serious dancing, mate, not like huddling as sardines in a grimy warehouse or hopping in a spot with a phone in the air while million-dollar visual spectacle barrages your senses. Okay, electronic music in general can be corny, if you stand back a bit, but the outsider's nature of the psy scene always works extra hard for acceptance.

Some of this duo's choice in melodies though, I can't help but call them corny, in a pulpy sci-fi, Buck Rogers sort of way. Opener God, Good Morning is just so gosh-darn plucky and earnest, I half expect a young Jerry Mathers to pop up in a Space Cadet outfit waiting for his first adventure. Hell, maybe that is supposed to be Lil' Beaver on the cover! Tracks like Promised Land and Sundance are no less over-eager in their leads, while cuts that lean more into standard goa riffs don't fare much better. Gotta' hand it to Goasia though, they don't hold back, fully committed and competent in the style of psy trance they want to make. I just need to be in a the right type of mood to take in that there corn, y'know?

Fortunately, it's not all maize straight through. The titular cut has some proper acid tear-out moments, while Dolphins Of Jupiter gets more 'serious' with its squiggly acid sounds. And as far as final track Tetrodotoxin goes, that's some mighty fine vintage Tristan vibes I'm hearing there, b'gosh.

Jessy Lanza - All The Time

Hyperdub: 2020

While I'm far from a Hyperdub disciple, they are a label I confidently return to whenever I'm interested in hearing something outside my comfort zone. And anytime Burial so much as sneezes, it's enough to get the Hyperdub, erm, hype-train going again, such that I'll gander over to their Bandcamp for a look-see. I must have been feeling particularly saucy on my last visit, indulging in a couple items so far off my usual lane, I may as well have completely changed highways, one of which being this here All The Time from Jessy Lanza.

I've crossed paths with Ms. Lanza before, as she had a few tunes on that Hyperdub 10th anniversary box-set I covered a few years back. More specifically, she featured in Hyperdub 10.2 - aka: the R&B CD. She apparently failed to make enough of an impression for me to mention her in that write-up, but to be fair, she was surrounded by the likes of Burial, Cooly G, and Ghostface Killah in that track list. I did generally like her tunes, just there were so many other dope cuts that were quicker in catching my ear, is all. Not so when I last browsed through Hyperdub's latest clutch of releases, Jessy's sweet croon instantly luring me in for a closer listen. Or maybe it was just that simple, syrupy funk rhythm in Lick In Heaven doing the trick. Could be, could be.

I guess I should get into who Jessy Lanza is. I wish I had more to say than what a standard wiki or Discoggian bio offers, but I don't. I'm diving into this artist about as fresh and raw as can be, which is part of the fun in of itself. Can't grow old and stale settling on the familiar, gotta' get out there and hear other music and newer musicians. Even if said musician has been in the game for over a decade now, it's still new to me, dammit! If you need some background, here's the short-short version: classically trained, took a liking to jazz and R&B, gained plenty of plaudits in the nascent neo-soul movement of the 2010s, fusing her influences with UK garage and synth-pop sensibilities.

And that's basically what we have with All The Time. Music arrangements are mostly sparse, letting the bass bubble about simple electro and footwork rhythms. Jessy uses plenty of multi-tracking on her voice with various pitch changes and dub effects. It's nothing fancy on the surface, but has plenty of depth the more you peel back the layers. It all rather sounds as though she's performing solo at a club that's just emptied out after last call, a strangely isolated vibe for such seemingly chipper music. Which makes some sense as part of this album was written during pandemic lock-downs, Jessy moving cross-continent due to life circumstances. Those are some very lonely roads throughout the mid-west at the best of times. Can only imagine how desolate it got when most folks weren't vacationing.

Neotropic - The Absolute Elsewhere

Slowcraft Records: 2018

No, really, I've been meaning to return to Neotropic for a while. Things just slip by, and before you know it, nearly a decade has passed before the opportunity arises again. In this case, it was by way of James Murray's Slowcraft Records and spotting Ms. Maslen's alias among the label's catalogue. “Oh yeah!” says I, “It's been an age since I reviewed Mr. Brubakers Strawberry Alarm Clock. I didn't even know she was still active. How remiss of me.”

