Birthdays Bonus

Joe Goode - Birthdays (2008)

First things first - apologies for taking such an extended break. Every Summer I give myself a list of things to sort out and then never end up actually doing it, but this year was different. Nothing exciting unfortunately, jut a lot of tedious file management that I'd been putting off for ages and catching up on some other things. The downside to that being I am now behind in other areas, this blog included - so it goes.

At any rate, I have a fair few things planned for this month to make up for it - starting with the annual tradition that is the anniversary post. By happy synchronicity both me and the site share a birthday, I like to mark the occasion with a slightly longer than usual post with some of my recent favourites, so let's get stuck right in.

Kicking off with Ceephax's Christmas gift to us in Baddow Moods. In the past I've characterised Ceephax's output as a bit tongue-in-cheek, which is true - you only have to look at the videos for his tracks to see he's having a right laugh embracing the cheese. Baddow Moods is pretty far from that, it's a gorgeous experience throughout, delving into more Deep House territory, sometimes even ambient at times but still with the eponymous Acid backing it up. Here's one of my favourites from the LP and the longest of the bunch in Ventlaris - to the surprise of no one reading it's this spacey number with flecks of acid as mentioned above and I could live in it's space forever. I may have to give the whole LP a write up one of these days.



There's going to be a theme for this month where I get to nerd out a little, and you're going to see a little bit of that here. Chikada Wasei, one of the men behind the tracks for the Cyberia scenes in Serial Experiements Lain has been making new additions to the series since 2018, with Layer 4 being the most recent one. Wasei is a talented producer, and importantly very flexible with the productions that make it onto these albums - while there are glimpses of the thudding Techno of the original OST, there's a variety in genres on show on the modern Cyberia-s. Really they deserve their own post (another one I'll have to get around to). For now, here's a choice bit from Layer 4



Case in point when it comes to variety, there's a companion album to Layer 03 titled After Hours which is predictably a lot more laid back than the main entries. A cool concept in general really, as Wasei turned to the community for contributions, the Lain community has a massive amount of fan-made music so it was nice to see it recognised. Not to say Wasei was totally hands off though, he too has a few contributions and collaborations throughout the track list, the introspective Last Present being a highlight.



A little bit of my last Bandcamp Friday pickups next, they were a little piecemeal this time around despite me having an extra month to prepare. Garoad dropped another single recently, they are infrequent but always a highlight (but also he seems to be busy with other soundtrack work so I can hardly complain!). Fight On Beat sees a return to form, if like me you just love the VA-11 HALL-A OST then you'll be right at home here. It wastes no time getting right down to it, opening with the exact sounds that put the VA-11 HALL-A tracks on my radar. Surprisingly not the only Fighting Game themed track I picked up on BC Friday either, but that's a tale for another day.



Some Rei Harakami next, and another from my recent BC Friday. I've been slowly drip feeding myself Harakami's works over the past few years in order to make the most of them - I adore Harakami's sound, so the longer I can hold onto having 'new' works to listen to the better. One of his tracks - Pone - is one of my favourites of all time, so it's only natural that I give a little shout out here too. Unrest is his debut, and as much as I like to say he perfects his formula on later albums, most of it is already here from the get go - that playful electric piano that underpins Harakami's sound is still there, it's just trimmed in Techno on this first LP. To the surprise of no one, the more downtempo bits are my favourites, starting with the short and sweet Wreck, an almost prototype of Pone mentioned above, simply gorgeous.



To make up for that one being a little short, one I've talked about before but is the first that comes to mind when thinking of this album - the lovely, dubby Bioscope. It sounds a little different from the usual E-Piano stuff I mentioned before, but the production sensibilities remain the same and shine through quite nicely. I will say if you've enjoyed either of these two, go right ahead and look up Harakami's discography and you won't be disappointed, as mentioned earlier [Lust] is my favourite of the bunch, but you can drop the needle pretty much anywhere and get some more goodness going on.



