N:L:E & Kiphi - Crystal Vision

Liquid Frog Records: 2022

After kicking off my block of 'C' albums with ten volumes of Caravan Of Healing Sounds, we had to wait until the end of this batch for another item of Juan Pablo's to appear again. Technically, there's two down here, Crystal Vision and Cycle, but the latter was already covered in the consolidation collection of N:L:E and Kiphi material Between Dreams Or Reality. Well, okay, there's one other track on the Cycle single, a shorter beatless version, but doesn't warrant any more attention than what I'm providing in this sentence. The original version is better, and I've done sorted that out. Let's stick to Crystal Vision here, and worry not about redundant releases. I've plenty more music from Mr. Giacovino as it is.

Have to admit, I'm surprised at seeing another 'collaboration' between these two aliases this far into Juan Pablo's discography. I thought he'd fully kept them separate at this point, finding enough distinct characteristics with his Kiphi project (specifically looping melodic arps) such that it didn't need the N:L:E bump helping it along.

Then again, he put out another N:L:E & Kiphi joint just this past December, Lights Between. And another prior in June called Floating Orbs. Hmm, maybe he just likes releasing them around solstices? *checks month of Crystal Vision* Oh, this one came out in May. Welp, so much for that theory. Also, I know I've said it before, but good God is this man ever relentless in his output. My last proper review of one his albums, Botanical Adventures, was late December, and he's added five more releases since. That makes for thirty more releases since I bulk-bought his Bandcamp catalogue! Almost makes me thankful I did buy in when I did.

Three tracks are the main feature of this EP, with alternate versions featured in the back-half. The titular opener certainly imparts visions of shimmering crystals, pulsing bright synths and angelic flowing pads building upon each other, eventually ebbing out for a little gentle piano playing. Follow-up Lifetime ups the energy some, bringing in a simple rhythms and soaring synth work that'll have it nestled nicely within the realms of AstroPilot psy-chill. The tune fades down, and while Ilusion is billed as a separate track, it essentially carries on from Lifetime with similar music themes, going more minimalist and groovy as it does.

And the rubs? Crystal Vision [ Retouched ] brings in an ambient dub groove, Lifetime [ NLE Version ] surprisingly goes beatless (isn't N:L:E the alias with the beats?), and Ilusion [ NLE Version ] extends out with a little Tubular Bells building before going full psy-chill itself. That one at least tracks.

That's another item out of Mr. Giacovino's catalogue covered, then. Still a long way to go before finishing his discography off, but take heart, intrepid readers, there's not a whole lot in the 'D' block coming up. At least, nothing where I'll have to 'cheat' again with a bevy of microblogging recaps.

Sun Project: Marco & Matt - Crazy Stories

Suntrip Records: 2022

In the beginning, there was only one S.U.N. Project, and it was good. Sure, a little silly with the metal guitars mashing with psy trance, but these chaps fully committed to the bit, going whole ham on the shredding action. Not wanting to get type-casted as just the 'buttrock goa' guys, the trio flitted about other forms of psy in the ensuing decade, even getting into that darker, minimalist vein many adopted for a spell there. Maybe hitching onto that potentially lucrative Infected Mushroom hype (“Hey, we guitars too!”). At the turn of the '10s, however, a split occurred, Maik Hinkelmann going off to create McCoy's S.U.N. Project, while Marco Menichelli and Matthias Rumoeller became Sun Project – Marco & Matt.

How... does that even happen? The retention of the project name for both parties, I mean. Like, could you imagine if Metallica split apart, but James and Lars got to both use the band name, save some minor punctuation differences – Hettfield's Metal-Allica versus Lars & The Metallicas. I'm assuming the S.U.N. Project members, not wanting to get all embittered, resentful, and tied up in legal courts over a silly psy trance alias, amicably came to this compromise. Which version should you check out if you want the more 'authentic' S.U.N. Project experience? Heck if I know, I haven't kept that close of tabs on either side. Heck, I only learned of this split when I started my preliminary research into this here Crazy Stories EP. It took me entirely too long to finally understand why it wasn't listed under S.U.N. Project's regular Discogs page.

