E-Mantra - Arcana

Suntrip Records: 2009

Wild to think it's been seven years since I last talked up Mr. Carpus in any significant fashion. Okay, I technically did recently, starting this Suntrip, erm, trip with his one-off Night Hex EP, but I'm referring to his most famed alias, E-Mantra. Way back when I was consuming copious amounts of Altar Records music, his Silence album was among my many morsels, grabbed for my most cliche of reasons. I liked it well enough, but not such that I was rushing out to hear more from the chap anytime soon. Maybe if I'd sprung for this debut CD, I'd have rushed out quicker for more?

Well, I don't know about that, still mostly in a prog-psy state of mind when all of that was going down. Like, I'd heard there was a 'neo-goa' movement out on the fringes of the psy trance scene, but was more taken in by the sexy sounds of Altar and Ultimae to give much care. Or maybe I'd simply spent too much time scoping out full-on and dark psy that I couldn't possibly fathom anything so deliciously retro would exist without some caveats attached. Some, sure, but E-Mantra didn't seem preoccupied with those, coming out with a hard, fast, 'deep' selection of tunes right out the gate.

I really wish I had caught this wave of goa trance when it was first emerging, because holy cow, it doesn't waste any time sucking you back to the '90s glory days. Yes, I've oft repeated that sentiment over nearly everything I've covered from Suntrip now, but there's just no denying it. Opener Praying Forest sets a brisk rhythm (not the rubbery full-on kind!), synths oscillating with spacey echo and delay effects, acid squiggling in the background, and ooh! Some of those sounds remind me of Etnica at their best. Is it any wonder nostalgic goa-heads fell in love with Arcana, such that they felt E-Mantra never recaptured that magical vibe in the following years? Sure, I can believe that, if you're hardwired to only accept one strain of psy trance as the most noble and true. And boy does Emanuel ever offer up that singular style in spades.

Yeah, Arcana's great strength is also kinda' its one weakness, in that there isn't that much variation from track to track. In a way, I rather like the album like this, imparting something of a live, free-flowing vibe as things play out. Little leaps out as “d'at hook!”, but I'm fine with it, letting things play out as though you're hearing a set out in the woods at peak tweakin' hours. If anything, I almost wish these tracks were continuously mixed, further enhancing my engagement.

Things slow down in the final two tracks, Ninive Under The Stars a chuggier groover with acid to spare, while Beyond The Boreas throws a token nod to the trendier prog-psy of the time. Bit of a comedown, but eh, lots of old psy albums ended on the downbeat too.

Various - Apsara

Suntrip Records: 2005

It's remarkable how one's impression on a CD can have such a turnaround the deeper you dig into it. Right off the bat, I figured Apsara would provide something a little off the norm from Suntrip Records' music. Aes Dana is on here, opening the compilation with an exclusive track titled Digitalys. Wait, Vincent appearing on a label who's musical manifesto is nothing but retro-nu goa and psy trance? How did that happen?

Unsure, but Aes Dana really does feel like the odd-man out on Apsara. If you know your ol' school Ultimae prog-psy (oh God, it really is an 'old school' era now, isn't it?), you'll know this track, a solid, pulsing rhythmic rudder with widescreen pads and multi-tap synths and voices. Really makes me want to throw on Season 5 again. If I'm getting such vintage vibes off this one Aes Dana track though, then this compilation must be from way early in Suntrip's catalogue, right?

Right, Apsara in fact their second release ever. Ah, that would explain why, following that One (1) example of (then) current prog-psy, the rest of the compilation features a pile of goa trance very much on that retro tip. In an instant, the BPMs jump by twenty points, and Yesod's On The Edge Of Time goes hard on the squiggly acid sounds with slightly Indian tonal scales. Same with Avigmati's Babylone Beach, and Filteria's Tiny Universe, though also bringing the the spaced-out atmosphere to the party. And through it all, that unmistakable Suntrip adherence to the classic goa sound, maybe even a bit too much so. Like, compared to the Aes Dana track, these sound a bit flat and unpolished, but hey, it is early in the Suntrip story, before the folks making these 'return to the roots' tunes realized it was perfectly fine beefing things up to modern production standards.

Aside from the Ka-Sol cut Scraqp getting wickedly twisted, the rest of Apsara was good enough for what it set out to do. I didn't have much else to say about it until noticing something odd about my digital copy of the compilation: there was a track missing. I double-checked my CD copy, and sure enough, a ninth track, Lost Buddha's Metamorphosis, wasn't available on the Bandcamp page. Weird, but not uncommon, original artists sometimes retaining rights to their works for their own distribution.

I didn't think much else of it until spotting a recent comment left on Apsara's Discogs page. Well, not so much a comment, but a snarky screed, from a Filipe Santos. That's when I noticed the production credits to the Lost Buddha track went to a chap of the same name. Ooh, juicy, what's the deal with this guy, then? His Discogs stats are rather cluttered, and could only tell me so much. If I wanted more, there was only one place I knew would have details, the website with ties to Suntrip since day one: the psynews.org forums!

And, my friends, the rabbit-hole went deep there indeed.

N:L:E & Yahgan - Antarctica

Liquid Frog Records: 2022

What, you thought I was done with Mr. Giacovino? It's only been two months since I last talked him up, a not-insignificant gap of time for sure, but not so long as to grow forgetful. I only just started this discography back in early June, and we've a long way to go indeed before finishing it off. Hell, that Lucette Bourdin box-set took nearly two years to complete, so ain't no way we're wrapping up Natural Life Essence and all his various aliases in due haste. There will just be alphabetically imposed lean times, is all, just as I'm sure there will be with all those Suntrip CDs. I'm sure...

This particular release has a little something extra to talk about though, in that it features both N:L:E and Yahgan, Juan Pablo's project that references the peoples native to the southernmost tip of South America. Naturally, music with a more frigid, arctic theme tends to follow this handle, but sometimes you gotta' get in a little extra pep with those vibes – keep the toes toasty with the tap-dancing, and whatnot. At least, that's what I assume is going on in combining the two projects for this release: a typical N:L:E jam-out, but with something thematically colder than his usual assortment of earthly sounds. I feel like we're cutting the differences between all of Mr. Giacovino's projects down to the slimmest of margins here.

I can't deny having some difficulty discerning the difference between N:L:E and Yahgan with these lengthy pieces. Antarctica features two twenty-minute plus tracks, and a 'bonus' cut of ten-minutes. The first, Antarctic Sun, does capture the feeling of a brightening dawn emerging over a frozen wasteland, chilly pads and glistening synths sparkling layer upon layer. With plenty of time to stretch things out, the piece is well past half-over before a dubby bassline and soft rhythm joins the chill party. Beyond some backing pads growing more prominent, however, Antarctic Sun doesn't really shoot for a rousing climax. Would seem out of place for such a generally tranquil track.

By contrast, Glacial Night keeps things strictly on the down-low and mysterious, the only hint of rhythm being sparse synth heartbeats. While there are similar elements at play as in Antarctic Sun, they're performed so subtly, it truly does impart a feeling of being locked in eternal night. Right, we're not talking dark ambient levels of dread, the shimmering nature of Juan Pablo's music providing too much relative bliss. Think more the twinkling of southern stars, or glistening ice on iceberg-clogged waters. There is a build of rhythm towards the end of Glacial Night, as though the long twilight is coming to an end, but doesn't amount to much on the whole.

Speaking of icebergs, Wandering Icebergs (Hypnotic Trip Mix) closes this album out, though it's just more of the same lengthy, loopy ambient pulses we've heard already, with some added echo and field recordings for flavour. It's fine, just feels like the 'bonus track' its designated as.

M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy - Another Night

Hansa: 1993

It really is insane how many memorable hits '90s eurodance cranked out. This is a group that, behind the scenes, should never have had a hope. First emerging in a post-Technotronic hip-house world, M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy only saw marginal success, probably because they road Technotronic's jock so damn hard. Plus, their name had to be a put-on, yet another in a long lineage of German dance acts featuring lip-syncing. I guess this was still an era where white Europeans named Olaf just weren't seen as worthy rappers, so here's a black dude named M.C. Sar to sell that cover of Pump Up The Jam.

Fortunately, Freshline (the production team behind The Real McCoy that included long-time DJ Quickmix and Jürgen Wind) dropped that gimmick, letting Olaf Jeglitza take front-man status for their next single, Another Night. Also, instead of mimicking American rap, O-Jay adopted a low-throated sexy come-on cadence, which should never have worked with any credibility, yet stood out as something unique in a rapidly over-crowding eurodance scene. Still couldn't shake that lip-syncing itch, however, relying on studio singer Karin Kasar for the lady-led hook while having Patricia Petersen be the face. Gotta' keep that project name firmly ironic, I guess, especially since they retained 'M.C. Sar' for a spell.

Still, can't fault the resulting single. Made at that tasty cross-road between hip-house of old and euro house of not quite as old, it's got everything you want and need of the genre. A solid rhythm, simple keyboard stabs, pianos, buzzy synths, a rap, an insidiously hooky earworm, all mixed together for pop music perfection. I'm surprised The Weeknd hasn't ripped this off yet.

I had a rip of the Club Mix for ages, and never saw much need grabbing a proper single. I did wonder though, whether some gem of a remix lurked undiscovered. This was released when some crossover with German trance wasn't uncommon for eurodance hits. Maybe I should take a gander at this?

Well, the Dance Mix may have your Maxx tiggers flaring, what with the lack of Olaf and the use of panflute riffs. Which makes sense since this team did help produce Maxx, another act that had lip-syncers. Heck, apparently Olaf wrote the lyrics for Get-A-Way! As for the Inferno Mix, I guess this is somewhat close to the realms of trance, what with its minimalist, bleepy lead. Then it tries to go all Rollo with a big orchestral build, but sorry, those strings just don't have enough weight behind them, not to mention a weak-ass siren. Ah well, the remixes on these euro singles are always a crap-shoot. Maybe they'll get more love in one of those charming shuffle-dance compilations.

As for whether I'll get any more Real McCoy, I dunno'. Run Away is another fine tune, but I can't say I was a huge fan of the rest I heard. All too quick to start sounding like everyone else, frankly. Or was everyone else copying them?

Median Project - Another Galaxy

Suntrip Records: 2021

It's such a strange sensation, not knowing what to say about something you generally enjoy. At a fundamental level, there's little I find fault in with Median Project's Another Galaxy. Yet I'm barely a half-dozen releases deep into this Suntrip Records bulk buy, and I already feel like I'm running out of talking points beyond general particulars. I know there's future releases with more than that, so I needn't worry about drawing blanks on some... sixty, seventy (?) more of these to go? When a label is so hard-wired to its musical manifesto – in this case, vintage goa and psy trance for the modern ear – you're gonna' get a lot of repetition. I'm sure I'll come across more diversity the deeper into Suntrip's history I go, but for now, it does all feel a bit like treading psychedelic waters.

And I really don't want to sound unjustly critical about this one specific CD from the Sergei Petrenko project. As I said, it's all properly solid psy as I've come to expect from Suntrip. That's just the issue though: I already feel like I'm too hip to the label's tricks, so that initial thrill of discovering something new and exciting is already waning, and Another Galaxy is just the unfortunate album that got caught in the initial backwash of personal apathy. I like what I'm hearing when I'm hearing it, it just doesn't stand out much from what my expectations were going in. And when you know you've more of this stuff in the pipeline, such expectations grow ever more tempered indeed.

It does make me yearn for the days when all of this was unexplored sonic territory for yours truly. Yeah, the '90s had its fair share of unmemorable goa trance too, but at least it all was fresh to our ears. The following decade left lots of that to the dustbin of history, so when Suntrip provided retro goa releases, it all felt new again ('neo', if you will).

They've been in operation for nearly two decades, however, and have possibly cranked out more psy trance in that time than some of those fabled labels of old. It's undeniable they've kept a consistent quality through it all – indeed, Median Project's Another Galaxy would stand tall and proud with anything the best of classic Astral Projection. Yet at the same time, I can't help but worry being so dedicated to an ol' school that was so cool has left Suntrip in something of a creative rut. Again, not the best takeaway when I've only just started this icebergian deep-dive into a catalogue, but I'll never be nothing if not honest with my present thoughts on what I'm hearing.

As for Median Project, yeah, he deserved a better 'review' than this from me, but this won't be the last time I'll cross paths with him. Regarding Another Galaxy, it's another collection of solid, modern goa trance, and if that's what you're after, then this will give it to you.

Sykonee's 'Sportsing' Surveys: UNDERWORLD (The Non-Emerson Years)

Everyone loves Underworld (everyone, everyone...), but do they love all the Underworld there is? Probably not, because there's a lot more Underworld out there than most folks realize. For many, the music crafted as a trio of Karl Hyde, Rick Smith, and Darren Emerson is all they care to know. I cannot deny being part of that demographic, not from a lack of interest, but from trepidation they never could recapture the exhilerating highs the '90s brought to the band.

And, well, that may be true after a fashion, but I'd still hear plenty of positive buzz surrounding a post-Emerson Underworld, especially so their work in music scores and Danny Boyle Olympic collaborations. Maybe it was about time to properly scope out The Rest Of Underworld, hear if there was anything more worth listening to. And if I'm doing that, I may as well check out the rest of Karl and Rick's work while I'm at it. The two have been working in some sort of tandem for decades now, so surely a few tasty morsels exist among their extended catalogue.











As an aside, I am aware Rick Smith released a solo album of ambient material as well. I skipped that because it wouldn't make for the best 'sportsing' music, and couldn't easily find it anyway. Not that some of these other releases were readily available on standard music streaming services either, but at least YouTube provided what I needed for most of them. Yes, even a patchy playlist of Get Us Out Of Here.

I'm glad that Underworld seem to have found a solid second life this past decade with Barbara and Drift. Not that they horribly fell-off after Emerson left, but things did seem a little shakey for a spell there. I do want to give the full Drift series a serious run-through, but gads, that's an obscene amount of music for a single sitting. They've entered Pete Namlook levels of productivity!

As for what's next, I'm itchin' for a return to the realms of hip-hop, but something maybe a little less gangsta' ridden. Something that really gets back to The Roots of rap, if you feel what I'm sayin'.

ProtoU - Anomalies

Cryo Chamber: 2019

Her most popular album? Well, it's got the most scrobbles on Last.fm, which ain't too shabby seeing as how Anomalies came out much later than her earlier works like Lost Here and Khmaoch. Heck, even her collaboration with Purl, Sub Life, is dwarfed by how many plays Anomalies has garnered over a similar amount of time. You'd think getting exposure on Dronarivm would have yielded more plays there, but maybe I'm underestimating just how popular Cryo Chamber has gotten within not just dark ambient circles, but across other scenes as well. Or it just could be that literal eye-catching cover art luring folks in for a closer listen, unable to resist the hypnotizing glare of a burning sun over a concave valley. Truly one of the best from a label replete with captivating cover art.

And before any folks made of hay claim I'm just hopping on whatever bandwagon this album's gathered, I honestly always intended to grab it. However, as I postponed my latest Cryo Chamber bulk-buy for an unexpectedly long time, I missed the initial buzz over Anomalies. Or maybe not, those same scrobbling stats showing a healthy, consistent play cycle, at least among the Last.fm contingent. For a genre that has so many albums getting lost in the shuffle (just... so many albums), that's about as good as it gets.

And what has made Anomalies the runaway smash hit of ProtoU's discography (relatively speaking)? More of a focus on naturalist ambience, would be my guess. Not that Sasha hasn't dabbled in this field before, indeed this album treading similar ground as her debut Lost Here. However, she's taken many different paths in her dark ambient journey – sci-fi themes in Stardust and Echoes Of The Future; the occult with Khmoach, Metta, and Tomb Of Druids. Which is great if that's the dark ambient vibe you're down for at the time, but for most folks just getting their feet wet in the murky swamp, something that at least sounds grounded in our reality has some small comforting familiarity. Sure, you may be lost out in the woods with strange phenomena casting disconcerting visages across starless skies, but at least it's all natural, right? Right...?

Opener The Escape sure feels so, at least at first. Rather gentle and calming with soft, if chilly pads casting a mist over your earlobes, the drone does turn more mechanical and menacing, but not overbearingly so. And with such a tranquil piece of piano ambience in follow-up Transparent Clusters, such apprehensive thoughts are easily dismissed – the sound of rainfall certainly helps.

What's interesting about Anomalies is the back-and-forth of tone between tracks. Harsher pieces like Electric Grounds and Chamber Of Visions are followed by reflective respites in Lucid Sequences and Ghost In You , while ten-minute closer Pellucid Waters with Hilyard wraps everything back together. You'll come away feeling both confronted yet relaxed, challenged yet released. Like an intense Pilates workout, followed by a tender massage, for the mind and the soul.

Quantic - An Announcement To Answer

Tru Thoughts: 2006

I've known about Mr. Holland's Quantic project for a very long time now, even if it's only for a single track. It's a humdinger of tune, mind you, Time Is the Enemy capturing those same rugged-yet-blissed trip-hop vibes DJ Shadow made so immaculate on Endtroducing. Not that the bulk of William's music is in similar vein, which may be why I've long put off scoping out any more of his work beyond one song. You know how it goes with expectations, yo'. However, while perusing a Discogs seller's wares, I noticed this particular Qauntic album among their options, and figured now (then) was as good as any time to finally get something from the man, even if I knew nothing about his extended catalogue.

And quite extended it does reach, Mr. Holland releasing music to this day. What I find fascinating about it though, is how he's stuck with the same label through it all, Tru Thoughts. Some folks may know the print as the same one that Bonobo broke out on, indeed he and Quantic among the earliest acts getting the ball rolling for them. However, Simon Green saw, erm, greener pastures in hooking up with Ninja Tune, and while William's sampledelic acid jazz and trip-hop would have also fit snuggly among the Ninja roster, he instead stayed true to Tru.

But maybe Quantic felt some sort of tug and allure for that label, as the opening track in An Announcement To Answer, Absence Heard, Presence Felt, features the mournful strings of a traditional Oriental ditty, while a little soul-jazz rhythm grooves along and a sample name-drops New York City. And you know who else is known for such music? That's right, The RZA, who's chop-socky stylings also harken to Orientalism, which included a fascination for ninjas! Oh come on, even I'm not so stupid to make so strained a link as that, am I?

Anyhow, the second titular cut is an electro swing jam before electro swing ever got coined as something folks would call such loopy, jazzy tunes, but long after acid jazz was still in use. Sabor could too, but has too many Latin jazz influences to ever be considered electro swing, truly the whitest of all the jazz-dance genres.

Oh yeah, the Latin influences definitely dominate this album, even more than the New York City ones. In fact, Lord Discogs lists An Announcement To Answer as among the most collected records of descarga, something of a freeform jam variant of Cuban jazz. I assume this isn't a highly collected genre of music, mostly because much of it was made during the '50s through the '70s, so finding vintage vinyl of the stuff is rather rare. Figures a plunderphonic chap like Quantic would have ample amounts to craft an album out of, though he does bring in proper musicians too.

Still, this is a surprisingly brisk album, clocking in at under forty minutes. Methinks I'll need more than this to satisfy my Quantic interest longterm.

Various - Annexe (Cottage Industries 2)

Neo Ouija: 2002/2020

Though the original run of Neo Ouija never made a huge splash across the world of electronic music, it was successful enough to garner a dedicated cult following while it lasted. Among the various releases that helped solidify said following was a series of compilations called Cottage Industries, three volumes worth springing forth during its initial heyday. Whenever the label would stir awake after many years absence, it was usually a Cottage Industries collection that would declare its arrival.

In fact, it's about all that Neo Ouija releases now, including digital uploads and CD re-issues of the early editions. I even bought a few, but for some reason, those CDs never showed up. Hmm, are those the items that got switched for all those Intellitronic Bubble CDs? I swear, I appreciate all the various labels Lee Norris juggles with these days, but there's sadly been a few too many missing orders as of late for me to buy any more from them. One more reason to just stick with digital, I guess.

Annexe (Cottage Industries 2) came out two decades ago, and boy does looking at the track list ever feel like a time warp. So many names within the ambient techno and IDM scene getting their start here: Sense, Ambidextrous, Bauri... Erm, that's honestly all I recognize off hand. Hey, can't be a proper cult label known for giving ultra-obscure artists within your scene their starts if you don't have a compilation series doing the work for you. Like, where would the likes of Biosphere, Autechre, Black Dog, and Speedy J be without Artificial Intelligence, right? Okay, pretty well-off regardless, but you know what I mean.

And just because I'm not familiar with them doesn't mean some of the featured artists didn't have fruitful future careers. Yeah, names like Phonex, Idmonster, Sica, Pem, and Qeshi didn't amount to much after, but Yellow6, Maps & Diagrams, Kettel, and Ilkae remain active to this day. By and large though, many of the acts on Annexe had respectable output throughout the '00s before petering off as the '10s took hold. So it goes.

Ah yes, the music. Lots of simple, charming IDM and melodic, glitchy techno. It feels like Neo Ouija was throwing a little bit of everything into the original double-discer, which is great in providing variety. When you're dealing with music as esoteric as this, however, much of it can slip on by during a casual listen. So it's no surprise tracks with more melody in them (Sense's Icyltap, ENV(itre)'s Atodeq, Kettel's Nestingbox Seventeen, Qeshi's Island Dryad, Maps & Diagrams vs Pem's Orteip) stick with me more than the more experimental stuff (Qeshi's Schem, Sica's Mykeys, Tandy's Bell_Libbing). One thing's for sure, if you like your micro-pop rhythms, Annexe has you covered but good. Xela's Don't Talk To Strangers, Bauri's Neo Robot Party Crash, EU's Lytop, Ilkae's Pilve, and so on. Not that it's surprising, the early 2000's pretty much peak micro-pop within IDM circles. Darn clicks 'n' cuts hype machine...

David Cordero - And Stillness Came

Polar Seas Recordings: 2022

Another new ambient artist on another new ambient label. They just keep on a' comin', don't they? Mind, we're not dealing with spankin' brand new here, as I've grazed by David Cordero before, appropriately enough on Archives. Meanwhile, even if this is the first item I'm reviewing from Polar Seas Recordings, I'm fairly certain I've name-dropped this label. Hell, I've been wearing their t-shirt for months now, so the Canadian print has to have come up once or thrice. Hm, does this mean I should do a label info dump, or an artist info dump? As I'll be coming back to Polar Seas down the line, let's focus on Mr. Cordero for now.

I should clarify that David is only new to me (and most of you, I wager), with a career that's spanned a couple decades. He was part of a Spanish post-rock band called Ursula, which had a modest run of albums through the '00s. When that ended, he got into the label business with Knockturne Records, contributing occasional music along the way. The print only lasted a few years though, after which David refocused on music making at a more steady clip. Getting some traction on labels like Archives and Dronarivm, things really seemed to take off at the start of this decade, David's discography ballooning with many releases and collaborations. Being forced indoors for a spell with the rest of society apparently had that affect on a lot of musicians, especially those with a post-rock background moving into the realms of ambient.

As befitting someone with a background in actual musicianship, Mr. Cordero's brand of ambient leans more towards the modern classical variety. Not that instrumentation is highly prevalent, indeed most of the pieces on And Stillness Came relying on drawn-out tones lazily gliding along. It's just when a hefty bulk of my recent ambient listening entails fancier studio tricks like overdubbing and glitch-fuzzing, hearing a collection of tracks sounding far more 'traditionalist' has me thinking more the realms of Harold Budd than Tangerine Dream.

And as if that Budd comparison couldn't be more apt, opener Morning Loops is about as Buddy as it gets, gentle keyboard tones creating a soft blanket of reverb as they linger in the air, a soft bit of background distortion the only nod to contemporary ambient techniques. Follow-up Aysmmetric Feelings with Miguel Otero provides an extra layer of dubby timbre, but generally treads similar territory, while Booleans simplifies things to sustained minimalism.

None of these pieces are terribly long, the truly tranquil, softly glitchy Transitory Ghosts with Suso Saiz the lengthiest things get at just a shade over six minutes. At ten tracks long, that does leave And Stillness Came a rather brief listening affair, with many drifting by with barely any notice. Heck, with Empty Set mostly field recordings atop soft tones, you could think the album already over, should your window be left open. As I said, ambient music in its purest form.