Actually, I have heard her sporadically since then, though I didn't realize it. Turns out she's been a frequent collaborator with The Future Sound Of London, most recently contributing some vocals on Environment Five (aka: the one with the power line towers on the cover). They also apparently sampled her on Yage, plus on the song Osho from The Isness. And if that wasn't crazy enough, I just discovered she performed with the FSOL lads on Top Of The Pops, when Papua New Guinea got tapped for a spot on the show. I guess Lisa Gerrard wasn't available.

Actually-actually, this may not be as odd a thing as you'd think, as it turns out Riz Maslen has some serious modern classical, operatic chops in her as well. Right, they may have always been there, I just never came across them when she was mostly producing way-leftfield trip-hop. Going by this album though, it's certainly a field she's more than adept at.

Opener Overture signals the oncoming herald of doom (or something), all moody atmosphere as the horns of war emerging from the hills. Okay, I may be overselling this a little, but it cannot be denied it's an effective piece of music setting a particular tone. Bring on the battle! Oh, wait, it's already over in Your War, a sombre dirge of piano, strings, and Riz' angelic voice (an angel of death, that is!). If you thought this piece was grim, it's got nothing on the desolation of follow-up Wreckage Of Dreams. You know the FSOL track Everything In The World Is Doing Something Without Me? Yeah, like that.

It's not all morose vibes in this album though. The ethereal Byzantium, while sombre in its own right, at least feels like there's some hope on the horizon. Elsewhere, Pleiades is the sort of piece that could use with a Cate Blanchett narration over top, while The Restless gets downright meditative with its low thrum of chants and instrumentation. Then there's Nyolat, the lone proper nod to electronic music with sludgy industrial rhythm as Riz gets her operatic on. Huh, I honestly get more dark ambient Delerium vibes off that one than anything FSOL. Not that Bill and Rhys never got 'inspiration' from Brian and Garry on multiple occasions.

At seven tracks long, The Absolute Elsewhere is rather short, but nor is it the sort of album that needs to be longer than it is. I don't think I could indulge in such melodramatic depression any longer as it is.

Aes Dana - (a) period.

Ultimae Records: 2021/2022

Another CD I didn't expect to get, though for totally reasonable reasons. Plenty of positive buzz surrounding this album led to a quick sell-out, one I'm sure even Aes Dana himself couldn't have predicted. I certainly didn't, letting (a) period. slip by without a buy. Whenever does Ultimae Records sell out of CD stock anyways? Okay, they always did, and still occasionally do. I just wasn't expecting this one too, y'know? It's not like earlier albums from Aes Dana such as Perimeters and Pollen have disappeared from the Ultimae shop.

And because I can't go any review without finding something to get naggy over, let's get my two issues out of the way. First, why has (a) period. gotten a quick re-issue, but nothing from Aes Dana's older catalogue yet? I've hesitated on grabbing the digital versions of Memory Shell and Aftermath and the H.U.V.A. Network albums for a lo-o-o-ong time, always holding out hope they'll see a spiffy CD re-issue again at some point. If Vincent is fine doing the deed with his recent material, why not these out-of-print projects as well?

Moving onto point two, why the change-up in cover art for the re-issue? I know many of Ultimae's re-releases have seen changes to their artwork, but not always. Inks, for instance, has seen a couple re-issues, and retained its lumpy, grooved look through them all. I feel changing (a) period. from a fog enshroud suspension bridge to some surf wash somewhat ruins the vibe of what this album accomplished. Indeed, I'd argue part of the reason this got so much attention was because of that artwork, so perfectly complimenting the moody ambience within. Even the Bandcamp digital version had its cover art changed. Man, I hope that doesn't jack the first edition CD up to ludicrous amounts of second-hand market money.

Okay, I've wasted too many words musing about these things. This album's great, essentially Mr. Villuis going about as ambient as he's ever gone for the duration of a full album. Most of the rhythms used are highly subdued and minimalist, sometimes barely a heartbeat. In fact, the spare times he does use regular beats, such as in the opener Foreword and near-closer Ambivalent, almost feel unnecessary (the requisite dub techno cut of Overpass a lone exception). No, (a) period. is primarily focused on moody tones, rich timbre, glitchy fuzz, overdubbed drone, and tranquil field recordings. Much of it played real quiet too, so you really feel the space between the sounds. And given how expansive Vincent's mastering techniques have always been, you can imagine how much of a feast for the ears this album is.

Seriously, it's as though all those years spent perfecting his studio craft has seen its ultimate form manifest itself with this album. This is the sort of music worth investing in those high-end headphones or expensive surround sound systems, even when it moves at such a glacial pace. Really lets you take in the sonic scenery, it does.

Various - 026028

Intellitronic Bubble: 2022

We've come to the last of these Intellitronic Bubble compilations (for now!), and I have a confession to make: I hadn't intended to get the previous two. It was the cover art, y'see, doing little to inspire an impulse buy, after which I simply let them fade from my initial interest. This one though, with its stark white and bubbly patterns... wow, how could your eyes not be drawn to it? And gosh, what if the label went an extra mile, giving the CD cover a little texture with those bubbles? Right, they probably wouldn't, but it was enough to get me buying in regardless. Only I didn't get this CD in the mail, receiving 016020 and 021025 instead. I honestly can't remember how this mix-up occurred, but it's nice that it did. Even if I never got a CD for 026028, I at least got one for 021025, which I feel a stronger collection of tracks than this one. Oops, spoilers, I guess?

Before getting into that, you may have noticed a slight change in the titling of this compilation. The first five were named after the clutch of five singles from which the tracks were plucked. Since those CDs weren't twenty tracks long, a few cuts were made along the way. For whatever reason, the folks behind the Bubble said nuts to that after 021025, opting to include all the tracks in future collections. Sweet beans. Even if that means only three singles get repped, at least all the tracks are included now. Oh, wait, I already let slip 026028 isn't quite as good as the last, so maybe not as good a deal as initially thought.

Right, we're still dealing with quality electro and retro-techno for the most part, I just feel the selection of tracks on this outing run rather singular in comparison. For instance, G-Prod is back for two more tunes, and while I generally like G-Prod, many of the other producers on this CD sound rather similar. Stefan Kibellus spaced-out chill vibes is also featured twice, as well as Konerytmi, who's synth-poppy style sticks out rather sharply being only separated by Andartak's Sunnudagskirkjan (praise be c+p with that title). Not because it makes sense to have them sequenced like this, but because of circumstance regarding the original vinyl these tunes came from. I know this is still the most OCD of nitpicking here, but I can't help but feel the pared-down earlier collections made for leaner, tighter listening experiences.

Anyhow, Owen Ni offers an ultra-dubby, spacious tune in Ancient Science, Deeb's Software_Selection 1.1 pushes into the hardline bleep-n-bloops end of electro, Devroka's Helix supplies the requisite acid cut in _Nyquist's absence, Hidden People joins Konerytmi in going a little more twee, and Orang Volante tries going tech-house in Song For Futuregrapher. I swear between that and Sunnudagskirkjan, I've heard some of these hooks before, even if under garbled electronic distortions. As I've said, there's only so much electro can do before some repetition become apparent.

Various - 021025

Intellitronic Bubble: 2021

I cannot deny being a bit put off by Intellitronic Bubble's change of cover art. Right, there's only so much they could do with black and white photos of folks blowing bubbles, but it was a unique theme, one I'm sure could have carried on for at least a few more editions. Get real creative with it, y'know? Like, have someone pose with a bubble-maker in front of a Icelandic lava field! Or just feature bubbles in various sizes and numbers, maybe with nifty reflections of brutalist architecture! Just something other than whatever it is they currently got going on. At least the label's Bubble Flowers series has maintained a flower theme thus far, even if it's a lone dandelion sprouting from a crack in pavement. Nay, their mainline compilations instead get various shades of brown and burgundy.

Okay, I'm picking at the nittiest of nits in that paragraph, because I honestly have little else to criticize about 021025. All the things I claimed needed to happen for this series to show growth and evolution pretty much happen on this CD. A greater variety of fresh artists? Got 'em. Less reliance on pure electro retroism and ambient techno familiarity? Sorted. Erm, I think those were the only two major ones, and even calling those 'complaints' is a stretch. More like hopeful conditionals to keep me engaged with this label long-term.

The returning regulars are as expected: Futuregrapher, _Nyquist, and ReKaB (but no G-Prod). Considering that's all, it leaves plenty of room for other names to make the cut. And even then, their contributions are rather different to the sort of electro and techno heard prior. Futuregrapher's Norðurmýri has something of an urgent, paranoid feel going for it, all the while riding a rather smooth rhythm. Later, his Qualopec prominently features rather simple acid, with a splashy beat and subtle hum in support. Meanwhile, _Nyquist tones back his usual acid workouts for something almost trancey, in a bouncy techno sort of way. ReKaB also gets two tracks, and they're ultra-chill, Sky High proper ambient techno for the downtempo sect, Trying To Cope only a smidge brisker. A couple other returning names include Rob Belleville and Orang Volante, providing the proper Detroit nods.

