thesunlounge - Tumblr blog

thesunlounge · 2 years

Text

2021 in Review (Part Two)

Here is the second part of my 2021 in Review series, which serves to document some of the music that most impressed me from last year. As with the first part, there are 30 releases covered, with each featuring a characteristically meandering word slop of stream-of-consciousness psychedelia that attempts to capture the magic of the sounds.

Conny Frischauf - Die Drift (Bureau B) After two completely stunning EPs—Effekt & Emotion on International Major Label, and Affekt & Tradition on Kame House—krautrock, cloud ambient, and synth pop master Conny Frischauf made the jump to the full length format in 2021, working together with Sam Irl to produce one of my favorite records of the year in Die Drift. Metronomic bass sequences and playful poly-arps background cosmic filtrations and multi-tracked vocals from the school of Harmonia... the hook ”Rauf / Rauf / Rauf” repeating in a colorful display amongst myriad other daydream hooks. Funky squelch synths, expressive pixie poems, and tapped metals decaying through galactic vapors lead a slow and low lurch while neon acid squiggles ascend through mirage obscurations, and minimalist panoramas of looped lyricisms birth alien grooves wherein angular basslines and tapped percussions lead to rainbow colored vistas of funk-infused dreampop magic, as heavenly harmonizations intertwine with anodyne raps and space-age pads wash over handclapping boogie beats. Quivering pads slither over tribal downtempo and glassy licks bend in the desert air while malfunctioning squarewave leads cluster and crash onto the mix...the whole thing breaking down into a soulful stretch of sunny balearica that sees Laurel Canyon slide melodies obscuring into otherworldly weirdness. Further adventures in leftfield boogie and balearic beach funk emerge from strange chordscapes—think Brenda Ray—with slinky synthetic slap bass and heatwave synth bends guiding a solar strut of anxious machine groove, over which Frischauf delivers layers of paradisiacal pop perfection. Echoing sibilance, technoid bass, and squarewave synthetics sit above tick tocking rhythms and white noise bursts, with pads and voice executing dazzling displays of childlike mirth—or otherwise locking into lysergic lullaby loops—and elsewhere, ping pong basslines and effervescent motorik beats snap together for pitch-perfect expanses of early Stereolab-style mesmerism...that same sort of merging of avant-bubblegum exotica and Neu!-indebted hypnotism, with some of the year’s most earworm vocal displays proceeding over psychedelic organ clusters and blasts of radiophonic synth. Stoner basslines jam under polyrhythms of snap, pop, and vocal hum, as bopping machine drums ride a cool and spacious fusion groove...the result a completely entrancing display of downtown jazz funk, replete with blaxploitation horn themes and soloing sax. Idiophones and tribal rhythm boxes lock into a ritualistic shaman ceremonial of exoplanetary dub as synthesized elephants shriek towards the sky, with everything guided by hyperventilating cyborg poetics and malfunctioning breaths of synth bass. And at the end sits soothing ambient seance, wherein Experimental Audio Research-style soundscapes filter and swirl around gentle rhythms, somnambulant vocal spells, and soul-stirring whistle leads.

Museum of No Art - One Night at the Pool EP (Kame House) Following on from her spellbinding self-titled album on Séance Centre, Museum of No Art released One Night at the Pool EP last year, this time working with Kame House. As the EP opens, insect noise backgrounds sparse tribal drums, bell taps, and harmonizing jazz clarinets, with the vibe slow, spacious, and landing like a fever dream. Swells of seahaze synthesis support modular raga forms and alien percussion panoramas are built from metalloid glitch, click, and cut...these tick tocking polyrhythms guiding the body while synthetic acid whistles bring touches of sky-gazing euphoria. As we slow down to 33rpm on side B, temple bells and rusted gongs tap out layers of droning resonance as cricket chirp orchestrations birth swells of sound that flutter like hummingbird wings, and pitched down drums pound and plod...this bewitching background supporting drunken synths and pastoral clarinet leads...like rays of sunlight glimmering in a stormy miasma. Mutant bass sequences filter and burn as reeds generate moaning breaths and animalistic calls, and in a completely arresting moment of avant-pop magic, wordless vocal patterns loop around each in a narcotizing dream dance. Finally, layers of ambient woodwind trill and soft reed skronk echo across the spectrum as drones rise through birdsong, with something about the vibe reminding me both of Wilson Tanner & Henry Flynt.

Angophora - Together (Music for Dreams) Angophora’s Scenes LP, released back in 2018 on Ken Oath, quickly became one of my favorite records, mixing as it did pitch perfect and peaceful atmospheres of world music, psych folk, ambient jazz, balearic, and tribal. I have been so eagerly awaiting a follow up, and this was finally delivered in 2021 with Together. Here, Max Santilli and Jacob Fugar continue working in a similar mold as before, though the music has grown ever gentler and more blissed out, with perhaps fewer detours into subtle club dynamics. Across the collection of tracks, the duo weave together shakers, marimbas, and hand drums into a peaceful rhythmic flow, with guitar swells landing like morning mist, silvery chime strands flowing, and ebows singing gently anthemic songs to the sea. Bowed string drones support a riverside drift of fourth world Americana accented by lulling folk rock solos, sky-searching acoustics climb over a propulsive rhythmic rustle while feedback reflects off of random surfaces, and temple bells jangle in a warming breeze while triumphant landings of piano, guitar, and bowed string stoke a sort of fragile sense of hope, in between which bongos, shakers, and guitars work through a sleepy-eyed acid folk float. Jazz-inflected world percussion panoramas bop beneath webs of acoustic guitar mesmerism—including softly epic dueling leads—while shakers move like snaketails through somnambulant swell. Elsewhere, layered kalimbas fall like harmonizing rain over hand percussions both rhythmic and splattered, starbeam pads caress a subtle exotica bass groove, and after a dopamine dream breakdown of spectral ambiance, cosmic synth leads and sun-soaked guitar progressions lead a relaxing groove of prog folk pastoralism. American primitive fantasias drift lazily over shimmering sea swells before electric guitar arpeggios signal a transition towards a shadowy psych jam, and eventually, live drums descend over the mix, guided by booming bass pulses and supporting a stargazing blues solo. Breathtaking sections of cinematic guitar folk are accentuated by hand drums, shakers, and sighing strings, and at the end, an exotic and spaced out bebop groove sees cymbal taps, swells, and chime strands supporting spells of jazz piano.

Santilli - Tidal (Growing Bin Records) While on the subject of Angophora, in what is possibly the most sympathetic union of label and artist possible, Max Santilli joined with Growing Bin for the enchanting musical motions of Tidal. Full bodied chordstrokes and meandering leads lilt over shaker rhythms, ringing bells of multiple colorations, and smeared ambient swells as my mind drifts to early James Blackshaw, and entrancing melodic atmospheres evoke waves crashing gently to shore while ghostly guitar webs and solar ebow solos unfurl over a finger-popping hand drum flow. Noa bells drift in a droning wind and fevered pads mutate over cymbal taps and raga-esque world percussions...the melodic progressions mystical and mystifying even as they proceed far in the distance...and kalimbas sparkle over a subdued seance, wherein serene swells and shimmering chimes accompany shadowy acoustic guitar arpeggios and a dazzling display of percussive string harmonics while further rhythms from the raga-cosmos guide the soul towards hypnosis. Snake-tail shakers, twinkling metals, and acid folk guitars birth a drift of hippie balearica overlaid by sighing swell atmospherics, with an incredible climax of Espers-esque ebow psychedelia proceeding within energized expanses of tribal hand drumming. Pastoral guitar ballads evoke windswept flower fields and the lazy motions of clouds against a bright blue sky, and silvery slide leads drips liquid tones of Americana while waves of static crash around bowed string drones...all before romantic acoustic guitar progressions melt the heart with daydream themes of longing and loss. Environments are awash in quivering metal droneclouds, reverberating bells, cymbals taps, and rainbow chime strands, with whispers of acoustic, electric, and hand drum coalescing into a softly urgent hippie drum and folk guitar sway. Shaker patterns, bongo beats, and syncopated kalimba strikes dance together as ethereal wisps of light fade in and out focus, and towards the end, washes of angel ambiance surround stuttering sub kicks, barely there dub flourishes, jangling chimes, and avian song...the effect like floating at peace on the surface of some infinite sea, with only the occasional flights of birds anchoring the spirit to shore.

Alex Albrecht - Campfire Stories (Analogue Attic Recordings) Having ascended to the organic chill-out and ambient jazz heavens with Tidal River, the members of Albrecht La’Brooy decided to forge individualized paths in 2021, as both Alex Albrecht and Sean La’Brooy released gorgeous long players last year through Analogue Attic Recordings. Albrecht’s Campfire Stories arrived first, and the album opens as oceanic piano reveries are blown over by winds suffused with all manner of psychoactive sample detritus. Textures of jazz emerge from rustling ambiance—though the rhythms and melodies are deconstructed into a dopamine dub flow—as bebop basslines loop, horns reduce to purring breath, and ascendent piano runs radiate angelic ether. A meditative ritual of pastoral electric guitar from Carla Oliver proceeds over granular swells of light and mist, while baby birds greet the rising sun, and in a special A-side climax, Sean La’Brooy helps add synthesizer to a spiritual soundbath of world music rhythms, exotica bass, and new age ambiance, with echoing metal cascades ringing triumphantly over placid piano incantations and effervescent dub fx. The result is a heavenly headspace of dreamworld balearica, from which emerges a stunning passage of lofi jazz drumming, sun-soaked fusion guitar (from Oliver Paterson), and seaspray synth, with a vibe cutting the difference between Tortoise and Coyote. Shimmering ocean hazes open side B, with moody dub bass pulses supporting a jazz-soaked trip hop groove accented by delay-soaked pianos and aqueous melodic motions...the vibe evoking noir nights and rainsoaked streets. Clicks pan over balmy ethereal ambiance and drums drift through passages of organic dub techno while liquid basslines move beneath the echo flutes of Adam Halliwell...the result like some lost Paul Horn track given a Chain Reaction-style rerub. Ziggy Zeitgeist adds mesmerizing webs of polyrhythm to stretches of ambient tribal house, wherein subaquatic chord syncopations float on currents of subsonic bass funk while diva breaths morph into angelic haze, and the otherworldly fx and electronic atmospheres of Thomas Gray accent warbling birdsong, smoldering keystrokes, and hovering space fluids as a dusty acid jazz jam emerges, with cool-as-can-be bass stabs riding clusters of bebop-meets-DnB rhythm. And Gray’s mysterious ambient layers continue into the final track...a meditative spell of reverberating piano, alien synthesis, and hypnagogic narration from Allysha Joy.