And finally, one last selection from one of my recent loves - Yagya's Faded Photographs is a wonderfully sedate experience, one that works best when listened to as one whole thing, though this makes it tricky to pick out individual pieces, especially as so many of the tracks flow together. The one-two punch of No Matter What and Melting In The Morning Sun have been my most repeated of the bunch. Here, the instrumentals almost take a backseat, which makes the vocal flourishes shine that much brighter. The album is quite accessible when compared to the Yagya output that I knew from the early 00's - the super stripped minimal where 6 minutes is the shortest runtime. The vocals are a welcome addition for me, they do wonders for the atmosphere and I think really complete that slight melancholy as shown on the album's cover. I've seen some say they aren't a fan, but also a fair few say the production is very similar to the albums before this (albeit minus the vocals) - if that's the case I'll have to pencil a few of them in to check out come Winter.



And that'll be about all for today, thanks for sticking with us for another year, and as I say every time - here's to many more. Stay tuned for more writings this month, some of it can't be on Bandcamp players so I'll have to try and arrange something else - apologies in advance. Shouldn't be too long mind you, until then - as always - stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

It's well 'ot

The cruel irony of working with computers is that they too generate heat - this vintage meme pretty much nails it (just replace the gaming part with 3D and video rendering). It's well documented I don't get on well in the heat anyway, but this post isn't going to be me sitting here and complaining at you (but it was important context for the songs on show!). Let's go ahead and get some suitably sweltering songs on the go.

Charles Sheeler - Golden Gate (1955)

Kicking off with a bit of Ceephax, Sidney's Sizzler always seems to crop up quickly whenever you search for anything related to the man, no doubt helped by the wild homemade video he made for it. This was the first track that came to mind when thinking up tracks for this post, beyond just the obvious name it does sound like Ceephax's equipment is on the border of melting throughout - especially with that stumbling breakdown at 2:10 making it sound as if the whole setup is breaking down. A touch more intense than the other Ceephax tracks I've posted in the past but nothing too wild. I've not had the chance to listen to his entire discography as of yet but in my experience there's a strong melodic element that keeps it from going into full on 303 arpeggio territory.



I've been back on a bit of a Soichi Terada thing ever since my last post, and the man has plenty of works that would fit this theme. I've gone with the timeless classic Sun Showered this time though, it's the instrumental mix of one of his breakout hits: Sunshower with Nami Shimada from 1989. I have nothing against Nami's vocal, both versions of the tune are stellar in their own right - but the instrumental really lets Terada's work shine through. I do think it feels a bit empty without the vocal in parts, but I've also mentioned it a ton of times in the past so I figured the instrumental gives a little bit of variety too. Check out the whole compilation this is from if you like the vibe, Sounds From The Far East is a fantastic 'best of' Terada's House works.



Keeping in a similar sort of vein to play us out, we have techno mogul Ian O'Brien. I initially knew him from a spate of remixes and of course Desert Scores, which opens with the homage to his influence taken from Underground Resistance with Mad Mike Disease. I checked out some of his more recent work a little while ago and The High Frontier EP quickly made it onto the ever-growing wishlist. It's a great little 3-tracker going from Tech, to downtempo almost IDM and full on Ambient across the tracklist. They are all lovely tracks but Harmonix really starts the thing off on a high note - it's a distillation of all my favourite bits of the Detroit sound. I say it every time a track like this comes up but I'm just real glad that tracks like this are still being made, absolutely gorgeous stuff.



And that'll about do it for today, the heat is set to continue for a couple of days so I might be able to fit another one of these in before the week is out - in true fashion for me it'll probably be a return to the more downtempo side of things! Hope you find something to love in these selections as I have, and as always - stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Bite-sized Bits 03

Pierre Alechinsky - Discovery of Acid (Act II) (1968)

A bit from Ceephax Acid Crew this time - an artist I didn't check out for a long time just because we never really crossed paths. Always a little undersold as 'Squarepusher's brother', Andy Jenkinson's work is very different to his siblings and stands alone. As the name would suggest, Ceephax dwells mainly within the world of Acid - as mentioned last time I brought up acid it's a genre I'm not super familiar with, I like it at a base level but I ended up bouncing off a lot of it I came across in the wild, not the case here though.

Like DMX Krew, there's a certain playful irony to some of Ceephax's work - again hinted in the name, a play on Ceefax which informs a great deal of his art direction. Look no further than the video for the track I've picked, 'Mediterranean Acid' for proof of that, taking the form of a poorly chroma keyed holiday promotion video, complete with naff effects and Ceephax himself hamming it up with some synths. You can tell he had a ton of fun making it, and that too is reflected in the track itself - a bouncy, more melodic take on Acid than I was used to at the time, I quickly fell in love with it. Dig a little deeper into the Crew's catalogue if you like this one, he has plenty more like it.