Rounding out everyone else are names like Xylic, KEDA8, ENUIT, Akero, k_schreiber, and CNTRLD MND. Some do regular ol' electro jams, while others really stretch into the experimental side of the genre, even splicing with others. Hell, Stefan Kibellus' Fog almost sounds like what would happen if The Bug went electro. And what's this Krystian Shek As Usual, dropping some Ultimae Records' dub techno vibes into the electro party? Hmm, I've seen that name a bunch on Carpe Sonum Records. May need to investigate further. Does he have any CDs with blue cover art?

021025 proves mixing things up yields positive results. Granted, this CD may be a bit too chill if you prefer your electro body jackin', but I'll take variety over over-reliant repetition any day.

Various - 016020

Intellitronic Bubble: 2021

Well, that didn't take long. Not that it's a bad thing, per se, I just felt the Intellitronic Bubble showcase could stand to see more artist diversity as the editions carried on. Yet here we are in the fourth edition, 016020, and we're right back with familiar names as featured in the first two. And, as such, we're right back to leaning more into the ambient techno side of electro than the pure robot fetishism as heard on 011015. Then again, I couldn't help but quibble that that CD was almost too dedicated to the mechanical menace aesthetic, so what do I know? Always gotta' find something to pick nits about, always.

I suppose that's how many electronic music labels shake out though: a core set of artists that keep the print afloat, with sprinklings of outside talent given their chance to shine. I got so used to ambient and IDM prints featuring a wide variety of producers, I just assumed the same would be true of any of Lee Norris' joints. And who knows, maybe that will come to pass with Intellitronic Bubble as well, but I'm having some doubts. It simply may be the nature of these particular genres, electro rather insular within its core scenes, versus the near free-for-all ambient and dub techno seems to enjoy online.

So returning names for the fourth round-up of Intellitronic Bubble releases include Futuregrapher (of course), _Nyquist, G-Prod, ReKaB, and Mr. Norris operating under Metamatics (what, no Norken?). Lloyd Stellar and Konerytmi also return, providing the more twee, synth-poppy side of electro, while Mick Chillage comes back as... Mick Chillage? Wait, don't tell me his dedicated electro alias The Shape is moth-balled? That's the whole reason for having a genre-specific handle!

Since we're well versed in all these artists' style, let's focus on the new additions. There's The Droid and Info, about as generic of electro aliases as it gets, which Lord Discogs confirms with these being the fifth and tenth such instance of such aliases, respectably. They're also solid electro numbers, the latter getting a little more Detroit-melodic, if that's any way to describe techno. Same can be said for Dokun's Build Boards, which is actually Darren McClure (add another from the extended Lee Norris metaverse). More anonymous is Mr. Signout, his bass-heavy Unknown giving us some proper trunk-rattling representation. Bound By Endogamy is a name I feel like I've seen, but their Discogs data is skint. Regardless, enjoy their way experimental slice of broken-beat techno with Mir Laine.

The track that really turned my head was closer Signal Flows Back from Komarebi. You know that brand of Balearic-leaning future garage most associate with Bicep these days? Think that, but with an electro sheen. Now that's the genre exploration vital for an upstart label!

So once again, another compilation with little to dislike, but hard to give heaping praise upon either. It's all solid stuff, and enjoyable while played – it just won't convince the unconverted machine lovers either.

Various - 011015

Intellitronic Bubble: 2020

Jumping into the next of this label's compilation showcases, and almost immediately I know I'm in for a different outing. Compared to the last couple CDs in this series, I only recognize a handful of artists on 011015: G-Prod, MO-DU, _Nyquist, and Futuregrapher. I think I've seen Hidden People about as well, but this is my first direct exposure to the project. Everyone else though, completely new to my eyes and ears, with a few relatively new to many others' as well. At least, when this first came out, three years ago.

For instance, the chap who kicks off 011015, Lloyd Stellar. Lord Discogs states this here track is among his earliest items ever released, though he'd been making techno as Tramtunnel for a couple years prior. He's had a modest career of activity since, but far as the wider electro 2020 market was concerned, this was his breakout. Or he'd been burbling in SoundCloud obscurity for a decade earlier, and no one's bothered to upload that discography data to Discogs yet. I'll bet on the former being the case. Regardless, his track is titled Destory Him, My Robots, and while it's definitely not a cover of the Anthony Rother track of the same name, it's a suitably gnarly slice of electro just the same.

And yeah, we're fully in electro's domain once more – it is Intellitronic Bubble's breaded butter, after all – but something about this clutch of tracks feels stiffer. Like, the artists involved are stricter adherents of the robot manifesto compared to the group out of the first two CDs. Which makes sense, since a lot of those artists were coming in from more of an ambient techno and IDM route. If you want your retro-techno and electro label to truly go all-in on it though, you gotta' get yourself some musicians who's made it their style since day one. I think they done did that here with 011015, for better and worse.

Yeah, the bass is booming, the rhythms are robotic, the computers sing and whirl, and it's all properly dope. It kinda' gets samey after a while though. Like, remember that Electro Compendium data-dump I covered over a decade ago? It's a bit rather like that, but without the overwhelming desire to succumb to the machine within.

Anyhow, here's a few tracks that break the robo-mode dominating 011015. The prolific Kirill Junolainen, operating as Konerytmi, gets rather twerpy and twee in an ol' school Suction Records sort of way. Carbinax' In My Other Life gets real retro-Detroit, offering up a track that sounds like what Strings Of Life should sound like with decent piano and drum samples. So much bass in Astrobee's Junk Technology; just... so much. Rob Belleville's 406 Lucy Avenue is a nice, little chill electro number, and couldn't be more obvious about his inspiration if he tried. And finally, Daveeth brings the acid bass action in Utan Við Sig. Ooh, that's what this compilation needed: moar base aciiieeed!

Various - 006010

Intellitronic Bubble: 2020

Brace yourself, one more 'discography dive' is coming. Did I buy another box-set? Purchase a package deal? Acquire a collection of discounted compact discs? Nah, the truth is rather mundane. Some may recall me covering an Intellitronic Bubble compilation called 001005, essentially a label showcase of their first five singles released on vinyl. They never stopped making them, each subsequent CD coming out after an additional five new EPs, and I never stopped collecting them. Only thing is, because they remain numerically titled, they got slotted into my alphabetical queue way back at the top of it, patiently waiting until I finally looped around. That time has now come, and, well, I gathered up five more since then. Seems appropriate.

As 006010 gathers up the then-latest five EPs out of Intellitronic Bubble, it doesn't have much new compared to the first set. Which I guess makes sense for a young label still relying on trusted, familiar names hanging out within the same circles as Lee Norris and Árni Grétar. It takes time for a retro-leaning electro and techno label to make enough of a name for itself such that it lures in other producers looking to contribute. Yet with the print pushing out wax at about two releases a month, not to mention all those double-album items for a spell there, the early roster was a little skint with fresh faces. Don't come into 006010 expecting much different than 001005, is what I'm saying. And hey, if you're all the more down for an extra round of their tasty electro and Detroitism, all the better.

As with the first, the second kicks off with a Milieu track, and it's... much lighter and twee? Wow, this is some real synth-pop chipper vibe going on here, a rather bit like some of the stuff I heard out of Solvent's label. Well, whatever, ReKab (with Mihail P on the rub) once again brings the follow-up, and Is This The Year is as pure a slice of vintage Detroit techno as you could ever hope to hear in the current decade Elsewhere, _Nyquist brings his touch of ambient techno to the electro party, Devroka brings the shoulder-shakin' electro, and G-Prod drops two ultra-deep space-bass tunes. You already knew that though, what with me having recently covered their albums.

All the others, then, what do we get? Black Data's Wireless Connection reminds me of that turn-of-the-millennium strain of stripped, sleazy electro, though I'm hesitant to lump it into the actual electroclash camps. 01Cerulean's Icy is, well, definitely icy, in a bouncy, acidy sort of way. I can't help but sense a little Drexciya inspiration from Orang Volante's Planktro (it's the title, yo'!), while Scape One's Different Worlds, Same Stories keeps up firmly in the outer atmosphere of sky-craft cruisin'.

While I'd recommend getting both, if you have to only get one, I think 006010 the stronger collection of tunes. Everyone involved feels more assured in what Intellitronic Bubble's manifesto will entail at this point.