Sean La’Brooy - Out Moving Windows (Analogue Attic Recordings) As for Sean La’Brooy, the artist released Out Moving Windows towards the end of 2021, and like Albrecht’s Campfire Stories, the music inherits a sense atmospheric magic from parent group Albrecht La’Brooy, while also diverging off into distinct territories. Moonhazes, field recordings, and twinkles of metal swirl as broken beats are accented by filtering hi-hat fx, liquid dub basslines, echoing claps, with Fernando Ferrarone’s trumpet leading the resulting ambient acid jazz meditation. Pulsing rave chords merge with muted sequencing, new age squarewaves ride a distant bassline drift, and kalimbas mimic water drops while later, expressive hand drum ceremonials and octave bass motions background echoing idiophonics, rustling cymbal and shaker riddims, subliminal trombone textures (from Kalia Vandever), and dreamspace synth patterns like a futuristic balafon glowing...with dubwise echo manipulations kissing the edges of the mix. Sunrise swells and a soft cacophony of chitter and scrape surround trip hop basslines, tabla taps, and panning cymbals as jazz pianos radiate a midnight aura over claps, snaps, and deep house drum patterns...the whole thing hitting like an outtake from DJ Sprinkles’ Midtown 120 Blues. Percussive droplets swim side to side, sequences snake in the undergrowth, pianos and IDM electronics blur together, and urgent four-four kick and shaker patterns anchor dusty vocal samples from the school of Joe Claussell, with synthetic string orchestrations wafting like clouds. Elsewhere on the B-side, the babble of both children and dogs peaks through pearlescent pad layers and reversing blip rainfalls while Oliver Paterson intermittently lets loose blissed out and lightly fuzzed guitar solos. Then to close out the album, opener “Splash” is presented with a reworked arrangement by Phil Stroud, and here, much of the track is reduced to layers of cosmic breath and angel whisper, with dub bass, jazz drumming, and trumpet flowing in and out of the mix according to a delirious dream logic.

Copyright Linda Fox - The Last Human Memory (Doom Chakra Tapes Worldwide) Another very strong contender for my favorite album of 2021 is The Last Human Memory by Copyright Linda Fox. A perfect merging of 90s rave, balearic, and chill-out nostalgia with atmospheres of sad downer pop, the result proceeds like a near seamless and often post-apocalyptic narrative, and begins as flutes, tribal drums, new age pads, and subliminal samples give way to slinky rave bass and tambo-led breaks. Trance tracers filter outwards as anthemic diva choruses alternate with sleepy-eyed verse...these soul hooks awash in a KLF-style magic and vaguely dystopian raps landing as smooth as silk, with both being backgrounded by gonzo fuzz riffs and lysergic leads. Growling acid basslines and sluggish jazz breaks sit behind sickly sweet verse and springtide strings, and funky wah wah motions transition towards sax-led choruses led by blissed out masculine & feminine harmonization...with the presence of soft seaside guitar soloing eventually coloring the haze. Soundsystem sub bass slides over tropical synth accents, and desperate lyricisms proceed through balearic strings and dubby Chariots of Fire-style pianos awash in vibes of hope and light...all before a fuzz solo rips apart the sky. Elsewhere on the A-side, reggae-soaked layers of ambient jungle rhythmics background sunset-gazing lyrical dystopias; serene saxophonics, booty-shaking basslines and dark DnB drum patterns are swam across by whispered cyber spells, mystical Flamenco guitar accents, and delirium soaked horn leads; and androids speak as one over a new age ritual for the dawn, wherein granular echo-sax is rendered in hues of pastel with floating pads and field recordings suffuse the air. Over on side B, metalloid voices from dimensions unknown and Orb-ian samples lead to a passage of tribal rave, with joyous snippets of chanted vocal exotica and delaying braindance drums working together while slip-sliding subsonic liquids and sadboy indie vocals trade-off with echoing organ accents and world music pan pipe circulations...until a climactic sax solo soars towards the sun. Old timey country twang beams in through layers of aqueous space vapor and mysterious voices implore you to open your mind over GY!BE-esque railroad drone before giving way to Memphis bass-meets-college indie bliss, with masculine and feminine vocals trading off in sleepy-eyed wonderment...the hooks and occasional detours into slide guitar folk tropicalia landing like Aporia, though otherwise everything is soaked in layers of beguiling horrorcore arcana. Soft and soulful hooks emerge...the effect like gazing at a rising dawn after a terrifying night...and eventually, sadboy soul raps and harmonizing Beach Boys hooks ride a popping breakbeat and slapbass bounce, with cosmic angels singing in the background and spells of short yet incredible solo sax intercutting the flow. Then to end, multi-tracked and softly whispered poetics float on skittering hats and dubby bass waves, and as another sun-soaked reggae-meets-jungle drum mash up emerges, the vibe grows ever more tropical and euphoric even as the layered lyrics devolve into a total bummer. But then, all of a sudden, a completely spine-tingling diva hook emerges...perhaps the single catchiest musical moment of 2021...this passage of anthemic megapop and soul sonic vocal power that soars around soul-affirming saxophone serenades...before the track ends in a vaporous dreamworld of cinematic ambiance.

Roman85 - The House You Live In, The House You Look At (Doom Chakra Tapes Worldwide) Speaking of Doom Chakra, I was completely blown away by Roman85’s The House You Live In, The House You Look At, which imaginatively combines vibes of braindance revivalism, junglist drum science, and blasted balearica. Lullaby dream sequences of subaqueous brass filter into focus over comforting basslines of alien acid and infectious blasts of effected jungle rhythm while nostalgic pop hooks flutter through vaporous bodies of string synth, and tropical dreamhouse piano patterns dazzle over balearic breakbeat cut-ups and bulbous blasts of DnB sub-bass, with futuristic 303 lines bubbling through lyrical vocoder mysteries as the entire mix filters in and out of focus. Swaying bits of lofi guitar exotica transition towards galactic bass music, with thunderous sub bass growling beneath seasick synthesis, heady bursts of jungle rhythm cutting up the air, and dramatic descents into worlds of dark orchestral drama featuring body floating bass tones and mind-bending presentations of rhythmic madness. Echoing water drops birth a shadowy expanse of acid jazz, wherein smoldering doom electronics reverse over skipping rhythms and enigmatic voices, and which soon heads towards landscapes of night club euphoria, as jacking basslines lead a four-to-the-floor house rhythm, with melting melodic melancholias drifting overhead, and a completely dramatic breakbeat emergence that sees hardcore vocal cut-ups and jamming layers of cut-up rhythmic magic guiding the uptempo body beat stomp. Following this, we drop down into a slow syrupy horror core crawl, as bass heavy beats move through skittering echo layers and moody mists of shadow, and then, angular basslines ring out prophecies of doom over strange vocal loops. Soft sequences of muted brass swim through oceans of static as reversing layers of voice birth a dazzling display of pan-pipe synthesis, which soon intermingles with plucked chamber strings as obscuring bodies of buzz and static disturb the flow…like some new age dreamscape of oceanic mesmerism disturbed by industrial machines. Kick drums march beneath quivering brass bass and conversational samples echo towards infinity as placid pads drift in and out of tune, and progressively the rhythms grow ever more martial even as they seemingly vaporize, with militaristic snare taps fading into an abyss of filtering pads and drifting kick drum, only to re-emerge…now imbued with a startling physicality. The B-side opens with sci-fi samples and chill-out chordscapes floating over a slow and delirious broken beat rhythm and pounding pulses of sub bass warmth, as extra-terrestrial sequences filter towards a neon sky…resulting in a pitch-perfect paradise of IDM romance, one that grows increasingly powerful as it progresses, especially during moments when operatic choirs sing arcane arias over the panoramic braindance progressions. Deep dark kick drums thud behind funereal currents of sickly synthesis while madcap dub echo modulations land like bouncing marbles beneath harmonious blasts of spectral distortion, and tribal machine toms beat in manic ritual over tin can snares and growls of filter bass while sonar pings delay softly…the whole thing setting the stage for a breathtaking mash-up of jungle rhythm and child-like IDM dream ambiance, as cold choral pads and chiming melodies of faded VHS nostalgia drift like rainclouds over an ever-shifting landscape of surgical rhythmic sorcery and droning subsonic sorrow. Next, whispers of mystical eastern melody blur over a profound display of dark jungle drum and bass mesmerism, enchanting piano melodies are chopped and morphed into swells of liquid light, and pounding passages of moody new wave synth bass and cinematic ivory sadness obscure filtering DnB drum patterns as cymbals splash beneath choral keyboard currents and glowstick chime melodies, while swells of cinematic warmth birthed from the depths of some cosmic ocean overwhelm the heart. And finally at the end, marimbas bounce in tropical mirth over a joyous breakbeat display, as the track repurposes jungle rhythms and acid bass for a wistful adventure of seaside romance and gliding pop balearica, led by subdued melodies of daydream nostalgia, and including a gorgeous climax of sunset saxophone sensuality.