Which still makes it something of a conundrum. Crazy Stories and the other tracks included on this four-tracker were initially made back when Maik was still making music with Marco and Matt. Although they remained unreleased in all this time, they are not credited to S.U.N. Project, but instead to Misters Menichelli and Rumoeller's Sun Project. And for that matter, why these particular tunes? Best I can glean, Crazy Stories, Space Dwarfs, Casio-Paya, and Out Of My Brain were songs Maik doesn't have writing credits on, so are fair game for Marco and Matt to re-release under Suntrip Records' 'classic goa trance' banner. Always something regarding copyright retention, I guess.

And the tunes themselves? Yeah, it's classic goa trance through in through. Driving rhythm, driving acid, spacey synths and pads. What's most interesting about these cuts is, as they're chronologically sequenced (from '96 to 2000), you can hear how psy was evolving in that time. From the straight-forward trance vibe of Crazy Stories (1996 Mix), to growing ever more darker and twisty by Casio-Paya (1998 Mix), to things getting stripped down by Out Of My Brain (Acid Remix). An intriguing snapshot of a scene morphing before our ears.

Oh, and the guitar action? Only heard on Out Of My Brain. Hey, I said S.U.N. Project wasn't just about the shredding, even if it was their most endearing trait.

ReKaB - Counting The Days

Intellitronic Bubble: 2020

Does this mark the end of another run of box-sets? Granted, these 'two-for-the-price-of-one' double-discers from Intellitronic Bubble aren't really box-sets, and I did skip the first volume featuring Metamatics and Futuregrapher. Still, I grabbed three out of the four, with ReKaB's Counting The Days at the end of this run. Counting to what? Whenever I finally got around to a review of his 'debut' album, I wager!

Yes, like a few other artists in these double packs, this counts as ReKaB's first full-length – heck, it's even paired with G-Prod's debut in the same pack, Space Time's Bubbles LP. Unlike that French electro duo, James Baker, the man behind ReKaB, hadn't been releasing much music prior to putting this out. In fact, of all the featured artists in these collections, Mr. Baker is basically the rookie of the roster, rubbing shoulders with scene vets like Lee Norris, Mick Chillage, and Devin Underwood. Well, this chap must be an exceptional producer for getting shine like that, even if its on CD2 of a double-pack deal.

That said, I wasn't expecting Counting The Days to be so mellow. I don't know why I would have come to that assumption. The styles of electro I've heard from those other Bubble albums being grittier and more menacing, perhaps? Still, the tracks of his I heard off the label's numerical compilations were rather mellow for electro as well, almost dipping into ambient techno as heard out of the FireScope camps, so I should have gone in ready to chill out on some future-city patios.

Only eight tracks make up Counting The Days, and while about half of them do stick with the relaxed side of robot music, there's some nice and surprising variety sprinkled about too, usually within the longest tracks no less. Space Echo Dub is, as amply titled, a spaced-out session into the dubbier side of slowbeat techno. If that don't get your Silent Season triggers flashing, I don't know what will. Unless you have another label doing the loopy, dubby techno thing as your primary reference point. That'll do too.

Elsewhere, the spritely synths and bright melodies of There Maybe Times has me vibing more on synthwave than electro. Ark goes as menacing as ReKaB will allow, a pulsing throb of a bassline the only rhythm offered while ominous synths and tones permeate the atmosphere. Then there's the trance track Drifting. Or neo-trance, if you must. Or melodic techno, if you will. Or hypno-house, if you choose. Or hypnotic-melodic tech-house, if you wear five different sets of socks per day. I'll keep calling tunes like this trance, thank you very much, but I'm sure we can all agree its a wonderful little space groover.

So another dope artist out of the Intellitronic Bubble camps. Now I gotta' get more of ReKaB's music. Which means I'm probably gonna' splurge on more items from the label. And now the sister label, Móatún 7. *sigh*... Bandcamp Fridays can't get here fast enough.

Various - Cottage Industries 11

Neo Ouija: 2022

It's interesting jumping ahead twenty-two years in this series, giving me an intriguing look in just how much the field of melodic IDM has grown in two decades. Or not, the music contained within volume eleven of Cottage Industries remarkably straight-forward when compared to the more experimental beatcraft as heard on the first edition (also going titleless for some reason, hence its alphabetical placement within my music library). Don't get me wrong, there's ample amounts of scatter, broken rhythms, just not presented in the glitchy sort of way that had been a staple of the series for much of its run. Heck, it was on as recently as Clockwork Manor, volume nine released just a few years prior to this one. Does the mastering touch provided by Futuregrapher really make that much of a difference in how IDM beats sound? Guess I'll find out when I get around to reviewing Decima Circuits (Cottage Industries 10), the edition he jumped into the series.

Not gonna' beat around the bush with this one: Cottage Industries 11 doesn't really sound like a Neo Ouija collection to my ears, but rather an off-shoot of Intellitronic Bubble or Móatún 7. Again, part of that likely has to do with Mr. Grétar's influence, his feel for icy-cool electro and techno a defining trait in those labels' discographies. Having consumed five of the Bubble's compilations (among other assorted releases), its an aesthetic I'm quite familiar with now, so hearing it here isn't that much of a surprise.

And to be blunt, I find that makes Cottage Industries 11 a better overall listening experience when standing it in stark contrast to the first edition. Sure, the twee electro-pop of early Neo Ouija is mostly absent here, but I'll take synthy future-soundscapes over that any day. Personal preference is a Hell of a critical bias, y'know.

Did I mention there's also lots of acid on here? There's lots of acid too, a bit more on CD1 than CD2, but plenty 'nuff leading this compilation further away from the realms of IDM and into vintage techno. If the spaced-out electro doesn't quite do it for you though, there are some skittery rhythms and distorted analogue fuzz tracks littered here and there. Downtempo ditties that hint at the twee melodic side of vintage Neo Ouija too (Novel 23's Step By Step, Xylic's Dinky's Acid, DJ Dorrit's Apotek, Daveeth's Pro Pos, Weldroid's Sandal Warrior Disarmed), but not that much.

Nay, as mentioned, Cottage Industries 11 feels more in line with what Lee Norris' other labels have been up to as of late rather than carrying on with its legacy. It's a whole new generation of artists doing their own thing now, finding influence from other sources. Some of them end up on Intellitronic Bubble, others end up on Móatún 7, while a few continue wandering the wilds of label hopping. For those hoping for a little extra shine on an established brand, however, it seems Cottage Industries will always be here for them.

Various - Cottage Industries (A Neo Ouija Compilation)

Neo Ouija: 2000/2020

Humble beginnings for this humble label, a tidy single CD kicking off the continuing Cottage Industries series. Seriously, it just came out with its twelfth volume this past month, once again indulging in a triple-disc collection of... well, if you don't know what the deal with Neo Ouija's musical showcase by now, I don't know what else to say.

That does leave me wondering how Cottage Industries: Da' Kickoff fared when it first came out. Obviously it didn't have commercial aspirations – almost nothing with this much glitchy-twitchy rhythm making had much financial hope at the turn of the century. Surely though, the abundant twee melodies lurking underneath all the leftfield beatcraft would lure in many a passerby, melancholic moods in a rapidly digitizing age. Some, I wager, but if the original CD's Discoggian data is accurate, this was not a widely distributed compilation. Less than three-hundred folks claim to hold a copy, which is a shockingly low amount for a release nearly a quarter century old now. Or perhaps it never had much promotion in the first place, forever remaining ultra-niche in an already incredibly niche micro-scene, unable to gain the critical attention similar prints like Raster-Noton and Mille Plateaux attracted.

Does this make Cottage Industries: Comin' On Cool an overlooked gem within said scene? I honestly don't know, as my own interactions with it remain skint. I'm sure the CD has its die-hards proclaiming its genius, but nor have I seen it relentlessly name-dropped abroad. It just doesn't contain those essential tracks or artists a classic compilation needs for that demarcation. Sure, a few familiar names crop up: Geiom would go onto a decent career in future garage and dubstep, Clatterbox made his way into techno sets throughout the '00s, Yunx has featured in Nick Warren set, and that Lee Norris fella' collaborating with Geiom as the one-off Consumer Durable seems to have done well for himself. Other names are complete blanks to me, however, some of whom have sparse Discogs data beyond this CD. Sometimes its hard getting hype for names like Phonem, Penfold Plum, and Plod.

And I have to be honest: this era of clicks 'n cuts has long been hit or miss for yours truly. It's an aesthetic thing, the micro-glitchy sounds too often rubbing against my cochlea the wrong way. Not to mention I can't shake the assumption some of these producers are just showing off what they can do with whatever plug-ins or gear they're using, rather than composing an actual tune worth listening to. And there's only so much the twee melodies included can do to hide that postulation. Eegh, now look, this egg-headed music making me use egg-headed terminology.

It's not all skittery micro-edits, mind. Quinoline Yellow's Eythl Maltol goes more drill 'n bass on his beats, Clatterbox' Power Up gets on the chiptune vibe, while Yunx' Nemo-Sis sounds like a regular ol' ambient techno tune. Beyond that though, expect lots of experimental digital rhythms coupled with charming synths.

Khetzal - Corolle

Suntrip Records: 2005

This is a big one, maybe THE big one, cementing Suntrip Records as that label you went to for your goa trance fix in the modern era. How big was this record? Corolle was so big, it even got covered at TranceCritic! Okay, we were covering sporadic psy already, but I do remember quite the hullabaloo over this release when it came out. It let the scene know that classic goa was alive, even if barely by a thread, and that it could still offer material of high quality.

I can't stress enough just how shocking that was in ye' olde year of 2005. Israeli full-on was completely dominate, while dark psy was gaining ground, with prog-psy establishing itself as a trendy alternative. As with most electronic music of the early '00s, the general mentality remained things had to keep evolving, growing, trying new things. Even the '80s revival was more a reinterpretation than a complete retro return. And the rest? Forget it, not even acid house having a comeback yet, much less any other genre of electronic music, to say nothing of got'dang goa trance! Heck, I'm sure you'll find early criticisms of Corolle for being too on-the-nose with its vintage vibes. Given how fondly the album's regarded now, it just goes to show how time and distance can change even the most stubborn holdouts. I mean, technically this album's closer to goa's glory years than whatever is getting released on Suntrip now. Holy cow, it old!

But yes, Corolle does hold up, if for no other reason than it isn't a complete throwback of an album. In fact, the first couple tracks are basically prog-psy in that wide-screen way you'd hear out of Ultimae or Sunline/Altar Records of the day. Which makes sense since the second cut, Anamatha, is actually a DJ Zen track with Khetzal on the rub. Yet even there, you'd suspect something a little different from the contemporary norm was afoot, the track rather brisk so early on.

Then with Bells Of Sarnath, Khetzal is done playing coy, going full gonzo goa for a four-track run. Squiggly acid lines! Indian tonal scales! South Asian chants! Tabla beating! Bansuri tooting! Elephants trumpeting! And holy cow, that high BPM! Every cliche you can think of classic goa trance having, it's here, and somehow sounding not one bit tired or rote. All that was old is new again, so gloriously resurrected as though the scene had never experienced a creative crash.

As if to drive the point home, the final run of uptempo tunes sound more of the time than the strict goa exercises preceding them, including those rather plastic synths commonly heard in full-on. They're still solid tunes, indeed would have been stand-outs in their own right, but coming off the ultra-melodic material earlier, are somewhat of a let-down. All's well that ends well though, with a requisite downbeat closer with Avasari.

Surely nothing but great things from Khetzal following this smashing debut, right, Ani? ...Right, Anikan...?

Jon Hester - Converge Part I

REKIDS: 2020

I'm not only buying MP3 releases without much care in the world about doing so, I've now begun buying them from Radio Slave's label, REKIDS. If you'd try telling 2007 Sykonee that would be a thing some fifteen years in the future, he'd have bonked you upside the head for speaking such mad nonsense. Of course, he'd also have scoffed at the notion he'd end up living in the same place for over a decade, having migrated many places in the preceding ten years before. Come to think of it, that Sykonee would have been amazed at many things that have come to pass since, maybe even this music-writing thing still an ongoing hobby. But yeah, that whole 'buying digital from Radio Slave', definitely a humdinger of a what th'? now.

What's attracted me to his print, however, is the abundance of techno names familiar and obscure adorning its discography. I feel like I can just hop about release to release checking out whatever may come, and I'm guaranteed some interesting item worth listening further. Right, not everything is golden – with the amount of records coming out of REKIDS, how could it be? Taking a couple risks here and there certainly can't hurt though, right?

Like this Jon Hester felle'r. I know nothing about him, but crikey if that isn't some cool looking cover art. And a full-length LP debut at that? Heck, that's plenty 'nuff for me to scope this out, even if Mr. Hester catalogue is a total blank to me (various singles on various labels throughout the '10s – as you'd expect of a techno up-and-comer).