I'm surprised I haven't brought this one up more often, this is at least the first time since swapping over to the bandcamp player. I went through a brief period where I wasn't able to stop looping that intro. To this day I think it might be one of my favourite 303 lines ever put down, the base thing is pretty good as is, but I just love how squelchy it gets at points. That'll wrap up today's entry, tune back in tomorrow for more at roundabout the same time - and as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

The Scoops

Ralph Goings - Chocolate Lean (2010)

That time of the month where I share what I got on Bandcamp Friday. Not too much this time, but some overdue additions and some new stuff too. Originally I was wanting this to be a retro rundown with Luke Vibert's UK Garave Vol. 1 leading it but that didn't quite pan out. Still managed to get a bit of retro vibe in it though thanks to another release from ThorHighHeels.

Positive Yellow is a little like UK Garave Vol. 1 in that it's very much a tribute to a very specific kind of sound, though as you might expect if you follow Thor's video work - this time it's a love letter to the soundtracks of games when they started to take advantage of CD Audio. Each of the tracks is fairly bite size, but they all do a great job of nailing that sound - plus as a bonus there's plenty of samples to spot: from classic drum & bass breaks to the beat from this one which I think is taken from the Todd Terry Remix of Everything But The Girl's Wrong. About once a year I get a little nostalgic for the kind of house and general 'dance' that was on the radio when I was younger, in fact I just spent the last couple of weeks putting together and curating playlist with a friend on exactly that theme, that might sound like a statement out of left-field at first, but I bring it up because Summer's Edge is exactly the kind of sound that I mean - it's that special kind of House that typifies that vibe for me.



Freezepop next - a band I've had multiple brief flings with. This release has long been overdue to add to my collection - it's got one of my favourites from them on in Here Comes A Special Boy, a tune that I have had in my collection for coming up on 15 years now(!) - though as a crap 96kbps version that I got from some p2p network. A better quality version never surfaced after all those years, and if I remember right this EP's physical release was a super limited one as well so I kind of gave up on it. When I found this on my Bandcamp travels a year or so ago, I knew I owed it to them to actually buy it one day (and so I could get my mitts on a better quality version!).

And so here we are, sentimentality aside, this EP hails from the early days of Freezepop's output - they're another band that kind of got lumped in with the 'Electroclash' scene but their work is definitely more straight up Synthpop. There's a certain playfulness and irreverence they have throughout that you can hear most obviously on tracks like Here Comes A Special Boy that can turn some people away, and that's something I totally understand, coming back to some of these tracks has more than a few times brought up some long repressed memories of my teenage years.

But if you're willing to dig a little deeper, you're rewarded. The live version(s) of Outer Space and Plastic Stars included on this EP are really beautiful. It's a little strange to have them both be one big monster track at 10+ mins long but they blend together pretty seamlessly - the way the dreamy repetition of Outer Space fades into the much more poppy Plastic Stars is great. You can kind of hear where those electroclash labels come from there too: there's plenty of fairly stoic delivery that's evocative of the genre here (but as we all know, Electroclash lifted that from Kraftwerk anyway!). It's perhaps a little bit dated but I can't help but smile a bit at these tracks, part of me will always love this kind of skeletal, homemade sounding electronic.



And finally, another track from Ceephax's Byron's Ballads EP. I'll admit I'm not super well versed in the ways of Ceephax - but this EP is fast becoming what I'd recommend to a first time listener, even if it is quite a bit different from his usual output. As mentioned before, when I think of Ceephax, my mind comes up with images of deliberately naff visuals and slightly satirical acid tracks - a little like DMX Krew in that regard. But on Byron's Ballads there's not really any of that (save for maybe the visuals and title), each and every one of these tracks would absolutely be at home on the dancefloor just fine. From the remarkably accessible acid tinged house of Sneaker to the driving yet subdued 303 of The Hague, each tune on here has something unique to offer while keeping things distinctly Ceephax.

