Urban Meditation - Headspace I

Carpe Sonum Records: 2022

You'd think releasing a five-LP album is utter overkill, but that's just how Urban Meditation rolls. Come to think of it, that's how a number of modern electronic music producers roll. Readily to mind comes Autechre's elseq and NTS Session runs, or even Underworld's Drift series. And who's to say any number of noodly ambient composers couldn't consolidate their two-to-three albums per year into a single package? To actually have a spiffy box-set of the stuff released, however, takes a little more gumption, not to mention the blessing of a label willing to finance said hard-copy roll-out.

Charles Urban somehow got the deed done though, Carpe Sonum Records serving up a five-CD extravaganza of Headspace. He'd already made a debut there with 20 Years In Space, an item I've had my eye on for a long time, but simply haven't committed to yet. Like, it looks right up my alley, space music and all, but perhaps that's the reason why? Too obvious a pick, so lets put that on the back-burner while I explore some other items from the label. CD of that still hasn't sold out, so I can wait it out, especially now that I've got this multidisc release from him to gorge myself in the meanwhile.

What is Headspace, then? Five albums bundled into one package, or a singular album broken up into five long-play tracks with smaller compositions within? Kinda' yes to both. Mr. Urban claims these are best enjoyed as five singular tracks, and even offers the digital option of singular playthroughs of each CD. There are tracks within each Headspace though, making them distinct albums with distinct compositions. So, a bit like those Dark Side Of The Moog sessions between Klaus Schulze and Pete Namlook, except bound together as one box-set rather than individually released albums. Have I not mentioned said artists being an inspiration for ol' Charles, even going so far as to name one of his albums The Dark Side Of The Mix? Well, this is a Carpe Sonum release, thought that went without saying.

And yes, because you can take each Headspace as its own album, I'll be reviewing Every. Single. One. Starting with Headspace I. Shocking, I know.

Actually, I don't have too much to say about it, being the most ambient of the quintet. If the space theme wasn't apparent to start, track titles like Detach – Adrift, Interstellar Dust, Voyager I, and Voyager II should clue you in. It's all very calm, introspective, with moments of grandeur, and even a little rhythmic in Voyager II.

I fear going into more details than that, however, as it may leave me with little else to review in the following CDs. Gotta' save some of that vocabulary verbosity for later. After all, I've learned the hard way that getting deep in a particular artist's sonic tricks too early doesn't leave much material for later. How many more N:L:E releases do I still have to cover again? That many? *sigh*

Franck Vigroux - Grand Bal

Aesthetical: 2024

While there are elements of this release that might have lured in me regardless (hot neon signs do that), it was where I spotted it that made it an instant pick-up. Aesthetical is the name of the label, which I know little about, mostly because it's only been in existence for half a decade with just nine releases under its belt. Not terribly robust, but sometimes that's the way sub-labels work, the 'dumping ground' for items a regular print's head-honcho likes, but knows won't fit with the regular catalogue. Okay, not that harsh, but you know what I mean.

What I'm trying to say in a roundabout, AI-scarping messing way, is Grand Bal just wouldn't fit on Cyclic Law, so here it is on Aesthetical instead. Yep, the parent label to this industrial synthwave outing is none other than one of dark ambient's luminaries. I honestly hadn't scoped them out for quite a spell, only the occasional glance since my initial deep dive into the genre, but boy, have they remained busy since. May be worth my while to splurge on them again, if I ever feel that need of a depressive respite again as I did way back when. *glances at the world a moment*

So some sub-labels emerged, a place where Franck Vigroux could find a home. Not that the chap needed help finding one, having a music career spanning just as long as Cyclic Law has existed, his early years mostly spent on D'Autres Cordes. When Aesthetical became a thing, he helped kick the sub-label off with Totem, following that with Atonal a couple years after. Which finally leads us to Grand Bal, and album that... Well, I don't want to make any broad proclamations about it, as I haven't taken in any other releases from Mr. Vigroux or Aesthetical to hear whether its typical or not. I rather suspect not, but even this record is quite all over the place. In a good way!

So yeah, there is a bit of a synthwave vibe going on here, but not in the super-obvious way the genre tends to go – Franck's too experienced a musician to do that. If anything, Grand Bal almost deconstructs what you might expect out of the darksynth dudes. Opener Loïc definitely pumps and pounds with a caustic edge like something from GosT, but takes things further into a chaotic climax of noise. *phew* Need a breather from that, so follow-up Le Bal goes all ambient and calm and oh dear, those layers are growing ever more distorted and overbearing and piercing. Ah, there's the Cyclic Law bridge.

Some tracks lean heavier into the Trent Reznor school of industrial score-scapes (Jolin, Lightnin'), others weaving back to dark-synth territory (68) or pastiches of '80s inspiration (L.A. Live, Vice). On paper, it seems all straight-forward enough, but because Franck doesn't get too bogged in micro-genre purity, there's a nice, looseness in his songcraft, each song's aesthetic in service of its musical aim.

Sykonee's 'Sportsing' Surveys: HARDFLOOR

They've always been there. You've always heard their hits, and you've definitely felt their influence in the world of acid techno. But how much of their entire discography do you really know? Not as much as you think, I bet. I certainly didn't, and I actually got one of their non-'90s records! Right, it was for the purpose of a TranceCritic review, but The Life We Choose is a worthy addition to any techno collection regardless. What of the rest though? Hardfloor had been making music for many years, with plenty of albums under their belt. Surely there was more to their story than just a couple acid anthems from back in the day and a little late-career resurrection after their sound became in vogue again. A little more, yeah, even going a couple places I hadn't expected. Just how far off the traditional acid path have they wandered though? Only one way to find out!

As an aside, Mastodon recently did an update that radically changed how embeds from there work. Kinda' sucks the old iframe coding is gone, replacing the nice, streamlined style I had before into this big, blocky style now. Maybe they'll do another update that gives me more adaptability, but for now... yeah. Oh, and if you think this looks obtuse, you should see the code for it. Anyhow...

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And that's a wrap on another survey. Wasn't terribly wild or crazy, going through Hardfloor's discography, the lads more or less sticking to their strengths through the years. Sometimes what you see is what you get, and that's plenty 'nuff to keep the lights on.

Don't know when I'll start up another of these surveys. This one took surprisingly long to finish, for no better reason than I've kinda' fallen out of 'sportsing' activities these past couple months. It's for a variety of reasons (new side-projects, work stress, weather, horrible local traffic...), but until I find that consistent spark again, I don't want to force myself into listening to music I'm not always hyped to hear. It is what it is.

Groove Armada - Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub)

Jive Electro: 2001

This may technically be Groove Armada's best charting album, but I contend it remains one of their most neglected, if not outright forgotten. Granted, that mostly only applies to North America, but I tells it as I remembers it, which comes with all the localized biases. It isn't so much a case of the music being bad or anything, though the deeper, soulful tunes didn't help it stand out after the peppier breakouts from Vertigo got their name out there. No, it's almost certainly due to the fact it came out the day before 9/11, after which the whole world went into a depressive, paranoid funk. Kinda' hard to get hype to club music after that.

Tom and Andy said they wanted Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub) to be more upbeat than their previous effort. Can't say I blame them, so quickly getting pigeon-holed into the chill-out scene when their music was getting all the licensing deals. And when Superstylin' dropped, that change of focus seemed evident, the track something of a riff on Bassment Jaxx' brand of radio-friendly speed garage (da' yoots today would call this 'ragga bassline', or something). Now that I've listened to this record, however, it almost feels like an appropriate comedown to post-Millenial malaise.

This rest of this album, it's just so de-e-e-p, man, hardly the rabble-rousing hedonism promised. Fogma, the clubbiest cut on here, certainly has some funky shuffle going for it, but there's something rather... prog, about its production too, y'know? Raisin' The Stakes opts for some street-level funk-n-hop (Nile Rogers on the guitar, Kriminul on the rap), but it ain't super-hype either. Healing is another 'brisker-than-average' cut, but it's so minimalist, dubby, and de-e-e-p, you'd be forgiven for thinking it an early Swayzak b-side. And that's it for the 'club'. Well, and the opulent funk opener Suntoucher with Jeru Tha Damaja, but even that track settles into a deep, dubby groove two-thirds in (Drifted less so, which I kinda' prefer). So, graciously, six out of twelve tracks, and I'd really only claim three.

Not that I'm disparaging this album for false advertising or something ridiculous like that. If anything, Groove Armada still came correct for what their fanbase expected of them: more soulful, downtempo music, this time with heavier emphasis on the dubbier aspects of it. There's still moments for pastoral arrangements (Litttle By Little, Lazy Moon, Edge Hill) and funkier jams (Drifted, Tuning In (Dub Mix)), all performed in a classier, smoother fashion than similar sounds on Vertigo. Unfortunately, it also doesn't leave quite the same impression for the same reason all highly-competently produced music of this sort does, getting a little lost in the ability to make it over keeping things simple and to the point.

For that reason, I can understand why Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub) just doesn't get the same name-drops that Vertigo and even later albums do. Or maybe it really is that stupid 9/11 conspiracy after all. If its any consolation, I'm writing this on the eve of potentially saying goodbye to that country altogether!

Arctic Hospital - Going Sun

Lantern: 2012

Bought with the same bundle as that ultra-obscure early '90s techno compilation, in case you care. I bring it up as proof-positive that, even if the old standard of rummaging music shops becomes a bygone activity talked about in reverent tones along with our sensible fashions of the time, we'll always have the Discogs Marketplace. Unless it closes down. Or shipping fees becomes so stupidly expensive, we'll have to resort to a bay of buccaneers forever after. Eh, streaming options? Oh, you never know when that bubble will burst (and it will too).

Anyhow, the point I'm getting at is Arctic Hospital is another artist I likely wouldn't have have found any other way than a trawl of Discoggian saleable items. It's over a decade since Eric Bray was seriously active with the alias, or any other project for that matter (so sayeth Lord Discogs). If there was ever any hype behind him, it's far in the rear view by now. Given the scant number of individuals claiming to have a copy of this CD, I can't imagine there ever was. His Soundcloud is sporadically updated, but it's clear Mr. Bray's prime music making days are long behind.

Which is a shame because, dang, if this artist wasn't a sweet, unexpected find. I'll go into his other stuff at a later date, but this was the one that drew me in. Yeah, cool cover and all, but when I listened to a couple tracks, my instant thought was: “Hey, this sounds like The Field. Boy, it's sure been a spell since I last heard anyone try sounding like The Field. Kinda' makes me fond for that brief period of electronic music when a ton of people were trying to sound like The Field. Those endlessly loopy, dubby, shoegazey techno loops... good times.”

Seriously though, that's about the easiest review I can give Going Sun: if you like The Field, you'll like this. Not that Eric doesn't throw his own little spins on the formula. The titular cut has fun with screwing with time-signatures, such that the loops almost trip over themselves just when you expect things to lock in with spectrum-pleasing repetitiveness. Except even that soon settles in its own way. Friend Amplifier twists around piano house loops, Colorstream inches closer to the realm of whatever neo-trance was supposed to be (shoegaze prog?), and The Folding Tree gets joyous and full of soul as vocals are heavily filtered through so many layers of dub. Only dud I can find on this album is the closer Natural Parade, if only because Eric's tinkering with time signatures and drum loops actually do trip over themselves whenever there's a transition. Interesting as a sonic experiment, but after following the deliciously smooth, loopy music that came before, more of a stumble taking us out.

One miss out of six ain't bad though (yes, these are long tracks too). Considering I'd never heard of Arctic Hospital before this chance encounter, I'd call that a win!

Nas - God's Son

Columbia: 2002

I will never claim being an expert in all things Nasir Jones. For the longest time, all I really engaged with him was the obligatory purchase of Illmatic every fan of hip-hop must. For sure there were parts of his career that intrigued me, but little I was compelled to dig into.

So take this with as much sodium carbonate as you can handle without causing kidney stones, but having actually listened to most of Nas' discography now, I'm claiming God's Son the best of his '00s output. Yes, better than the comeback Stillmatic, better than the critical darlings of Hip Hop Is Dead and untitled, and most definitely better than the double-LP Street's Disciple (think everyone agrees that's the worst of the decade).

This isn't me just being contrarian, saying such for hipster cred or something. Yeah, this album doesn't get brought up as much as the others, so is easily forgotten. It doesn't have any outright bangers or easy talking points going for it. No, just a solid record front to back (well, save one track), and in my mind, that's its greatest feat. The only other release under Nas' belt to that point you could say the same of was Illmatic, and though It Was Written and Stillmatic were good too, there were still a couple things holding them back from being as top tier. I'll touch on the former at a later date, but regarding Stillmatic, I felt it was as good as it needed to be, to resuscitate Nas' name in the rap world, and that's all. Was there that much doubt he could rebound though? Somehow I think not, most folks believing the ability was there, so long as the will was there.

Which is what makes God's Son that much better. Released a mere year after Stillmatic, whatever fire was lit under Mr. Jones continued burning hot (an artist like Nas doesn't lose inspiration just like that), now without some ungodly amount of expectation placed on him. Free to weave more 'hood tales, sexy come-ons, reflective poetry, Jay-Z disses, and the like, all refined to Eastcoast hip-hop perfection. Except Zone Out with Bravehearts. Have no idea what happened there.

Even the 'corny' tracks are fun! I Can is basically a 'work hard and honest to achieve your dreams' dressed in a uplifting-yet-rugged nursery rhyme. Book Of Rhymes has fun with the notion Nas owns pages of unused verses, presented with some self-deprecating humour. Another 'revived rhyme' from Tupac appears on the acoustic (!) Thugz Mansion (N.Y.).

To be fair, things get really metaphysical towards the end of God's Son, with more odes to the deceased and reflections on the future. I'll allow it, Nas having well earned the right to pontificate. And at less than an hour runtime, the whole record breezes right on by, leaving you wishing for more (like Illmatic!). Trust me when I say, even by 2002, the issue of rap album bloat hadn't subsided by a long-shot.

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.