First proper track on Converge Part I is an eleven-minute outing called Metropolitan with a very loopy, minimalist techno beat. There's some conga fills along the way, but the main feature is a lone piano plinking about throughout. Yeah, it's got that 'Detroit goes jazz' vibe going for it, but I can't say the piano tone does much for me, neither funky nor uplifting in any meaningful way. Still, it's better than the saxophone tooting in follow-up Haze, but my boredom of the track may have more to do with my long-standing beef with the sex-jazz instrument.

Fortunately, the album gets into a deeper side of techno I rather like after. Rain has a mellow synth tone warbling about a fine shuffly rhythm, Dreamstate gets on that dubby minimalism action, and Free lets the trance pads soar. As for the final couple tracks, I'm sure Flex will get some Drexciya triggers flaring, while closer Equinox goes a little askew with its oscillating synths. Have I mentioned how any of these tracks remain quite loopy, never having much fuss in building upon its early elements beyond whatever knob twiddling Jon does his leads as a track plays out? I haven't? Well, there we go.

So maybe not the most exciting record overall, but I could see most of these tracks working in an early, warm-up set before the real techno party starts.

Median Project - Constellation

Suntrip Records: 2019

I guess this marks a minor milestone in my current forever-coverage of Suntrip Records. Not only is this the twentieth item from their catalogue I'm reviewing (only fifty-some more to go?), but it's the first instance of a repeat artist in this venture. Okay, technically Emanuel Carpus is, in that I've covered an E-Mantra album, plus that one-off Night Hex side-project EP he did. I don't really count that as the same though. I'm talking about an actual established alias used by the same producer, in this case Sergei Petrenko.

I didn't get too much into the man's background in my first review of Median Project, spending most of my word count lamenting other nonsense. So let me make amends here. Based out of Moscow, Sergei released a handful of EPs and albums on labels like Timewarp and Global Sect Music before landing himself on Suntrip with this record, Constellation. Floating about after with a couple items elsewhere, he put out Another Galaxy, then has remained relatively quiet on the production front since. Yeah, I wonder why that may have happened...

Anyhow, I liked this album more than Another Galaxy. It still has some issues, similar to the ones I brought up in my other review, but overall, I feel there's more musical momentum going for the tracks on here than the latter record. It's the overt Astral Projection influence, goa trance designed to send your mindspace soaring as the relentless rhythms keep the heart rate pumping. Not so focused on earworms, but containing enough melodic backing that effectively keeps the auditory cortex fully stimulated. Oh yeah, this is definitely a psy trance album that knows all the subtle tricks of working the brain chemicals into a frenzy.

Unfortunately, its greatest feature is also its critical flaw. There's little variety between tracks, each just dropping you into a full throttle goa session, each piece playing out its assortments of spacey synths and squiggly acid and delayed arps in mostly the same fashion as the last. The kicks are perhaps a bit too punchy, leading to some degree of ear fatigue, making a full playthrough of the album a bit of an endurance test. And when there aren't any obvious hooks for your brain to latch onto, that feeling of something missing can't help but persist.

Granted, it's not as bad a feeling as a came away with from Another Galaxy, some definite strong peaks heard on Constellation. Tracks like Infinite Space, One The Edge, Pandora's Box have killer climaxes. They're also rather similar too, such that if you played just those peaks one after the other, you'd swear they're the same track, save some aesthetic differences.

Fortunately, the whole record isn't like this, a bit more melodic variety found later in Constellation. Still, everything is so go-go-go in that neo-goa fashion, folks will either adore or grow weary of it. Great for those right moments when out at a party, but a little tiring when taking it in on the home front.

New Order - Complete Music

Mute: 2016

I made a bold claim in declaring this 'remix' album New Order's best body of work outside of 'Best Of' packages, and now I get to show my receipts. Actually, no, I don't think I can, at least without bringing up the context that led to the album this sprung from, Music Complete. And that would eat up way too much word count that I'd rather spend detailing the tunes here. Besides, as my purchase of Complete Music included a free download of Music Complete, it'll at least leave me something to ramble on about whenever I get around to that record.

And the honest truth is, had my 'Surveying' stipulation not forced me to check out Complete Music, I may not have in the first place (or much of New Order in general, but stick with me). Yeah, there's been some ace remixes handed out to New Order's catalogue over the decades, but this was an entirely in-house project, simply taking the existing songs and extending them for maximum dancefloor efficiency. Hey, that's great, as I already liked the clubby nature of the originals, so more of that isn't so bad. A little more rhythmic intro here, a lengthier bridge there, and holy cow, these seven-to-nine minute versions are just so much better! I don't think I can even go back to the Music Complete variants, coming off like radio edits now. It almost makes me wonder if these were the finished songs, but in realizing it'd balloon the album to double-LP length, were forced to pare things down for commercial interests, rendering Complete Music to 'Director's Cut' side-project status. Probably not, but it's a fun notion if so.

So Restless comes in with all those peppy rhythms, hooky guitars (but no Peter Hook, he gone), emotional string swells, and synthy punctuations. And then, some two minutes in, Bernard comes in, and if this track hasn't fully won you over, then I don't know how you've been a New Order fan. Right, it's not Blue Monday, but hardly anything else in their catalogue is.

This is the sound of a band that's been through it all, having the skill to incorporate all their learned influences, and still find room to add some (then) contemporary tricks. A festival-ready breakdown in Singularity. A festival-ready build in Unlearn This Hatred. A little d'n'b momentum in Stray Dog (complete with a gravely Iggy Pop) and Superheated, and so on. Nor have they side-stepped other eras of their career, like the NRG pulse of Plastic or synth-pop campiness of Tutti Frutti (a song I dreaded going in based on title alone, winning me over regardless), both vintage '80s without sounding canned or retro-trendy. Or jubilant '90s funky piano house vibes of People On The High Line. Or the '00s indie rock janglyness of Nothing But A Fool and The Game. It's a little bit of everything you know of New Order and then some.

And then performed extra length, just because they can!

George Issakidis & Speedy J - Collabs 400 & 401

NovaMute: 2005

Th'ar be the acid! Just took a French touch to get there. TB-303 action aside, I have to say these Collabs with George Issakidis are the most interesting of the lot, and not just because they stray far from the regular techno workouts as already heard from Jochem's pairing with Adam and Chris. Okay, it's almost entirely because of that too, because in accommodating Monsieur Issakidis' aesthetic into his own, it resulted in some of most unique sounds out of Jochem's discography ever. Which shouldn't come as too much of a surprise considering the former Micronaut was also responsible for the Superior Version of Block Rockin' Beats.

As for how this pairing came about, I assume George was itching to get involved in the 'proper techno' scene after splitting off on his own – anything to escape the big-beat stigma. Some chance meeting with Jochem resulted in the two discovering shared mojo in working on music together, and here we are.

The first cut out of this, Looks Something Like You, is a ten-plus minute outing of steady, noisy bedlam. Really, it sounds like an extended jam session, the two playing all manner of filter and effects over the bare-bones acid house lurking underneath. While of a much lower BPM than the other tracks thus featured in the Collabs series, the intensity is no less gratifying. Hell, some of the percussion could very well be industrial, rattling off like machine gun fire and all. That may just be something for the 'old heads' though, as what was truly blowing up at the time in Francophone lands was sleazy, filthy, abrasive acid, so here's that in the form of Understand What I'm Saying on the flip of Collabs 400. Holy shit, how can this thing go for nearly eleven minutes, and never grow weary or repetitive? The warped vocals are fun enough as it is, but throw in all the distorted, clanking percussion along the way, and you have the closest thing to Speedy J going Ed Banger you'll ever hear!

Okay, maybe that was all a bit much for the techno purists out there, so on Collabs 401, the pair slow things way down on Overblaak, a quite minimalist piece where the TB-303 gets the most shine. Even here though, just the little things, like a mint, crunchy skippity-shuffle on the beat, has you hanging on every minute of its near-fourteen worth. Kaalbrevo, meanwhile, decides to get dubby on the distorted acid vibes, the duo providing a track that would fit snugly in a vintage Swayzak set. This, too, breaches a dozen minutes in length, but somehow holds your attention with every flange and filter effect thrown in. Not that I'd expect anything less ol' Issakidis.

Which is what I should say, if I'd actually heard more of his work outside this and early Micronauts. Time to do some more diggin' and he's got a rather skint discography after all. Mm, well, at least it won't take as long to sift through as Gerd's.