I've picked the opening track Citylink this time, purely because it's a fantastic opening track that lets you know exactly what you're in for as the housey opening soon gives way to some lovely squelchy 303. Perhaps the least acidic track on here by quite a ways, it also has a little bit of that retro vibe to it (though, most all of Ceephax's work does having said that). Super accessible, this isn't the kind of Acid that's going to melt your speakers or anything which makes it a great starting point if you're looking to get into it as a whole, or if you're like me and only occasionally swim out to that side of the pool and don't want anything too intense.



And that'll do it for this month's instalment. I hope you find something you like here, and maybe it'll even set you off on a retro kick like me. I might even have to post that playlist I mentioned in a little while, I like to think we did a pretty thorough rundown of the whole 90's for it: from the cheese of the big hits to my secret ingredients there's plenty of variety, perhaps some eye rollers but that's all part of the fun isn't it? Anyway, I'll wrap up here, hope you're all keeping well and as always - Stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Newfound

It's been a productive time in terms of finding new tunes - between Omodaka and this bevy of stuff I'm sharing today we've got a decent amount of variety. For a while I felt like I was stagnating a bit - but I've also had it go the other way where I'm getting so much new music that I don't think that I'm giving it a good amount of appreciation. Not so much this time, a smattering of EPs makes for just the right amount of new stuff in my experience, and that's exactly what we have today - bits and pieces I've found either through recommendations, looking up old EPs to see if they're readily available for streaming and just generally exploring the world of electronic.

Wilhelm Sasnal - Kacper and Anka (2009)


Photek to begin with, yet another artist on the list of 'Things that I should be familiar with on paper'. I've never really explored Photek in much detail despite my occasional dips into 90's D&B - outside of the now customary bits and pieces I have from soundtracks I can't say I have much. But that's not really as relevant anyway as Photek has done much more than just Drum & Bass since the 90's (something that often sees people come out of the woodwork to whinge and moan about as well). The Aviator / Totem EP is a House / Dubstep record respectively, and it's the title track I've chosen today. Discogs says it's Deep House and I can kinda get where it's coming from, it's not the kind that I talked about in my big Deep House dive a couple posts ago though - But I'm not here to argue semantics, it's a lovely piece of mid-tempo house with a nice groove to it, a real far cry from the rough cut breakbeats that you may know him for. It's not hard to see why Photek is doing a lot of soundtrack stuff these days, tracks like this have that slick edge to them that makes for good ammo for that kind of thing.

Please excuse the doubling up of players, I wanted one for the Hypem archives but there is only this preview on 'tek's official soundcloud, so I included the YT player underneath with the full thing just to cover both bases.

Photek · Aviator [clip]

Heading back to the 90's next with Dave Angel. I wrongfully assumed that a lot of Dave's older work would be not readily available online, as is so often the story with so many electronic artists, there's normally a licence issue or something stopping it from being readily available. But I am glad to report that is not the case - the entirety of the Seas Of Tranquility EP is up on Dave's soundcloud, as it is on other streaming platforms, albeit with much more plain album art than the actual original vinyl.

As you might have guessed from the titles, the whole EP has this aquatic theme running throughout it which is used to great effect when creating all different kinds of atmospheres. The EP dances between techno and house, with bits and pieces (Especially the opening track Shallow Waters) sounding like what Underground Resistance were making for Galaxy 2 Galaxy - think Jupiter Jazz and the like.

Some of these tracks could have gone into the Deep House post quite easily as well: Abyss is one of the standouts from the EP and would have fit right in with the rest of my selections there - though it's a little bit more heavy with those kicks than the choices I made for that post, the oceanic theme still makes for generous applications of lush synth work. I would have liked a little bit more variety throughout, but there's plenty to go at if you love the sound of each element as much as I as they each have their chance in the spotlight. I also love the pitch bends down during the break around the 5:30 mark, it's a small touch but one that's masterfully placed - It's a shame it happens so late in the mix though. The whole EP is a great listen but I just can't stop myself from playing this one out recently, for a track that's as old as I am I'm finding it incredibly fresh.

Dave Angel · Abyss

And finally - a little more from Ceephax. I've mentioned Ceephax a couple of times, mainly because I love Mediterranean Acid very much. And if you needed an introduction to the kind of thing you can expect from the Acid Crew, that video should let you know. Like DMX Krew, Ceephax has a rather playful approach to electronic music - making Acid covers of Bach, cheekily called Prelude in 303 Major, with deliberatley dated album art to go along with them.

But don't be tempted to write it off as just a tongue in cheek comedy project, as you might have heard on those last two examples - Ceephax has a penchant for being able to write real ear-worms which makes a lot of his works a real treat to listen to. Enter Haliphax (Friend Reunited), a reworking of an older tune called Friend Track. It's a refreshing take for me, lovely and smooth but with some pretty hefty kicks once the track gets going, similar to the Dave Angel track in that respect actually. While it's pretty hefty at a 9 and a half minute runtime, it's kept consistently fresh throughout so it doesn't feel overly extended.

I like the approach Ceephax takes on tracks like this too, it would be very easy to fall into the trap of making it all about the analogue tech, whereas I think that Ceephax's productions are more like modern tracks that just happen to be made on old equipment. While as you heard on Prelude in 303 Major Ceephax does go all in on the acid front from time to time, tracks like Haliphax really show off how good he is at taking those hallmark sounds and making something new with them. Tracks like this feel like they come out of a sincere place of love for the equipment, I love a squealing 303 as much as anyone but it's great to hear fresh spins like this every now and then.



And that'll do it for this time, I hope you like some of these tracks as much as I do - I've been really into the Seas Of Tranquility EP as of late following on from that House post before - and I plan on saving some of that Ceephax goodness for the next Bandcamp Friday so you can expect it to crop up again soon! I have my eyes on a couple of things to talk about next too, but IRL commitments are picking back up so it may be a day or two later than usual like this one was, but I'll be here!

And as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Acieeeeeeeeeeed

Pierre Alechinsky - Discovery of Acid (Act I) (1968)

Been taking this time to dip my toes further into some genres I've only a passing relationship with. As mentioned on the poscast moons ago, entering any new electronic genre is a bit of a minefield, there are so many sub-genres and jargon it can be hard to find your way. I've tried my best to do a quick rundown here of all things I like that are Acid. What kind of Acid? Well, all kinds really (apart from Jazz). Let's 'ave a look.

Kicking off with a bit from Ceephax Acid Crew. Yet another artist that kept cropping up in my recommends but sorely overlooked. Ceephax is Andy Jenkinson, brother of Thomas of Squarepusher fame, in fact some of the early Squarepusher stuff (Especially under his Chaos A.D. alias) is quite Acidic. Ceephax has stuck to those acid guns though, hence the name. I really dig his stuff, mainly because there's interesting things happening beyond squealing 303s, not that I don't like that mind you but it's definitely refreshing to hear this kind of approach. Ceephax also gets full on DMX Krew style irony when it comes to the visual side of things, really going for that Ceefax aesthetic that he takes his name from. Get a load of the video for this one for example



That of course isn't where I got my start with Acid however, we're going back to the acid heyday of 1988 here for one of, if not the first, acid tunes I had in my collection. Hailing from 'round my neck of the woods is Gerald Simpson, better known by his stage name the beautifully understated A Guy Called Gerald. A far cry from synths that sound like they're about to explode that comes to my mind when I think of Acid, Voodoo Ray is in contrast a rather sedate piece. But all the hallmarks are still there, and the house influence is much more clear. This is a time where a lot of releases blur the line between House, Acid, Garage, Techno and so on (Strings Of Life springs to mind). Totally understandable as genres evolve and get more popular, but as mentioned above Voodoo Ray is unmistakably Acid, albeit in its early form! You can totally hear the similarities and influence on the Ceephax track and there's a good 24 years between them.



And finally rounding things out, a new one I picked up along the way. Heard this one on some random Acid mix I ended up on and I was a little disappointed when I looked it up. Not because the tune's bad or anything but it was played faster in the mix, and honestly I think it sounds better a little quicker. I found that was the case for most of the tracks in that mix actually, but still good to have to hand. Perhaps a little generic in parts but that's not necessarily a bad thing (see my post on Eurobeat for proof!). And as I've said in previous posts, music is a lot like food, sure you will appreciate a really well done dish but sometimes you just want a bit of greasy comfort food. And to me, that's tunes like this.



And so ends our brief foray into the acid world. I hope I showed enough variety here, it does feel a little shorter than other posts. Regardless, keep reading as there will still be content to come, reminder that next post will be an old one republished and then back to a new one after that. As always; stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF