Erot - Gneiss EP

Ultimae Records: 2021

I guess you can say, at this late stage, my 'relationship' with Ultimae Records has grown... complicated? Like, the honeymoon period is long in the past, but its hard letting go of those feel-good memories. My interest in their output isn't what it used to be, but every so often, something triggers those endorphins again, such that I have to hear if I've missed anything, anything at all, that will bring the pleasant glow back. A seductive revealing of the thigh, a kind word when you need to hear it the most, all the little things that made that initial relationship oh-so worth holding on to. (*whew* good thing this is just a metaphor, right? ...right??)

So it goes with Erot's EP for Ultimae, Gneiss. On the surface, it looks like more of the same low-key, ultra-minimalist dubby downtempo music with a fascination with geological formations. Nothing that sparked my interest but when Aes Dana lured me back in with (a) period., I couldn't help but scoop up more, hoping for another hidden gem like James Murray's Remote Redux.

I mean, this Erot fella', he'd previously released on Altar Records, a label I felt was something of a sister print to Ultimae before the two went down vastly different sonic roads. He'd also put out material on Iboga Records, which is about as hit-or-miss as Ultimae became, true, but there's still some pedigree there. Plus, his thorough Discoggian bio states he was sucked into the wider world of electronic music via the goa trance scene, so maybe some of those influences would find their way into his debut with Ultimae? Ah, no, not really. If anything, he was already on the path of dubby, minimalist music, so getting in with Vincent Villuis' crew seemed... well, not inevitable, but certainly a proper capper in Tore Kofod Hyldahl's career. Which may be the case, considering Lord Discogs lists Gneiss as his last release to date.

Anyway, it didn't take me long to remember that, even if the musical content from Ultimae isn't what it used to be, there's still no knocking that ultra-lush, richly immersive mastering job every single release comes with. By second track Morild, I feel like I'm wandering mysterious caverns, tracing my fingers along veins of metamorphic minerals, Erot's sparse percussion the echoes of my footsteps and distant trickling water. And damn, that endless depth of sonic space. It's been a Villuis staple since forever, but it's still somehow the best mastering job you'll ever hear out of this scene. He's got the secret recipe for this sauce that no one can replicate.

Which, I cannot deny, gives the impression I'm selling Erot's efforts short, that Gneiss wouldn't be as rich a listen if it didn't have the Aes Dana touch. It's not an unfair critique, but then, that widescreen ambience is why I return to Ultimae again and again. Whoever is the lucky chosen artist that receives its blessing is almost inconsequential to my interests.

Nebula Meltdown - Gloria In Excelsis Lumen

Suntrip Records: 2022

This album feels all over the place. Makes me wonder if it had one concept going for it, got course adjusted on the fly, then kinda' slap-dashed for the final lap. Not that it makes for a bad album, just one difficult parsing out. With most Suntrip CDs, you know what you're gonna' get within the first couple tracks, many releases sticking to their chosen micro-niche of psy trance. I've come across a few outliers, sure, but as label standards became normalized, these tropes are well familiar to me now.

Gloria In Excelsis Lumen is different though, in that what started out as something rather unique settled into that familiarity, then took a swerve I wasn't expecting. If this all made logical sense within the context of the album, I'd be singing its high praises, but clearly I'm not, so something must have gone askew in the process. Better get into particulars before all this preamble blather begins to bore.

Things open on a fairly standard goa trance number. Nothing wild, nothing harsh, Unfolding Light a nice, little spacey number with deep atmospherics, tasteful acid, and melodic leads content riding out in the background. Oh, and dynamic range! Gotta' love hearing space between all the sounds, even with the beefy modern production standards. Follow-up Bless This Dream looks to up the tempo and energy some, but doesn't get more complicated than its predecessor, keeping things simple as the ol' school could. All well and good, but gosh, this track sure isn't letting up, and we're nearly done. Is it heading for an abrupt end? Ah, not quite, next cut The Origin picking up almost immediately after. Oh... Oh! And it's an even peppier track than the last! Dude, is this album gonna' play out like a live PA? That'll be awesome if so!

Sadly, no. The Origin ends, then we're treated to something completely different in Luminous Configuration. I was not ready for a lengthy trip into triplets, nosiree. I'll give credit for even throwing in a track like that in the middle of an album, but coming off the high energy two-combo punch of Bless This Dream and The Origin, can't help but radically alter the album's momentum.

Following that, we're treated to some fairly standard retro goa trance – the typical Suntrip fare. I figured it was the lane we'd remain for the duration of the album until another curveball is thrown, a remix of Cosmicman's Back To Unity. The name may be wholly unknown to most, and certainly is to Lord Discogs, his biggest claim to fame being a remix of Lange's Don't Think It. And yes, even with Nebula Meltdown doing a rub, this track is totally in that epic melodic trance vein you'd associate with Lange.

A titular psy-dub closer does lends credence there was some effort to making Gloria In Excelsis Lumen a complete album experience. The way it all comes together though, just feels too scattershot for that classic front-to-back listening session.

Sven Van Hees - Gemini

Life Enhancing Audio: 1999

I always felt I did Sven van Hees a bit dirty in raiding so much of his music back in my P2P days. Right, it wasn't my fault his name came up often when I was on the prowl for 'downtempo' and 'chill' music of a slightly dubby bent. And hey, if I had ever seen any of his albums on a local music shelf, I probably would have picked it up on name recognition by that point. Despite making frequent appearances on early techno and latter Ibizan compilations though, I never spotted his CDs. Right, that Svengali one might have been a bit weird over here, but not even Gemini? Guess Life Enhancing Audio was too small-time for North American consideration, so just as well Sven took things into his own hands with his own Your Lips print, where he carries on releasing music through to this day.

It is an interesting turn for the Belgian though, going from one of the earliest proponents of Balearic trance and tribal techno to a staple of the Mediterranean lounge scene. Or maybe the latter was always in his wheel-house, it was just more prudent to produce tunes for the local rave scene at first. It's not like the chill-out market was as fruitful in the early '90s compared to the commercial juggernaut it became, especially in his native country. It's still something of a whiplash hearing an upbeat techno track on his R & S Records EP Emotional Rehabilitation or Global Cuts The Bellydance EP, then fast-forwarding to Gemini. (those early efforts are worth checking out, hence the cheeky name-drops!)

The unfortunate thing about actually grabbing this album is it's a little redundant to my music collection. Ten tracks make up its forty-five minute runtime, and I already have three of them: Tsunami (Inside My Soul), Breakfast With Abductees, and Serrano Anthem (Amor/Amor). And hey, these are great tunes, so effortlessly capturing the carefree, jazzy lounge vibes of being on vacation in the most luxurious tropical resort. Or rather, the memories of being in said paradise. It's not quite at a Boards Of Canada level of hauntology, but there's definitely a hazy recollection of past times in Sven's production. It makes his music stand out so much more compared to the usual Cafe del Mar type tunes you'd associate with this scene. Small wonder Gemini is often hailed as a minor classic of Ibizan lounge music.

And that's the general style you get here. Some tunes are little more uptempo (Matrass Mambo, Seasonal Bounty (Smooth '94)), some funkier (Tamiami Blues, Flute Salada, Supafly (Hannah's Lullaby)), others dreamier (Ocean Jive). It's all smoothly polished without stripping any of the soul, the perfect soundtrack for a lazy day on your patio.

Is it good enough for me to explore further Sven van Hees music though, post-2000? I'm... not so sure. I fear he may fall into a similar musical repetitiveness I found Thievery Corporation did, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

GGGG - Gazé

FireScope: 2022

Not the actual final item from the FireScope camps, but it functionally may as well be. It was the last record to feature the label's brand of vintage IDM, electro and techno, and looks to remain as such for the foreseeable future. Yeah, Kirk Degiorgio released an album of ambient doodles the following year, but that seemed like a bit of obligatory business from FireScope, not a continuation of the print's manifesto - a coda if you will. Will Steve Rutter's label ever make a comeback though? Well, he'll need to rediscover the creative spark that got it going in the first place. That... may take some time, unfortunately. Even scene veterans can feel the crushing weight of apathy, more so when you're being counted upon to give up-and-comers some increased shine.

