ACE TRACKS: November - December 2023 ...and an EMC Update

Well, that was certainly a productive December on my end, especially that flurry towards the finish. Nicely made up for the lacklustre November (or as I liked to call it 'Mopevember'). There's just something about the block of 'B' albums that always inspires me to haul writer's ass. I'm serious! Two years ago, I had another productive month finishing off another bundle of 'B' albums. And earlier that year, another solid run of writing about, you guessed it, albums with titles starting with the letter 'B'. Man, if every album I forever did now was like that, I might even get back to my pre-Pandemic rate of output! Yeah, no, I wouldn't count on it.

Or maybe I just need a little recharge break? I've had lulls and inspiration blackouts, but I'm talking about a deliberate 'time-out' from writing new reviews. Haven't taken one of those since... um *checks* Holy cow, April 2018!? No wonder I'm feeling burnt-out.

That settles it. I'm kicking off 2024 with a month-long sabbatical. I'll still do my 'Sportsing Surveys' but methinks I'm well overdue for a mental recharge. Gotta' come up with fresh angles to cover all that goa trance in my 'To Review' pile, after all.

Speaking of, here's the ACE TRACKS from the last two months!


Full track list here.


MISSING ALBUMS:
Humanoid - Built By Humanoid
N:L:E - Botanical Adventures
N:L:E & Kiphi - Blurred Milkway
N:L:E - Bioluminescent Forest
N:L:E & Kiphi - Between Dreams And Reality
Distant System - Astral Map Error

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 12%
Percentage Of Rock: 10%
Percentage Of Psy Trance: 52%

Hey, look at that, a new category! Figured if I'm gonna' be reviewing that much goa going forward (and I apparently can't count on N:L:E to break up the monotony some), I should warn folks ahead of time.

Hoo boy, is it ever dominate in this playlist. Even at a 'mere' fifty percent of the 6.5 hour runtime, it sure feels like there's so damn much of it. You'll hear two, maybe three tracks of psy at a time, then a lone ambient or synthwave or hip-hop track will come in, then another run of three, maybe four psy trance cuts again. Considering I reviewed only eight items from Suntrip these past couple months, it sure does come off over-weighted. And I'm only showcasing the cream of the crop circles here!

Alright, I'm (mostly) peacing out for now. See y'all in February!

Humanoid - Built By Humanoid

fsoldigital.com: 2019

After three decades, Brian Dougans felt time was right to dust off the alias that started it all for him. Why such a long gap? Well, he had a little side-hustle called The Future Sound Of London commanding much of his attention, so there's that. Also, I suspect he had lingering harsh feelings over the moniker, the label Westside Records releasing a 'debut' Humanoid record without much of his input involved. He did put out a 'from the archives' item from those sessions on Rephlex, but for the most part seemed content leaving the project in the distant past.

Wouldn't you know it though, that ol' spark of techno inspiration kept nagging at him, eager to try his hand at something more proper acidy and robotic. Can't do much with that in all those FSOL Environments though, lest they muck up whatever psychedelic chill vibes they maintained. Plus, who knows if Garry was even up for such IDM experimentation, his muse often wandering off to parts unknown. No, to truly sate his techno fever, Brian would have to use a completely different alias. Or dust off an old, mothballed one, that'll do too.

A track on a compilation here, a track on a charity collection there, and soon enough, Mr. Dougans had enough material for a new Humanoid album, which in some ways is the real debut. Of course, he hadn't the studio or technology to make anything remotely similar to what's offered on Built By Humanoid way back when, so leave whatever preconceptions of what a Humanoid record should sound like behind, because this ain't it.

Fortunately, Brian doesn't waste your time letting you know what you're in for, opener Orfan Atmosphere three minutes and three seconds (nice) of abrasive glitch-core and acid distortion. Ol' school IDM is back, baby! And as if that session wasn't enough to get your techno-dork on, follow-up Polymath is apparently one of those experimental tracks that uses something called a 'probability theory'. Cool, but mostly sounds like burbly, dubby acid ambient.

That's what the bulk of Built By Humanoid entails: lots of IDM beatcraft, lots of digital acid crunch... the sort of stuff you would expect to have appeared on Rephlex. Is there any of that classic FSOL album narrative though? After a fashion, sure, the track titles suggesting a future dystopia ruled by cybernetic man-apes tweakin' on acid. It's not a touch on Dead Cities' cinematic post-apocalyptica, but then what is?

I feel like there should be more talking points to Built By Humanoid, but without venturing into the weeds of production techniques, there really isn't. Like a lot of Brian's other solo ventures, this sees him pushing a particular sound to a particular limit, the outer edges of sonic styles emanating from the EarthBeat studios. It may be a bit much for those still forlorn for more Stakker acid, but for those willing to hear any ol' indulgence from the FSOL boys, this is a fun record.

Speedy J - Bugmod

NovaMute: 2002/2021

The last single to be properly spun off from Loudboxer, this. Yes, I know Tanga kinda'-sorta' was too, but none of those tracks featured on the album, no matter what the similar artwork suggests. Speaking of, holy cow, I can't believe I didn't notice it before, but gander at that black stripe beside Bugmod there. Know what's under it? It's Krekc! And Tanga had both this and Krekc blotted out in white above as well. Oh man, I love it when spin-off singles maintain a running theme – makes them feel more like part of a proper series than some disjointed association.

But wait, you say, there be no Bugmod on Loudboxer either. Is this another Tanga situation, where we'll get a Bugmod, a Buugmod, and a Bugmood? No, but we do get a little more Krikc and Krekc, by way of remixes. The other two tracks on this EP are strictly Speedy J originals, so let's have a listen in.

And Bugmod pretty much picks up where the rest of Loudboxer left off, an unrelenting pummelling of percussion, the snare and hi-hats tasting a touch of flange. An off-beat bleep is the only thing resembling any sort of hook, but earworms is not the point of this cut. There's also a nifty little 'fade it down, bring it all back' peak, which makes Bugmod a little more useful for set construction than just another tool to throw down, but better be quick on your next draw, 'cause this track ends quite abruptly. On the flip, Glov at first seems like it might be the 'deeper' option, the pounding beatcraft simpler and steady. Then what's this? An actual hook? Okay, it's still just synth stabs keeping pace with the rhythm, but they build upon each other, retreat, coalesce, retreat, and so on. It's the closest thing to a melody that Jochem gives out of the whole Loudboxer enterprise, and you'll love it, darn it all!

The remixes, then. DJ Rush handles the first, on Krekc. I'm not really familiar with this techno veteran, though he is Jeff Mills Approved, so there's that. Lord Discogs also tells me I have at least one other of his tracks, on... wait djmixed.com/keoki? Really!? Haha, never would have expected that. Anyhow, his go with Krekc is pretty much more techno bosh, with a little transistor tweeting knob twiddlin'.

On the other end is Umek, who I definitely know, so no need to get into details there. He gets to have a go with Krikc and holy cow, is this ever a blinder of a cut. I'd actually forgotten just how much of a banger the original is, and Umek sees no point in taming this beast for his use. Instead, he throws in an actual hook, a simple sweeping little thing oscillating as it carries on. It's not even harsh or gritty as you'd expect of techno in this vein, surprisingly gentle on the ears even as the beats punch your chest cavity into submission.

Dance With The Dead - B-Sides: Volume 1

self-release: 2017

Yep, I've still got Dance With The Dead material too. Man, have I ever been burning through a lot of those bulk-buy bundles this past month. Something about the letter 'B' artists just love utilizing in titles. And you'd think, having reached the B-Sides of Justin and Tony's band, I've finally come to the end of their discography. Like, how can there be anything more after the also-ran tracks from their back catalogue? If I was reviewing their stuff in sensible order, that would be true, but no, there's still One (1) more album I've yet to cover. Talk about timely.

Incidentally, having snagged all their stuff off Bandcamp, you'd think getting a b-sides collection would be redundant. After all, aren't such songs the extra cuts you'd find on the backside of singles or bonus tracks off albums? Traditionally, yes, but we're in a brave new world of digital now, where obscure cuts are easily available with an artist's entire library. Instead, b-side collections serve the purpose of rounding up wayward releases that have appeared on label compilations or guest features on other artists' albums. So more like rarities and such, but B-Sides: Volume 1 has a nice ring to it nonetheless.