UNKNOWN ME - BISHINTAI (Not Not Fun) In 2021, longstanding Not Not Fun collective UNKNOWN ME released what is perhaps their most substantial work yet in BISHINTAI…a serene suite of cyborg sauna sonics, futurist ambient, and alien environmental sound design proceeding across 12 beguiling tracks. We enter a world of crazed glitch and bleep, followed by anodyne android voices stating the albums desired purpose of mind and body connection. Percussive patterns pop alongside smearing sequences, with further loops creating a polyrhythmic flow beneath blurred wood flute synthetics and blooming bodies of sparkle…like virtual windchimes blowing in a discontinuous breeze, with malfunctions occasionally morphing the tones beyond recognition. Whirling vortices of underwater ambiance surround coral cavern drips and echoing laser strikes while mermaid choirs blow glowing clouds of mesmeric mist across the spectrum, through which a pitch-shifting pixie voices intones the mantra: ”gaze on your palm”—and in a collaboration with foodman, multiple marimbas beat mysterious patterns in counterpoint over reversing deep house chord structures, noir night guitar slides, looping vocalizations, and dubwise delay bursts of panpipe, rimshot, and bell…with an effect not unlike Tortoise’s “Four-Day Interval.“ Next appears Jim O’Rourke in an expanse of spectral static whoosh, tickling tones, plucked orchestral abstractions, and cold urban ambiance, with alien themes appearing, then morphing into tape echo glitch amidst insectoid dub electronics and sickly smears of feedback. And closing the A-side is an environment of granular tropicalia, as the steel-pans and pianica of MC.sirafu play mystical ocean spells over slow motion drum whispers and overlapping swells of glowing synthesizer seafog. On the B-side, further android incantations and cascades of futuristic bleep pull the listener back into the experience, and then, a serpentine sequence of kosmische acid magic swims through filtering oscillations and micro-bubbling fx clouds, with a vibe evoking some technoid chase scene proceeding in slow motion through a sea of effervescence. Temple bell patterns and somnambulant drum rituals anchor amorphous conglomerations of vibrating crystal and delirium drone as cyborgs affirm the beauty of the growing mind-body connection, and over tick tocking sequences, twinkling gemstone arpeggiations, and pulses of post-modern dub static, Lisa Nakagawa delivers a sacred expanse of choral wonderment…her voice first washing over the mix like the methodical motions of ocean waves, then developing into a sprightly dance of expressive pop exotica. Nearing the end, joyous sequencing from the school of Panda Bear sits beneath galactic synth strands and vaporous vocal fx until a glorious rhythm of pure balearic magic emerges…a equatorial dance of hand claps, hand drums, and myriad colorations of mallet instrument and idiophone, with dopamine hazes of Beach Boy vocal intoxication smearing into a tropical mist as the spirit is swept away towards paradises of peace, love, and light. Finally, the androids return to speak their closing thoughts…the preceding bleep and glitch cascades now smoothed into a gentle squarewave lullaby while mystifying musings serve as a debrief from the preceding adventure. And rather than guide the participants back to earthy realms, the track continues ascending towards spheres of cosmic transcendence, and unmoors the soul completely into a droning miasma of deep space esoterica.

Masahiro Takahashi - Flowering Tree, Distant Moon (Not Not Fun) Masahiro Takahashi released an exceptional work of environmental ambiance and new age minimalism called Flowering Tree, Distant Moon on Not Not Fun, and the result is a peaceful paean to the works of legends such as Yoshi Ojimo, Inoyama Land, Hiroshi Yoshimura, and Yutaka Hirose. Wooden tines thud as seascape synth hazes fade into view, with a soft backing of hand drum and tambourine. Seasick motions of lullaby melody and angel voice swoosh beneath morphing chimes, with dramatic bursts of sunburst sound dropping into the mix. Music box melodies melt through bodies of choral shadow, crystalline sequences race through prismatic patterns of rainbow wonderment while gentle filter manipulations cause showers of ethereal sparkle, and glimmering tones of glass pool together into a slow motion berceuse helped along by marimba dreamscapes, with everything drifting through strangely comforting approximations of alien atmosphere. Broken bells clatter through lofi cloudforms while morphing pads mesmerize the mind behind a dance of echoing tones and blurring bodies of beauteous sound, and elsewhere, ecclesiastical organ and mallet meditations give way to plinking piano placidity, before returning to a landscape of smoldering slow motion church hymn overlaid by sorrowful theremin serenades, and by heavenly LFO manipulations. As for the B-side, sonar sequences lilt lazily beneath bodies of burning organ ambiance and dissonant dreamtones of woodwind and brass…the effect like pitched down post-rock…and cacophonous strands of chime and gong waver in breezes of morphing electronic mutation while primitive synthesizers cut the difference between liquid drip and abstracted bleep. Tapped metals resonate in cavernous temple spaces and progressively morph into rainfalls of reverberation and fluid fractal glitch while flutey pads and synthetic strings generate deep ocean environments…the soul floating unmoored through worlds of oceanic bliss and abstracted minimalism, with an effect not unlike Visible Cloaks. Mirages of feedback shimmer over gemstone synth plucks, soulful chords of deep house origin, and increasingly maddening layers of twinkling star sonics while later, kosmische clouds of Leslie speaker spiral through a spiritual abyss before dropping into cold expanses of scratch, scrape, and prayer bowl resonance, only then to rebirth into a meditative mist of vibraphone and acid tracer synth.

Iguana Moonlight - Jaguar (Not Not Fun) Last year, Iguana Moonlight made a second appearance on Not Not Fun with the fourth world future grooves of Jaguar, which found Ilya Ryazantcev using synths, field recordings, and world rhythms to conjure mystifying tales centered on a shamanic shapeshifting and spiritual transformation. Squelching synths and finger popping hand drum cascades lead slow and low tribal flows through layers of birdsong, with all manner of rattle and scrape coloring the journey. Big bottomed basslines snake over bongos while mirage electronics flow in reverse before setting towards steel drum chord colorations…the whole thing like some sweat-soaked conga line moving through humid jungle growth. Lullaby chimes smear into sequences that ease the mind as perfumes from mysterious flowers induce psychedelic visions, with the body given motion by reverberated squarewave stabs and warbling bodies of liquid and mist…the effect like floating down some extra-terrestrial approximation of the Amazon, taking in visions and sounds at once familiar, yet completely strange. Tubular rave bass dances solo over layers of ringing idiophonics and whispered hand drum patterns while monkeys call through quivering layers of string synth…all before a gonzo breakdown into technoid sequencing and tripping webs of clustering synth lead madness…and later, in a mystifying stretch of ambient jam hypnosis, wavering wah wah melodics and burning waves of futuristic soul synth descend over a funk-infused bassline groove. Finally, at the end, amidst birdsong and water, minimalist sequences and emotional pulses of bass create a delirious dream drift while haunted howls and squiggles of synthesis blend into a feverish haze.

Coconut Dealers - Coconut Dealers (Not Not Fun) Back in 2011, a mysterious oceanographer delivered a cache of environmental research recordings to sonic collagist and synthesist Konstantin Shkolniko, who then reconfigured the recordings into multi-faceted adventures of equatorial dream energy and islander fantasy…these immersive cascades of synthesizer, idiophone, nature sound, tribal rhythm, and hypnotic hiss that transport the spirit to faraway landscapes of saturated seaside nostalgia and ritualistic rainforest magic, with a vibe landing somewhere between Wave Temples and X.Y.R. Field recorded hiss surrounds idiophone cycles that seem to emanate from ancient forest temples…as if ghostly bodies are playing futuristic marimbas in surroundings of cracked stone and overgrown vine. Swimming bass synthetics underly balafon bounce and the mythical Papaya Waterfall generates clouds of spectral mist while haunted hazes hover in the distance; faint squawks from birds of paradise peak through layers of running water while vibraphones meditate in a state of peace…as if a warm sea wind is guiding the languid motions of windchimes, underneath which flows a glowing cloud of cosmic resonance; and tribal taps, tropical flutters, and technoid sub bass stoke evocations of exotica rhythm while seafoam squelch leads quiver over popping bubbles and phaser waves. Steel pan lullabies are sanded down into a bass heavy slow burn that guides the body through solar shimmers and wood flute mirages, and soundbath studies of deep ocean resonance swirl slowly beneath a canopy of crashing waves before giving over to mellotronic flute whispers and idiophonic sonar pings...the vibe like some indigenous-indebted expanse of sonic spirituality proceeding in a subaqueous environment. Cold woodblock and rimshot patters flow through corridors of galactic static while amorphous pads generate layers of soft headtrip psychedelia, and dub chords pan over primordial pools of bubbling liquid while buried jazz fusion textures of crystalline key and squarewave solo swoon join together in esoteric communion. Watery marimbas beat out textures of extra-terrestrial forest magic beneath layers of angel ambiance, new age dream drone, and avian song while bending tape manipulations disturb the drift. Pearlescent pads invoke visages of heaven over evolving structures of psychoactive birdsong while dripping crystal liquids occasionally descend, echoing flute melodies burn into obscuring resonance while pools of earthen mud slowly simmer beneath insect chirp and dopamine dream delays, and zany mallet motions gallop over smeared spells of alien jazz synth and the ever caressing atmospheres of singing birds, while once again, extreme artifacts of wow and flutter disturb the relaxing flow of equatorial energy. And as the first tape ends, mystical metals collide, clouds of distortion breath in the distance, and blurring bodies of psychotropic flute transform into obscuring gas while primitive laser electronics accent layers of rustle and scrape. Over on the second tape, finger popping drum melodies and floating steel pans warble and waver over lapping water and wave crash while salt-suffused pad breezes blow across the spectrum. Subtle reed flourishes give way to polyrhythmic hand drums patterns buried beneath shadow while ascending and descending chime strains smear into indistinction, oceanic mirages are built from deep house chord formations as tribal tongue drum sequences flit like butterflies, and frozen ska strokes land over seaside samples and spiritual dreamtone meditations. Quivering chords, tropical drums, and washing phaser wavefronts create an ambient dub dreamscape leaning towards the more vaporous and vacuous ends of the Chain Reaction catalog, music box melodics and lilting lullaby loops circle around each other in a delirium dance of slow motion wonderment, and flutey synths songs of Native American new age flutter over somnambulant synths and lofi layers of desert caravan percussion, which slowly transform into subaquatic bubble sequences. And in a surprise B-side climax, dreary storms of mist roll over crunching basslines and a postpunk drum throb, before everything fades back towards trippy tropical webs of serene steel pan, whalesong drone, and temple mallet resonance. ��

Badge Époque Ensemble - Future, Past & Present (Telephone Explosion Records) One of my absolute favorite discoveries over the last few years is Badge Époque Ensemble, and though there have been quite a few opportunities to write about the music of this most psychedelic of prog funk and soul jam collectives, I have regrettably never made that happen. So in this sense, last year’s release of Future, Past & Present on Telephone Explosion is something of a gift, as the album mostly focuses on instrumental edits and versions of every vocal cut appearing across the groups various albums—Badge Époque Ensemble, Nature, Man & Woman, and Self Help—resulting in a sort of greatest hits compilation in miniature which allows for the opportunity to write about some of my favorite tracks from across the group’s short yet explosive career. The wah-smothered clavinets of the instrumental edit of “Undressed in Solitude” waver over layers of lazy river soul and acid-laced fairy funk, with further wah wah enhancements of fuzz guitar moving in prog rock syncopation with pot-soaked basslines, until fantasy flutes drop the track down into smoldering psychedelic slow jam replete with melancholic acid guitar heroics…the vibe somehow reminding me of Matador-era Dead Meadow. Then, in the instrumental edit of “Zealous Child,” bombastic prog progressions and sun-gazing slides drop into whispering spells of tapped cymbal, ghostly keys, and Sabbath bass…all before launching into anthemic explosions of crunching riffs, frogsong clavinet, swinging psych jazz drums, and soaring flute, which alternately cut towards tight expanses of Rhodes-led KPM breakbeat magic not unlike the Soundcarriers, or launch into completely insane stretches of dueling fuzz guitar and flute shred mayhem. The B-side is dedicated to instrumental versions of works from Self-Help, and after a zany prog introduction of glassy rhodes, schmaltzy sax, and tapped cymbal and snare, the instrumental take of “Sing a Silent Gospel” evolves into an immersive slow burn that—devoid of the vocals—takes on an enhanced feel of pastoral psychedelia—though there are all sorts of playful progressions and alien transitions into landscapes of syncopated Zappa-meets-Crimson weirdness, as well as flights into worlds of raining guitar and woodwind romance, and towards sky-searching expanses of 60s flower power rhythm, melting AOR guitar, and looping soul horn skronk. “Unity (It’s Up to You)” comes to live on low slung city funk breakbeat groove, as thumping basslines and layers of summery soul keyboard crunch support polychrome flute panoramas and jaw-dropping slow wah guitar climbs, with the flow progressively disturbed by angular prog transitions and a smokey passages of prismatic keyboard pulsation, over which dueling flutes and wailing wah guitars drip down fluids of flowery psychedelic soul. “Just Space for Light” pits purring AOR flutes over bongo beats and Americana Rhodes meditations, with a soft sunset drumbeat and sliding fretless bass romantics evoking lazy beachside days, though of course, there are drug-laced transitions into lofi funk tropicalia and desert jam exotica, as flutes introduce popping broken beat and hand drum grooves overlaid by distorted e-piano riffs and mutant bass…the whole thing setting the stage for snake charmer guitar solos, with the track eventually flitting back and forth between myriad moods of cinematic epicness, horizon-gazing soft rock, and blasted islander funk. And as an extra special treat, the album contains a new track in “Future, Past & Present”—a sort of spiritual sequel to my all-time favorite BÉE jam in “Nature, Man & Woman” built from forgotten stems and repurposed cutting room floor ephemera. Here, bongos beat beneath droning winds of delirium flute before dropping way down into soulful midnight prog funk, with langurous and liquid bass grooves guiding a “He Loved Him Madly”-style stoner drum jam, over which horns flow between baroque 60s pop and summery 70s soul, before trading off with a dripping sunset panorama of Floydian slide guitar.

Badge Epoch - Scroll (Telephone Explosion Records) Later in the year, Scroll was released…a 90 minute headtrip haze of Badge Époque Ensemble-related oddities which saw Max Turnbull handing over years worth of sketches and musical journaling to Andrew Zuckerman, who then further fractured the sounds into ever freakier forms, while adding all manner of subliminal samples and strange synthesizer soundscapes to the madcap tapestry. Primitive string synths lock into a pitch-shifting delirium dance of pompous prog, which is suffused through by hand drums, laser fire, and liquid e-piano meditations, before dropping into a wild and woolly psych funk soul jam, wherein wah wah keys and saxophone screams soar over greasy basslines and broken beat drum heat…with the band working back and forth through stoner stomps and a marauding blaxploitation strut. Funk keys flow over mosquito buzz, sickly drones drift aside Buchla bleep, and proto-technoid rhythms race beneath mutating sub bass and layers of anthemic orchestral sorcery before everything devolves into an unidentifiable slop of radiophonic musique concrete. Cycling fuzz clavinets lead a power trio rhythm storm while elven flutes dart and dash. Abstracted collage cut-ups are built from all manner of glitch, sample, and synth, and quiet stretches of experimentation birth drunken big band shrieks before tight rhythms and thumping basslines lead to a stretch of flowery folk and filmic funk, one where bewitching keyboard harmonizations borrowed from Italo cinema give way to stretches of saxophonic exotica. Malfunctioning broadcast electronics mutate alongside crashes of clang and scrape while muted beats lurch through potsmoke, and gonzo drum fills alternately bash in tribal jazz ecstasy while glorious chordstrokes ride layers of buzzing frog drone through baroque key changes and insectoid squelch—or elsewhere smash and crash in ascendent patterns while pianos and overdubbed reeds climb towards a shining sky. Wah wahs ride triumphantly through clouds of horror film chaos, and textures of Laurel Canyon Americana and Middle Eastern desert exotica transition smoothly into a balearic beach sway, as popping rhythms and heavenly vibe cascades underly walking basslines and shimmering surf guitars…all before a climax of dueling fuzz fireworks, and an outro of forest flute fantasy. The C-side opens with the golden jangles of a Zeppelin-esque acid folk flow, which is eventually futurized by lullaby incantations from vocoded robots before dropping down into a strutting groove of Sabbath-ian stoner rock and Funkadelic mutant jamming…as lysergic drones filter and scream over a liquid lizard rhythm lurch, and as drug-blasted guitar solos rip open the sky…the overall effect hitting similar to The Heads. Garbled distortion clusters pan back and forth over burning filter drones and alien insect chitter while new age echo percolations and blankets of Bitchin Bajas-style flute minimalism contrast the darkness, and floating chords and flourishes jazz bass support dramatic detours into landscapes phaser flute romance, which then transition towards smokey spells of noir-soaked wah wah. Heavenly hymns are ring modulated into a DMT lullaby lofi jams of squelching synth bass, blasted drum, and evaporating string synth score scenes of sunset sexuality as sensual solos scream overhead; and elsewhere, seemingly every single instrument is buried under fuzz as breakbeats pop and crack through filmic melodic themes and dueling leads awash in vibes of flower power psych pop sunshine. Classical chamber music beams in from some unknown dimension, the voices of children are manipulated alongside other samples into disturbing stretches of avant-garde abstraction, prepared pianos decay over delirium drones, and a walk through the forest is accompanied by harp plucks and singing squelch synths before whooshing static winds, snaketail shakers, and broken brass synths clear the scene. And to close, wavering liquid warbles obscure flute meditations before revealing themselves as a looping guitar elegy, which fades in and out of focus until buzzing pitch bends, aqueous glitches, and reversing loops generate a sinister synth bass and techno drum ceremonial.

Various Artists - Snippets Music presents Infinite State (Snippets Music) I first came to Snippets Music and their compilations Perfect Trail and Undermind through the work of one of my favorite modern artists Bliss Inc., and since that fruitful discovery, the label has continued to blow me away by releasing two further volumes of rave sorcery pulled from the undergrounds of Russia and Europe. The first is Infinite State, which features a spellbinding display of trance, electro, breakbeat, acid, jungle, and progressive house... with almost everything sourced from artists I have never heard of, save for those artists who have now appeared across multiple Snippets tapes (such as Low Tape, Mounty, Marco Lazovic, Ksky, and Komartsov). The quality is uniformly excellent across the entire tape, but here I'll just briefly mention a few personal highlights, foremost of which is Ellipse's "1101,” a track that rides in on one of the most infectious breakbeats of the year—a simplistic yet deeply catchy pattern of kick, shaker, and snare—which grooves in support of acidic bass funk, swirling ethereal atmospheres, IDM dream textures, and a psychedelic sonar hook…resulting in a minimalistic bomb of gliding rave rhythmics and euphoria-soaked anthemics. As well, Tifra conjures deeper than deep prog on "Existentialism," with a charging and bongo-accented beat banging the body alongside jacking sub basslines, psychotropic click cascades, and vintage squiggles of alien acid, over which flow liquid chord bursts, lysergic sibilance snippets, telephonic tracer melodies, and smearing loops of dark choral drone. As for some B-side highlights, DJ Lifegoals delivers IDM and Rephlex-esque revivalism with “Blue”, wherein futuristic breakbeat panoramas bash energetically beneath heavenly diva hazes, extra-terrestrial space sonics, and nostalgic chord patterns afloat in a calming dub dreamworld…with shards of sound periodically splattering into spectral glitch that threatens to obscure the mix. Elsewhere, on “Jump2This”, Futurereality combines big bottomed breaks, soundsystem sub bass, and layers of soul affirming synthesis into a melancholic flow of boom bap bliss, over which the artist layers junglist snare flourishes and hip hop vocal samples. And in “Feel Flight” by BRTS, immersive jungle rhythms, mutant subsonics, and distorted lines of psychoactive acid are layered into a jaw-dropping jam of breakbeat physicality and deep bass pressure, while up in the sky, LFO lasers fire across ecstasy-laced soul vocal samples and reversing deephouse chordscapes.

