Unintended Vacation

Hey there, it's been a little longer than usual. I'd sort of expected it to be in all honesty, some of you might know I'm in education and as a result September and on is a bit of a bad time™ Anyway, I have a little moment to catch up now, so let's not waste any time getting stuck in. I'm currently eyeing things to pick up in the next Bandcamp Friday, and while I'm not short of things to get, I haven't had a chance to listen to too much due to the pre-mentioned busy times, but let's see what I have in the pipeline.

Alekos Kontopoulos - Vacation-home (1955)


Still, there's some one-offs I plan to get my hands on - I've been spending a lot of time in the breakcore memes community these days, which is un-ironically a great way to discover new tracks from indie producers. There's a bit of a coherent aesthetic behind a lot of the indie breakcore it seems: lotsa glitch, anime and general internet culture abound. As a person into all of those things it's been kind of nice to get into - enter Deathbrain's Remember Tomorrow, an encapsulation of all the above. I don't think I'd ever describe a breakcore track as 'euphoric' before, but there's not really a better descriptor for this one. Beautiful stuff.



That trend continues with Love In The 70's from Telkin, the cover art being that same kind of mangled that is fairly common in the scene (though notably not on the Deathbrain tune above!). It differs in execution slightly, not quite breakcore in the super hardcore sense - to my ears it takes a little more inspiration from the more melodic bits of Moving Shadow's backcatalogue, certainly sounds more in line with early 00's liquid funk like the early Hospital Records releases. I still need to give the whole album a spin, but if it's all like this I certainly won't be complaining.



It's been a while since I checked in with HEALTH - their latest single carries on that electronic turn they've been on ever since Death Magic. And HATEFUL might be one of their most electronic-oriented works ever - waves of industrial influence leave it coming out more like an EBM tune, or a particularly aggressive electro house track than their noise rock roots. If you're a newcomer to HEALTH this is a good demonstrator, and if you like what you hear I can heartily recommend Death Magic to get more of that fix. Love the vocals as always, and that break in the last quarter come 2:45 or so is perfectly timed to let both you and the track breathe before slamming back down. This one will definitley be in my basket come Friday.



And that'll be all for today, I'd like to try and keep things a little more regular but like I said, it is unfortunately a busy time for me, both in work and generally IRL. I'm going to try my best to not have it become a Hardcore History situation where I only post once every 6 months or something though! I can always drop some quick-fire ones like this in every now and then. Appreciate those of you who are still checking in and sorry for the delay! Until next time, as always - stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

A Short post about Shorts

Making my way through a big ol' pile of emails that have accrued over time, whittling through the many Bandcamp ones at the minute - part of the reason they pile up is that I never like to bin a 'new release from x' one without at least checking it out first.

I did a double take when I read the description for this one - a new release from Squarepusher x Adam Buxton? An oddity to be sure. A little context for those unaware, Adam Buxton is a comedian, best known for his array of musical earworms - every so often I catch the infectious Moby Song creeping into my skull. Suffice to say, not the first choice that comes to mind when thinking about a collaboration with Squarepusher (though saying that, the Moby Song does have the amen break in it, so maybe not a million miles removed!)

So what's on the menu when Buxton meets 'Pusher's brand of breaks? Well, we're treated to a mashed rework of My Red Hot Car for starters, which is one of my favourites from SP anyway. Here, it's been reformed into a short form sub 50-second number, in keeping with Adam's 'Jingle' format. Buxton's lyrical accompaniment is typically silly - making the whole thing closer to something 'Pusher's brother would make; some of the Ceephax tracks are definitely a bit of a piss-take. Truth be told it works pretty well, the rework of Red Hot Car is brilliant and Buxton's accompaniment retains that earworm-y nature of his other jingles, it's only been a couple of days and I can already tell that the shoutout of "Middle aged man legs!" is going to join the Moby Song in repeating on me randomly in the years to come.



It's not just an audio shitpost though, the reason behind this collab is laid clear on the tune's bandcamp page: "HotBox in Chelmsford, Essex is a welcoming venue for live entertainments and revelry which stands out a nautical mile. It's an essential lifeline for local culture, but like many smaller venues in the UK saddled with post-lockdown debt, it is finding it more and more difficult to stay in business. So please offer a donation and in return we offer this short piece as a token of appreciation. Let's help HotBox remain the local community's top spot!" It's not embeddable so you'll have to visit the page to get the legit player, but at £0.50, it's well worth adding to your own collection.

I've still got other stuff in the pipeline, it's looking like it might be a series of bandcamp-less players unfortunately, but in one case there might be another stream I can use, we'll see when the time comes. In the meantime, I hope you've liked this short look at Shorts - and until next time, as always, stay safe and enjoy the muisc.

-CVF

Bandcamp Friday - April

It's that time again, and I'm actually on time this time! Bringing me down to only 1 month outstanding (which I'll get to in due time). Felt a little lighter this Friday, I had a couple of things lined up I knew I was going to get, but there were a couple of curveballs along the way and it fast became a little too much. So I settled for some smaller selections instead - wasn't a waste though as those other choices will no doubt come up again. Let's get stuck in.

Leading off we have Goldie's rebuild of his classic Inner City Life, part of the trio that forms the title track on his debut album Timeless. It's not too altered from the original but frankly it didn't need changing at all, and its thematically appropriate as well as this re-release is dedicated to Diane Charlemagne, the iconic voice behind the track. Inner City Life was always my favourite piece of the Timeless parts, so I will admit some slight bias there, but this version is very nice regardless. The Burial remix on the B-side is fine as well, it's not his finest work for me and predictably contains very little of the original. Not to rag on it too much though, there are some lovely moments in there, especially in the last quarter or so. It's fairly inexpensive as well, clocking in at £1 a track, I've found most of Metalheadz's library is very reasonably priced.



Keeping it Goldie for the time being, I picked up a copy of Sine Tempus again. I had a hooky one some years back but I'd lost a lot of the tracks over time, and it was a naff VBR rip if I remember right. It's been a long time since I talked about Sine Tempus actually, it has a bit of a tale behind it. In the early 00's Goldie announced he was working on a film - a coming of age story about an artist - which is no doubt semi-autobiographical if you know the man's history. The film has yet to materialise, but in 08/09 Goldie would release an album of the same name, billed as the soundtrack to the film. It certainly is very cinematic in parts, sometimes to its detriment, but there are also plenty of highlights - the opening track Letting Go has stuck with me through all this time, you can definitely hear that cinematic influence on the extended intro that sets up this foreboding atmosphere. It's soon pierced by Jenna G's signature vocals, coming to a peak around the 2:15 mark when the D*B kicks off in full force.



Moving into more IDM territory next, I've become a fast fan of Reporter, as mentioned a couple times in the past BC Posts. The brand of almost-IDM on show here is very much up my alley, as you no doubt know if you've been reading this blog for any amount of time. Opening track How Much More To Take fits that bill in a nutshell, this lovely combination of high-tech vibes and this fragile melody will always get top marks from me. That deceptively deep bassline is a lovely bonus to boot. There's not a ton of Reporter releases out there, but I have very much enjoyed my time with all of them. In a nice turn of serendipity, I found this wordpress through my research, detailing the work he's done in the past which as it turns out is a ton of audio work on some of my favourite bits of media.



I did end up picking up some non-electronic stuff, and this next one I didn't actually get *from* bandcamp but the artist's own website, but I'd stil say it counts. Some years ago now I talked at length about the weird, wild, wired world of music made by fans of Serial Experiments Lain, through both unofficial and official channels they've been making related works for many years now. Well, they've not let up in the interim - the man behind some of the original series' OST, Chikada "J.J" Wasei, has been putting on real life live events and releasing new entries in the Cyberia series (named for the club in the show) since 2018 or so, his latest being in December last year. After the release of Layer 3, Wasei teamed up with fans across the world to release a companion album fittingly titled After Hours. Covering a whole host of genres from the expected Techno to Synthwave and full on ambient in parts. It's a great way for Wasei to repay the community and shine a light on some indie artists in the process. I have a full extended Cyberia post cooking up in the background, but for now have the bouncy Replicant Funk to tide you over.



And that'll be all for today, I've been busy behind the scenes republishing old posts and I hope to get another post out soon-ish. I hope you've found something to enjoy here today in this admittedly eclectic selection! I'll be back soon enough with more but until next time, as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Belated Bandcamps: March

Here I am, near enough a month later with my last `Bandcamp report - I normally like to do these as close as possible but I've let the last couple slip by me. I was planning to catch up with February's first, but that one looks like it'll be a little bit longer so I'm hanging fire for now. Still, I actually can't complain, the extra time has given me time to really think about what I'm going to say - let's get stuck in right after the art!

This month's selection saw me go all in on the Drum & Bass front, the artwork of which being this lovely mix of monochrome and colourful you see above. We have a fair bit to get into today so let's get down to it, starting with the top left. I've held off on getting my hands on the Hospital Records album they released to accompany their in-game radio station for Forza Horizon 4, mainly because the summer it came out I played it pretty much non-stop. Some of the tracks are still seared into my mind thanks to them being included on the loading screens, but there's plenty of them to go at. One thing I do appreciate is (at least at the time) these tracks were exclusive to the game and this release, though I would have liked it if they included the whole track list of the in-game station.

But onto the tracks themselves for now - the opening track does a fantastic job of setting the atmosphere and more to the point, encapsulating the sound I think of when think of Hospital Record's current era. Keeno's While The World Sleeps opens with some delicate tones, but it's not long before that gets twinned with some breakbeats and a subtle shelf wobbler of a bassline - very much Hospital's MO as I mentioned above. It's funny actually, tracks like this have much more depth to them when they aren't fighting with engine revs and tire squeals on the audio front, I certainly appreciate them more in this form.



Moving on to another choice cut - Metrik's Dawnbreaker is one of those burned-into-memory tracks from the loading screens for me, but I've spent enough time away from it now that I can listen to it again. Another textbook example of Hospital's current sound, it's downright euphoric in parts, and wastes no time in introducing those thunderous drums, a perfect compliment to the Summer season both IRL and in the game. I do quite like it, but it's definitely the kind of thing you have to have in moderation - it's a little like sugar in audio form, a little every now and then is fine but it's easy to have a little too much and get sick.



We're sticking with Hospital for now, but turning back the clock to the year 2000 - here Hospital still has that Drum & Bass slant, but as you can see on the artwork, this compilation has a touch of Jazzy Breaks (as was the style at the time) and a little bit of Soul in there as well. This type of compilation is great to get a big dollop of variety and new artists in your mix, I recognised a couple and you might as well. My first choice from the comp is distinctly not Drum & Bass, despite Marcus Intalex & ST Files being behind some of my favourite tunes of the genre. Taking Over Me is very much in that turn-of-the-millennium house style, the kind with that coffee shop groove to it, you know? Best sampled through headphones to get the most of that bassline!



My second choice is Music Makes Me Feel This Way, here we are very much back in the world of Drum & Bass. It's kind of funny looking back like this, listening to tracks like this you can really see (or hear, I suppose) the framework for that contemporary Hospital sound being laid down here. It's kind of hovering between the liquid funk that would come and the Jazzy breaks mentioned on the cover, in parts it reminds me a lot of the kind of sound on the E-Z Rollers' Weekend World. It's a little long at just shy of 8 minutes long, but it's kept fairly fresh throughout, and it ain't particularly dated despite it turning 23 this year!



Sticking around a similar time for the next one as we re-visit some vintage Makoto. One of those artists that always seemed to crop up in my recommended lists and would show up from time to time on various comps I'd pick up (case in point, he has a track on the Forza Hospital album I talked about up top!) I figured it was high time I checked him out in full, and seeing as I was on a bit of a D&B kick anyway, what better time than now? I picked a great time to do it as Makoto is currently in the process of re-issuing a bunch of tracks from the archives in this Yearbook series.

I'd already had a sneak peek at the remaster of Joy and posted it some time back now, the good news is the rest of the tracks here are very much in the same vein. Inside Your Love is originally from 2002's Musical Message EP - it wasn't a Hospital release but you can definitely hear the shared DNA between it and the track above. Lush and Jazzy breaks are the order of the day here and Makoto does a fantastic job with the style, the first 4 tracks of this compilation are all deliciously groovy.



And a little bit of Metalheadz to round us out, another label that has done an amazing job of making most of their backcatalogue available digitally. We're back with Commix this time around, their debut album Call To Mind is one of my favourites of the genre. Dusted as the artwork says, is a compilation of tracks the then-duo made between 2003 and 2008, so roundabout the same era as the album - I remember it coming out and thinking I should pick it up soon, and in true CVF fashion, I didn't actually until near enough 11 years later. We're straying a little from the Liquid Funk and Jazzy side displayed above, Commix's work is often a little more 'classic' drum & bass as it were (and even then, that depends on how 'classic' you go!). Opener Time Has Come A little darker in atmpsphere than the tracks posted so far, there's a heavier focus on the breaks. It's a great jumping in point if you're unfamillair with their work, all the tracks here are solid and there's plenty to get your teeth into.



And I think that'll about do it for this time around, it got a little longer than I originally planned despite me picking up less records this time around, chalk that up to the delay giving me more time to think! Next one might have to be a two parter at this rate. I've got a couple other ideas to write up in the meantime so I've got time to mull it over. Been a while since I took a deep dive into the world of D&B like this and even then we've only really dipped our toes into the world of the genre! Hope you've found something to enjoy here, I can recommend checking out the whole Out Patients compilation series to get a load of the variety on show there, annoyingly Out Patients 2 isn't available on their bandcamp but 3 is. Until next time, as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

One of them days...

Not long into the new year and we've already hit the first lull - you know, one of those days where it feels like nothing's going your way? Yeah, here we are baybeeeee. To be honest it's pretty mild all things considered but it still feels a bit naff. But enough miseryposting, lets 'ave some tunes instead.

Miwa Ogasawara - Bed (2008)

Going a bit all over the place this time around, kicking off with some actual vintage Nosisa. I hadn't kept up with them too much to my shame (what else is new though?), as it turns out with a quick glance over at Discogs they've been wildly active with 4 releases in 2022 alone. Rolling back to the far off year of 2007 AD with their fist ever release on their own label Division Recordings, the incredibly of-the-era titled Yellow Brick / Raar. Another one of those tracks to file under 'you've probably heard this somewhere without knowing what it was' - Yellow Brick would be right at home next to my electro bangers collection of the time, between those thunderous kicks, hoover synths and that deliciously 'electro' lead melody. A little long in the tooth at 7 mins, but sometimes the grind just hits right you know?

NOISIA · Yellow Brick

Moving on to something new-er, a little something I found from someone else's 3D showreel. I've always liked hearing other people's choices for that kind of thing, you really get an insight into not only their visuals but their music taste too, though I may be slightly biased as I was in the business of making music videos & live visuals way back when. No surprise a fair few of them are aping the early 00's aesthetic a la ThorHighHeels or similar, if you hadn't already clocked that from the image below and the overall aesthetic of the track title and artist name. Though the art on this one feels much more cliché than the others being a literal screenshot of one of the Project Zero/Fatal Frame games - I can't argue with the sound. This one has a lot of charm to it, I've said before I have a lot of love for the 'menu theme' style and this has it in spades. A short and sweet demo, and as a result another release I've put under the 'to check out' label.



Next on the docket is Machine Girl, who've always been in the periphery of my radar, but with a wishlist as long as mine some things are bound to get lost. The tale is quite similar though, a quick browse through their album art and you'll see all kinds of vaporwavey goodness (doubly so for Gemini, where each track has it's own unique artwork as you'll see below). The duo of soundtracks for Neon White last year was the kick I needed to really take that dive into the discogs, their tracks an excellent compliment to the speedy shooting of the game. Gemini is an excellent jumping in point for the curious, a decadent display of their craft - a hyped up blend of Breakcore and a Juke - with the occasional plunge into full on euphoria as heard around the 1:28 mark on C_MGIRL.



And just because that was a little short, an extra one to put on. A touch more obviously vaporwavy this time on the intro, but it's not long before we're in the land of gunshot kicks and sugary sweet synth. Truth be told I ain't got much footwork-y stuff in my collection - Adam was my main source of that being the Chicago connection and all. It's not for want of not liking it, and I can definitely see this album reminding me to explore that area a little more, certainly feels like a genre you could overdose on though - though that could very well be a feeling enhanced by MG's take on the genre!



And that'll be all for today, I've taken to writing a couple of posts in advance so I should be able to pepper some over the rest of this week/next week. I even managed to get one mostly written while I was waiting for a delayed train, we're on a whole 'nother level of efficiency in 2023! With that in mind, I'll be back soon enough with more but until then - as always - stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Last Minute Additions

Took some time to catch up on the old release radar, I normally miss a thing or two here and there, but there has been a real bevy of releases as of late. Naturally, in true CVF fashion, not all of these are going to be brand new but hopefully they are still at least new to you as they are me! Let's go.

Jacek Yerka - There is peace in the Block (1994)

The biggest one that caught my eye was an anniversary re-issue of Justice's debut with some bonus tracks - it activated that part of my brain that still loves all things electro house and I dove right in. The album itself is killer as ever, and the bonus tracks are a nice treat if a bit underwhelming - I wasn't expecting to have my socks blown off or anything, but even so, some of these bonuses are just 'OK'. Still, it's always interesting to hear demo versions of the tracks - some of them are wildly different. Out of all of them though, Donna is the one that took my heart. It instantly transported me back to the heyday of this sound, back when I was an absolute Ed Banger fiend. I'd be lying if I said I didn't still have a lot of love for this sound, part of me always thought that was tinged by nostalgia but after hearing this 'new' piece for the first time I'm starting to think that's not so true. Hop in this little time capsule with me!



Keeping in reissue town with a whole heap of remasters from Makoto. Makoto's been on my radar for a long time thanks to LTJ Bukem, I have a long and well-documented love of that era of D&B after all. But it's something I don't go looking for often, plus I do like to support the artists as and when I can, and a lot of Makoto's earlier work isn't readily available digitally. Enter the Yearbook Vol. 4 compilation to see to both of those - a whole heap of remastered versions and a previously unreleased track? Yes please. And you don't have to get far into the tracklist to see the appeal for me - Joy starts off a little heavy, but that sample is just so.. well... joyful you can't help but grin, and it doesn't let up for the full 7 minute runtime. Lovely stuff.



Something else to round out the selections, Ghostly were ever so kind as to email me a 20% off code for things on their bandcamp, so I thought I'd get around to picking up Ghostly Swim 3, the previous 2 I have already from when they were freebies. I do like picking up compilations like this, it's a great way to quickly get a lot of variety and potential new artists to follow in one swoop. I've not gone far in the tracklist for my choice today, but there's plenty of goodness on offer here, from the sinister seven minutes of Redux (GAD Mix) with it's Carpenter-esque stabs to onesix-four sounds like an offshoot of Aphex Twin's Analord series in all it's squelchy glory.

Bogdan Raczynski leads the compilation - another artist who was a mainstay of Aphex Twin's Rephlex records and, like DMX Krew, is now starting to make those Rephlex releases available on bandcamp. Ggowwksstane shares a lot of that AFX mentality actually if the purposefully mangled title wasn't a clue enough. There's a lot of playfulness here without going too hard into proper full on the breakcore side of IDM. Imagine an alternate universe Richard D. James Album and you're in the right ballpark.



And that'll about do it for today, I'm going to maybe put together a little something for NYE which I've missed in previous years, but failing that I'll try and get another regular post out before years end. At any rate, hope you've found something to pique your interest here and until next time, as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Feelin' Fragile

'Bout that time of year where everything catches up with me and it all just feels a bit 'eh' you know? Not helped by Friday's night out I imagine, but also this year in general. Still, things are winding down so I'm taking the time to sit and write a little bit more than usual. I've been keeping rolling lists of stuff I've been listening to and have plenty to go at, so let's dive right in.

Sam Gilliam - This Time (2008)

To match the title, I've chosen a selection of fitting songs to go at - not all ambient but all very much under that kind of fragile umbrella. Starting with some Arovane. Lilies is an album that I keep thinking I should do a full deep dive on, Arovane pretty much disappeared for about 10 years after it came out which makes for an interesting tale. At any rate, plenty of tracks from this album could have gone here - it's a gorgeously produced album, very accessible and never straying to hard into hardcore IDM territory. Tracks like Passage To Nagoya are what spring to mind for me, especially considering the content of this post, but this time I've gone with the hauntingly beautiful Tokyo Ghost Stories. The sparse piano soon gives way to something that sounds very Trip Hop in its execution, I've been playing this one a lot as of late.



It ain't all doom and gloom though, the intro for DMX Krew's December Darkness sort of fits this bill as well. Tucked away around the midpoint of the unassumingly titled Bass Drop EP, it quickly became one of my all time favourites from DMX's catalogue, and remains so to this day. Once again it's like DMX had my number completely, this kind of luscious deep house vibe is supremely up my alley. I'm a total sucker for the slow introduction of new elements too, just when I think I could be getting a little tired, something new drops into the mix to inject it with a fresh coat of paint. The EP is wholly instrumental (save for some vocal samples on the title track) so there's no tongue in cheek lyrical content like you might expect from DMX if you've heard his other work. That said, this EP is still very much a love letter to his influences, there's a whole heap of electro and acid to get at on here.



And finally, I've fallen back in with Everything But The Girl, as I seem to do every winter. Tracey Thorn's delivery is impeccable and twins oh-so-well with the Drum & Bass direction they took toward the tail end of their releases. Walking Wounded is the obvious highlight, and an album I've talked about at length before, it's the album that marked that hard shift into the electronic side of things. Unfortunately it's a little difficult to post legitimately, EBTG are one of those artists where a lot of it is gated off behind Soundcloud premium otherwise I'd probably mention them more - I'm going to make do though. I've gone with Above The Law once again, a previously unreleased demo of what would become Before Today given the shared lyrical content. It's a little more raw feeling than the rest of the album as you might expect from a demo, but it sounds incredible regardless - the production and Tracey's vocal are absolutely perfect together.

Everything But The Girl · Above The Law (Demo)

And that'll be all for now, as I mentioned up top I'm going to try and write a little more in the coming weeks, I have plenty to go at as usual - I still have to do this month's Bandcamp findings after all! I might even try and get something a little more long-form down as well, I'm starting to feel the itch a little again. But I'm going off track once again so I'll wrap up here - as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Chipped! (Unofficial Club PlayStation Mix)

Well, here we are. It was only a matter of time really, after being inspired by Sean Seanson's own work on his own Club Playstation series and then him giving his blessing for fan-made ones I started to flip through my collection of soundtracks to put somethin' together. And here we are. As usual with the mixes I do, I ain't a professional by any stretch, but I am quite happy with how this turned out. Stay tuned for full commentary and the tracklist below!



Mixcloud has added quality tiers since I last used it which is a bit of a let-down, I'm looking to get it mirrored elsewhere in the meantime. It's a very careful line to walk when making a mix like this, in the end I think I hit a nice balance of tracks without going too heavy on the nostalgia factor. They are all still tracks I have a lot of love for, and in hindsight I have gone hard on the racing game angle (which may or may not have influenced the cover). I have bent the rules a little in some cases - two tracks here aren't from the games themselves: the remix of Missing Perspective from Parasite Eve is from the aptly named 'Parasite Eve Remixes' album, and the arrangement of Never Let Me Down from GT2 is from the 'GRAN TURISMO 2 EXTENDED SCORE ~GROOVE~' album, but even so they're not hugely out of place, bringing a fine dose of Deep House and even more Drum & Bass to the table respectively.

The Grooverider remix of EBTG's Blame has been rattling around in my head since then as well, one of the few licenced tracks from the GT2 score, you could look forward to it playing multiple times as the whole OST would loop on the longer endurance races. Back then the NTSC and EU versions of GT would have different licenced songs on the OST, so I've gone ahead and labelled the tracklist just to be extra thorough!

Looking back I may have gone too heavy on the NFS and R4 OSTs, but man oh man are they all so good, I've been in love with Rom Di Prisco's hi-tech stuff from the series since release, and as mentioned in the previous post the entire soundtrack to Ridge Racer Type 4 is still fresh as ever over 20 years later. Scattered between are even more favourites new and old - the entire soundtrack to the Ghost In The Shell game could have gone here in all honesty, a far cry from the moody philosophy of the 1995 film, the PS game OST is non-stop pulse pounding techno from some pretty big names from the time. Racing Lagoon makes a couple of appearances, an interesting Racing Game / RPG hybrid curio from Square that never released outside of Japan (but recently received a translation fan patch). It has an incredible sense of atmosphere and the Soundtrack is of course a huge part of that, if you look it up off the heels of this post you'll quickly see why I am a fan.

I am pretty happy with how it turned out, there are some transitions I think could have been handled better but the tracks themselves are all good as. As with every time I get the itch to make one of these mixes there are some tracks that don't make the cut - either because I couldn't find a place for them or the direction of things changed. That is the case here as well, but there are some other interesting tracks that I cut for other reasons, you can find a list of honourable mentions that didn't make it below! I hope you find something to enjoy here even if VGM isn't your thing, I think this selection does a great job of not sounding overly-'video gamey'. I'll be back soon enough with more but until next time, as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Tracklist
Smackdown 2 Intro (WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role, 2000)
Johnathan Colling - Colin McRae Rally 2 Theme (Colin McRae Rally 2.0, 2000)
Rom Di Prisco - Paradigm Shifter (Need For Speed High Stakes (US) / Road Challenge (EU), 1999)
Everything But The Girl - Blame (Grooverider Jeep Dub) (Gran Turismo 2 (EU), 2000)
Yoko Shimomura - Missing Perspective (Dan K's Late Night Session) (Parasite Eve, 1998)
Rom Di Prisco - Cygnus Rift (Need For Speed High Stakes (US) / Road Challenge (EU), 1999)
Rom Di Prisco - Menu (Need For Speed II, 1997)
Keiichiro Segawa - Circulation (Armored Core, 1998)
Hardfloor - Spook And Spell (Fast Version) (Ghost In The Shell, 1998)
Noriko Matsueda / Takahito Eguchi - Loop Demo (Racing Lagoon, 1999)
Hiroshi Okubo / Asuka Sakai - Quiet Curves (R4: Ridge Racer Type 4, 1999)
Masahiro Andoh - Never Let Me Down (Arrange by Tohru Arakawa) (Gran Turismo 2, 1999)
Noriko Matsueda - Save & Load (Racing Lagoon, 1999)
Soichi Terada - Time Station (Ape Escape, 1999)
Tetsukazu Nakanishi - Lucid Rhythms (R4: Ridge Racer Type 4, 1999)
Asuka Sakai - Epilogue (R4: Ridge Racer Type 4, 1999)


Honorable mentions that didn't make it:
Smackdown 2 Menu Theme
Bjorn Lynne - Wormsong '98 (Worms Armageddon, 1999)
Mark 'TDK' Knight - Gabbag (Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown, 1997)
Simon Boswell / Chris Whitten - Zip (Burn Cycle, 1994 - was supposed to be ported to PS1 in 1996 but never happened)
Omni Trio - Secret Life (Rollcage Stage II, 2000)
Rom Di Prisco - Demo 1 (Need For Speed III: Hot Pursuit, 1998)
Rom Di Prisco - Esprit (Need For Speed II, 1997)
Saki Kaskas - Callista (Need For Speed High Stakes, 1999) - this track is also in Mass Effect 2!
Chuck Doud - Syphon Filter Theme (Syphon Filter Series, 1999-2001)
Akira Yamaoka - Eternal Rest (Silent Hill, 1999)

Load Game? (Club PlayStation Vol.6)

Hey all, I'm very aware it's been a while. Work has been kicking my arse as of late in addition to general life things. I do have some posts cooking but it'll be a couple of days yet. So I thought I could do with something nice and quick to post to just buy me a bit of time, and wouldn't you know it, recent friend of us and fellow lover of the PS1 Sean Seanson dropped another entry in his themed series of mixtapes. Volume 6 is a bumper edition of all Namco soundtracks, which gives him an absolute goldmine of material to work with - from Ace Combat to Ridge Racer, from Tekken to Klonoa - there are no shortage of tracks to choose from.



Namco's sound team around that time was absolutely on fire, not just in terms of the sheer amount of work they were putting out but how stellar a lot of it is. Ridge Racer Type 4's soundtrack alone is a masterclass in House and Drum & Bass - Pearl Blue Soul in this mix is a perfect demo of the overall funky vibes that it has in spades. Stay tuned immediately after that for the Tekken block - the mix of Chicago's theme into Nina's Theme from Tekken 2 is excellently done, and Nina's theme itself is a primo slice of sassy 90's house.

Some other random highlights that stood out to me: Times Square from Smash Court 2 is a delicious jazzy Drum & Bass number that wouldn't have been too out of place on some Moving Shadow compilation of the time, fans of my previous Ape Escape posts might also hear a tinge of similarity with Soichi Terada's work as well. Beats From Above from the Klonoa OST is fittingly fit to burst with breakbeats, not the first thing you'd expect from a cute 2.5D platformer, though it is a boss theme if I recall right! Meanwhile Be Warped Time sounds much older, though that's perhaps to be expected as the original arcade version was from 1993 - still, those bombastic, almost 80's drums and euphoric synth riffs give it an air of modern Synthwave.

There's plenty to enjoy here, I highly recommend the full series of mixes even if you're not super into VGM as Sean and I, there are plenty of hidden gems to be had out there. And once again I'm considering making my own bootleg entry to this series, especially as Sean actively encouraged it over on Twitter! I'm going to try and get another post out this week but until then, as always, stay safe and and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Retro wRitings

Postponing that planned spacey sequel for a bit, as with many things I've just been a touch scattered and working on other things - the best laid plans of mice & men and all that. I figured I at least owed something to tide y'all over in the meantime, and what started as a quick one/two track post became a little longer. So let's dive in shall we?

Frank Stella - Eccentric Polygons - Effingham (1974)

I've almost become a mirror of my younger self lately, dipping back into the world of emulation and nostalgia fuelled by the content creators I've mentioned in previous posts. Helped along as well by the Retro Achievements website I've been playing old favourites, weird imports and things I missed. That comes in handy from time to time though - case in point here as Kohta Takahashi has released an album on Bandcamp that is a look back at the Ridge Racer Type 4 soundtrack through a modern lens. As with Rom Di Prisco's similar look back at their old work there's a definite charm to it, and fans of the original OST will very much find things to love here. It's not a simple re-tread though, as Takahashi notes on the Bandcamp page this is more about capturing the vibe of Type 4: the whole genre gamut is on show here from the expected House to Dubstep and then back again. Surprising no one given my recent posts, my favourite of the bunch is this could-have-been menu theme.



It ain't all low-poly stuff though, I've also been revisiting Midnight Club 3, which dedicates a large chunk of its soundtrack to Electro, Detroit Techno and Drum & Bass (the latter not really surprising as Moving Shadow and Rockstar have been close since GTA2 back in '99, and they appear again in MC3). The Midnight Club series has serious pedigree when it comes to soundtracks: the theme to the first one was classic Techno/House anthem Strings Of Life. The second game dug deep for its intercontinental USA, French and Japanese settings, treating us to an absolutely choice selection of House and Trance - including some of Thomas Bangalter's solo work!

All of that to say I've been flicking back through my archives and checking out more techno and Drum & Bass. These are usually one of albums or EPs that I note down and then get lost with time, but make for a nice surprise when you find them again, like digging out an old jacket and finding some cash in the pockets. Enter The Silicon Dawn from Dan Curtin. I can't remember how I came across this record in the first place but it doesn't take long to see why it was on my list, from the title and cover art alone I could tell it'd be the kind of record for me. Lovely melodic techno with that sci-fi edge, if your taste is at all similar to mine then a dive into Curtin's work will do you no wrong. Once again surprising no one, I've gone for the track that sounds the most like it could be from Warp's {Artificial Intelligence} Series - It Tastes Like. Absolutely gorgeous stuff.



Now onto the second half of that upper paragraph, as we visit the D&B side of things. you'll be surprised some of the things you can find on Bandcamp! It's gotten to the point now where no matter how obscure the thing I'm looking at is, I'll give a cursory search just in case it's found its way there. Inperspective Records is one such example of that, having most of their backcatalogue available on there. I've noted down some bits and pieces from them over the years, and it's always a nice surprise when I look them up to remember why. In keeping with the theme here, Stature feels again very much like a credits or menu theme! Admittedly not quite as Drum & Bass as the other parts of the EP but you can still hear flecks of it now and then. Check out the A-side Windchime for some more intense breakbeat action, contrasted with some smooth hi tech vibes.



And that'll be all for this fairly quick writeup, we wandered around a bit but I think I kept it mostly on topic (though behind the scenes I have since fallen down several more rabbit holes that may or may not result in posts). That sequel post I mentioned last time is still in the pipeline so keep an eye out for that but until then - as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Apes: Escaped (A VGM DJ Set Special)

I've talked before about Ape Escape, and more importantly its composer - Soichi Terada. Likewise, I've also mentioned Dedeco as well - thanks to my recent descent back into the world of the PS1. I don't mean to sound reductive, Terada has a long production history beyond just Ape Escape, with his own label Far East Recordings and plenty of House records under his belt (and his most recent release being this year). But that is how I and many others were first introduced to the man's works. His brand of D&B is lovely, different from what might come to mind when you think of the era's soundtracks but at the same time fitting right in. I seriously recommend the OSTs even if you're not into games at all as they stand alone very well, case in point here when Dedeco opens the mix with a snippet of the opening theme before diving right into Cryptic Relics, one of my all time favourites from the first OST. This mix is incredibly well thought out, Dedeco is obviously very familliar with the content and does a fantastic job of making them flow together - this ain't just some nostalgia bait.



That's not all either, as pointed out in the video before the mix starts, there's a commentary track of an interview with Terada himself (it's not by Dedeco however as he mentions in the YT description, I believe they are quoted from this interview with Nick Dwyer). It's kind of an odd way to present it I thought, but after a couple mins I settled right in, after all you can't have audio playing over audio in this format. If it wasn't obvious already, he really went above and beyond with this mix. I'm glad that Terada is open to talking about stuff like this for what is relatively a small-time act, especially as he mentions in the interview he's trying to take a more relaxed approach these days. Dedeco obviously impressed as well, with Terada tweeting out in both Japanese and English his praise for the mix not long after!

@dedeco_VGMDJ がサルゲッチュのサウンドトラックを使ったDJミックスを披露してくれました。曲同士のキーを意識したミックスが超絶で全体の流れも美しい〜 @dedeco_VGMDJ showed us a DJ mix using only the Ape Escape soundtrack. The mix while being aware of the keys between songs is amazing! https://t.co/To1yFxCIhd

— Soichi Terada / Asakusa Light on 1/7(Fri) (@fareastrecordin) July 6, 2022

If you like what you hear above, the two Ape Escape OSTs that Terada worked on are readily available on streaming (I'll be linking to Spotify here but they are on others) - they are the punnily titled Ape Escape Originape Soundtracks and Ape Escape 3 - Originape Soundtracks. Of course I definitely recommend his solo work from there, a lot of it is not on streaming sites but if you're after more of the Ape Escape feel then seek out Sumo Jungle for more delicious D&B. There is also Terada's Omodaka alias, where he fuses the traditional and the technological in very interesting ways, check that out if you're in the mood for some chiptune Enka!

That'll be all for today, I'll be back soon enough with more but until then, as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Retro Reviews: µ-Ziq - Lunatic Harness

It's been a while since I sat down and did one of these long form Retro Reviews, and there's been one album staring me i nthe face all this time that I can't really figure out why I didn't do one of it already, though I think I might have done a quick overview of it way back when. Regardless, we're here now - taking a look at µ-Ziq's 4th LP, Lunatic Harness, which is especially topical because like Daft Punk's Homework it is also getting an expanded reissue this year.

I have always loved the cover art, it's very iconic and very well composed. I will admit that I have a weakness for Helvetica in all its forms, but the way it pops on that orange background is just lovely. It's a bit odd for this series for me to dive into the middle of things, normally we start with debuts or maybe even second albums, but fourth ones is a bit of an oddity. Widely considered some of Mike Paradinas' best work, this album is a great jumping in point if you're new, and home to some of my favourite 'IDM' jams for this era.

Yet Lunatic Harness is a record I have a complicated relationship with, for what seems like a very silly reason now I'm preparing to type it out. As many of you know, I typically shuffle my entire collection when listening day-to-day - For many years, the music player I was using didn't have the capability to remember where I left off, so would re-shuffle every time I started it up. This isn't a bad thing in and of itself, where the problem comes in is how it would shuffle - it would always start alphabetically by artist, which means I have heard the opening bars of Brace Yourself Jason and others perhaps thousands of times. But if I power through the sections I've been overexposed to, the LP is just as good as ever.



Tastefully skirting the balance between your more intense IDM, the main memory that comes to mind for me when I think of Lunatic Harness is the strong melodic streak that it has - this does wonders to make the album more accessible but is also just a really great addition to the soundscape. The first 5 tracks all do a wonderful job of showing this off, as you might have heard on Brace Yourself Jason, but my favourite has always and will always be Hasty Boom Alert, which effortlessly dances between the madcap beats emblematic of this time in the history of IDM and these lovely, airy synths that make the whole thing feel a lot lighter. The little section after the break at 2:03 where they get to take the lead is just divine.



I try not to draw comparisons between Aphex Twin and µ-Ziq too often, but its inevitable that it will come up at some point, the two's sounds are of course quite similar and they have also collaborated in the past as well. It comes up now because I think that Mushroom Compost carries with it that same kind of playful messing around that appeared on Aphex's Richard D. James Album, more in the vein of Fingerbib than the slide whistles of Logan Rock Witch. That said, I wouldn't want to write this one off as 'just' one of those tunes though, the same melodic streak I mentioned just above in once again on full display and makes it an absolute joy to listen to.



Moving on to the title track - Lunatic Harness kicks off with a marked difference in sound, in which Mike Paradinas cuts & pastes and otherwise tweaks a sample from Fat Boys' Human Beat Box from 1984 for a full minute, my favourite part being the glitched out section around 53 seconds in. After that though, it's a return to the same light synth sound as before, though the sample crops up a couple more times throughout. It's an interesting spin for sure, but one that I could understand might turn some off. I know there's been plenty of times where I've hit skip because I didn't really feel the intro, which is a shame becuase at it's heart it's another good addition to the tracklist.



Speaking of changes in sound, there's an even more drastic one coming up next - all the light and melodic synths of before go out of the window with Approaching Menace. Befitting of its name, the intro alone gives away that this is going to a different beast that what came before. It comes a little out of left-field and there's not really anything else like it in terms of sound on the album - but this little bit of intensity nestled about halfway through the tracklist is certainly a highlight. Incredibly rough 'round the edges and with two feet firmly planted in the experimental breakbeat side of the IDM world - I could understand this being a bit of a sticking point for some folk who've fallen in love with the atmosphere of the other tracks, personally I still like it quite a bit because I think it absolutely nails the atmosphere set up by the title.



Rounding out with a couple more melodic entries with the Secret Stair parts. Part 1 shows off that melodic side to this album once again, that synth sound that was so prominent on tracks like Hasty Boom Alert is here again and I absolutely adore it. Around the 1:25 mark we again return to familiar territory with some breakbeat accompaniment, I think the way it fades into the mix can feel a little odd coming back to it - it sort of overpowers the melodics before they come back together in a kind of harmony. I've listened to it for so long that I'm just used to it by now though. Part 2 is similar, albeit a little more sedate. There's no breakbeat on the sequel (or at least, not the extent of part one), instead opting for more of that sort of Aphex-esque styling of the Richard D James Album era as mentioned before.





Unfortunately the wheels fall off a bit in the latter half of the album for me, I've always felt this way about it actually. I could never get on with a couple of the final few: Wannabe is a bit cacophonous, coming out like a hybrid of the Aphex Twin tracks I posted above and that one abstract jazz record Squarepusher did called Music Is Rotted One Note - by the midpoint we get a (presumably Paradinas') whispered vocal stating Wanna be your lover baby, I don't wanna be your friend, a line more suited to something from DMX Krew and not this darkness that is Wannabe. I can tolerate it for about as long as it takes to get to the midpoint but it loses me not long after. London takes things in a slightly more abstract orchestral direction, one that µ-Ziq would continue on the follow up album Royal Astronomy - twinned with a fairly generic 'IDM' bassy accompaniment come the two minute mark. It's not bad as it were, but it certainly isn't Hasty Boom Alert.

The other two final tracks I have a bit more of a warm reception to, Catkin And Teasel once again bringing that playful feeling back into the mix, twinned with some suitably ludicrous beat work that you've probably become accustomed to at this point. It's a fun listen for sure, but one that's easy to overdo very quickly, having played through the LP a couple of times in the writing of this I have found myself growing tired of the rising-and-falling motif that introduces the track - granted there are plenty of other elements to distract from it. Midwinter Log closes the album in much the same fashion, it's a tour de force of all the elements of the album thus far, even carrying with it some signposts to the sound µ-Ziq would adopt on the follow up. They're fine tracks, but I still do think the album's opening quarter is the strongest.





Worth noting that this 25th anniversary edition includes some bonus tracks and the Brace Yourself and My Little Beautiful EPs as well. I haven't had a chance to spin the bonus tracks yet but I can heartily recommend the EPs if you like the content of the main LP - I love the stylistic synchronicity between them and the main album as seen above, it really makes the releases feel part of a larger body of work with different 'flavours' as it were. Some of my favourites from the additional EPs to round things out: Summer Living which could easily slot into that strong first quarter on the main album and would have been a nice bridge into Approaching Menace (Curiously it's titled Summer Living 2 on this re-release).



Abmoit takes things in a surprisingly ambient turn for µ-Ziq, I think this one would have made for a great album closer, it's very pretty sounding, even when juxtaposed against a rough 'n steady beat later on - very much embodying the quote on the Bandcamp page of "atmospheres of ethereal colour and shimmering melody", true for a lot of the album but especially so here. The same goes for the Reprise of Brace Yourself, which IMO should have been the album closer, and not just because it's a spin off of the original track, though it would have made a nice bookend in that respect. Something about the reprise just feels much more climactic than Midwinter Log which would make sense as its the final track of the EP and all - but even then it still just kind of 'ends' abruptly.





And that'll about do it for this time, it's been a long time since I've done one of these so apologies for the length! I'm happy to see plenty of artists taking the chance to do more with their anniversary editions, be it including demos and remixes or accompanying EPs as above rather than just a plain reissue/remaster. As I stated before, if you're new to µ-Ziq this is a great jumping in point, its still my favourite but I think a large part of that is because it was my first proper listen to his work as well. A fantastic and relatively accessible entry in the world of 'IDM', Lunatic Harness is definitely worth a listen - be you new to the genre or just looking for some new additions to your library.

I'll be back around soon enough but until next time, as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Club PlayStation - Psygnosis Special

Indulge me once more as we once again take a trip to Sean Seanson's channel. I've posted a couple of his 'Club Playstation' mixtapes in the past, I have a real affinity for them as in hindsight the PS1 was my first exposure to a good amount of electronic music, something I've come to appreciate more in hindsight. There's been some big hitters spread over Sean's previous entries - Ridge Racer Type 4's soulful mix of House, the pulse pounding techno of the Ghost In The Shell adaption and of course, Soichi Terada's Drum & Bass OST from primate platformer Ape Escape. But there's been one studio that arguably is the most iconic when it comes to soundtracks of this era, and that is Psygnosis.

Psygnosis had been around a long time already by the time the PS1 era rolled around, having worked on the Amiga and the like back in the 80's, their publisher logo adorning many a sleeve, the font making the whole thing look like the cover of a power metal album.

You may perhaps know them best for Wipeout, a franchise that seemed to be laser guided to target the 90's market. From the Asian-inspired graphic design from The Designer's Republic to the soundtrack featuring titans of the electronic music world of the time spread across 3 games, it was destined to become a classic. Combine with the Rollcage duology having a sizeable amount of Drum & Bass (the second game even having an official album released by Moving Shadow). Between the two series you have more than enough mix material already, and I haven't even mentioned some of the titles Sean covers here. So enough chat, let's dive in shall we?



The end result is probably my favourite intro of all of the Club Playstation mixes so far - the transition from the intro into CoLD SToRAGE's Cairodrome is deliciously 90's (and by the way, CS has remastered and uploaded all his contributions to the Wipeout OSTs to Bandcamp), from there it's a whirlwind tour of all things Psygnosis both licenced and original. Major highlights throughout, the Rollcage Stage II OST is the best of the best of Moving Shadow at the time - the Wipeout choices are select but it's hard not to have any choice be top notch when your soundtrack has The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, Underworld, Leftfield, Photek and even Daft Punk to name a few. Of course as with all of Sean's mixes so far there's a light shone on others you might not be as familiar with, I know I've found some tunes (and by proxy, some games!) to check out here, and I hope you will too.

That'll be a wrap for today, I should be back in a few days with the retro review I started penning a little while ago, assuming that the tracks are all able to be previewed when it actually releases but if not I'll find a workaround. Until then, as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Whiteout

Forgive me, for I am about to do another one of my classic extended talks about the latest example of sounds perfectly suiting the aesthetics of what its soundtracking - like I did with VA-11 Hall-A and Hotline Miami before it. Today we're talking Neon White, a speedrunny shooter dealio from the creator of Donut County - a bit of a thematic shift to say the least. I was charmed by the demo a few months back, while I haven't gotten around to playing the full thing yet, I've been keeping tabs on it and more specifically, the soundtrack.

It's by Machine Girl, who have cropped up on my recommends a few times but as is so often the case with me, I haven't really bothered to check them out in any detail really - a quick browse through their discogs page will give you a quick visual rundown: a dazzling mixture of retro anime, PC-98 screenshots and vibrant colours, like a Vaporwave record dropped in sugar. Take Lillith for example, the track used in the announce trailer (or at least a tweaked version of it) - the first 20 seconds of which are a bit of a fakeout that gives way to a burst of breakcore that doesn't let up for the remainder of its runtime. A crash course in the world of Machine Girl, and setting us up for the sounds to come.



It'd be easy to assume that they'd just collect a bunch of tracks like that and call it a day, not the case here though - instead we have 51(!) tracks split over two albums to compliment the experience. We open with Glass Ocean, very obviously from the same school of sound as Lillith but a little bit softer, a bit more dreamy perhaps - more Drum & Bass than Breakcore. I also feel like Machine Girl are leaning into their videogame influences here something heavy, to be expected as it is a soundtrack to a videogame after all: the arcade-esque vocal shoutout of "Aim for the heavens!" and the wild synth noodling at 1:50 doing wonders to cement that feel.



It's not long before the intensity is ramped back up tho, next track on the list Virtual Paradise rockets back into that territory, perhaps even straying into more conventional IDM in parts as well. It too is the perfect soundscape for the gameplay, ripping through stylised environments in a flurry of violence; "Feel the rush!" as another well placed vocal sample says during a breakdown in the latter quarter. I've talked before about how soundtracks are a great way to introduce people to genres they might otherwise have missed, I'd love to see how many people find out they like this kind of electronic by playing the game!



I'm purposefully drip feeding myself tracks in order not to overdo it before I even have the chance to sit down and play it myself (likewise, expect more from these OSTs to come up in the near future) - thought I'd shift gears for my last choice to one of the more sedate tracks that accompanies the conversation parts of the game. Even then it's not by much, Heaven Central Authority starts out nice enough, but its not long before it all gets a bit shelf rattling with a deep bassline and some Trap trimmings. I've seen people mention in the reviews that these albums are basically really extended Machine Girl albums so if any of these tracks pique your interest you will find plenty more where that came from, and a reminder to myself to eventually check their fill discogs out myself.



And that'll be all for now, hope you like some of these cuts as much as I do, and even if the game doesn't interest you I would still recommend the soundtrack as it stands alone - there's even one review over on Bandcamp saying pretty much that. This week is shaping up to be pretty chaotic so it might be a little while before I'm back with more - but until then, as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

(Not) The Final Friday - Part Two

It's been about a month since I did part one of the final Friday, so not only is it high time I actually get around to part two but also between then and now Bandcamp laid out their plans for the continuation of Bandcamp Fridays going forward. In short, it's not every month from now on, which is a fair compromise to make I'd say. With that out of the way, let's take a look at what I had leftover from last time.

Hasui Kawase - Kozu, Osaka (1924)

Let's start with somethin' new, DMX Krew dropped this album the day before if I recall right so I took a look at it. The cover was quite inviting, long time readers will know I love me some electroclash and this cover would have been right at home in that era of sleazy glamour - and I would be very interested in hearing Ed take on some of the themes explored in that sphere. You don't have to wait long for that to be true, opening title track Party Life is very much in that spirit - look no further than the chorus for a summary of the vibe: "This Party Life, it doesn't mean a thing to me - or you". I've mentioned in the past how DMX embraces the cheese of the retro electronic that forms his usual output, but something about Party Life feels very earnest - perhaps I've been too flippant in the past, Ed's vocal really suits this sound.



Turning back the clock for the next one with a bit from Kaito circa 2002. I really gelled with this record, coming hot off the heels of my fall back in with Swayzak I must have been in the mood for a little bit more of that tech house flavour, Special Life more than delivered with it's mixture of Deep / Tech House, with a little sprinkling of Trance on top for extra. Some tracks perhaps a little long in the tooth, but they're usually so catchy that I don't mind - the whole album feels very sleek and polished, a real embodiment of that hi-tech vibe making the rounds in the early 00's. Perfect for soundtracking, if you like the opening track, go ahead and dive right in and you will not be disappointed. Of note as well is the sister album to Special Life - Special Love, which is made up of ambient versions of the tracks from this album - all lovely listens and as the bandcamp page mentions, a great DJ tool.



Keeping things House for the time being, I also scooped the other entry in Macross 82-99's Sailorwave Trilogy. There really isn't a lot to say that I didn't already mention last time - just when I think I'm done with House for a while, a track like Sakura will come on and inevitably get me toe-tapping again. Wearing his heart on his sleeve here, Sakura isn't shy about it's Shibuya-kei and J-Pop influences, but it's not saccharine sweet like that combination might suggest. Tracks like this share a lot with the kind of House we were posting around the 2010s, the whole 'French Touch' revival with artists like Louis La Roche and company so be aware there is a bit of bias on my part when picking them out - I recommend checking out the whole thing for a little more variety, spread across the trilogy there are small moments of ambient, vaporwave and little lo-fi breaks to enjoy!



And finally, something a little more uptempo to round out. I went down a bit of a DnB rabbit hole recently after the last big VGM roundup I did. I went searching for something a little more in the vein of Soichi Terada's work, it's a big world out there and for all the D&B in my collection, it's basically a drop in the ocean. Enter The Self Evident Truth Of An Intuitive Mind, an album I heard nothing but good things about, held up as a classic of the genre but I had never heard of it until not too long ago. This remastered version on bandcamp is extended slightly from the original release and is also a complete steal at a minimum of $1. I've chosen Trapezium as my track of choice, it's a short sharp demo of the breakbeat butchery on display here, with the lovely opening showing off the more melodic side of the album as well. I was originally going to post opening track Circle, but it does take a little while to get going - it's a fantastic album opener don't get me wrong, but I wanted to get straight to the chase as it were. Definitely give it a spin if you're looking for a little more D&B, if you listen to it front to back as intended it all flows together all silky smooth like, which is why this one cuts off so abruptly.



And that'll be all for now, apologies for the delay between parts, as I mentioned before we hit a rough streak at my IRL work and a bunch of posts fell through the cracks, I'm well on my way to being caught up now though. I hope between part one and this post you've found some new tunes for your library, I've certainly enjoyed what turned out to be a revisit to them! I'll be back soon enough with more but until next time, as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Evo

Hey all, just dropping by with a quick something - I've been a little sidetracked IRL so haven't had as much time to write as I would have liked. This one is originally planned as a Retro Review (and it still might make the cut yet!) but it's also been sat on the back-burner for ages so figured I'd take a swing at it at the very least.

I mentioned not too long ago that Warp founder Steve Beckett once said that the one record they regretted not releasing was Mark Pritchard's first under the 'Reload' alias, one that he said would have been perfect for the Artificial Intelligence series that they had going on around the time. While they didn't get their hands on that, a few years later some tracks from it would appear on this compilation - The Theory Of Evolution. It's an interesting release for sure, it feels a little out of time in places due to the re-use of older Reload tracks. The opening salvo of tunes is a great selection though - with the thudding techno of Birth Of A Disco Dancer leading the charge.



The opening follows this sequence of a tiny interlude sandwiched between two tracks, so we're skipping over to the next 'proper' track as it were. Another Reload offering, but more acidic this time. Stepping away from the Artificial Intelligence sound a little now, Birth Of A Disco Dancer had a little bit of that atmosphere behind it, but here the 303s are out to play. Not super complex or anything, but as I've said before sometimes a li'l 303 is all you need. Don't worry too much if it's not your cup of tea, there's plenty of more familiar Warp style things to come.



Speaking of, we're hitting up one of my favourite ones next. At the risk of repeating myself, it's tracks like The Biosphere that really make clear what Steve Beckett was talking about - a track like this is very reminiscent of the kind of thing B12 was making, hi-tech sound with a sci-fi edge, and would have been right at home on volume II of the AI compilations. I am very obviously biased toward this sound, but for me this is where Reload really shines. My love for these kind of extended spacey cuts is well documented, and Biosphere is a welcome addition to that roster.



It's mot a flawless compilation though, there are times when the wheels fall off a bit. Take for example one of Herbert's contributions to the tracklist under his Wish Mountain alias, Royal Wedding, 2 minutes and 30 seconds of a distorted Prince Charles reading vows. It quickly wears out its welcome, becoming dull and monotonous before long. I feel like it doesn't really belong on this compilation, even as one of the 'interludes'.

All of which I mention to set up the extreme whiplash you experience if you listen to this compilation in order. You go from by far and away the poorest entry mentioned above, to Amazon Amenity - one of if not the highlight of the whole thing. It's a refreshing change of pace for the proceedings as we change up tempo and enter the world of Drum & Bass. It and IDM are close cousins at certain times anyway but there's no mistaking the out and out D&B style of this one. Very much fashioned after the Jazzy strain of the genre that would remain popular through the latter half of the 90's, Amazon Amenity is full of little flourishes and makes its 9 minute runtime just melt away. It's perhaps a little generic if you're well versed in the genre, I have a lot of love for this style regardless though.



It's a shame that Amazon Amenity is the black sheep of the compilation, it'd have been nice to have a couple more in this style, though the second Link track that follows this is also a prime slice. Opening with some gorgeous pads, it's not long before things take a techno turn again though. I find that Mark Pritchard typically uses different aliases for tackling different genres, but this track once again evokes that same B12-esque methodology, especially on little breaks like the one around 1 minute in.



And that'll be all for today - a quick whirlwind tour. In a nutshell, an interesting slice of Warp history - flawed in places but also home to some nice bits and bobs along the way. I'm thankful for Warp putting a major portion of their output on Bandcamp which allows me to shine a light on releases like this and frees them from being physically limited as well, I still need to go back and update the Warped History posts with the new players actually! The full thing is worth a look if you like what you hear, and certainly check out the early Reload stuff if the IDM style stuff is more your speed. Until next time, as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF