Paleowolf - Megafauna Rituals

self-release: 2017

When I first – and last – covered Paleowolf, this was his most recent item, one that stuck with me for years. “If I ever return to this project,” thought I, “this is the album I'll get first!” And sure, it took me many years to actually get around to it, but by g'ar, I was true to my word. He's since released many more albums, including a pseudo-sequel called Cenozoic (all the tracks titles are also megafauna of the paleolithic era), but that's barely scratching the surface of what Scorpio V has done since.

Yeah, there's still Metatron Omega, the dark ambient project that first got him noticed by Cryo Chamber. Seems from that and Paleowolf, he found inspiration from all manner of Indo-Asia-European ritualistic cultures. You got Monasterium Imperi, Shogun's Castle, Gaetir The Mountainkeeper, Grailknight, Forest Of Yore (more of a Celtic ambient thing), and Orkforge. Yes, Orkforge, as in World Of Warcraft beasties! Gotta' get that dungeon synth side-project some sort of wicked-cool handle, right?

Anyhow, Megafauna Rituals. We'll never know with certainty what relationship pre-history humanity had with the largest animals of their era had, but we've made many educated guesses. Paleowolf seems intent on exploring the parts of our psyche that not only saw these massive beasts as potential sources of resources, but on equal footing within the food chain, both the hunters and the hunted, depending on how pissed off you'd make them. Perhaps even drawing upon their instinctive prowess in getting psyched for some pagan dance. A time when there were no need for heavenly gods, for they already walked among you as the lords of your terrain.

Which is why opening with a track like Aurochs seems a little weird to me. If you don't know, the aurochs were essentially the prehistoric ancestor to the modern domesticated bovine. Certainly an important animal in the legacy of civilization, but not one that I'd imagine inspires fear or reverence in prehistoric man. Then again, they were often depicted in cave drawings, so what do I know? Guess when I think megafauna, I'm thinking cave bears and dire wolves and sabertooth cats and megalacerosesesesss. Them auroch bulls were big, but not mammoth big, y'know?

Aside from Totem, which mostly utilizes chants, Megafauna Rituals is broken between two types of tracks: deep meditative pieces, and 'getting hype for the hunt' drumming ones. Unsurprisingly, the pieces with predator titles (Sabertooth, Direwolf) prominently feature the latter, while the ones with herbivore animals (Aurochs, Megalaceros, Mammoth) the former. Surprisingly, Cavebear seems to straddle the two, but I guess how you'd deal with one of them depends on how ornery they are that given day. And yes, there are sounds of the animals within these tracks too, though typically brief, subdued and distant. Like, you're out here celebrating their existence, but you sure don't want them getting near your camp fire either.

As for the rest of Paleowolf, hopefully it won't be another Ice Age before I return to him.

Fatima Al Qadiri - Medieval Femme

Hyperdub: 2021

I'll never fake the UK funky on claiming I know all the ins and outs on whatever the post-dubstep, future garage, grime-trap, micro-genre demarcations of that scene entail. Even the dedicated bloggers and scribes that broke sonic styles down to the quantum level never seem confident they've properly classified everything out there. Have you any idea what levels of autistic you'd have to be to do so? For sure I'm partially on the spectrum, and no way in Hell I care about this stuff to such a degree.

Which may be why I was drawn to this particular album from Fatima Al Qadiri on Hyperdub. I was already browsing about the label's Bandcamp in search of music outside my comfort zone, which you can always count on with this famed print. Yet something hit me as remarkably familiar when I clicked a few samples on Medieval Femme. I couldn't immediately place it though, so the only way to figure it out further was to buy the darn record, give it some uninterrupted attention. Well, such as my attention can remain uninterrupted these days...

Fatima had already shown an ear for more 'ethnically' charged bass music, her debut on Hyperdub (Asiatisch) drawing influence from the Far East even though she hailed from the Far Afro-West (Senegal). Even her less adventurous first EP on UNO - Genre-Specific Xperience - couldn't help but have an exotic flair to it from all the steel drum sounds utilized. No matter what μ-genre folks have tried placing her in (Juke! Grime! Electro! Leftfield! Deconstructed club...?), one thing that's been consistent is an ethereal overtone to her works.

And I think that's what drew me into Medieval Femme over her other albums. This one leans about as heavy into that sound as anything I sampled from her catalogue. Yeah, there's exotic instruments, haunting vocalizations, and sinewy synths, but all presented in a dense layer of ethereal atmosphere. In fact, save a single track that has barely a minute's worth of electronic beat (Sheba), there's absolutely nothing on here that could tie the music to any of UK bass' usual assortment of styles. The layers of decaying dub, you say? Yeah, that could connect to Hyperdub's more experimental branch of artists, but is often still tied to the streets of South London, not so alien and foreign as heard on Medieval Femme.

Still, even if Fatima's music here didn't sound Hyperdub familiar, it did sound familiar in another way. A Waveform way, surprisingly. Yes, if I had to make any comparison to other music within my own collection, Medieval Femme reminds me of that label's brief flirtation with meditative exotica acts like TUU and Skin To Skin, though with a more Arabic bent. Not that these are the only artists to do it, just the ones I can namedrop in an instant. Take that for what you will, but regardless, Medieval Femme remains an intriguing record, even if it doesn't tidily fit within Hyperdub's general sound.

Mondo Grosso - 何度でも新しく生まれる

Cutting Edge: 2017

(a Patreon Request)

All these requests for Shinichi Osawa projects have remained chronologically consistent, each following the next as they came out. Now we're a dozen years later, as though the prior decade never was. I get it though, the time between Next Wave and 何度でも新しく生まれる possibly some of his most publicized work.

The One released under his own name penetrated Western markets, not to mention high profile remix jobs for the likes of The Chemical Brothers, Felix Da Housecat, and Duck Sauce (don't deny it, the Armand van Helden novelty side-project was huge at the time). Meanwhile, back in his home country, ol' Osawa-san was having a remarkable run with a bevy of j-pop singers. I'm talkin' Namie Amuro, Nami Tamaki, and Ai Otsuka! Okay, I don't know if these ladies are the tippest of the top, my knowledge of idol singers utterly bunk, but if Wiki says they're popular, I believe it. Oh, and Shinichi even got involved with one of those Korean multi-person troupes too (After School), because of course he would.

Point being, he was plenty busy following his last Mondo Grosso album, and didn't seem likely returning to his first project anytime soon. Still, that urge to get back to making music with a 'classier' edge, house on a deeper level, jazz on a soulful vibe... None of that maximal electro-pop that was making him bank, in other words. I guess after spending so much time immersed within mainstream decadence, getting back to a sound with some intimate emotion was growing ever more urgent. Must be why he titled the Mondo Grosso comeback Reborn Again And Always Starting New. And yes, I promise to refer to this album as such for the remainder.

Actually, I'm rather shocked at just how Japanese this album is. Oh, the music is mostly 'western', in so much as any house or soul music in the Land Of The Rising Sun can be. Yet all the featured singers stick to the native tongue, all the guest musicians are local, and the whole presentation feels specifically catered to folks living on the island. Absolutely no hope or pretense of having Reborn... make any impact on foreign markets, a far cry from the early days of Mondo Grosso getting rinsed by American house DJs. Yet if this was a tactful marketing ploy, the trick worked, the record earning Shinichi his highest Japanese chart action ever. Okay, not as high as his singles with pop idols, but you get what I mean.

So ...Always Starting New is certainly a classy album, but I can't help feel almost too much. Despite offering house ranging from deep-tech to opulent disco, with vibrant R&B between, it doesn't leap out much either. The wild swings of genre dabbling heard in those other Mondo Grosso records has been jettisoned for music that's safe and comforting. Which is fine if that's the aim, and I'm sure Shinichi's at an age where exploring such eclecticism isn't as interesting. Just loses some of the unexpected thrill the process, y'know?

Eri Nobuchika - Nobuchikaeri

Fearless Records: 2005

(a Patreon Request)

Ol' Shinichi was doing well for himself as Mondo Grosso, but if he really wanted to make some scratch, he'd have to dip his hand into his nation's most popular music scene, j-pop singers. Well, not quite, but he did start dabbling in a pure producer's role, having some decent success with a jazz vocalist named Yuki Kitayama under the performance name bird.

Having wrapped up his latest Mondo Grosso album Next Wave, Osawa-san must have felt the itch to have another crack at producing a new singer. Trouble is, in a music industry that quickly and frequently gobbles up promising young talents into its pop idol factory, there weren't many potential prospects for Shinichi to choose from. Like, bird was almost a fluke, flying under the radar in jazz circles long enough for him to connect with her. To find someone within the usual pools without the majors plucking them first though? Why, she'd have to be someone that didn't want to be part of that machine in the first place.

Right, that's just speculation, but I find it funny that, according to legend (re: Wiki), Eri Nobuchika very nearly didn't get picked up, neglecting to provide a forwarding address with her provided demo for one of Japan's star search programs. It all worked out though, Shinichi eager to work with her, even getting a big debut roll-out for her first record. I'm talking multiple singles, spots in video games and anime credits, and even a full remix album with global producers on the rub (Akufen! Röyksopp! Azzido Da Bass! Linus Loves?). Nobuchikaeri would also feature full productions from Osawa-san himself, with opulent orchestral acid jazz, pumping electro house, piano ballads, guitar jams... Oh, and Eri would get to sing too.

Yeah, to be blunt, this still sounds mostly like a Mondo Grosso record, just with a singular guest vocalist rather than a clutch of them. Absolutely Eri has chances in the spotlight, mostly in the ballads (first half of Sketch For Summer, 陽だまり, 靴を鳴らそう). Other tracks though, especially the clubbier ones, she's rather buried in the mix. Granted, that may just be a consequence of production standards of the time, a grotesque casualty of the '00s Loudness Wars making lots of dance-pop music utterly bricked. I dunno', there's simply a vibe of Shinichi, meticulous studio hand that he is, being far more prominent in the final product than he should be if you're looking to debut a new singer in Japan's extremely over-crowded market.

Besides, I'm not sure Eri was totally committed to becoming a pop singer in the first place. The album barely cracked the charts, and she mostly retreated from the music world after, a couple token records released the past two decades since. Plus, that whole 'not leaving a forwarding address on a demo tape' thing. Sounds like a lark that got carried away, y'know? This debut album's fine, sure, but more for fans of Shinichi Osawa than Eri Nobuchika.

Anthéne - Mainland

Archives: 2023

Irony? Coincidence? Divine comedy? Whatever you want to call it, it sure is... something, that I no sooner learn that Polar Seas has shuttered that I'm finally reviewing an item from the chap that ran the label, Brad Deschamps. It wasn't his sole outlet, of course, taking his Anthéne project across many prints over the past decade. Dronarivm, Cathedral Transmissions, Sound In Silence, Lillerne Tape Club, Pyramid Blood Recordings, Home Normal, Shimmering Moods Records, Ambientologist, giraffe tapes, whitelabrecs, oscarson, Hidden Vibes... to namedrop just a dozen. Still, Polar Seas was the little corner of the ambient world he cut out for himself, bringing in some quality talent along the way. I'd like to think it made enough of an impression that folks mourn its passing. At least one person I know does.

Fortunately, there's always other areas to hawk one's wares, and for dang near every modern ambient composer, that one-stop shop seems to now be Archives. Okay, it's still almost exclusively Mr. Mena's Warmth material, but others pop in from time to time. And in the summer of 2023, Mr. Deschamps did as well.

As for the music, it's about what you'd expect of the players involved. Tranquil atmosphere, sparse sonic space, a touch of melancholic vibe as though reflecting on some distant memory of a time lost. The main thing that leaped out at me was some gentle slide guitar action, which will always get your KLF Chill Out triggers flaring (even if Harold Budd beat them to the 'ambient by way of slide guitar' idea by nearly a decade). It's not exactly twangy, which is good, but more of a gentle caress adding to the backing pads and soft orchestral swells. And the snowflaked static. And overdubbed fuzz. And layered drone. Y'know, the usual shoegazey ambient stuff, just with some comforting melody in support.

Wish I had more to say of Mainland, but music as simple and straight-forward as this doesn't offer me much else to critique. Including a Warmth remix of the opening track, the nine tracks breeze by in a stunningly brisk forty-six minutes, sounding as pleasant as you'd expect from your usual Archives fare. The tone does turn somewhat more uplifting compared to the rather sombre start, so you do get a nice little emotional journey out of it, subtle though it may be. Perhaps that's all that's needed though, Mainland playing so far in the background such that it registers as subconscious thought, requiring neither deep concentration nor attentive study.

I guess I should confess that, like those Filteria albums, I almost missed this one in my queue too. For some darn reason, I neglected downloading my Bandcamp purchase, and because Archives doesn't do spine-print on their digipaks, completely forgot to slot this in my CD rack alphabetically. It was only a random perusal through my Bandcamp library that reminded me that, oh hey, I got another 'M' album waiting in the wings. Yes, even my OCD fails me sometimes.

N:L:E - Macro Ambient & 2

Liquid Frog Records: 2020/2022

Y'know, when I think 'Macro Ambient', I'm thinking, like... MACRO. Ambient music that's almost the opposite of what its original aim t'was. Synth pads and droning harmonics so upfront and in yo' face, you're almost overwhelmed by it. Nothing so ignorable such that it could ever dissolve into wallpaper music or abstract conceptualization. Ambient so overwrought, you wonder how it could ever be technically classified as ambient music, beyond its beatless nature. So Dennis Huddleston's 36 project, then. Yeah, pretty much.

Was I expecting that going into N:L:E's duo Macro Ambient releases? Not really, no. Of the various sonic avenues I've heard Mr. Giacovino explore now, going something as 'maximal' as the Dreamloops series was never on the radar. For sure he could lay some dronescapes on rather thick, particularly several of his Caravan Of Healing Sounds releases, but to really tug at those heavenly, emotional heartstrings too? As I said, not typically the lane Juan Pablo traverses.

So I was honestly surprised when I did hear something that gets pretty darn close almost right from the jump. Macro Ambient 1 starts with gradually emergent bleepy notes, soon joined by a requisite pad that sounds rather like an ethereal flute or similar woodwind. Really lovely stuff, but also remarkably familiar too. It didn't take me long to remember whear I heard it too, a tune so memorably burned into my membrane from repeated plays. T'was towards the end of Moss Garden's The Fabric Of Sentinel, a dang-near perfect capper on their debut album Understanding Holy Ghosts. Is it one-for-one? Not quite, no, but darn close enough that I can't help but suspect Juan Pablo was at least inspired by it, if only subconsciously (he had to at least be aware of it, given he's come within the orbit of Lee Norris now). Or maybe it's a certain preset common in synths ambient producers use, which just happens to sound dang-near perfect when played in a particular chord sequence.

That's about the biggest talking point I have for Macro Ambient though. The first four tracks mostly build upon that, though recede deeper into the more meditative side of N:L:E's muse, 4 bringing back more of the bleepiness while going extra 'macro' for a climax (re: adds some beats). The second of these two releases surprisingly brings some variety among its four tracks, each track distinct from the other rather than continuations of the same theme. 5 is the most typical of a chill N:L:E cut, but 6 gets almost electro, beats incredibly crisp and punchy compared to his usual dubby rhythms. Almost reminds me of the Subnautica score. Following that is a twenty-two minute long pure ambient outing, nothing 'macro' about it beyond its length, while 8 gets back to more standard N:L:E fare, just on the proper dubby side of things.

I guess between the two, I liked the second one more, just for the variety. But man, the way that first one triggers my memories... So it goes.

Perturbator - Lustful Sacraments

Blood Music: 2021

So, synthwave. That sure was a thing for a hot (Miami) minute, huh. Not that its completely gone away or anything, but it hasn't been on the tips of folks' thoughts for a while now, mostly receding to the furthest corners of niche musical interests from whence it came. Which isn't surprising, a style of music so deliciously retro never having much hope being more than what it was. For sure a few tried doing other things with it, but far, far more were content recycling the same ol' tropes, over-saturating a scene that really couldn't support it. How many synthwave net-labels have been left to gather dust on derelict servers? Wow, given some of the bleakier, cyberpunk aspects of the genre, it almost seems like a fitting end.

Perhaps no more so apparent of synthwave's slump is the relative absence of one of the scene's brightest stars in Perturbator. It may not be that long ago that he released Lustful Sacraments - indeed, just four years. The gap between this and The Uncanny Valley was even longer, though again, Pandemic Years likely extended that one. Still, that's just a mere two LPs in the past decade, and for a genre that was known to have a nigh inexhaustible output rate among all its main players, that's surprisingly skint for one of its leading acts.

On the other hand, listening to Lustful Sacraments, you get the sense Mr. Kent outgrew the genre he helped popularize, creative drive demanding something more than pure retro synth nods with a thrasher's edge. It's certainly his most ambitious record, diving deeper into the realms of post-rock ambience and darkwave goth as only a man with more studio toys to play with can offer. No longer restricted by a few keyboards, here's real guitars, and real drums, and real singers.

And right off the top, I'll say this album is probably the best mastered one in all of Perturbator's catalogue. Much as I've liked the man's work throughout the years, my one consistent criticism has been just how bricked a lot of the music's presented. True, part of the whole underground, gritty charm, but fatiguing after a while too. James must have realized, in shooting for a record with more atmosphere to it, he was gonna' have to let those drums and synths breathe, give more sonic space for electric guitars and Maniac 2121's voice to carry off cathedral ceilings. The result is an album filled more with songs than tracks, if you catch my drift, and certainly more progressive than what came before.

Granted, that leaves Lustful Sacraments lacking the immediacy his earlier work had, but there are still a few tunes capturing the synthwave spirit of old. Well, okay, actually only one, Death Of The Soul, while Excess has as much influence from new wave punk as it does outrun. Glimmers of darksynth still shine in other tracks though, between all the melodramatic strings and echoing guitars and propulsive drumming.

Jeannine Schulz - Luminous

Polar Seas Recordings: 2021

Oh dear. I've already done one Jeannine Schulz review, wherein I didn't have much information to offer regarding the artist herself. Just very little out there to find in the first place, see, which tends to go for these minimalist ambient artists. Not that she's disappeared or anything, her Bandcamp page offering up four more items since I last talked her up. Wow, that's, like, almost N:L:E levels of work rate! Right, three of those add up to about a dozen minutes of music total, while the fourth is more of a compilation, but still!

And really, I got this more in support of the label than specifically the artist, though that may be a moot point now, Polar Seas having shuttered about a year ago. At least their Bandcamp is still up, so the catalogue isn't lost yet. May be worth my while to pick up a few more releases, stuff from Moss Covered Technology, zakè, Celer, and a whole slew of others I couldn't name-drop from memory. Yes, you can take this as my long delayed Label Info Dump on the Toronto print, as if you need any reminder of how backed-up my To Review Queue remains. Man, going out of business before I could get to it, that's gotta' sting.

So Luminous. I got this because the cover art was nice, invoking plenty of nostalgic feels for misty sea-side wanderings. Right, this may in fact be one of the Great Lakes rather than an ocean beach, but the sentiment stands. It doesn't look like it has much to do with the music within, save a few cursory connections. Titles like River, Blue, Tides, and Shimmer would work, but not Rooms And Surfaces I, Circle IV, or III. Honestly, I'd just be over-analyzing this album even if I tried.

Yeah, like Humble, this is some real minimalist music. For sure expansive in most areas, Jeannine really filling out the sonic space with ethereal drones between the sporadic guitar tones or fuzzy percussion or soft synth strokes. That's all there really is to it though, Luminous far more focused on mood than melody.

Still, there are enough unique elements between tracks such that the album doesn't fall into wallpaper abstraction. The gentle warping of plucked strings in Blue. The pastoral bliss of Zazen. The glacial progression of atonal Circle IV. The 'brisk' loops of Shimmer. The almost 'aggressive' wash of Tides. Not really material that leaps out at you with a casual listen, but definitely striking once you've zeroed in on it.

Nothing much else to say about Luminous. Wish I had more, but again, this isn't really music that requires deep thoughts. It may inspire some, losing your sense of meat-space as you snooze or meditate or blankly stare into the distance. Yeah, for some reason, I wouldn't be surprised if this is the internal symphony that plays in Puddy's mind when he's alone with is... thoughts? Well, whatever wisps through the wind between his ears.

Lucy Pearl - Lucy Pearl

Pookie Records: 2000

Isn't this a coincidental alphabetical slotting of reviews. Honest and true, I bought The Low End Theory well before ever receiving this from a requester, and no way in Hell would they have known I already had the famed Tribe Called Quest record on hand. Heck, were they even aware of the Tribe connection? Perhaps, though let's be honest: of the three primary members of the famed Queens trio, Ali Shaheed Muhammad wasn't the most prominent of them. Like, I didn't even drop his name in my previous review! How dare I do a four-time Grammy nominee so dirty!