Gabriel de Varine chose an... unusual alias for his techno work (man, I hope Google doesn't decide to flag me for it), though I don't know how dedicated to the project he is. Lord Discogs doesn't list many items to his name or any other, instead spotlighting his D.KO Records as his career highlight. A humble little Parisian print, it mostly focused on house throughout the '10s, but it wouldn't surprise me if Gab' felt as much an itch for the other side too. Create a new alias to explore it, get the attention of one of that scene's luminaries, and before you know it, you've got a spiffy double-LP on the market with a cosmic kitty on the cover art. Guess there was worse ways to spend the Pandemic Years.

As mentioned, if Gazé is among the last of FireScope's releases, it's about as perfect an encapsulation of the label's legacy as I've heard (well, save another B12 outing, but y'know what I mean). Opener K-Robot OG feeds off classic electro while beefing it with IDM trickery and ambient techno warmth, while follow-up Cas Contact sounds like a spiritual successor to Aphex Twin's Heliosphan. Which is either a testament to the lasting influence SAW 86-92 imparts three decades on, or how insanely ahead of the curve Mr. James' music remains. Then Broutine Lamé goes beatless, spritely pulsing synths and delicate melodies shimmering about, and oh man, we're not in for a strict genre exercise with this album, are we!

If there was ever any specific criticism I've had with FireScope, it was that many of their releases tended to sound samey throughout. If Gazé is gonna' give us some diversity though, then yes, I can legit say this is will be a great final album for the label. If the rest of the music holds up to its promising start, anyway.

Fortunately for fans of the original Artificial Intelligence, it does. The variety carries on, some tracks getting heavier with robo-funk (120U Piano), dubby electro (Slowdry), spacey IDM (Trip 2 Delinc), ultra-melodic arps (Mudla 2.2), and even ambient drone (Sac Ala Blofel). Man, kinda' makes me wish more of FireScope's output had showed this much of a stylistic smorgasbord.

Various - Gamma Draconis

Suntrip Records: 2020

Can't go far into a new letter block of albums without also stumbling into a Suntrip CD, oh no. I swear I need to start some sort of betting odds for each one. “1/5 odds on two releases deep for the first goa trance outing!” “1/10 odds for an N:L:E session!” “1/20 odds for any alias of Mr. Giacovino!” “2/1 odds for a box-set!” Or maybe I can take bets on how many total items from Liquid Frog and Suntrip will appear in a given block? Could be fun, if I had any way of actually paying out, but I need more income at this point (stupid expensive summer), not further debt.

Gamma Draconis is more interesting than Suntrip's usual compilations for a couple reasons. One, they strictly relied on true veterans of the goa scene rather than spotlighting fresher talent. Chaps like Astral Projection, RA, Xenomorph, MFG, Battle Of The Future Buddhas, and a clutch of others that I don't recognize but Lord Discogs tells me they're very old school indeed. Hey, that's cool, though not entirely unexpected, the label having helped resuscitate a few vets by this point. Usually Suntrip would mix them up with the newer cats, but I guess they wanted to focus solely on vintage goa sounds on this outing. And the only reason for doing this I can surmise is the fact this was the label finally dipping into the vinyl market.

They'd released a couple prior records as singles, but I'm talking an entire double-LP compilation. Having proved all that they needed to in other markets, why not get a little adventurous into other formats? Sure, vinyl was never popular in the psy trance scene, but surly a newer generation into collectibles might give it a shot. And if it proves successful with a compilation, you're damned skippy they'll go forward with vinyl re-issues of classics from their catalogue (and they did).

So if Suntrip's confident in the music enough to roll out a pricey vinyl option, then Gamma Draconis must be among their top-tier releases ever! Well, I don't know about that, but I had more fun with this than some of their other offerings. What can I say, my ears still lean heavier towards vintage goa and psy than the beefier production standards of the newer stuff. It's that space between all the squiggly, acid sounds, music that's not quite so bricked or plastic as neo-goa sometimes goes. Does it capture the same vibe as the '90s stuff then? Let me just say opener Mentalogue from Roy Sasson reminds me of one of the better tracks I heard on those Psychedelic Flashbacks box-sets from Rumour Records I endured.

Okay, I'll say more. The pedigree is here, so if you're down for hearing more from the names I mentioned above (plus Shakta and Oforia), then yes, you'll dig this. And if Gamma Draconis is somehow your introduction to classic goa trance (!!), I suspect you'll have a pretty good time too.

Various - Galaxies: An Excursion Through Technospace

Havoc: 1993

I came across this while perusing Lord Discogs' tomes for Human Mesh Dance material, and almost instantly, a wave of weird nostalgia hit me. Of a bygone era when garish CGI cover art and track lists filled with utter unknowns were common place. When techno was still finding its way in a post-rave world, unsure whether to go harder, trancier, or minimal. Where such a CD would cost you $30 at the local record shop (because 'imported'), a total gamble when that was, like, half your monthly allowance, dude, for something you really didn't know would be good or not.

Initially I was gonna' pass on this from the Discogs seller, not willing to pony up that kind of cash for a single disc anymore. Then I thought, wait, I totally would have back in the day, when such money was worth more than it is now. Screw it, let's take that Excursion Through Technospace!

And yeah, this was worth it, at least where my interests are concerned. I'm always down for unearthing obscure electronic music capturing the early '90s freedom on non-genre conformity, and this collection has techno-trance acid-rave to spare. Absolutely some of this will sound dated and simple, but you can't help but fall sway to its retro charms as well.

Specifically, Galaxies was meant to be a label showcase for Havoc Music, one of Human Mesh Dance's earliest prints. Taylor Deupree, the man behind HMD, would go onto more success with 12K, but we all start somewhere, and the sound of techno-rave was the fresh hotness in New York City back then. Along with Taylor, this roster included early works from Dietrich Schoenemann (those who know, know) and Jason Szostek (partner in crime with John Selway behind the Serotinin print). Plus an assortment of way-underground names like Virus Crack Team, Hydraulic Clownhead, Lunik, and City Of God, because a good compilation can't be carried by just a handful of dudes. Okay, it can, but better having a little variety in there.

Yes, there's surprising variety here. It may not seem so at first, the initial clutch of tracks doing hard acid techno and ravey breakbeat. Then things get way deeper on Lovechild (Rise), downright trancey with Video Hallucination, deep trancey on Circuit, then... deep house on Human Mesh Dance's own Heaven (Recovered)? Huh, wasn't expecting that. Nor hearing the sort of synth pads expected from a Pete Namlook work on Prototype 909's I Don't Want To Grow Up (the Havoc 'supergroup', if you will).

Something more tribal from Axon (Flux (The Tribal Mix)), something weirdly Balearic in a warehouse rave sort of way from E-Sop (Dream Is A Shadow Of Something Real), and back to chant-riffic jazzy breaks in closer Io from City Of God. Yeah, that FSoL influence could be felt even on the Eastern seaboard. Very well-rounded finish, all said, and quite a spell from the bangin' acid homage to E' Dietrich opened things up with.

N:L:E - Gaia

Liquid Frog Records: 2022

Yay, a new letter! Boy, it felt like forever fumbling through the 'F' block. Like, did it take longer than my first run through my 'F' albums over a decade ago? Well, yes and no. Yes, in that it was one more month to do it, but there was nearly double the amount of reviews written in that first batch. Want some numbers? Of course you do! 56. That was the O.G. block, which included a complete coverage of Ultimae Records' Fahrenheit Project compilation series, plus the original Fabric On A Budget, not to mention that Final Fantasy VII box-set, where I detailed each individual CD.

By contrast, this run of 'F' albums featured 32 reviews, which... Okay, that's actually pretty impressive in its own right, even if a hefty chunk of them were Fabric CDs as well. This run also had five varieties of albums with 'form' in its title, compared to just one in the initial session. Stand proud with whatever laurels you've earned, 2024 'F' album reviews!

Okay, that was a fun divergence into statistical bollocks. What do I get to kick off the 'G's with? Oh, another Natural Life Essence album. Well no wonder I wasted all that word count up there.

I really feel like I'm almost picking on poor Juan Pablo now. Not that I'll have anything bad or mean spirited written about his music – I still enjoy hearing what I'm playing at any given time. As he's remained so musically consistent for much of his output though, I'm all but tapped out on fresh angles detailing his usual stuff. Like, there's a few concept sessions down the discography that I'll have some unique talking point for (I hope...), but for standalone items such as Gaia...?

Well, I can at least highlight what leaped out at me in of itself. Lots of field recordings in opener Intro, which makes sense. He didn't dawdle that long before introducing some rhythms, the first instance of such emerging in the back-end of the titular second track. Was quite impressed how, despite its lengthy eleven-minute plus runtime, the rather minimalist The Happiness Of The Simple kept me engaged for its duration. It's that ever-so gradual build in harmonic tension, teasing things out just enough to feel you're on some sort of journey, even if the destination doesn't feel as important as taking in the scenery passing you by. The Chant Of Welcome gets dubbier, which I'll never tire hearing from the N:L:E camp.

And then Gaia loses me in the second half. Again, there's nothing fundamentally poor about the music here, and if this is one of your earlier explorations of Mr. Giacovino's works, will likely sound quite pleasant and all. It's just old hat for me now, and not much different between this and any other number of his naturalist ambient dub outings. Not the best sign when I'm more anticipating the next CD to review over engaging with what I'm currently listening to.

Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds

Jive: 2006

I assume the request for this album is for more insight into Timbaland productions than ol' Justin here. I'm all for that. Mr. Mosley may occupy a genre lane that I seldom dwell myself, but I cannot deny how influential he was for so many decades. Nor can I deny that, when I did hear some crossover R&B hit, the ones that caught my attention and, dare I say, even liked, had a Timbaland co-sign on it. Yes, going all the way back to Ginuwine's Pony.

If you want my thoughts on Mr. Timberlake, as always I'll point to a Todd In The Shadow video, specifically his Trainwreckords dismantling of Man Of The Woods. Most of my over-arching sentiments are covered there, but here's an additional wrinkle. Even at the height of his popularity, I couldn't help but feel Justin was something of a Great White Hope for the R&B sector. So many American folks wanted him to succeed because they were so desperate for someone like him to succeed. There were plenty of pretty boys mugging in music videos before him, but they were often black or Latin or weirdly European or packaged with a pile of other pretty boys. Finally here was someone who not only freed himself from post Boy Band failure, but excelled in a field few of his ilk had dared to tread. Again, that Timbaland co-sign went a long, long way in the '00s.

FutureSex/Lovesounds is Justin at his peak, and it's arguable this is Timbaland at his peak too. Mr. Mosley's greatest strength was taking contemporary sounds and getting maximal punch from them with minimalist space, and you hear that in spades. Electro house one of the current hot trends? Make the lead single something of a riff on that, SexyBack not only crushing the Top 40 clubs, but even finding its way into the sleazy underground too (seriously, I knew DJs more prone to rinsing out DFA or Ed Banger records having this in their crates).

Funk was seeing a mini-resurgence thanks to Prince's return to Warner Records, and you can definitely hear his influence on many tracks, such that a micro-feud emerged between them. Yeah, sexy never really left, but its undeniable this album helped bring its funky potential back to the forefront after crunk's dominance. Oh, there's a crunk on here, because of course there would be, Three 6 Mafia doing the guest spot.

The things Justin sings about? Well, it's right there in the title, right? Half the tunes are about picking up girls at the clubs and whatnot, the other about bitter breakups. How these land for you probably depends entirely on how you view Mr. Timberlake's cache of pop world good will, which has significantly dwindled in recent years, no doubt. Still, when some of those operatic moments hit, like in What Goes Around... Hard not to get swept in all the melodrama that made FutureSex/LoveSounds one of that year's biggest albums.

ATB - Future Memories

Kontor Records: 2009

Doing all those 'sportsing surveys' hasn't just been a means of maximizing my free time. I also dive deeper into discographies, unearthing nuggets of gold I wouldn't have heard before, and even springing for albums I feel deserve closer looks than a quick witty blurb on a social media site. So far I've done Cypress Hill and New Order, plus eventually Nas and The Roots who're only delayed due to alphabetical stipulations. There's a few items from Killing Joke, Stereolab and Underworld I have interest in as well, but for some darn reason, ATB has beaten all of them to the punch. Is this a dare? A put-on? A joke? Or could it be that I *gasp* actually like Future Memories enough to give it more shine than music of this sort normally would on this blog?

Well, I can honestly and truthfully say, if you want to get another album of Mr. Tanneberger's beyond Movin' Melodies, this is the one you should get, even if you're not a fan of his. By far, it features the most musical diversity, which may not be saying much given the generally narrow lane ATB typically resides, but it's far more than the bulk of his work. Even if you discount the second chill-out CD (which became a permanent feature of his albums from here on out), the main disc dabbles in such daft things like breakbeats. Again, not the sort of science you'd hear out of Hybrid, but for an epic trance guy doing them, these 2-step rhythms are quite fun. And there's four of them! Well, three, Gravity more on a shuffly, smooth tip than the peppy realm What About Us, My Everything, and the titular cut operate in. And heck, one of them doesn't even feature vocals!

Right, so all the singing. It's ATB, mang', the world of McProg and pop trance his chosen domain. Yeah, he could be some standard epic trance producer, and even does show he's perfectly adept at the sound (Luminescence, Terra 260273). When you've cultivated an audience that expects its singalong anthems though, you may as well give them what they want. And, hand on heart, I'll admit I don't mind most of these. Sure, a couple are more cloying than I can take, but nothing made me outright cringe as some of the most banal vocal trance has over the years. It's not like ATB is shooting for some grand gesture of presumptive artistic genius with these tracks. That's what the second CD's for!

I rib, the chill-out stuff quite pleasant in a non-intrusive sort of way. Just creative enough to keep it firmly out of muzak territory, but not so overt it demands your undivided attention. The only questionable moment is a cover of Everything But The Girl's Missing, because the original (or Todd Terry's rub) is so iconic, anything after can't help but come off lesser. Ah well, it wouldn't be a classic ATB album without at least one of those.

ACE TRACKS: July - September 2024

So a lot's happened since I last did one of these. Been a wild summer, to say the least, visiting more hospitals than I'd care to in such a short period of time. Didn't even go to all the ones I might have either, but making another lengthy trip back to the hometown just wasn't feasible so soon. I guess I should feel fortunate there weren't any more deaths I had to deal with, but sometimes it feels like the clock ticks ever too closer to the inevitable than we're ready to deal with. I know we all gotta' die some day, but it sure would have been rough going if they'd all bunched up in just a few months like it could have.

Maybe it's why I ended up distracting myself with yet another pet-project out of the blue. What is it? Ah, I can't really say for various reasons, other than it's been a fascinating look into an aspect of social media I wasn't really privy to before. Don't know how much steam it has long-term, but I've had fun with it this past month. Oh, that 'sportsing' thing I was so gung-ho about these past two years? Erm, yeah, about that... Anyway, here's the ACE TRACKS from this past summer!


Full playlist here.

MISSING ALBUMS:
Various - Fabric 28: Wiggle
Various - Fabric 34: Ellen Allien
Various - Fabric 46: Claude VonStroke
Various - Fabric 50: Martyn
Q-Burns Abstract Message - Feng Shui
Spiritual Fields - Fields Of Light
N:L:E - Floating Garden
WRNR - Floating in An Acid Can
Yahgan & N:L:E - The Forgotten Civilization
Photek - Form & Function

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 0%
Percentage Of Rock: 0%
Most “WTF?” Track: Oh, definitely the Stereo Raptor stuff. Just don't jive with the house and psy trance, it don't.


Even with the amount missing, there's still a decent amount of variety in this playlist. Probably helps that A). all those Fabric CDs provided plenty of unique tunes from each other, and B). I reviewed much less Suntrip Records than my usual average. Of course, being stuck in the 'F' block of music all this time didn't hurt either. So many different 'Form's...