That said, I'm wondering if this compilation of songs should mostly be called 'rare and unreleased', as by Lord Discogs' count, barely a quarter of them have appeared elsewhere. And the ones that have, hoo boy, are they ever Dance With The Dead at their absolute best. Pumping Outrun rhythms, bright synth riffs in overdrive, and Tony's impossibly epic shredding in spades. I mean, if you're gonna' get a feature on any ol' synthwave CD, you generally want to send your best shit for all to hear, get them intrigued to hear more. Hell, it worked on me, though it was that remix they did for GosT's Reign In Hell that got my curiosity piqued. Hey, why isn't that on here? Or any of their remixes, for that matter? Huh, guess they gotta' save some stuff for Volume 2.

So this volume may or may not have many unreleased songs, since I've no way of confirming so few of them actually appeared on other compilations. Oh alright, I could dive deep into the ditches of the synthwave compilation scene, but dear God, do you have any idea how stupidly vast that is, with so few folks having actually gotten any? I'm not surprised Lord Discogs has many supposed gaps in this info.

What I can tell is B-Sides: Volume 1 does seem to be in chronological order, the band's earlier emphasis on the metal side of things quite prevalent in the first run of tracks. There's a couple slower songs too (Stoic, Blood Moon, Surrender, They Only Come Out At Night), which confirms to me many of these are just unreleased tunes that didn't make an album cut. Which does make the lengthy fifteen tracks of this kinda' ironic, what with most DWtD LPs quite svelte and tightly sequenced.

Moss Covered Technology - Brick And Air

Audiobulb Records: 2022

I've gone on about all these other endless Bandcamp discography buys and box-set purchases, yet somehow have quietly almost completed another one just like that. Right, I didn't get the totality of Mr. Baird's material, only settling for a select few. Still, the handful I did wasn't a small amount, and now that I've nearly completed those, I find myself compelled to get more, just to complete the set. The fact he makes some captivating drone pieces doesn't hurt either.

Since it was the Neotantra album Sodium Light that first drew my attention to Moss Covered Technology, it's only fitting that I scope out its pseudo-sequel Brick And Air. I call it as such not just because it was the (year in the making) follow-up to the former record, but more that they cover similar themes, in this case the rather desolate isolation of urban night. This isn't really a concept Greig typically explores, more content casting his muse towards pastoral settings and foggy coast lands. And while I'm quite drawn to such settings myself (particularly the latter), I'm always fascinated by how some interpret wandering the cold concrete of back streets and dimly lit industrial sectors that make up our cities. Burial practically made it a whole genre, and fact of the matter is many artists find themselves residing in such locales. Some make music to escape, but others take it on, grimy alley gunk and steaming machinery steel warts and all.

In typical Moss Covered Technology fashion, Brick And Air came out on a totally different label from all his other works, this time Audiobulb Records. It's another one of those experimental prints that I barely knew existed, but has been in operation for two decades - is there really no end to such labels? A couple names I'm familiar with have appeared on Audiobulb (Darren McClure, Porya Hatami, Autistici) but most are utter blanks to my eyes. Artists like Otaru, Calika, Aria Rostami, Monty Adkins, :papercutz, Hans Van Eck, He Can Jog, A Dancing Begger, The Hole Punch Generation, The OO-Ray, and Craque.

As with most M.C.T. albums, each track is self-titled, though Brick And Air does come with an Intro and Outro as well. Anyhow, though I gave a Burial namedrop up there, this is most decidedly not in that lane of urban drone. Brick & Air I is almost modern classical, through fed through quite the haze of atonal hiss and analogue fuzz. II gets more glitchy with things, while distorted tones penetrate a gritty wall of static in III. Meanwhile, IV and VI feature more glitchy melodies, but V takes a turn towards the dark ambient side of things. I could totally hear this piece being featured in a God Body Disconnect album on Cryo Chamber, with additional field recordings of inner city existence among the distant harmonious pads. Hmm, now there's an intriguing label for Greig to appear on. Why not? He's appeared on Dronarivm, as has ProtoU. Drone ambient has all the connections, man!

Denshi Danshi - Brain Chemistry

Suntrip Records: 2018

I've got a lot of goa CDs to get through, but don't think it's some sort of chore for me. Yeah, there looks to be a fair bit of repetitive material in Suntrip's catalogue, but I wouldn't have bought the whole damn discography without anticipating a few items. Names like E-Mantra, Khetzal, and Ka-Sol, who I've seen beyond the close confines of the morning trance scene. Or old vets like Prana, Astral Projection, and Ra making appearances. Even the ones I haven't a clue about, but at least have intriguing cover art beyond the usual fractal weirdness. The Merr0ws, the Radical Distortions, and the Celestial Intelligences, all with albums that get my imagination sparking. It cannot be overstated how important cover art is for us LP snobs.

So it goes when I spotted this Denshi Danshi duo among my Suntrip pile. Holy cow, a psy act with a logo! No, I'm not talking about having their name in some fancy fonts. There's structure in their art, including both Western alphabet and kanji, the latter enclosed within diamonds. It's eye-popping, it's distinctive, it's made really darn trippy with all the added fractal bullshit included in their sophomore album, Brain Chemistry.

Of course, I've been led astray by cool cover art before, especially within the psy trance scene. Still hedging my bets going into this one, but the first track, Parallel Universe, bodes well. It's clear Denshi Danshi aren't interested in fussing about with elaborate intros or pretentious concepts, strictly go-go-go full-on psy trance from the jump. Yeah, it's retro leaning with the synths and acid – wouldn't be on Suntrip if it wasn't – but that ultra compressed rhythm is strictly nu-skool. Yet what's this: a change of key and tone two-thirds through? Oh yeah, psy trance used to have multiple sections within single tracks, not just relentlessly going on the same idea for the duration. Now that's a retro notion!

Wish I could say all the tunes on Brain Chemistry do that. This is pretty much a full-on outing wrapped in goa accoutrements. And that does grow weary for a full-length, the sort of peak time party music that's wildly fun flailing under the stars but in desperate need of some variation when sitting at home with chai and malpoa. I'll grant the climax of these tracks are generally strong enough to sustain my interest, and the usual wibble that comes with full-on doesn't overstay its welcome. There's also some rather cliche stuff though, the track Sukha really laying the Indian influences on thick – I want to love that drop, but gads, its so hammy. That said, I know I'd go wild hearing it live, so there's that.

Yes, Brain Chemistry is very much a 'get out and do shit' type of album. Play it while going for a run, or a power walk, or shuffle under a bridge. Denshi Danshi make no apologies for the energy they bring, so best make proper use of it wherever you can.

N:L:E - Botanical Adventures

Liquid Frog Records: 2021

You can see how these Natural Life Essence releases kinda' run into each other now, right? This is the third one I'm doing with light green cover art (forth if you want to include the album on Neotantra). All of them featured some sort of naturalistic theme (woods, wetlands, etc.) and came out all within the same year of each other.

Mind, Juan Pablo is quite relentless in his rate of output regardless. I bulk-bought his Bandcamp discography thirteen months ago and he's released an additional twenty-five items since! That's nearly two releases per month! Man, imagine if I'd waited a year to do such a deed – I'd be buried in N:LE and Kiphi and H:U:M and Yahgan, more so than I already am. And while I haven't disliked anything I've covered thus far, it can't all be mint material, can it? I dunno' about that, but considering the reason I did bulk-buy was because I couldn't decide off any particular few sampled, it would be one Hell of a ratio for an artist.

The other thing though, is after a dozen items thus reviewed, I'm starting to hear Mr. Giacovino's sonic tricks and such. And hey, that's not such a bad thing, artists having signature styles and all. If falling back on a successful formula makes it easier for him to keep the creative fires burning, that's totally fine. Unfortunately, it makes individual albums difficult to stand out from the rest, familiarity leading me to believe I've already heard certain ideas explored. I honestly thought as such as Botanical Adventures played out, but comparing it to the last N:LE item I reviewed, Bioluminescent Forest, revealed that not to be the case in the slightest. Hmm, maybe I needed to go all the way back to W:O:O:D to confirm?

I mean, you can forgive for thinking there's some mighty familiar sounds going on. Fluid Transportation has those spacious, flowing pads and dubby melodies gently growing in prominence, the sort of sound that's about as definitive N:L:E as anything I've heard. Then the beat emerges, treading similar ambient dub grooves as- no, wait, all that digital spittering and sputtering in tandem. Huh, that's new. Mind, it ain't a touch on Tipper's digital manipulations, but certainly something unique.

Still, the rest of the album plays out in typical fashion as I've come to know N:L:E albums. The calm ambient pieces that make for lovely meditation music, the ambient dub cuts bringing some rugged contrast to the gentler tracks, the multiple versions of a track showing off either side of Juan Pablo's muse, and that one outlier tracks you didn't expect, in this case drum 'n' bass! Actually, Photosynthesis just barely could be considered as such, the 2-step rhythm and bassline working in spite of itself as the rest of the track is almost too happy and chipper for the totally serious d'n'b scene. Like, imagine if Banco de Gaia did an uplifting jungle tune.

Merr0w - Born Underwater

Suntrip Records: 2009

And back to mermaid psy-trance again. No, wait, is that really a thing? I know U-Recken had one on his debut album Aquatic Serenade, an image that really stuck out to me because of the lake-bound lass tootin' on a flute. Like, that just doesn't make a lick of sense, a wind instrument working underwater. At best you'll generate bubbles, not much of a melodic sound. Unless it's a magical flute, which given that its a mermaid playing it, must be. Sorry for this tangent on something I reviewed well over a decade ago, but that incongruity still nags at me.

Where was I? Oh yes, mermaid trance. Are there any others? I feel like there should be, and if I dug real deep into the bowels of numerous psy labels, I'd find more covers sporting ichthyian-hominid hybrids. Can't say I'm in any hurry to confirm this, but it does seem rather rare. This here Born Underwater is just the second time I've come across it, at least within my own music collection. I'm sure if I searched through insipid vocal trance releases, I'd stumble upon mermaids aplenty. Seems like a genre replete with sirens of the sea.

Anyhow, Merr0w. One Brice Fruyt from Paris, he's another in a long line of psy artists getting their break with Suntrip, contributing to a compilation or two before releasing a full-length. That partnership didn't appear to last long though, his Discoggian data showing a half-decade hiatus from producing before striking things out independently. He seems to be on another producing hiatus, his last album Odysseus (complete with mermaid cover art!) released pre-pandemic. Boy, did that ever mess up a lot of music careers.

I want to say this is another top notch neo-goa release on Suntrip, as it does all the things I like hearing from the genre. Solid leads that get the blood pumpin' at the peaks, check. Good use of acid without overstaying its welcome, check. Little in the way of wayward wibble, every track progressing in logical fashion, check. Rhythms... okay, they're kinda' soft, but that only adds to the retro charm, so I can give it a pass. There's even a couple downtempo cuts, though bookmarks of the album, so nothing adventurous there, but at least some variety is provided.

Yep, Born Underwater does about everything I could hope from this genre, but something just holds it back from truly sticking in my head. Best I can figure, its the somewhat 'soggy' aesthetic applied to much of the synths and acid. I know that's a weird description, but it's the best adjective I can think of. I'm assuming it's intentional, Merr0w aiming for an aquatic vibe and all (cover art gives it away, to say nothing of track titles). I just don't think he quite achieves it, acid at times sounding squishy and such. It's honestly a minor quibble, but enough to hold this one back from being among the upper echelons of Suntrip CDs I've thus covered.

N:L:E & Kiphi - Blurred Milkyway

Liquid Frog Records: 2021

Juan Pablo may have set up a specific alias in H:U:M to explore the space music side of his muse, but he wasn't quite there yet when he released this. Only one month away, in fact. Not that this was the first time he set his sonic sights to the outer cosmos, the three part Space Caravan series making up a tidy chunk of the early Natural Life Essence discography and all. This was his first return to something specifically spacey though, and I'm assuming after completing this three track single, Mr. Giacovino realized, yep, he's got more in the tank for this style of sound, so lets create a whole new alias for it.

I also kinda' 'hummed' and hawed about even doing this one. I've got a lot of Liquid Frog Records material now, maybe even more than Suntrip or Cryo Chamber (!!). Do I need to cover everything? Not really, especially if they're single-song releases. There may even be items down the line which are just re-uploads of prior material, as I've discovered with some of these N:LE & Kiphi tracks. Plus, I've already established a release has to be at least twenty minutes long for me to consider it a proper item worth review, right? Eh, you say I've already broken that rule? Oh, right, that Daniel Pemberton Silent Sky thing... that was barely ten minutes long. Okay, fine, ten minutes is the absolute minimum ...which Blurred Milkyway easily breaches. Ah well.

Actually, this one lasts nearly half an hour, with two versions of the main track, and a lengthier ambient 'b-side' in Deep Breath. Not that the original Blurred Milkyway wasn't ambient in of itself, but as this is partially a Kiphi joint as well, that means we get some nice, rhythmic synth arps joining in on the flowing pads and shimmering sprinkles of spritely synths. Deep Breath is basically the same, but stretched out to a languid pace, the Kiphi arps in no hurry to move along. Much like when actually watching the Milky Way move across the night sky.

If you find yourself in need of picking up the pace (it's not like the universe will last forever or anything), the Fast Star Mix adds a beat. Okay, it's about as slow as a prog-psy rhythm gets, momentum not much brisker than the original Blurred Milkyway. It's also rather deeper than the main cut, lacking the flair of twinkling synths, which really sells that feeling of being lost in the gaze of the darkest portions of our galaxy.

Speaking of, I cannot deny some envy of Juan Pablo's perspective in star gazing. Alpha Centauri, the Southern Cross, the Magellan Clouds, Eta Carinae, Omega Centauri, the Coalsack Nebula... so many object I've never had a chance to see, forever in his night sky. I know, I know, I should just make a trip to the Southern Hemisphere if I really want to see them. I still am overdue for that Kerguelen Island voyage...

Robert Hood - The Blueprint EP

REKIDS: 2021

I guess it's rather sad that it's taken me this long to give minimal techno legend Robert Hood some proper attention 'round these here parts. At least I finally have, right? Sure, but as usual I just can't do things logically, like grab one of his seminal classics such as Internal Empire or Point Blank. Not even a DJ mix like his contributions Fabric or DJ-Kicks. Okay, fine, at least I settled for a single, of which there's numerous, but even then it's some cock-eyed way of doing things. No Minimal Nation, no Red Passion, nothing from his usual labels like M-Plant or Music Man Records, while ignoring his time with the almighty U.R. Nope, just a second EP out on Radio Slave's label, REKIDS. Look, it just happened to be the one I glanced at, and if releasing new techno on Matt Edwards' print is okie-dokie by the Detroit don', it's good enough for me.

It'd be easy to spend the bulk of this 'review' going on about Mr. Hood's history, as if my regular readers haven't a clue of his legacy. And hey, maybe I will, should I finally spring for some of his Very Important records that you should have, even if you're not a Robert Hood fan. Doing so here and now though, feels like I'd be doing his recent output a disservice. Like, cool and all there's respect for the back catalogue, but sometimes artists would prefer it if folks hyped up their recent efforts too, put them in just as loving gaze. Is The Blueprint EP one such record that can be brought up as such?

Well, it starts out unfussy enough, opener Chroma Light doing the classic minimal techno thing without any of the stupid ticks the genre gathered in the following decades. The beat thumps proper, occasionally with extra bass, the twitchy hook is simple with plenty of flange at appropriate points, and backing synths build tension as the tracks plays out. Shame it's not even six minutes long, I coulda' grooved to this for longer.

The main attraction, however, is The Majestic, as there's two versions on this four-tracker. There's not much difference between the two, besides the Deeper Edit being, well, deeper. Both clearly have 'main room' or 'peak hour festival' written all over them, a big, boisterous hook coming in and out as straight-forward minimal bosh carries on. I guess that leaves closer Ultrasonic Room one for the 'real heads', barely a hook to be had, but a fun, subtle build featured just the same.

Should I mention there's a slight difference between digital and vinyl of this record? For some reason, both Majestics are lumped together in the middle here, but are separated as A1 and B2 for the black crack addicts (the Deeper Edit way off on the far side, naturally). Mind, this may have just been a pressing error, since they're labelled the same as the digital version. Talk about vintage.