Showing posts with label 2009. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2009. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Merr0w - Born Underwater

Suntrip Records: 2009

And back to mermaid psy-trance again. No, wait, is that really a thing? I know U-Recken had one on his debut album Aquatic Serenade, an image that really stuck out to me because of the lake-bound lass tootin' on a flute. Like, that just doesn't make a lick of sense, a wind instrument working underwater. At best you'll generate bubbles, not much of a melodic sound. Unless it's a magical flute, which given that its a mermaid playing it, must be. Sorry for this tangent on something I reviewed well over a decade ago, but that incongruity still nags at me.

Where was I? Oh yes, mermaid trance. Are there any others? I feel like there should be, and if I dug real deep into the bowels of numerous psy labels, I'd find more covers sporting ichthyian-hominid hybrids. Can't say I'm in any hurry to confirm this, but it does seem rather rare. This here Born Underwater is just the second time I've come across it, at least within my own music collection. I'm sure if I searched through insipid vocal trance releases, I'd stumble upon mermaids aplenty. Seems like a genre replete with sirens of the sea.

Anyhow, Merr0w. One Brice Fruyt from Paris, he's another in a long line of psy artists getting their break with Suntrip, contributing to a compilation or two before releasing a full-length. That partnership didn't appear to last long though, his Discoggian data showing a half-decade hiatus from producing before striking things out independently. He seems to be on another producing hiatus, his last album Odysseus (complete with mermaid cover art!) released pre-pandemic. Boy, did that ever mess up a lot of music careers.

I want to say this is another top notch neo-goa release on Suntrip, as it does all the things I like hearing from the genre. Solid leads that get the blood pumpin' at the peaks, check. Good use of acid without overstaying its welcome, check. Little in the way of wayward wibble, every track progressing in logical fashion, check. Rhythms... okay, they're kinda' soft, but that only adds to the retro charm, so I can give it a pass. There's even a couple downtempo cuts, though bookmarks of the album, so nothing adventurous there, but at least some variety is provided.

Yep, Born Underwater does about everything I could hope from this genre, but something just holds it back from truly sticking in my head. Best I can figure, its the somewhat 'soggy' aesthetic applied to much of the synths and acid. I know that's a weird description, but it's the best adjective I can think of. I'm assuming it's intentional, Merr0w aiming for an aquatic vibe and all (cover art gives it away, to say nothing of track titles). I just don't think he quite achieves it, acid at times sounding squishy and such. It's honestly a minor quibble, but enough to hold this one back from being among the upper echelons of Suntrip CDs I've thus covered.

Sunday, November 5, 2023

Afgin - Astral Experience

Suntrip Records: 2009

Diving into a two-decade old catalogue the extent of Suntrip's is gonna' expose me to many artists, some I'm familiar with, some not so much. If they have a robust discography, they may even become new favourites, eagerly anticipating whenever their next record comes down the pipeline. Others may not have released much, but will do something truly unique leaving me wondering what could have been in their careers. Many more, however, will likely end up like Afgin here, a comparatively small amount of music released, good enough in its own right, but not enough to make a strong impression long-term.

I shouldn't go saying Astral Experience is completely forgettable, as there are things that do stick out to me (especially with Median Project's Another Galaxy already fading fast in the rear mirror of my memory). For instance, I haven't heard much in the way of chants in the CDs I've thus far covered, and this one has two instances of them: in the opening of second track Old Is Gold (Part 2), and in the downtempo closer Aden Prayers. Look, I'll take what I can get, because there's oh-so many more of these to come, and like any pile of music that's such a strict genre exercise of micro-niche interests, things blend together real fast. Especially when you're hitting a solid chunk of it in such short order. (on the plus side, at least the 'A's will knock off ten percent of my total!)

Anyhow, some vocals can't be the only thing that stands Astral Experience out, is it? No, but again, context is everything. In case the title wasn't apparent, this is another collection of goa trance very much feeding off that vintage Astral Projection sound. Heck, the titular opener even has some samples about the practice, though clearly is more in homage of the famed Israeli trance duo. Pretty much every track maintains a similar style, with Journey Through The Acid leaning heavier into a TB-303 showcase. Most have plenty of time to build things out, some have fun lead synths, others have strong basslines in support. Again, all solid stuff, and for the neo-goa neophytes, sonic manna after dealing with so much drab prog-psy and full-on rubbish the psy scene was inundated with when this came out.

Since I'm well beyond said neophyte stage in this Suntrip excursion, I need more than Astral Projection homages in my regular psy trance diet before I have anything excitable to say about it. Why aren't other artists from The Golden Era emulated as often? I've heard some Etnica nods here and there, but surely there are more. Are some cows simply too sacred? KoxBox too quirky? Eat Static too esoteric? Juno Reactor too rarefied? Total Eclipse too, um, un-eclipsable? This isn't meant to lower the value of Afgin's offering, I'm just hoping to hear more diversity down the line. I'd hate to think I'll have heard nothing but the same ol' by the time I get to, say, Toï Doï's Synaptic Electrophoresis.

Tuesday, October 31, 2023

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.

Sunday, June 11, 2023

Lucette Bourdin - Undercurrents

Dark Duck Records/Fantasy Enhancing: 2009/2021

Don't think I forgot about this ongoing box-set coverage either. I mean, alphabetical OCD mandates I couldn't even if I tried, though as mentioned, I sometimes miss items when I don't have a physical copy verifying I have it in my collection. No mistaking something like Retrospective Box-Set (2005 – 2017) on my shelves though. In fact, I think it just might be among the chunkiest items in my possession. The only other box-sets that rival it are those two Neil Young Archives box-sets, the indisputable, indomitable Pete Namlook tribute box-set Die Welt Ist Klang, and the Symphonic Suite “Dragon Quest” Complete CD-Box. And really, that rivalry is only in packaging girth, none of them containing twenty individual CDs within. When it comes to total content, Lucette Bourdin's collection trumps them all nearly three-fold! Okay, maybe not Archives Vol. 1 - that one has a chunky picture book too.

Anyhow, Undercurrents (or Under Currents, as originally titled – saving some extra pennies on typeface there, Fantasy Enhancing?) came out at a point where Ms. Bourdin was getting a little frisky in her sonic explorations. Not only did she go on to release the more rhythm-centric albums Drums And Repercussions and Drum-atic Atmospheres later that year, but had indulged in some truly epic ambient excursions with the ultra-lengthy compositions as found on Ancient Memories the year prior. This one has a couple long-form pieces as well, Glacier Lament breaching fifteen minutes, and the titular cut weighing in at a hefty twenty-minutes plus. Okay, so not quite the near thirty-minute outing from Memories Of Acoma, but compared to the modest ten-minute cuts on most of her tracks, it's stretching things some.

Like the first two pieces on here, A Parade Of Stones and Rain Forest Draining. The former starts with some standard, isolated pad drone, the subtlest of tribal rhythm lurking underneath. It mostly plays out like this for the duration, with a proper downbeat emerging some two-thirds in. Rain Forest Draining, however, gets really thick with the field recordings, which is funny to me because I made a big deal about such sonic techniques not really being a major focus of Lucette's body of work. Yet here they are, a rain forest filled with them. Okay, they don't last long, eventually giving way to more subtle ambient drone, but man, for a spell there, I thought we were in for a sample-heavy record here.

Two 'shorter' pieces touching closer to Lucette's more opulent synth play bridge the middle of Undercurrents, then we're in the final two long tracks. Glacier Lament has its own field recordings, gentle dripping water as though heard from below the surface of a melting mass of ice. A suitably melancholic synth drone accompanies the feelings of frozen loss. Under Currents, meanwhile, is a fairly standard synth drone excursion with oscillating sine-waves. Kinda' retro, sat among Ms. Bourdin's larger body of work. Or at least, 'retro' to my ears, slowly digesting her works for nearly two years now.

Monday, February 20, 2023

Lucette Bourdin - Silver Moon

Earth Mantra/Fantasy Enhancing: 2009/2021

Twenty CDs may seem like a thorough amount of albums for a retrospective box-set, but truth be told, this only touches upon one aspect of Lucette's discography. Well, maybe one and a half, if you include all the early, self-released stuff too. But yes, this collection of Ms. Bourdin's music primarily focuses on her output on Dark Duck Records, when she in fact had two labels supporting her, the other being Earth Mantra.

I'm not sure why those albums weren't included with this box-set – some sort of licensing hurdle, perhaps? Or could they just not be *gasp* as good as her other material, thus getting cut to keep this box-set a simple twenty CDs long? Guess I could find out for myself by checking out those Earth Mantra albums (I like the artwork of Golden Sun!) but, eh, I've taken in so much of Lucette's ambient (just... so very much), I will need a little break n' buffer after I've finished off this current collection.

Anyhow, I bring all this up because, according to Lord Discogs, Silver Moon is the lone Earth Mantra release to find its way into Retrospective Box Set (2005 – 2017). Again, I'm not sure why this is so. Fair point that some of those Earth Mantra albums were collaborations with Darrell Burgan, but others like Rumors From Cypress Town or Radiant Stars or Seeking Ganesha or Timeless Shore or Horse Heaven... were these not worthy? Ergh, I'm probably focusing way to much on something that's likely just a coincidence of circumstance. Let's get back to Silver Moon, one of my favourite Kitaro pieces- erm, I mean, the album I'm supposed to be reviewing. (seriously though, Kitaro's Silver Moon is such a lovely outing of haunting New Age ambience)

Almost immediately, I'm struck with a slightly different vibe than I'm used to from Lucette's typical brand of gentle, flowing ambient drone. For sure the synth pads still glide and weave along, but there's more of a mysterious feel to Now The Moon, less prominence on harmonic layers of timbre. Gosh, there's even choir pads, emerging from the winds of an approaching night. If that wasn't enough to send a bit of a chill down the spine, some pieces towards the end, like From The Shadowy Cote, With Silver Claws, Moveless Fish, and In A Silver Stream, edge remarkably close to the domains of dark ambient. Even a piece like Walks In Night, while more grand than most of this album, has an omnipresent ominous atmosphere about it.

For sure there's a few tracks that touch upon Ms. Bourdin's more New Age approach to ambient drone. She Peers And Sees features harmonic strokes while gentle woodblocks plonk in rhythmic fashion, while Silver Trees does that lovely ebb and flow drone some of her best works entailed. Guess I just wasn't quite prepared to hear an album of 'Lucette Goes Goth', but then every ambient artist likes getting in touch with their darkside at some point.

Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Peter Broderick - Music For A Sleeping Sculpture Of Peter Broderick

Slaapwel Records: 2009

The nifty thing about Slaapwel Records isn't so much their dedication to the artform of sleepy-time music – that's just a nice bonus. Nay, it's the near-complete freedom the label offers its invited artists to indulge themselves. They don't want just some noodly pad drone work stretched out over thirty minutes, there's plenty of that on the market. Let's hear what a shoegaze artist might come up with, or some dudes with tape loops. Or a classic pianist, that'll do too.

I've touched upon Peter Broderick before, a classically trained musician mostly known for piano pieces performed in art houses. Not really my scene, but he makes nice enough music that can be enjoyed in all manner of locales, not just while dispassionately gazing at wall art or floating dancers. A recurring theme in his album work is the Music For... series: Music For The Musical Saw, Music For On Paper Wings, Music For Falling From Trees, and so on. That he would approach a Slaapwel record from such an angle isn't that surprising – what is this label, after all, but music for falling asleep to? That he would take it to such an obtuse angle, however, even caught the label's personnel off guard.

For sure I can envision Mr. Broderick crafting a piece with the intent of sending his own person into the Land Of Nod, as that's something many artists would likely do. I can even envision him taking a photo or video of him falling asleep, and crafting a piece in support of the images portrayed, as though he's serenading a lullaby to himself. Again, something I'm sure many artists would do, as it's the most logical approach to the concept. Yet somehow, even that seemed limiting, as though Peter was performing for a being that really wasn't there, but an abstraction of who he was in the past. No, he wanted to literally perform for his sleeping self, in the flesh, and the only way to do that would rely on dark, forbidden sciences like human cloning or multiverse traversal. Fine, we'll do the next closest thing, a self-sculpture lying in bed.

Honestly, I'm not sure if that's quite accurate – couldn't find much info on Mr. Broderick's creative flow on this project. Still, I can't help but come away bemused by the thought of him sitting in the room with this 'sleeping' sculpture of himself, musically easing the lifeless golem into a state it cannot conceive of.

As for the music, it moves along in stages, angelic choir pads ebbing and flowing for a while, eventually replaced by Peter's gentle piano strokes with some spoken words, then repeating once more before the half-hour's out. It's very Eno, very relaxing, and very soothing on the soul. Peter must have much tender love and care for his sleeping sculpture, because I know I sure am put into great ease of mind as this piece plays out, and I'm a complete stranger to Mr. Broderick!

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Lucette Bourdin - Drum-atic Atmospheres

Dark Duck Records/Fantasy Enhancing: 2009/2021

I feel stupid typing this, but I can't cop to y'all: I only just got what the pun in this album's title is. To be fair on my part, it's not like Lucette gave me any reason to expect a pun. Nothing in the bulk of her discography would lead me to believe she was a very punny lass. The Mystery Of The Midnight Sun, Timeless Shore, Soaring Above The Thunder, Raven's Dream, Horse Heaven... all relatively straight-forward titles, right? Even Drums And Repercussions is rather slight on the pun-o-meter. That isn't to say Ms. Bourdin didn't have a sense of humour or anything, just that, far as I can tell, it never reflected in her music. Or maybe she didn't have many opportunities to go there. After all, one of the tracks on here is called My Car Is Broken, I'll Walk.

With a title like Drum-atic Atmospheres, I should be expecting a bevy of crashing taiko drums, or twenty toms as performed by Neil Peart. I wasn't though, because that simply isn't what Lucette Bourdin's about. More honestly, I wasn't expecting it because I didn't clue in that the album's title should have me expecting something dramatic. I suppose Cathedram Jam is rather opulent, though more in a Tangerine Dream sort of way, the only heavy percussion coming in some two-thirds deep into an eleven minute long piece, and nothing anyone familiar with world beat loops wouldn't have heard. I was more surprised at hearing those burbly electronics at the start, triggering some Cowgirl from Underworld memories.

But nay, the album opens in rather tranquil, meditative form, Flight Through Infinite Stars less traversing the kosmiche grande, than lazily taking in the distant splendour. If that track doesn't impart feelings of calm and serenity, then The Dew Is On The Grass certainly will, if not in tone, then at least in title. The sweeping synth strings and angelic choirs sure feels like we're catching a little morning dawn piercing through velvet clouds though. Oh, and the most dramatic these drums get remain the soft pitter-patter of tribal rhythms.

Lucette gets a little fancy on the delay effects in the moody Last Small Spark, while Washing Day features jangly rhythms panning across the stereo spectrum while synth tones drone and static... fuzzes? More an experimental piece, that, but the aforementioned My Car Is Broke, I'll Walk certainly lives up the 'dramatic atmospheres' motif of the album's title, in an ol' school Vangelis sort of way. Grand piano reverb into the furthest reaches of the galaxy, yo'.

A few assorted experimental pieces follow, and Spanish Winds closes things out in another outing I can't help but draw Vangelis comparisons to. Whenever the Greek musician would get his drone-tone on at least, but with a little Mediterranean flair. Much of Drum-atic Atmospheres have me thinking of '70s synth wizards, come to think of it. Does this mean Ms. Bourdin was a time-travelling wizard, and heir of Merlin mayhaps? Mmm, no, wrong European lineage, methinks.

Saturday, March 26, 2022

Lucette Bourdin - Drum Repercussions

Dark Duck Records/Fantasy Enhancing: 2009/2021

Wish I realized this sooner. Could have broken up these two Lucette Bourdin albums from each other, book-ending the two DnB Arena releases. How was I to know Drums And Repercussions would for some reason get retitled Drum Repercussions for this box-set? Actually, I technically knew it when I first ripped the CDs to my computer, and WMP retitled it to its proper name, hence why it slotted after Drum&Bass Arena 2019. That's kinda' remarkable, come to think of it, that WMP would even have such an obscure album already on file. Guess there has been over a decade for other souls to have done the deed. In any event, because the version I have is titled Drum Repercussions, I'm going with that, even if it has thrown my orderly alphabetical queue slightly askew. *eye twitches OCD'ily*

Anyhow, Drums And Repercussions came out in what was undoubtedly Lucette's most productive year, 2009. In fact, both of her 'drum' albums came out that year, though this one earlier than Drum-atic Atmospheres. It was only a few months prior that she had introduced any sort of rhythms into her ambient pieces, which I already covered with Colors, Shapes & Rhythms. I also felt those outings came off as something of a feeling-out process, Ms. Bourdin making use of acquired drum loop tools but doing little to utilize them as her own. There were hints of potential, for sure, but I'd need to hear some something a little more dynamic if I was to be won over.

Well, I can't say her beats are dynamic in Drum Repercussions, but they are better used, mostly instilling a tribal, meditative rhythm while synth drones carry on. Opener Jungle Steam certainly imparts a feeling of gently cruising down some old-growth realm of the tropics without falling into cliche, a sense of mystery and awe while ancient civilizations are revealed beneath dense foliage. Wish I could say follow-up Mile High Boogie maintained that vibe though, Lucette's choice of drum loop and odd tub-dub not really syncing well; still, lovely synth tones.

From there, we get a variety of soft ambient techno (Picnic By The Creek, And So It Goes, The River of Ghosts), New Agey tribal numbers (Hymn To The Rising Sun, Dancing With Bears, Follow Me Home), and Berlin-School opulence (Song Of Creation, Glowing In The Dark). And... gosh, for ten tracks, that's honestly a fair amount of diversity. I'll grant I've yet to take in even a quarter of Lucette's total output, but I feel safe claiming her wheel-house generally remains on the ambient spectrum.

Still, if Drums And Repercussions is any indicator, she was definitely feeling more confident as a musical artist at this point, willing to branch out and mostly succeeding in her efforts doing so. Yeah, there's still a couple tracks here that don't mesh as well as they could, but on the whole, Drum Repercussions is the strongest LP I've yet heard in this box-set. Only sixteen more to go!

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Tiga - Ciao! (Original TC Review)

Turbo: 2009

(2022 Update:
Mr. Sontag certainly seemed primed for a shot at super-stardom in this long-ago time of 2009, especially as the Era Of Guetta was nigh. Instead, he waited over half a decade for a follow-up album, and hasn't released another LP since. Still out there DJing and making collaborative singles though, so seems to be doing alright for himself.

Nothing much else to add to this review. The 'maximal' Ed Banger stuff is very much stuck in the '00s, but all the charming synth-pop tunes hold help. I still randomly get
Shoes stuck in my head, though that might be more due to Neebs Gaming naming one of their NPCs in Conan Exiles that. It's funny when you know the context, I swear!)


IN BRIEF: Getting better.

With Ciao!, I think we can finally put an end to the big question surrounding Tiga’s career as a solo artist: just how serious is he being? The answer is rather serious after all, at least as serious as anyone can get when it comes to synth-pop of this sort. It was tough to tell, though, since there was always this sense that he was merely toying with the novelty of the genre, making it his personal playground to indulge himself with surprisingly fun covers of unexpected tunes. Then, once the faddism of it faded, he’d move onto whatever whim fancied him from there (remember, this was the guy that at one point wasn’t averse to pushing drum ’n’ bass DJ mixes on his label Turbo). Yet, after the relative success of Sexor, it seems he decided to properly pursue this avenue further.

In that regard, Ciao! is a very easy record to form an opinion on. Do you like synth-pop that holds silly-silly nonsensical lyrics about shoes and the time being “sex o’clock”? Then you’ll love this, no question. Not to say Tiga doesn’t stretch lyrically elsewhere on here, but that isn’t the aim with Ciao!. This is dance-pop at its simplest, and complicated wordplay only gets in the way (just ask The KLF).

That said, there is a degree of musicianship going on here that prevents Ciao! from easily being dismissed. Having Soulwax, James Murphy, Jori Hulkkonen (naturally), the better-half of the Dahlbäck brothers, and Gonzales of Feist-production fame in the studio with him certainly helps, but fact of the matter is Tiga has long had an ear for knowing a good hook, even if he’s liberally borrowed from others. Beep Beep Beep? Shoes? Luxury? Mark my words, those songs are going to lodge in your head and set up residency for a while. Elsewhere, you’ll swear you’ve heard some variation on these tracks on your local Jack.fm radio station. The piano in Turn The Night On, for instance - damn, where have I heard that before? Or those backing “ah-ah-ah, ah”s in Speak, Memory (oh, that’s right, Billy Idol’s Dancing With Myself).

The funny thing is, for a guy that made his early reputation as a purveyor of great underground music, Tiga’s pop leanings fare much better than most of his purely techno tracks. What You Need’s abrasive out-of-tune maximal-synths is fun enough and Overtime has a good deal of solid instrumental build-up at the beginning, but Mind Dimension is just… ugh. What the hell is even going on in this? The beats limply plod, sounds interchange aimlessly between spits of acid and farty squelches, and by the end you realize the track has amounted to nothing of note (Jesper Dahlbäck, who co-wrote this, must be picking up some bad habits from his brother John); Shoes, such a ridiculous (though fun!) song on its own, sounds utterly brilliant as a follow-up. And yet, somehow, Mind Dimension too gets lodged in your head. Damn that Tiga!

Then, at the other end of the spectrum (and the end of the album), we see Tiga’s songwriting mature in such a way I’m sure no one could have predicted. Gentle Giant’s melancholy keyboard tones and solemn mood seems to bring out the very best of Mr. Sontag’s singing capabilities, but more impressive is he can be credibly serious if he so chooses. The ten-minute opus Love Don’t Dance Here Anymore then solidifies this assumption, and you’re left wondering, if he’s clearly capable of this, why fall back on simple synth-pop ditties?

In that regard, Tiga seems to have come to occupy an intriguing musical area between hipster-faves Chromeo and festival-faves Hot Chip. On one hand you have music that is clearly satisfied in being somewhat campy, yet it still displays a creativeness that belies its pure-pop sensibility. Tiga seems to be stuck at that crossroad of where to take his music next.

This isn’t to say Ciao! is some kind of revelatory genius of songwriting - it honestly isn’t. The final couple tracks aside, the music is about as candid as dance-pop gets. Whether you enjoy this album in the long run will probably boil down to how long you find Tiga’s performance charming. As it stands, Mr. Sontag still is an incredibly charming fellow, but unless he’s willing to grow as a songwriter, charm will only carry him so far.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2009.© All rights reserved.

Wednesday, January 5, 2022

LongWalkShortDock - Casual Tea (Original TC Review)

Lunarian Records: 2009

(2022 Update:
Talk about a flashpoint in time. While I can't say Mr. King's career ever took off at a global superstar level, he's certainly become one of the premiere fixtures on the American West live P.A. circuit. This was written shortly after his first, almost innocuous performance at the Shambhala Music Festival, but it wasn't long before his annual sets turned into one of THE weekend highlights every year. Not too shabby indeed.

As for the music, this has held up pretty well. Yeah, it's definitely a product of its time, but the songcraft holds strong-style in spite of whatever Ed Banger-era attributes drip through. It almost feels like a forgotten album in Dave's catalog now, his profile growing much larger after the fact with the headbangers as heard live. No time for sentimental downtime when moshing away with stage flailers, I guess.)



IN BRIEF: Criminally overlooked.

(2022 Edit: Removed an overlong, unneccesary anectdote that served as a lead-in; just get to the point, 2009 Sykonee!)

Some of the best bangin’ techno albums I’ve heard - Speedy J’s Loudboxer or L.S.G.’s The Black Album, f’st’nce - lose something at a purely primal level when listening to them from the comfort of home, which unfortunately also loses part of the appeal of what makes such music work. It’s rather impractical to be lazing on a couch with tea while beats are blasting out of your speakers, urging you to get your flailing mosh on.

Such concerns arose when it came to the debut album from up-and-coming local-scene hero Dave King; aka Longwalkshortdock. Given the Northwest’s isolation from the rest of the world, it wouldn’t surprise me if our overseas readers haven’t heard of him, especially so because King has made his reputation mostly on the live circuit (ask anyone who’s seen him at the Soundwave Music Festival, and you’re sure to be met with an outpouring of hyperbolic praise). Without a doubly-doubt, he is a sight to behold live, as King seemingly turns into rubber, flailing about as he serves up an excellent entre of ready-made maximal techno mosh and chip-tune thrills. His stage energy is highly infectious, with tunes that tap into the best aspects of techno bedlam, any show quickly turning into a rockingly rowdy gathering. How, then, can you possibly transplant that intensity onto an album format?

Frankly, you can’t. So it’s just as well that King hasn’t tried. Instead, Casual Tea presents itself as a proper album, with tracks of various styles, tempos, and length. Hey, it worked for Liam Howlett, and while this truthfully is no Jilted Generation, there are plenty of things about LWSD’s music that still works in an album context. Let me detail a few such things!

Actually, the opening track is as good an example as any. Will I Dream contains a bunch of elements that sum up King’s tunes nicely: nu-electro-funk, maximal-aggressiveness, 8-bit glitch, dreamy melodic backings. Okay, so that sounds par for the course for a lot of electronic music these days, but here’s the catch: King does it better than many another. His beats, though admittedly brick-walled in the production department, hit you with force and purpose, urging you to wildly wobble about just as much as the man himself. When his synths are cranked to the red, it still sounds clean and clear, not cartoonishly distorted like many an Ed Banger tune. The chip-tune bits are effectively handled and the backing melodies are just trancey enough to let your mind float on. What makes all this better though? It’s the fact that the track keeps moving forward, constantly building upon what came before. After some six minutes, from where you’d expect a track of this sort to wrap up, King unleashes an extra assault of funky goodness. Why he do that? He don’t need to do that. But he did do that, and Will I Dream is so much better that he did do that.

Many of the cuts on here work this continuous build, sending his tracks to energetic highs few contemporaries seem willing to go. Horse Fly, I’m So Bad I Make Medicine Sick, High Expectations, Knowin’ That You’re Goin’ - all strong examples. Beyond that, though, King keeps his album fresh throughout by dabbling outside this field. Of course, you have your electro-funk numbers, but how’s about something more on the industrial side in Born At Night or I Will Kill You With Techno, where he drags his synths through gravel pits and distorts his voice in such a way that would make Cabaret Voltaire happy. Melodically blissful tracks Keep It Round, Sara Purple, Warm Girls, and Why Do I Bother prove King’s more than just a one-trick maximal pony, and the all-out chip-tune closer You Can Have It is a hoot, only missing some actual NES themes as has been known to be heard in his live sets.

And dammit, some of King’s tunes are just undeniably catchy. The clear highlight - High Expectations - is already a wildly fun bit of warbled techno, but I dare you to resist bellowing out in unison “I want someone who grabs my soul, and sets my heart on fire!” during the track’s chorus. Go on, try. Ah-ha, I knew you couldn't.

Casual Tea is as strong as any EDM debut you’re likely to come across these days - it easily trumps several other albums that have received gratuitous amounts of promotion in recent years. Even if you’ve grown rather sick of nu-electro tropes, the infectious energy King has infused his music with will have you throwing such cares to the cliffs. Despite LWSD’s profile being nearly nonexistent outside of his local scene right now, an album like this clearly proves he has the chops to make it on a larger stage. With luck, Casual Tea will help push his career to higher pastures (even without the need to resort to a gimmick like a mouse-head). If not, well, you can always say that you managed to grab your hands on a true underground classic, one that will end up being worth stupid amounts of coin at Discogs a decade on.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2009 © All rights reserved

Thursday, March 4, 2021

The Oak Ridge Boys - The Boys Are Back

Spring Hill: 2009

Of course the boys are back. The boys will always be back. The Oak Ridge Boys are everlasting. This come-back was, what, their ninth? Tenth? Easy to lose track when they've technically existed since the building of the atom bomb.

This particular comeback has a quirky little tale behind it though. After their '90s were spent floundering about various labels unable to recapture their early '80s commercial success, the Oakies eventually settled in with Spring Hill. Primarily a gospel leaning print, it reconnected the chaps with their church hymn roots, and they spent the better portion of the '00s releasing fresh recordings of them harmonizing about God and Jesus and whatnot. Well, save the 2003 record Colors, a pure patriotic outing with such jangles like American Beauty, This Is America and G.I. Joe And Lillie. Hey, if you were even a little bit country at the time, you were wavin' the stars and stripes for all to see, lest y'all get Dixie Chick'd.

A little later in the '00s, the boys from the ridge of oaks were invited over to Shooter Jennings' studio for a collaboration (he of Waylon Jennings offspring fame), plus a performance out and about town. To everyone shock, 'the kidz' in the crowd were getting down to Elvira, their classic chart topper from days past. Maybe, just possibly, might there be some embers to breathe upon The Oak Ridge Boys' saga, one that could appeal to the youth of today? Like, if it worked for Johnny Cash before he passed, surely it could work for Duane Allen, William Golden, Joe Bonsall, and Richard Sterban.

If they hoped to repeat Cash's contemporary success, however, they needed their own Hurt, a song hip to the alternative crowds. Somehow, The White Stripes' Seven Nation Army was suggested, and thus we have one of the strangest covers to ever grace The Oak Ridge Boys' discography. Did they even know what this song's about? For sure it was popular at sporting events, an anthemic charm to its defiant stomp of a riff, but please don't tell me they thought this was about raising armies to fight against a nation's enemies?

Anyhow, the trick didn't work, The Boys Are Back doing modest success on the country charts (and quite well on the Christian charts) but still not a scratch from their heyday. Guess those weened on Whisky Falls and Ween weren't too keen on sentimental family standards like Mama's Table, or Richard doo-wopping over John Lee Hooker's Boom Boom.

Still, as bizarre as all this sounds, I'm personally thrown for a loop in seeing Neil Young's Beautiful Bluebird covered here. Existing since Rustie's Old Ways period, that song had only been officially released a couple years prior to The Oakies making this album. What prompted them to cover this charming little folky? A respectful nod to Neil's country ties? The fact Young and Waylon went way back? A subtle stand in solidarity after Neil almost got himself Dixie Chick'd following Living With War?

Saturday, October 10, 2020

Ocelot - One

Avatar Records: 2009

I remember seeing Ocelot's name getting dropped in topics of 'good modern psy trance' way back in the genre's mid-'00s resurgence. Keeping the alias in the back of my mind, I figured he'd be one to check out should I ever dig a little deeper into that scene, but got side-tracked by things and stuff. Or just a general disinterest in how the music was developing as the decade turned. Fast-forward many years later, and I'm browsing the Avatar Music Bandcamp, wherein I spot an Ocelot album among their offerings. Hey, I remember seeing that name dropped as one to check out, should the opportunity present itself. May as well check this one out.

So I throw on One, and I'm digging what I'm hearing, as solid outing of psy dub and prog-psy as you could expect to hear in the year 2009. “Ah,” thinks I, “Ocelot must have come up when discussions of artists similar to Shpongle and Ott were aplenty throughout the interweblands. I remember good!”

Except I was completely wrong. After playing One, I listened to Ocelot's other works, and turns out he mostly peddled his wares in a totally different sub-genre of psy-trance, the dark psy continuum. Oh, now I remember, his name floating on the periphery of my attention when I indulged in Trishula Records for a spell. Dear me, if my memories were so easily led astray in this trivial matter, what else I might have incorrect recollections of.

Anyhow, this is a darn good album, better than I was expected, even if I didn't really know what to expect going in. For sure I instantly knew this would be on the chillier side of psy, a gentle, melodic ambient opener in Drifting Away reminding me of ancient Irresistible Force as sure a sign as anything. I was then mighty impressed by how effortlessly Ocelot rode those prog-psy grooves with floaty, trancey melodies and tasteful world-beat indulgences. The throbbing pulse of Cloud Cover, the bouncy beat of Rainbow Colors, the stuttery synth hook in Molasses, even the manipulated baby laughs in Chunocelot Soup. Such a silly idea almost never works in psy, but Ocelot somehow makes it work such that I'm effortlessly vibing on it seven minutes in (only four more to go!). And all this from a dark psy guy? Who'd have thought it? I mean, anyone who knows psy trance producers have a downtempo bug in them would know, but play this along side VectorSelector, and you'd never believe it's the same chap.

How could I not assume the thing I assumed from the outset, then? One could have easily fit in with the young Alter Records along with the likes of AstroPilot. Oh, wait, AstroPilot made his debut on Avatar Records, a couple years before Ocelot released this on Avatar Records. Does this all tie together? Heh, no, just an interesting coincidence, but if the AP association helps selling One as a record to check out, so be it.

Monday, February 10, 2020

Various - Balance 015: Will Saul

EQ Recordings: 2009

Won't deny, I had low thoughts about this one when I first saw it advertised a decade ago. I generally liked the Balance series to that point, but Joris Voorn's contribution had me wondering whether things were taking a turn for the over-indulgent, hipster-baiting path. Glancing at the tracklist didn't allay my suspicions either, what with inclusions from Ricardo Villalobos' Minimoonstar, Hercules & Love Affair, Seth 'he so crazy!' Troxler, and that new-fangled 'dubstep' the kids wouldn't shut up about, b'gar. Throw in a cover shot that has Mr. Saul looking like he's posing for Craft Beers Monthly (“This Issue, The 20 Best New IPAs From Mercer Island You MUST Try!”), and yeah, my totally sad first impression wasn't good.

But Will Saul's 3CD set for Balance is good. Real damn good. Ignore what Late 2009 Sykonee thinks. He was getting disillusioned about things anyway.

Besides, my ignorant thoughts were mostly due to ignorance of who Will Saul is. I assume he's a fairly big deal in the UK, though I hadn't heard of him before, and haven't heard much of him since. Has a couple labels behind his belt. Recently released his second album. Look, I've limited word count here, and I'd rather spend it discussing these CDs over Mr. Saul's biography.

And what a lovely assortment of CDs we have here. We're deep in Balance's 'No Genres Off Limits!' era, and with three discs to indulge himself, Will indulges himself indeed. Instead of making each CD strict genre exercises though, Mr. Saul works a general theme while dedicating significant chunks of his sets to specific styles. CD1 gets in on that deep house and space disco vibe, with a tasty acid and Chicago closer. CD2 is the more (then) conventional set of the three, sticking to trendy, minimalist tech-house before taking a slight detour into Detroit's back alleys. Then, in a total tonal shift, Will finishes the set out with future garage (still called 'dubstep' back then). Yeah, that's probably just as trendy, but I like this stuff, so it coo'.

Opening CD3 with reggae dub though? Oh... oh my! Who in the history of Balance has done that? Okay, Jimmy Van M, kinda', but that was just one song, whereas Will spends eight. Some of it is modern 'reggae dub', sure (re: dubstep that actually honours its Jamaican roots), but as found elsewhere across Balance 015, he mixes these (then) contemporary styles with vintage stuff quite nicely. Things move on from there into funk and soul (old and new, including Wolf + Lamb), plus garage and house, with mostly (then) new stuff trying to sound like way old stuff. The retro was in full swing by the late '00s, absolutely.

So yeah, I quite like Will Saul's CD3 here, and even enjoy CD1 despite not having quite as much to say about it. CD2 feels quite of its time though, but is fine for what it offers. Plus, very little of Minimoonstar was used. I LOL'd.

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Various - Balance 014: Joris Voorn (Original TC Review)

EQ Recordings: 2009

(2020 Update:
Probably the Most Important release in the
Balance series, and I don't claim that with snark, believe me. There had already been critically lauded releases before, but none of them got everyone buzzing quite like this one did. And despite Balance carrying on to this day, there hasn't been another grabbing the same level of attention as Voorn's contribution did. In fact, after a run of releases that served as a sort of Trilogy in DJs showing off the extreme side of genre eclecticism... well, I'll get to that when I get to it. Ultimately though, 014 was pretty much the peak of Balance being regarded as the premiere DJ mix series lauded by music journalists.

Can't say I've come back to this much. It was fine re-listening to it again, favoring CD2 over CD1 a little more now. Voorn's set still feels too reliant on the gimmick over the track selection though, and if I'm gonna' indulge in one of these massive mix-n-mash ultra-sets, I'd sooner throw on Magda's
She's A Dancing Machine - it's 'funner'! (yes, I had to get that name-drop in there as another obligatory 'it's been done' snipe)).


IN BRIEF: A trainspotter’s wet-dream.

Whether it be paid journalists, obsessive bloggers, or casual commentators, this is the kind of release such folk eagerly anticipate adding their two cents about. With a track list this big and eclectic [102 in all], Joris Voorn’s contribution to the Balance series screams for opinions, and plenty of people were ready to cast judgment on his mix sound unheard. Commercial DJ sets, after all, are traditionally done as a means of providing new music for the home listener or to promote said DJ to a potential wider audience, and you only need around ten to twenty-five tracks on a CD to accomplish this (dependent on the style of music, of course). To do something more, however, tags the mix with a bright neon “Artistic Statement” sign, from which folks will debate the merits of such a statement well before it’s even released.

Mind, Balance has long been an outlet for DJs to indulge themselves with concept mixes. EQ Recordings practically encourages it, and it’s certainly paid off for the label, in that it’s established itself as one of the premier DJ mix series – fans now tend to come away somewhat underwhelmed if the chosen jock(s) doesn’t do something unique. So, the fact Voorn seems to have willfully dove into a concept mix of this sort got all the commentators giddy. After all, here was once again an opportunity to discuss the merits of commercial DJ mixes as a something uniquely artistic which, in this age of podcasts and radio sets aplenty, does seem to be a dying artform; and this was the same reason commentators feared tackling Balance 014 as well.

Voorn’s tracklist seems to gleefully taunt any kind of criticism. Indeed, how can one be critical of something that has apparently been crafted with such passion and care? To say anything negative about Balance 014 automatically paints such a critic as someone who doesn’t appreciate artistic endeavors, thus rendering their opinions on such matters moot. Forget whether the music is actually good or not, it must be praised on concept alone.

Maybe I’d be willing to fall sway to this massive tracklist like so many others have if I thought there was something truly uniquely clever going on here. Yes, for a series that typically caters to the progressive house sect (whatever sound ‘prog’ currently represents), a CD1 with fifty-plus tracks does look impressive. But it’s not like Voorn’s playing all these as individual songs; rather, he’s cherry-picked bits and pieces to create a collage of dubby tech-house that plays out quite like a traditional prog set (re: atmospheric lead, groovy build, mid-set peak, indulgent third-act, climax/outro). On one hand, this does make it somewhat more impressive than Richie Hawtin’s DE9 mix (and indeed, Voorn’s own Fuse, a similar technical showcase), as there is ample amount of actual melody involved that creates a definite narrative. Yet compared to the wild-yet-cohesive ‘cut’n’paste’ antics of turntablists like Coldcut, Z-Trip, and DJ Shadow, Voorn’s effort here seems timid.

“Enough,” you say, “just fucking tell me if this is worth my pennies or not, f’er crissakes!” The Mizuiro disc most definitely is. As mentioned, it flows seamlessly from beginning to end, taking your ears on a lovely little journey through various atmospheres, pleasing melodies, groovy passages, and sinister soundscapes. Although the ketamine-murk of the second half may not be everyone’s cup of chamomile, Voorn ends the disc on a lovely bit of psychedelic ambiance from an obscure Alter Ego side-project, making it worth your while to let the whole disc play out – after all, such tranquility is only enhanced by the menace that comes before. The only quibble to be had is the lead into this ambient outro, as it makes use of a mild tease of a build, suggesting a more vigorous climax to Mizuiro. All is forgiven once you realize where Voorn aims to take you instead, mind, but a tease it remains.

The Midori Mix, on the other hand, comes across as a mish-mash of leftover ideas. It opens strongly with bright house beats and fresh funk, but quickly drops back into the k-hole with dark, dubby minimal-tech. This of itself is nifty head music, yet comes off redundant if you’ve just listened to Mizuiro; and makes the vigorous beginning of CD2 seem rather pointless, especially so since Voorn keeps lowering the tempo until we’re floating in beatless lounge-chill mid-way through. From there, Midori keeps jumping all over the place: disco-funk makes a return, then is promptly dropped again in favor of ambient; some jazzy-soul passages come by, yet don’t seem to relate to the rest of the mix in any way. Of course, the actual music is perfectly fine –the lack of a cohesive narrative to it all is what holds CD2 down in terms of an endearing listen.

I’m sure you’ve noticed I haven’t really been highlighting titles Voorn as used. Truthfully, there’s very little point in doing so, in that his mix isn’t about individual tracks. And to be perfectly honest, the music works better the less familiar you are with the tunes he’s used – you’ll end up just letting yourself go with the flow of his set rather than endlessly trainspotting the bits and pieces he’s used. Frankly, I found myself distracted by playing too much “I See What You Did There” with the tracks I was most familiar with. Example: Leftfield’s Rino’s Prayer: I kept waiting for the beats of the original to drop, and felt hanging when he instead just looped the dub-throb effect of the original. I’m sure there are a number of similar examples others could point out with their listening experience of this. Granted, some folks thoroughly enjoy doing so. Much like Boards Of Canada fans love hunting for sonic easter eggs, or Star Wars Prequel fans love scouring the background of Lucus’ effects-laden scenes, some could spend hours dissecting what Voorn has done with what during the course of his sets (spoiler alert: if you go to his website, you can watch a Flash animation that lays it out for you). Yet, in doing so, we’re praising production gimmickry, not musical merit.

In that regard, I cannot in good conscience give Balance 014 the super-high marks others have given it. Yes, the technical aspects are awesome, but I’m here to judge the final musical product, not studio tricks. And Voorn’s mix is musically good, not great. While I can’t fault the ambition that went into this, it unfortunately comes across as needlessly overcooked across two discs. And ultimately, were I to throw on a hour-long mix with forty-plus tracks, I’d sooner grab a Soulwax set – it may be messier, but it’s definitely more fun.

Written by Sykonee for TranceCritic.com, 2009. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Phantogram - Eyelid Movies

Indica Records: 2009

(a Discography Patreon Request from Omskbird)

I didn't know what to expect when I put Discography Reviews up as an option for Patreon Requests. Most likely an obligatory opportunity to fill out some glaring gaps in my own music collection, but just as easily a chance for y'all to expose an act or artist that needed some extra shine in the limelight. I've yet to discern where Phantogram falls on that spectrum. I can't claim I was familiar with the duo prior, but a brief glance through their Wiki indicates they've seen their fair share of activity within the upper echelons of indie-leaning synth-pop stardom. Not top tier, but enough presence to do respectable numbers on sales charts with songs featured in a variety of soundtracks. A nod from Big Boi likely didn't hurt.

They had to start somewhere though, and Eyelid Movies is that start. I'm not so sure I'd call it a breakout, since it didn't land them all the crossover attention they seem to have garnered in the past decade, but it's as solid a debut an act with almost no prior exposure could have hoped for. It establishes a sound unique enough to stand out in an over-crowded indie synth-pop market, but retains enough style and sounds of that scene that can lure in potential curious passer-byes in the rotation of playlists and radio streams.

Of course, my frame of reference in indie synth-pop is woefully small, undoubtedly a huge number of acts others could namedrop that Phantogram are comparable to. It's probably a real sad thing the strongest comparison I can make is Gorillaz, in that I hear a lot of the same genre-fusion going on from track to track in this album (oh man, does As Far As I Can See ever remind me of Plastic Beach-era Gorillaz). Heck, Josh Carter even has a similar croon Damon Albarn 2D's, and shows no qualms in feeding his voice through different effects for that authentic dream pop/digital funk feel. Sarah Barthel's no slouch on the pipes either.

And genre fusion? Oh yeah, there's plenty of that, Phantogram showing little fear in tackling whatever strikes their fancy. The aforementioned dream pop? Here's Turn It Off, All Dried Up and You Are The Ocean for you. Something funkier for your feet? Try Running From The Cops or Bloody Palms for size. In need of intimate glitch-soul? 10,000 Claps is all up on that. Got a hankering for that melodramatic, trip-hop blues that Moby's known for? Then When I'm Small and Futuristic Casket have you covered. Yeah, I pulled a Moby namedrop here. I told you my frame of reference sucks in this genre.

But hey, Eyelid Movies is regardless a strong start to this dive into the Phantogram discography. The album could have used a bit more cohesion between songs for it to truly shine, but it does leave me intrigued in how the story unfolds from here, how gained exposure and experience will form and shape their future releases.

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Opium - Pain(t)

Databloem: 2009

Yet another artist I feel should have gotten a fairer shake, if the realm of ambient music wasn't such an overstuffed scene where even a modicum of success is too swiftly buried beneath the bloat. Like, no way I'd have stumbled upon this chap if he wasn't on a label I've taken to diving a little deeper into, and even then that's almost by chance, the Databloem catalogue rather extensive in names I'm already familiar with. Who has time for Cymphonic or 45 KO when I can scope out more compositions from artists like Mathias Grassow and Lingua Lustra? Nay, with too much ambient music to possibly consume in one's lifetime, it's best to fall back on the safe and familiar, never exposing one's imagination to the wonders of the unknown. Oof, ouch, that actually hurt my brain, trying to think like that. It's just not possible for yours truly!

What I'm trying to get at is it almost seems a fluke I chose this album on my most recent Databloem splurge. A name like Opium should have glazed over my eyes like so many generic pseudonyms of electronic music past. “Ooh how clever,” the snarky snake in my cerebellum would say, “a 'druggy' handle for druggy music. That's like a trance DJ calling himself DJ Ecstasy, or a dubstep DJ calling himself DJ Ket-Bumps. I bet there's, like, a hundred Opiums in Discogs' database.” Man, that snarky snake in my cerebellum can be a real dick sometimes. (for the record, Matteo Zini lays claim to Opium (6))

Pluck up Pain(t) I did though, and now having listened to it, I'm left wondering how I never came across him before. Mr. Zini has crafted a sound that would fit quite nicely as track three or four on a Fahrenheit Project CD from Ultimae Records, a quieter piece of downtime between the heavy hitters of that label. There's a light psy-chill undertone to everything, but on more of a droney tip, rhythms burbling under warm layers of dubby pad work. It's like the meeting ground between Ultimae and Silent Season in how he can draw you into a widescreen vista of sonic splendour, yet remain firmly grounded. It's music I want to watch stars too, flickering through a canopy of pines.

Turns out Opium got his start on Silentes, the offshoot from the former Amplexus. He eventually fell in with the Databloem group through their sister Practising Nature (home to lots of Amplexus/Silentes alum) before releasing a couple albums on the parent label. Then, not much of anything else since. What's most damning though, is just how lacking his compilation game was. Who knows why at this point, but there's scant examples of his work being showcased elsewhere. And that's a bloody shame, because as mentioned, he'd have fit snugly with the above-mentioned prints, even with a contributing track or two. Plus, I'd have happened upon him much sooner than random chance a decade on, and that's what's most important!

Friday, June 14, 2019

Distant System - Lost Sequence / Pupillary Response

self release: 2009/2010

Everyone's got that hotly anticipated item that seems perpetually postponed. The world of fantasy literature has George R.R. Martin's latest entry in his Game Of Thrones saga. The world of music has Dr. Dre's Detox. The world of music guides has Ishkur's Guide To Electronic Music V3.0. The world of video games has [checks notes]... Star Citizen now. Huh, does that mean folks have finally given up hope on Half-Life 3? Guess it can't be anticipated if it was never officially started in the first place.

Anyhow, while the above undoubtedly have had tonnes of folks hanging on every drip-fed update for years now, the bane of my anticipation remains hopeless obscure. Indeed, if Last.fm stats are anything to go by, it's not even a blip on the spaced-out psy-chill scene, as micro-niche of a scene as they get. Small wonder that Tyler Smith has kept a second Distant System LP in cryostasis for so long if the interest simply isn't there compared to his Androcell project. Dammit though, Spiral Empire remains one of the most captivating examples of this extremely specific sound tickling my limbic system that I've being craving another hit ever since. Others can have their additional songs of fire and ice, I wants my Spiral Empire 2: Revenge Of The Spiral!

While there's been small murmurs and rumblings Mr. Smith may finally dust the project off (again), I figured the best way to keep tabs on developments was to spring for the full Distant System discography on Bandcamp. Yes, I even re-bought Spiral Empire, the only time I'll likely re-buy a CD I already have in a digital format. Meanwhile, that allowed me to finally nab the two compilation-only tracks I'd missed out on way back when, Lost Sequence and Pupillary Response.

Speaking of Lost Sequence, holy cow, what's up with its scrobbling data? The track's outpaced everything else in the Distant System discography by a factor of five, and even has a whole two bars beside it on Spotify. Was the compilation it appeared on, Vampire Sunrise, really that popular? Hm, with a name like that, I wouldn't be surprised. Still, I suspect a shared link on some influencer's blog helped it along.

Anyhow, the track feeds me exactly what I crave in my Distant System fix (directly into my veins!). The epic synth pads painting the cosmic grand, the steady chugging prog-psy rhythm that makes me feel like I'm cruising on an interstellar craft, the touches of sci-fi bleeps and glitch as though I'm receiving sparse transmissions from the depths of the galactic core, all that good stuff. Pupillary Response, initially released on the far-less known Vital Signs compilation (which Tyler himself pieced together) is a more chill affair, almost meeting in the space where Distant System ends and Androcell starts. Not a whole lot happens that I haven't heard in this project before, save a chord change midway that melts my head, heart, and spleen. Sometimes the simplest tricks are the best.

Monday, June 10, 2019

Sghor - Le Grand Mystère

Snowy Tension Pole: 2009

I think I have a problem. A music buying problem. True, one can look at my living room, see all the wall-mounted shelves holding some fifteen-hundred CDs, and say with a roll of the eyes, “Well, d'uh!” That's not what I mean though. Like, compared to some collectors, my library is paltry, a fraction of one's true potential of blowing every single penny on product (sheds, my friends, sheds). Maybe if I was less discriminate in my purchases practices, I could reach that lofty achievement(?), but nay, I remain somewhat selective, generally knowing what kind of music I'm getting and where I'm getting it from. As this blog's a hefty testament, I have a pretty firm handle on the whens and wheres of every CD I've gathered.

And now I'm holding within my grasp a CD that I've no idea where it came from. It's definitely dark ambient, but not from any of the dark ambient labels I generally buy from, and there's no general dark ambient shop I grab random albums from. Did this come included in that Databloem 'mystery box' I indulged in? That can't be right, this sound well outside the usual wheel-house that label/store operates within. The Ultimae shop, maybe? Like, this certainly looks like the sort of cover art I'd blind-buy from them, and they certainly branch out into genres that don't typically track with their primary output. Still, a dark ambient album from 2009?

Wherever I got Le Grand Mystère, here's what I (meaning Lord Discogs) know about it. The artist behind it is Sghor, who goes by Kryzsztof Mrozek in the black metal band Cold Empty Universe. He's released some half-dozen albums under this alias, first debuted with Depressive Black Ambient, with stray items released on his Bandcamp to this day. Le Grand Mystère in particular kicked off the short-lived label Snowy Tension Pole, which also featured releases from b°tong, about the only tie I can figure I have to this particular album. Lord Discogs does recommend Gustaf Hildebrand's Starscape and raison d'être's Enthralled By The Wind Of Lonelieness with it though, so that's something. I'll take whatever I can in figuring out how Le Grand Mystère popped up in my stacks o' CDs.

Anyhow, the album. There's ten tracks, all numerically titled KKK. They range from four to over ten minutes in length, and generally sound the same throughout. Sghor essentially uses discordant layered drones that ebb and flow like waves, building to a loud peak, then fading out before another emerges, each track consistent in maintaining this structure. Mostly I hear orchestral strings and operatic voices within the timbre, with the latter more prominent in tracks like KKK8 and KKK9. Or was that KKK6 and KKK2? Pretty sure there's a layered bell tone in KKK3. Honestly though, this is another album that just feels like one long track with relatively static scenery. This descent into Hell is still creepy, but who knew the Devil wasn't much for spicing up his domain's decor.

Saturday, May 4, 2019

DJ 3000 - "Diligence" Mix

Motech: 2009

This is the bonus disc included with DJ 3000's Galactic Caravan album, which I reviewed nine years ago, and also did an Update Review six years ago. Why, then, did I not mention it in either of those write-ups? Complete and utter mental burn-out in the case of the former, that album the last I wrote for TranceCritic before essentially hanging it for good (I got better). As for the latter case, I didn't have an actual hard copy of Galactic Caravan at the time, so never knew of the bonus CD's existence. Check that: Lord Discogs did tell me there was one, but the not-so-proper MP3 copy I'd gotten for review way back when didn't include it, thus I was in no position to discuss something not in my possession. Which, erm, could have been said for a lot of those MP3 rips I acquired for review in the TranceCritic days, but like Hell I could have afforded them all. Had to cut costs somehow.

However, upon indulging myself on a Motech Bandcamp bulk deal, DJ 3000's Galactic Caravan was included in the package. Hey, cool, I can finally have a real copy of the album for my CD shelves (as, um, I should have way back when). Do I really need to do another review/update of it though? No, no I don't, but there's that bonus CD I could wax a few hundred words over. Look at all those additional artists I can talk up: Underground Resistance, Nomadico, Subotika, DJ P-Ben, DJ Compufunk, DJ Dex, DJ Bone. Huh, weird. Usually whenever I see that many “DJ”s in a tracklist, it from a bargain bin knock-off compilation, with names changed from original artists, or one dude running under a zillion aliases. Total coincidence here, I'm sure.

Anyhow, opening track Orbit from DJ Compufunk is definitely some vintage Detroit future-funk. The mix into Los Hermanos' Dazed And Deceived wasn't the smoothest though, its thumping tribal rhythms clashing out of key with Orbit. And oh dear, why is DJ 3000 riding this mix so long? And by the time Dazed And Deceived has settled into its own groove, we're into another rough transition in P-Ben's Believer. Some dope Detroit tech-house tuneage from there, but dear Lord, are these mixes ever rough. What is this, some freebie mix that's only meant as a promotional item and not intended for critical analysis? Oh, it is. Guess that means I'm going about this totally wrong, aren't I?

Yeah, I ain't 'reviewing' this as a DJ set anymore. I mean, it'd have been dope if this was a real-proper commercial set or something, but it's quite clear that's not the point, Diligence little more than a fun bonus, like mixtapes of old, handed out at underground shows. I honestly found it a better listen the less I paid attention to it, generally humming in the background while doing other stuff, critical switch flipped off. Stupid Ableton era's ruined the 'rough mixtape' mystique, hasn't it?

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

The Prodigy - Invaders Must Die

Take Me To The Hospital: 2009

(a Patreon Request from Philoi)

This honestly felt like a 'do or die' outing for The Prodigy. They had their stumble, but after so much earlier success, plus the long gap from Fat Of The Land to Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned (what single between?), it seemed appropriate such a thing would happen to Liam Howlett's troupe. That all gotten out of the system, reflection on past mistakes done and dusted, and a re-assessment of what properly made The Prodigy of old fire so brilliantly while putting together the Their Law retrospective, everyone knew there were no more excuses to be had. Let's hear what Liam's got cooking for a new era of post-Pendulum rock-n-rave antics, and whether they still fit in a scene long since removed from whatever the '90s offered.

And the answer was... inconclusive. I recall Invaders Must Die had just as many fans as it had detractors, equal amounts of folk claiming this was the return to form everyone had been waiting for as there were those bemoaning The Prodigy were now trend-chasers rather than innovators. I admit I was more in the latter camp at the time of its release, hence my general disinterest in anything they released after, but that was a decade ago. We've had plenty of time now to digest its lasting impact, where it fits in The Prodigy's greater canon, and whether any of its obvious trend-chasing was really so bad given its surrounding context. Time has been kinder to Invaders Must Die than I was expecting, is what I'm getting at, but it doesn't negate the problems the album had when it first dropped.

Right from the jump, you sense something's still not quite right in Prodigy-Land, a stiff, jerky titular cut that sounds far too reliant on Pendulum's brand of screachy d'n'b to have ever come from the mind of someone that created brilliant openers like Break & Enter and Smack My Bitch Up. Follow-up Omen doesn't fare much better, and if old-school fans had deleted/thrown Invaders Must Die out after that, I wouldn't have blamed them.

Sneakily though, Liam starts luring you into this (then) contemporary sound of bosh by throwing in winking nods to his raving roots: rasta vocals in Thunder, vintage synth stabs in Take Me To The Hospital. It's so subtly effective a nostalgia trigger that when the full-blown throwback track Warrior's Dance hits, you're right back in that zealous vibe from the days of yore'. Small wonder this was hailed as The Prodigy track everyone had been waiting a decade for, though how it fared with the Pendulum kids, I haven't a clue.

What I do know is Invaders Must Die doesn't sound too bad for its final stretch, somehow looser and more confident in what it's trying to be. Maybe it's residual buzz from Warrior's Dance, or maybe Liam finally figured out where Prodigy fit in that new rave world. It likely wasn't enough to convince Jilted purists, but worked enough for the group to carry on a decade longer.

Things I've Talked About

...txt 10 Records 16 Bit Lolita's 1963 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2 Play Records 2 Unlimited 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 20xx Update 2562 3 Loop Music 302 Acid 36 3FORCE 3six Recordings 4AD 6 x 6 Records 75 Ark 7L & Esoteric 808 State A Perfect Circle A Positive Life A-Wave a.r.t.less A&M Records A&R Records Abandoned Communities Abasi Above and Beyond abstract AC/DC Ace Trace Ace Tracks Playlists Ace Ventura acid acid house acid jazz acid techno acoustic Acroplane Recordings Adam Beyer Adam Ellis Adam Freeland Adham Shaikh ADNY Adrian Younge adult contemporary Advanced UFO Phantom Aegri Somnia AEI Music Aes Dana Afgin Afrika Bambaataa Afro-house Afterhours Agoria Aidan Casserly Aira Mitsuki Airwaves Ajana Records Ajna AK1200 Akshan album Aldrin Alex Smoke Alex Theory Alice In Chains Alien Community Alien Project Alio Die All Saints Alpha Wave Movement Alphabet Zoo Alphaxone Altar Records Alter Ego alternative rock Alucidnation Ambelion Ambidextrous ambient ambient dub ambient techno Ambient World Ambientium Ametsub Amon Amarth Amon Tobin Amplexus Anabolic Frolic Anatolya Andrea Parker Andrew Heath Androcell Anduin Andy C anecdotes Aniplex Anjunabeats Annibale Records Anodize Another Fine Day Antendex anthem house Anthony Paul Kerby Anthony Rother Anti-Social Network Anzio Green Aoide Aphasia Records Aphex Twin Apócrýphos Apollo Apollo 440 Apple Records April Records Aqua Aquarellist Aquascape Aquasky Aquila Arcade Architects Of Existence Archives Arcturus arena rock Arista Armada Armin van Buuren Arpatle Artifact303 Arts & Crafts ASC Ashtech Asia Asian Dub Foundation Astral Engineering Astral Projection Astral Waves Astralwerks AstroPilot AstroPilot Music Asura Asylum Records ATB ATCO Records Atlantic Atlantis atmospheric jungle Atom Heart Atomic Hooligan Atomine Elektrine Atrium Carceri Attic Attoya Audiobulb Records Audion AuroraX Autechre Autistici Autumn Of Communion Auxilary Auxiliary Avantgarde Avatar Records Aveparthe Avicii Axiom Axs Axtone Records Aythar B.G. 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