Honestly, I think it's because Shaheed has collaborated with plenty of other artists outside of Tribe: D'angelo, Da Bush Babees, The Weeknd, Adrian Younge, Mos Def... erm, Shaq. You really couldn't think of Q-Tip and Malik Taylor without their breakout group, but you kinda' can think of Shaheed without them. So it was fortuitous that when Raphael Saadiq was looking for a fresh start after the dissolution of his R&B act Tony! Toni! Toné!, he found Shaheed between projects as well. Say, that Dawn Robinson lass from En Vogue is looking for some work, let's add her to the group too!

The result was Lucy Pearl, a smooth blend of R&B, soul, and a little street bump thrown in for good measure. If this sounds similar to the Lauryn Hill Formula that won her a zillion accolades, then yeah, I couldn't help but get that vibe too. Granted, my knowledge of this scene is woefully under-cooked, but as the music here sounds little like the Boyz 2 Men formula of old nor the Timbaland brand of less-old, I feel confident this is an apt comparison. Just, y'know, with more male-female back-and-forth crooning.

It's likely why Lucy Pearl stuck out so much from the pack (enough for that Grammy nod!), most R&B acts either solo or singular-sex groups. Here we get a mix, perspectives from both sides of the aisle as we run through the usual soul topics (sexy come-ons, flirty dates, jealous warnings, bitter breakups, reflective romance, lamentations of overbearing mamas... Hollywood?). Though Raphael tends to have more prominence than Dawn on the vocal front, she still has plenty of moments to shine as well. And even Shaheed makes his presence felt with some turntable scratching here and there.

So a successful debut, decent chart business, and enough critical praise to carry the group to bigger and better things in the new millennium, right? Except no, Dawn leaving Lucy Pearl shortly after, claiming the project was only ever intended to be a one-and-done affair. Raphael and Shaheed tried carrying on after with a new singer, but that didn't last long either, each going their own way after.

Could Lucy Pearl made more hay had they stuck around? Perhaps, but the state of R&B and soul was in such flux in the coming years, I'm not sure they would have fit in quite as well in the era of The Neptunes.

ACE TRACKS: January - April 2025

Been a while since I did one of these, huh. Yeah, can't deny, my output has slowed down this year, for a whole pile of reasons and excuses I'm sure I've provided in years past. Work taking up my time. Other pet projects taking my time. Trying to get back into some sort of exercise routine taking up my time. The fact I'm covering mostly unfamiliar stuff and redundant stuff causing the creative juice to sputter and spurt out of the driveway of my brain. A little bit of it all the past four months, is what I'm saying.

Something neat that did happen was having my review of Bent's Programmed To Love not only getting name-dropped in a podcast called Britpop Banter, but read in full as well. See, it pays to keep these things at a concise, self-imposed word count!

What really impressed me about that was they even found it in the first place. I've made interest in promoting myself well known, in that I really don't care to, mostly content letting folks find my material on their own terms. With the way the modern internet works, however, that's gotten incredibly difficult, almost entirely dependant on algorithmic juicing to have any hope of reach and engagement. That traditional methods still have some validity does keep me encouraged.

I must admit though, it remains something of a trip to not only see my stuff shared out in the wide web, but learning about it after the fact. Some of it has been pull-quotes by scattered artists I've covered, other times I've seen huge swaths of genre coverage plucking my extensive prose on the subject matter. Seriously, I never would have imaged I'd be thought as The Ambient Dub Guy, but when some ancient micro-scenes get lost to time... Well, that's why I helped make a Music Guide about it, right?

It does make it feel, in some small way, these past 13.5 years of doing this continues to be worth the effort. Anyhow, here's a bunch of ACE TRACKS from these past few months:


Full track list here.

MISSING ALBUMS:
Scott Grooves - ITMS (Is This My Sound)
Captain Jack - Little Boy (Remix)
KEDA8 - Inertia
Various - Killer Dance Tracks, Vol. 1
And all the N:L:E material

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 13%
Percentage Of Rock: 0%
Most “WTF?” Track: Any of the Alphaxone tracks – dark ambient once again acting the weird one out.


Dealing with 'all the things' since January isn't the lone reason for putting off on doing another Ace Tracks playlist – hoping to some semblance of variety in here factored in too. There remains just way too much psy trance in any of these, and it didn't help that when I sorted things out alphabetically, a lot of the other stuff seemed to bunch up in clumps rather than spread out. Much fun as it initially was to get all those Suntrip CDs, I'll probably never get another whole label catalogue aga- Oooh, look at that Fade Records catalogue deal on Bandcamp!