Various Artists - Snippets Music presents Reflection Lines (Snippets Music) Later in the year, Snippets released Reflection Lines, which continued exploring the same sonic spheres as previous tapes, while also finding the label expanding its roster to include ever new and exciting talents. "Trancia" by Cosmic G & Laars lets breathing cosmic winds, extra-terrestrial acid tracers, alien ocean synth leads, and echoing dub chords surround banging bass stabs and an irresistible tabla-led breakbeat…with the track growing progressively more euphoric as it progresses…like some breakdance dream rave proceeding on the surface of an interstellar sea. Neporyadok's "Jewel Box”—on the other hand—is a loved up prog house bomber imbued with futuristic textures from the Artificial Intelligence school, one that starts its life in braindance territory, then sees energized trance beats support melting UFO sonics, skittering chord patterns, squelching space liquids, and ascendent patterns of percussive tropicalia before climaxing towards sliding acid vocalizations and ambient expanses of insectoid breakbeat funk. Corbi concocts a sleazy slab of UR-indebted electro, which swings through a cosmos of percolating shadow sonics, mystifying blips melodics, sickly pad swells, old skool techno textures, and hip hop vocal hooks, and Ellipse delivers another pitch-perfect track of ambient breakbeat ecstasy that sees Lone-esque drum patterns ever-shifting and energetically evolving beneath birdsong, galactic filter sequences, and smooth lines of subsonic space funk. Komartsov's "Shimmer Lights" starts its life in worlds of emotional garage physicality, but at certain moments, the skipping beats, pounding basslines, and disco-indebted synth chord structures transition towards ultra deep trance and techno mesmerism, with glowstick tracer patterns and whooshes of starscape magic dazzling the mind over a heads down and hands up body beat and acid bass stomp. And in Enfant’s “Frisson” a four-to-the-floor meets breakbeat groove hits with profound force as basslines bounce beneath melancholic cascades of balearic ambiance built from ethereal angel pads and islander marimba flourishes.

Bufiman / DALO / Philipp Otterbach - WAR1201 (WARNING) 2021 was a huge year for the label side of WARNING, and most notably, the Berlin-based rave collective made the jump from 7” to 12” with the release of WAR1201. The A-side is given over to Bufiman, who here is in peak form, as he delivers an absurdly imaginative and characteristically massive breakbeat energy groove. Kinetic drum patterns cut up the air while massive lines of booty-banging squelch bass guide alien vocal filtrations, and as things progress—with layer after layer of accenting percussion joining the broken beat funk jam alongside increasing textures of 90s rave—gentle cosmic sequences flutter through the clouds while melting currents of cinematic sound periodically rain down…the whole experience hitting like a transcendent climb towards heights unknown, and a total bodily surrender to an ecstatic trip of evolving rhythmic psychedelia. The flipside from DALO touches on the WARNING label’s love of bass-heavy and basement oriented electro, as pitched-down breakdance beats and growling layers of mutant sub-bass lead a triptastic glide through cosmic shadowlands, one overlaid by ghostly howls, mysterious voices, spine-tingling diva cut-ups, and a completely mindbending acid line climax. And as an extra special treat, Philipp Otterbach is here remixing DALO’s work…his take a low-slung freak jam of panning horror pads, blasted trap rhythms, mad scientist sample manipulations, and broken acid bass the periodically devolves in terrifying abstraction.

Phaser Boys / Chaos Milieu / DJ-Ungel feat. Jofr / Zonza Grind - WAR1202 (WARNING) WARNING later released a second various artists 12” in 2021, and the vibe on WAR1202 pushes closer to the heyday of 90s rave, with sounds sourced from new artists, as well as from some of my absolute favorite practitioners of trippy dancefloor psychedelia. We start with the Phaser Boys, who set tubular filter basslines to a low slung hip hop pulse, which eventually transitions into a deeply sorcerous break, and then again into a chugging four-four acid stomp…the result a jacked out prog house slow jam overlaid by anthemic chord hooks, tambo-kissed broken beats, and melting layers of galactic pad magic. Next comes Chaos Milieu, who storms straight into the heart of dark acid dream magic, wherein cosmic lasers, liquid 303 manipulations, and slow Goan sequences slither over a big bottomed trance beat, one that is periodically interrupted by breakbeat cut-ups and hair-raising soul diva snippets. Sun Lounge mega-favorite DJ-Ungel begins the B-side in collaboration with Jofr, as a charging trance beat and a gurgling alien acid line sit beneath cracking snares and morphing vocal tracers…the energy only escalating from there…with futurist cascades of lysergic vocalization soaring over jacking siren synths and warehouse chord evocations as drums work between energized four to the floor groove, ambient void, and Florida coastal breakbeat funk…the vibe slightly unsettled and anxious as the track continuously rebirths into ever new forms. Then to close, Zonza Grind enchants the mind with a psychotropic array of cymbal, snare, and rimshot patterns while sinister acid line layers growl through galactic grease over a manic four four kick…resulting in a body banging expanse of physical trance minimalism that is given further motion by shadowspells of Middle Eastern melody.

Leo Almunia - Minor Circle (Claremont 56) I have only gotten to write about the music of Leonardo Ceccanti on a few occasions, and so it is with great pleasure that I present a writeup focused on his breathtaking solo debut Minor Circle, which finds the producer and solar guitar songsmith crafting an immersive aural journey that capitalizes on many of the shades and styles has been exploring over the last few years, both in his solo work, and with Gianluca Salvadori in Almunia. Rainfall and echo haze open while solo blues shred floats freely over chiming strands, and as folksy acoustic guitars shuffle into view, the whole thing morphs towards drumless disco ambiance, as fat bottomed basslines stomp beneath layered riffscapes and burning blasts of fuzz guitar heroism. Glimmering acoustic riffs waft wistfully over echoing filter sequences, slide guitars melt into a panorama of sunset coloration, and softened swaths of static filter back and forth while hand percussions and laid back trap kit accents give further shape to a paradise of pastoral groove, one where slanky southern rock basslines strut and slide while blazing blues solos rip across a cloud-speckled sky. Galactic sequences and starscape arps drop down into a slow and low disco dream dance, while serpentine guitar licks and cascading riffs add flecks of folk-infused wonderment and layers of lysergic sunshine, with the track made all the more magical by pitch-perfect transitions of Floydian feel...these epic riffs ringing out across the heavens that then give way to smokey syncopations and blasted distortion solos awash in classic rock bombast. Desert-drenched psych riffs move over a swooning exotica sway recalling expansive head trips from the likes of America and The Doors while heady lines of slippery bass funk background one of the coolest guitar solos I have ever heard… a grease smothered expanse of sleazy sensuality, sliding sexually and grinding down and dirty into clouds of refractive harmony…all before the track climaxes with sleepy-eyed psych solos and acid trip vocal hazes flowing through Leslie-speaker liquids. Kosmische colors unfurl through metronymic echo cycles and curlicues of interstellar blues, with vibes of Gottsching and Gilmore intermingling…the former’s cosmic guitar romantics eventually transitioning toward the Wall-esque space disco dreamscapes of the latter, as grooving futurist basslines, booty banging dance beats, and chill-inducing acoustic jangles support a jaw dropping display of cosmic blues mesmerism…the kind of guitar work the reaffirms everything magical about the instrument. Further sections of soft disco drum throb merge with vibes of porch jam blues while underlying dazzling passages of prismatic flower power riffing and acid folk web weaving, with ever evolving layers of acoustic fantasy guiding the spirit towards a climactic solo that lands like liquid light. Lone guitar sundowners are built from rapid folk fingerpicking and melting layers of space age blues, and feathery Italo bass pulsations chug in support of a sunny disco drums and double time hat shuffles in a glorious merging of Italo beach dance and spiritual Americana, replete with alien expanses of cinematic experimentation and a characteristic climax of soul-affirming guitar solo transcendence. Sleepy chords ride soothing echo waves in a soundbath of starlight, and emotive acoustic guitar colorations circle around a developing rhythm…a rustling and rustic jazz drum panorama from Andrea Pelosini that supports stargazing solo descents, Afro-folk dream textures, and palm-muting echo percolations. And in a heartbreaking ode to distance and loss, spiritual synthesizers background solar swells and sparkling chime strands while twilit solos and acoustic guitar riffs birth a breathtaking outro of balearic psychedelia…with Floydian evocations appearing again as swooning strings and funk-infused prog folk grooves support guitar solos of horizon-gazing serenity.

Under Allt - Mellanrum (Under Allt) Continuing on with another master of seaside guitar, I’d next like to discuss Dan Lissvik’s new project Under Allt—a collaboration with Henric Claesson that continues developing and expanding the textures of of sunkissed disco and balearic euphoria he has been exploring in projects such as Studio and Atelje. Mellanrum opens with a slight samba beat sway while lackadaisical licks paint the air in sunset hues...the serpentine guitar patterns threading around each other over chunky bass warmth, and backings of mediterranean reed, cosmic synth, and tropical idiophone before everything reduces to a passage of interstellar and lofi prog rock dream drama. Spaghetti western leads ring out over desert exotica beats, jangling acoustics, and thumping bass while ascendent themes of shadowspell wonderment work over liquid funk riffs and alien layers of organ psychedelia, and in one of the most spectacular slices of balearic beat ecstasy all year, polyrhythmic webs of palm-muting echo percolations weave pacifying layers of White Island magic atop a syncopated sunset disco drum, bass, and shaker dance, while solar leads squiggle, slide, and shimmer in the light of a setting sun…the whole track evincing vibes of daydream nostalgia, and inducing remembrances of some island paradise now lost to time. Beatless stretches of beachside bliss open the B-side, as synths sing soft hymns of light and love beneath crystalline guitar romantics and a deep bassline sway, with the something about the track inducing dopamine dreams of 50s surf pop, only given that slow and hypnagogic Twin Peaks feel. Mysterious jams awash in South American psychedelia groove into the mystical night, with shaker led tropicalia breaks bopping slow and low aside big bottomed dubfunk basslines, heady wah wah wavers, and intertwining and ever-evolving layers of acid folk acoustic and electric guitar sun sorcery, with the track at some point backing down into a hypnotizing midtro stretch of bassline, acoustic riff, handclap, and liquid synth. Finally, at the end, sighing squelch synths, Hawaiian slide guitars, and evocative riff progressions sit over filtering breakbeats awash in vibes of slow funk and beachside dub, while throbbing basslines background an increasingly moving panorama of effected guitar and whispered synth majesty…the effect like gazing across placid wave crashes and sparkling sands at an immersive sundown ceremony.

Chari Chari - Luna de Lobos EP (Seeds and Ground) After successfully relaunching his long dormant Chari Chari project in 2020 with the release of We Hear the Last Decades Dreaming, Kaoru Inoue spent much of 2021 releasing vinyl EPs centered on remixes, alternate versions, and bonus tracks related to the album, beginning with the Luna de Lobos EP. Kuniyuki’s version of the titular track begins in an angelic paradise of new age haze, ringing resonance, and delaying click as an intro of string symphonics, sparkling sonics, and glass-toned keys floats over developing rhythms of shaker and electronic jazz drum, which eventually join together with tribal toms to anchor a swooning sunset meditation built around cinematic chord progressions and golden glimmers of tremolo string…the polyrhythmic trapkit circulations and cascades of tapped metal growing in ritualistic magnificence and pounding intensity as trumpets soar over an ever-ascending climax of classical post-rock majesty. Next Inoue presents his own “Winter Solstice Version” of the track, which serves as a welcome come down from the awe-inspiring power of Kuniyuki’s version. Here psych folk acoustics weave webs of cinematic romance over tropical dub basslines, cabana jazz percussions, and melting layers of sunset string orchestration, with everything building towards an ocean-gazing climax of Methany magic wherein liquid synthesizer starscapes decay towards a cosmic horizon. Inoue presents a further version—his “Prophet’s Harmonic Drone Mix”—which sets fairytale acoustics over snaketail shakers, scattered hand drums, and arrays of shimmering bell, while aqueous swells arc over sonar pings, mermaid organs, and kinetic textures of underwater psychedelia…as if Sth. Notional’s “Yawn Yawn Yawn” has been given a deeply tripped out acid folk interpretation, and with a vibe akin to the collaborations of Pablo Color and Chee Shimizu. At the end of the EP sits “Luna de Ritmos”…a shadowy of expanse of skeletal house rhythms, wah wah whispers, echo guitar percolations, and drunken progressions of futuristic brass synth, which grows ever more ebullient and jacking over its length…the result a patient ceremony of temple groove and interstellar atmosphere that pulls the body ever towards the dancefloor.

Chari Chari - Tokyo Modernology (Seeds and Ground) The second extended player of reconfigured ephemera from Chari Chari’s We Hear the Last Decades Dreaming is entitled Tokyo Modernology, and finds Mamazu and longtime Kaoru Inoue collaborator Chida remixing tracks from the album, alongside a few works from Inoue himself. Singing birds open Inoue’s “Vintage Drum Club Mix “ of “In Exotic Haze,” as polyrhythmic panoramas of deep house organ and synthetic marimba weave around each other over popping bebop snare accents and acid jazz kick patterns, with subsonic exotica basslines helping transition the track towards a hedonistic journey of humid rainforest groove…including silvery flourishes of vibraphone tropicalia looping over kinetic broken beat drum deconstructions and wavefronts of fever pad delirium. Mamazu takes on “Fading Away,” as chugging Italo basslines and shaker led kick rhythms flourish beneath bending mirage chords and echoing cascades of glowing glass and garbled crystal…the result a stretch of minimalist disco euphoria merging with temple bell ceremonial that hits like KZA remixing a gamelan ensemble, and which climaxes with crazed displays of bagpipe-esque psychedelia and soothing expanses of cosmic surf synth. Chida’s revelatory remix of “Tokyo 4:51” is the centerpiece of the B-side, beginning with an intro of urban city ambiance and gossamer wind the soon births a technoid future jam of slamming industrial drum beats and blasting filter bass—starting off as a deep and dark trek into the heart of the night, but progressively growing more euphoric and hopeful…morphing into a harmonious haze of Hi-NRG ecstasy and synth pop sunshine led by ecclesiastical chord changes, and featuring dramatic detours into contrasting landscapes of new age ambiance and amorphous shadow magic. Next comes Chida’s “Rough Cuts” version of the same track, which drops straight into jacking warehouse beats, cracking claps, and squiggling acid incantations while ghostly voices sing through layers of static and a detritus of galactic mist and industrial drone…their obscured arias morphing into orchestral synthesis that increasingly opens towards a heavenly light. And at the end sits Inoue’s “Deep Down the Line TYOS” and its reverberating soundscapes of subway field recordings.

Chari Chari - Mystic Revelation of Geography (Seeds and Ground) Perhaps my favorite of the three EPs reconstructing material from We Hear the Last Decades Dreaming is Mystic Revelation of Geography, if only because it contains that most rare of gifts…a Bartosz Kruczyński remix. His take on “Uluwatu Monkey Dance” begins as soothing layers of ocean wave and ASMR crackle surround emotional guitar hooks, diaphanous pad swells, and thumping kicks.Aand after a breakdown of soul stirring bass and ethnological sample manipulation, the track re-emerges as a life affirming soundscape of downtempo chill-out…a swaying and swinging sundown groove of Ibizan nostalgia that continues to grow ever more epic and awe-inspiring, especially as textures from the beginning and middle merge together…the clap-led balearic beats banging beneath lysergic guitar daydreams, paradise pads, tropical sequences, and nostalgic flashes of acid. Next comes Yoshiharu Takeda’s rework of “Esfera de Água,” which finds shimmering soundbaths of jangling sleigh bell and starlight twinkle surrounding exotic mallet patterns and animalistic sequences as sensual deep house rhythms groove aside basslines constructed from hand drum boom…the vibe jazzy, nightsoaked, and featuring ambient interludes wherein harmonious string hazes flow over kalimbas spells and bongo beats. Knopha —whose amazing Nothing Nil EP was covered here some time ago—appears at the onset of side B with his own interpretation of “Esfera de Água,” and here, in a radically different version, stuttering kicks move through hiss, starlight, and dub chord hallucination as alien electro patterns filter into stellar foam, and shakers add further sense of heady propulsion while lines of booty shaking tribal bass bang beneath metronomic marimba loops, tin can drum fireworks, and ever evolving layers of IDM space magic. Inoue’s “Psychic Thermometry Mix” of “Of Mystic Rhythms” follows next with a low slung conga line sway through forbidden jungle environments, as rolling hand drums rhythms, boogie down basslines, and big bulbous house kicks stomp beneath a mysterious panorama of fog shrouded starlight, and at some point, the vibe slowly morphs towards freaky funk and deep space jazz fusion as equatorial organ chords flutter through futurist expanses of starscape sequencing and swirling guitar vapors. Then, looking ahead to Suburban Ethnology Vol. 1, which I discuss below, the EP closes with “Onda de Metal pt. 4” and its celebratory slop of carnival percussion and big band mayhem.

Chari Chari - Suburban Ethnology Vol. 1 (GROOVEMENT Organic) Having previously teamed with the label for the release of one of my favorite LPs ever in Em Paz (under his own name), and for the vinyl version of the aforementioned We Hear the Last Decades Dreaming, Kaoru Inoue collaborated again last year with GROOVEMENT Organic for an extended player of a ancient folk ritualism and spiritual sonic healing called Suburban Ethnology Vol. 1. String instruments from the world of Indian classical music sing songs of summery raga psychedelia over a methodical folk drum stomp, one accented by seed shaker motions, hallucinatory pad hazes, and barely there breaths of marimba. Gamelan ensembles move in metronomic syncopation through waves of subsonic resonance…their ever-evolving and expanding chime cascades and structures of metalloid magic shimmering in a tropical light while ambient insect recordings and layers of subliminal glitch surround fourth world mirage electronics, islander woodwind evocations, and jazz-infused progressions of world music drumming, which grow increasingly playful and tribalistic. As mentioned, though the fourth part of “Onda de Metal” resides on Mystic Revelation of Geography, the first three parts occupy the B-side of Suburban Ethnology Vol. 1, with part 1 opening up on ecstatic whistles and busted big band jazz rhythms that soon transition into a polyrhythmic dance of idiophonic metal and wooden mallet magic, with a background of booming hand percussion adding a subtle feel of broken beat jazz, and an increasingly futuristic feel developing across the tracks progression…the mystical metal and mallet cascades seamlessly transitioning into braindance synth sequences as the tribal beats are repurposed for chill-out room euphoria beneath blankets of symphonic string. In Pt.2, evocative xylophone melodics awash in vibes of rainforest mystery and tropical noir saunter and sway over square wave synth lines and forest drum dub exotics while metallic mists and choral breaths fade in and out of focus. Finally, in “Onda de Metal Pt. 3,” abstracted rainfalls of bell tone and rattling glass move anxiously over ringing junk store percussions and resonant bass…the vibe primitive, ecstatic, and completely otherworldly.

Remember Ecstatic Duo - Palo Santo (Aural Canyon) Palo Santo by Remember Ecstatic Duo is the first of several 2021 favorites coming from the Aural Canyon family, and is one of the few releases on these lists I actually had a chance to write about in depth over the course of last year (read my review here). For that reason, I will cut some corners and paraphrase/re-edit things I said there. Remember Ecstatic Duo is comprised of Kristine Reaume and Michael Sharp, the former a highly skilled flautist and botanical healer, the latter a far-ranging explorer of experimental and aggressive music who, in his solo work, delves deep into kosmische, space rock, acid folk, and drone. Their work draws artistic influence from new age music, spiritual jazz, minimalism, and strains of Berlin School from the late 70s and early 80s. But more importantly, the music represents—to quote Sharp himself—“a journey through how our love has blossomed, and how our focus on each other has enhanced and grown with our family.” What results from this is a mesmeric collection of meditative sound sourced from two interconnected spirits, wherein polysynths generate droning dreamscapes, sequential starscapes, breathing blankets of metallic shimmer, and infinite expanses of underwater incantation while flutes dazzle and dance through tape echo oceans and cosmic corridors of reverberation…sometimes executing melodic progressions of romantic wonderment and magical fantasy, other times devolving into pure atmospheric experimentation.

Future Museums - Harpoon of Sunlight (Aural Canyon) Neil Lord and his Future Museums project made an incredibly strong showing in 2021, releasing the Pre-Form, Transitional Spirit Mirror, and Heart Pulp cassettes on HoloDeck, Aural Canyon, and Keeled Scales respectively, as well as a mixtape for Hippie Scum comprising healing sounds pulled from the depths Lord’s record and tape collection. Perhaps most significant though, was the Harpoon of Sunlight LP, which served as both Future Museum’s and Aural Canyon’s first outing on vinyl. Patient rhythms of woodblock, shaker, and cymbal tap guide swirling subsonic frequencies, ceremonial bass echoes, and wavefronts of mystifying solar shimmer, through which gentle stellar sequences percolate…the whole thing pulling my mind to Yume Bitsu. Mechanized cymbal and tambourine patterns support a popping hand drum ritual, squelch sequences dart back and forth, phasing vapors expand to towering clouds of shimmering sound before dramatically receding, and golden toned pianos play melodies of transcendence amidst the heavenly haze while elsewhere, field recordings of rain and sea merge with effervescent bubble strands and feathery flows of angelic sound, with developing layers of sequential kosmische pads and polyrhythms inducing visions of an underwater dreamworld. Textured cascades of harmonizing brass synth, sonar marimba, and droning buzz bathe the landscape in a soft spiritual light, while choirs of the sky sing swooning songs swathed in mists of distortion…with an effect not unlike the deepest works of Aeoliah, only as if processed through a spiritual fire of feedback. As for the B-side, pop vocalisms are repurposed into a wordless dream progression over dubwise chill-out beats and quivering melodic fogs as a glorious synth-reed serenade emerges…as if bagpipes are floating in ecstasy over a panoramic expanse of new age balearica. Multitudinous mallet melodies mesmerize over dramatic evocations of chamber string, resulting in a springtide waltz through flowery forests of fantasy, one eventually enhanced by ebullient keyboard flights of ecclesiastical jazz fusion. Smoldering piano chords and rustling string plucks anchor majestic choirs in the Vangelis mold, with everything locking into a joyous cycle of sky-seeking spirituality as fairy flutes flit through a soul balm soundbath of psychedelic guitar fuzz. Whispy tones of gossamer starlight waver over muted bell loops, sequential tom tom melodics, and tapped cymbal rhythms while Berlin school echo percolations bounce back and forth beneath exotica bass breaths and Reich-ian marimba motions. And as the album comes to close, sprays of shaken bell sparkle through seascape hazes, atmospheric angel drones, and billowing bodies of mirage-like mesmerism as a lone guitar wails softly, with accompaniments of prepared piano—or perhaps harp—drifting deep within the depths.

X.Y.R. - Anciente (Possible Motive) X.Y.R. released a further study in longform transmission with Anciente, which like Pilgrimage on Not Not Fun, features two side long excursions into the mystical depths. On the A-side, cavernous reverb fx and dub echo cascades surround decaying crystal strikes, abyssic choirs, and field recordings sourced from jungles unknown. Static shrouded rhythms slowly build into a slapback gallop and Soviet synths generate melodic auras of mysterious coloration, while sorcerous vocal arias indebted to Popol Vuh ebb and flow alongside effected orchestrations of bird and bug. Melodic textures completely disperse in favor of extended passages of drum minimalism overlaid by frozen mist clouds and industrial shadow drones, and at certain moments, subliminal bass stabs give the evolving rhythms a further sense of hypnotizing groove. Later, desert caravan hand percussions lead us further into environments of myth and imagination, and far on the horizon, hooded figures are seen executing forbidden rituals of blood magic. As for the B-side, galactic textures merge with birdsong and mirage synthesis…creating the effect of some exoplanetary ecosystem comprised of forest and reverberant crystal. Heady bass sequences stoke a vibe of ritual riff hypnosis, and the flow of kosmische energy is given further structure by subdued shaker motions. The melancholic songs of angel choirs emanate from hidden river temples as the Herzog-ian dream trek continues ever deeper into landscapes of wonderment and enigma, and polyrhythmic panoramas of percussion progressively splay across the spectrum…these finger rolls, rimshots, and tambourine strikes popping into and out of existence. Synth riffs mimic western and jazz guitar romantiscs and pads like purring panpipes cycle in placid patterns while metalloid smears reflect flashes of silvery starlight. And nearing the end, the rhythms suddenly drop away, only to build back ever more fractured and broken before everything breaks down into alien jungle ambiance.

Various - Serenades from Russia (Serenades) Continuing my coverage of things related to X.Y.R. from 2021, I’ll next discuss Serenades from Russia, which was a compilation from the Serenades label focused on five different sonic explorers from the Russian ambient scene. Misha Fulton animates mysterious rattles and structures of static amidst field recorded birdsong, while bleary bass drones and bodies of choral fog fade in and out like mantric breath, and Пурпурный Дядя constructs off kilter ambient from a palette of abstracted dub techno sonics…his layers of machine hum and soft glitch cycling over subliminal bass rhythm formations while unidentifiable blasts of garbled noise and slow motion bleep progressively disturb the drift. Koyil transports the spirit to tropical territories where colorful rhythm accents move freely within a rainforest panorama, and as subtle whispers of quivering synthesis and motions of sub-earthen bass guide a relaxing drift of fourth world ambient, saxophones purr and echo guitars scrape in a display of alien jazz angularity. Primordial mud pits bubble alongside ethereal pads in X.Y.R.’s B-side epic, wherein ghostly hazes of Formanta synth fall like moonlight, mesmerizing blankets of static obscure the mix, and dub effected hand percussions guide majestic melodic themes built from symphonic strings, serpentine synth, and liquid sub bass. And closing the show is another Not Not Fun alum in Coral Club, who builds equatorial energies from prismatic idiophone fx, muted bass slides, and world drum polyrhythms while evocations of Far Eastern melodic mysticism shimmer in a ghostly light...all until a fade out towards howling wolfsong, underwater ambient, and new age glitch.

X.Y.R. - Waves Tapes (Constellation Tatsu) Across 2015 and 2016, X.Y.R. released two Waves T*pes volumes—a CDr through Handstitched* Recordings, and a cassette through Jeunesse Cosmique. But it wasn’t until 2021 that the trilogy was completed with the digital release of Waves T*pes Vol.3 on Dug Up the Bongo, and following on from this, X.Y.R. joined forces with Constellation Tatsu to present all three volumes as a single ambient epic. Lilting loops and obscured field recordings evoke over-saturated remembrances of lazy seaside days, while starlight twinkles, smearing leads, and romantic string orchestrations drift across placid waters. Mesmeric mirages of static and melting crystal melody merge as one, synth patterns evoke a tropical dance of mallet and marimba, and rotational organ drones periodically rise from subaquatic depths until a daydream dance of coral colored arpeggiation emerges…a soft seaside lullaby of imagined innocence and profound beauty given further textural enhancement by ASMR-type click and crackle. Fluttering poly patterns and futurist woodwinds hover in a metalloid haze of glassy glitch and machine breath, and hymnal-esque bodies of phasing warmth and cosmic light caress pastoral cascades of echo and chime. Bubbles of gemstone coloration rise from seafloor vents and reflective globules of liquid solidly and decay on infinite echo strands while new age melodies and droning angel choirs evoke impossible visages of an alien seaside paradise. Delirium arps and 50s pop organs open the B-side as Badalamenti basslines pulse beneath heart’n’soul chord evocations and sighing leads…the effect like some score for a lost Twin Peaks episode set at a paradise beach. Sunset colorations refract off the waters surface as phaser leads, whistle tracers, and solar organ swells evoke dives into magical water realms, and the flow of time runs in both directions during a startling Ecovillage collaboration, wherein forest flutes, birdsong, and tropical synths echo alongside whisperings dub rimshots while high in the sky soar heartaching displays of cinematic orchestration. Healing mists of vocal synth wash over the spirit, playful bass loops guide the body into gentle hypnosis, and synthetic mimicries of birdsong flutter on an ocean breeze as crystal strands decay over melodic hallucinations of singing organ and Soviet synth, and later, twinkling crystals, plucked strings, and puffs of panpipe circle together in a maypole dance of fairy folk fantasy. At the end, smears of slapback and starlight move over church organ drones, interstellar arp incantations, cymbal taps, and otherworldly drums, and as further layers of softly symphonic majesty grow in strength, the effect is like some epic ambient outro of post-rock grandeur…like gazing from an infinite peak across the glory of creation.

Ecovillage - New Reality (Constellation Tatsu) While on the subject of both Constellation Tatsu and X.Y.R., this seems like a natural place to mention Ecovillage’s New Reality, another major favorite from last year that found Emil Holmström and Peter Wikström collaborating with a whole host of amazing talents…X.Y.R. as hinted at earlier, as well as Ahnnu, Rhucle, Loris S Sarid, Yuk, Tonina, and Thore Pfeiffer…which resulted in one of the duos most expansive and kaleidoscopic journeys yet. Dopamine voices sing through flowing layers of crystalline drone while string plucks and chime evocations peak through pearlescent fog, and a soft tribal pulse beats alongside exotica bleeps as morphing static clouds, aqueous angel breaths, and harmonious hazes of new age melody coalesce overhead. Billowing bodies of white noise mesmerism surround distant shakuhachi spells and twinkling clusters of arpeggiated sunlight while shakers and cavernous drum beats saunter in to carry the body away on a gentle flow of fourth world groove, and later, looping layers of cinematic string romance land like breath while spectral flashes, diva whispers, and washing wavefronts of granular feedback suffuse the mix with an air of post-rave melancholia. Serene synthesizer soundbaths waver while blasts of machine vapor underly acoustic guitar folk flourishes...their textures fragile and faint, and buried amidst glorious ivory chord strokes and shimmering layers of choral spirituality…and as the A-side closes, subsonic industrialisms give way to sandblasted seances of quivering opera ambiance, with all manner of gurgling liquid weirdness cycling deep beneath the surface. On the B-side, Insectoid rustles surround jazz guitar whispers and cooing vocals, with a vibe reminiscent of early Natural Snow Buildings…even as the experience grows progressively more dreamlike and abstracted…and melting currents of metalloid mist and gemstone chime flow back and forth as aqueous clouds of healing haze surround bell tone sparkles, languid laser blasts, monotone chants, and bleary-eyed melodies of cosmic ocean fantasy. And after the an alternate version of the X.Y.R. collaboration that appears on Waves Tapes that minimizes the dramatic string orchestrations in favor of harmonious fogs of angel choir, the spiritual journey closes with vibrating crystal bodies accenting methodical bursts of fog-infused bass as a dopamine groove of slow motion dream jazz enters then fades.

(images from my personal copy)

10 notes · View notes

thesunlounge · 2 years

Text

2021 in Review (Part 1)

I regret how much I have been away from The Sun Lounge over the past year, but it was necessary due to some large scale life changes and issues with personal health. However, there was so much amazing music in 2021 that I would still love the chance to write about, and over the coming weeks, I will post a small series of year end reviews cataloging many of my favorite releases from across the year. My hope here is both to get back into the flow of writing, and to clear the slate, so that I can approach the music of 2022 unencumbered. And in some spiritual sense, this is me returning to the source for inspiration, as the very firsts posts on this blog collected together my favorite releases from 2017.

This first part contains 30 releases and reviews, and sometime next week, a second part will follow in a similar format. I cannot commit to anything else beyond that, but there is much more music to discuss than even 60 releases, and I have the sincerest intentions to write about more than this if I can find the time. While these reviews are not near so longwinded as my standard fare, I still tried to be as detailed as possible...at least within reason...and though this is coming a bit late, I figure if most people can get away with posting these lists in early December before everything has finished releasing, then I can do so into late January. Above all, I sincerely hope you find some amazing new music here, or are at least reminded of a cool LP or tape you forgot somewhere along the way.

Fuga Ronto - Greatest Treasure (Phantom Island) If forced to pick a favorite album from 2021, a strong contender would be Fuga Ronto's Greatest Treasure. Ron Shiller and Tobi Schweizer completely floored me back in 2016 with Invisible Escape, which is about as perfect an LP of White Isle escapism as I can possibly imagine. And somehow with Greatest Treasure, the duo have outdone themselves in crafting a follow-up that is every bit as tropical and tripped out as their debut, yet that also benefits from an enhanced sense of cohesion and a noticeable progression in songcraft. As usual, the Pasador Singers are present with their ebullient vocal patterns, mixing syrupy masculine lows and celebratory feminine highs...all while Shiller and Schweizer craft paradisiacal grooves taking in sun-soaked reggae, islander dub funk, 80s pop exotica, Far Eastern fusion, acid-trip ambient, desert caravan disco, cinematic soundscape psychedelia, world-infused new wave, and much else besides. Stand out moments abound, beginning with the immerse ambient environments and radio broadcasts of the opener, and continuing into the liquid bass grooves, rocksteady skanks, and evolving layers of charismatic vocal magic of the title track...which features hypnotizing group chants, swooning croons, and Sade-esque soul serenades, in addition to light touches of g-funk. Shuffling seaside disco drums dance beneath wordless AOR vocal coos and cascades of crystalline marimba in “Columba de Domingo,” and fourth world fantasy melodies and stoner funk licks accent a slow and low body bop in “Wobble in the Pool”...with heavy soundsystem basslines rattling the chest alongside banging dub drum rhythmics. “Mirror To Water” is pure intoxication, as cosmic ethers pool around a bouncing slap funk dub and balearic soul groove, with almost all the action happening in the completely mesmeric interplay of human voice...the Pasador Singers moving between spiritual chants, hyperventilating hooks, and expressive jazz scats. Horizontal closer “Mystery of Zambio” grows increasingly dramatic as it heads towards the sunset territories inhabited by Art of Noise—including a bewitching choral climax—and whether or not Greatest Treasure was actually my favorite album of 2021, I can definitely say that my favorite track was "Falling Star," where amongst myriad layers of equatorial groove magic and mystical vocal wonderment sits a truly mind-blowing bassline, which is helped along by prismatic displays of six-string funk riffing and solar organ skank, and a truly wonderful chorus of Talking Heads pop-balearica.

Pablo Color - Hora Azul (Ish Records) Staying in Switzerland, I’ll next discuss Pablo Color’s Hora Azul. True to his name, Pablo’s music is inspired by color—specifically the interplay between color and landscape—and his previous album La Calle Roja took inspiration from the his youth in Puerto Sagunto, with music meant to evoke remembrances of walking home from the beach through a city bathed in hues of shimmering gold and romantic red. Hora Azul, on the other hand, moves later into the evening, when the reds and golds of the setting sun give way to deep purples, pastel pinks, and bold and beautiful blues. And the music reflects this in turn, taking on tones of mystical magic and twilight wonderment...the heart-aching guitar fantasias possessing intertwining airs of ethereality and melancholia...everything windswept, wistful, and vaguely weary. As on La Calle Roja, there is a stunning list of collaborators, perhaps foremost of which is Berlin Lama, who on two tracks adds textures of rhythmic and percussive exotica to Pablo’s flowing guitar webs. The artist is then joined by Lexx on “Aire nocturne,” wherein the duo craft a subdued study for echoing ocean swells, meditative hand drums, and sandy cymbal taps. There is also “Alpha y omega,” which sees Pablo collaborating with Suiso Saiz...two masters of ambient and seaside guitar spanning different generations and uniting together for a deep and dreamy expanse of soundbath esoterica. And its becoming something a tradition to let Chee Shimizu close out a Pablo Color album, and here on Hora Azul—working alongside miku mari—the legendary organic musician delivers a sorcerous and psychotropic remix of “El beso y la noche.”

Buena Onda - Balearic Beats 2021 / Vinyl Sampler Uno (Hell Yeah) No surprise that Hell Yeah Recordings had another stellar year, and I spent a lot of time listening and dancing to the Buena Onda - Balearic Beats vinyl samplers. I am particularly obsessed with "Satellite" by Kayroy, which features a heart-wrenching vocal performance from Jaspar Robinson guiding a downbeat paradise chiller, one where electronics beaming in from cosmic oceans surround sensual fuzz licks and syncopated squelch bass slides. As for the rest of Vinyl Sampler Uno, Feel Fly's "Esperanto" begins with laid back beachside strut before launching into the stars, as vaporous psych guitars soar above galactic bass pulsations, subdued stellar sequences, dreamchord tracers, and heavy bottomed disco beats. Then on the B-side, Max Essa's flips The Vendetta Suite's "Neon Secrets" into a shuffling sunset soother, with bending dolphin song keys, solar chord spells, and liquid guitars pulling the heart towards an impossible horizon. And at the end sits "What is Love," which finds Chris Coco and Micko Roche crafting an awe-inspiring sunset paean built from wood flutes, mediterranean guitar leads, oceanside field recordings, and hypnotizing beach beats.

Buena Onda - Balearic Beats 2021 / Vinyl Sampler Due (Hell Yeah) Vinyl Sampler Due is equally stunning, and begins as Calm delivers a wondrous remix of Gallo's "Abysso"...the vibe awash in textures of cosmic acid and disco, with chugging 303 lines and four-to-the-floor beats supporting sighing strings and dreamhouse ivories. Tonarunur's "Flotholt" is deep trek into the heart of the cosmic ocean, with massive acid basslines and subdued technoid drum patterns eventually giving way to a stunning midtrack expanse of heavenly synthesis and seaside sampling...the whole thing not unlike Farbror Resande Mac. On the B-side, Relative's "The Healing Place" sees energized chill-out breakbeats accented by subtle future jazz and new age flourishes, as dubwise bass funk, lysergic vocal snippets, and starscape keyboard leads give way to radiant piano chord cascades and wiggling acid displays. Then for the final track, Kayroy appears again, though Gallo is entow, providing one of his ever-wonderful "Tropical Hinterhof" remixes. What results is dreamworld display of future-balearica, with shimmering pianos, serene vocal flows, and intergalactic winds blanketing IDM-indebted drum and acid patterns.

The Vendetta Suite - The Kempe Stone Portal (Hell Yeah) I mentioned The Vendetta Suite a few paragraphs back, and happily, this long-time Hell Yeah associate released a much awaited 2xLP in 2021 entitled The Kempe Stone Portal, in which the artist expertly weaves together the many shades and styles appearing across his scattered discography. It is a kaleidoscopic journey of epic proportions, taking the listener through landscapes of neon-soaked new wave, soothing sunset synth-pop, effervescent krautrock, post-punk drug chug, ecstasy-laced dream house, alien jungle acid dub, and cloudland kosmische. Perhaps most surprising of all is “Who Do You Love?”...a cover by The Vendetta Suite main man Gary Irwin of The Jesus & Mary Chain’s own cover of Bo Diddely’s original, which was the producer’s first non-dance related work from back in 1998. And still sounding fresh and freaked out, the result is a heroin haze garage psych burner that evokes nothing so much as classic Spacemen 3.

Aura Safari - Hotel Mediterraneo EP (Hell Yeah) Aura Safari joined the Hell Yeah family recently, and in 2021 the group released three awesome works: the Hotel Mediterraneo EP and Lagos Connect single—both on Hell Yeah Recordings—as well as the Niagara / Agua de luna 7" on Terrasolare. I'll focus here on the Hotel Mediterraneo EP, wherein coral crystal keyboards, acid bass, and syncopated beats lead a balearic glide, one accented by tambourines, pan flute accents, and synthetic reeds. Textures of cosmic disco and Italo house are slowed to a dopamine dream dance while guitars and keys smolder, chime, and shine over greasy synth bass funk, and sundowner pads float over a dub disco skank while bending squarewaves merge dolphin song and jazz fusion...all amidst radiant runs of piano. Romantic Latin percussions color a sunset disco dance, the vibe patient, methodical, and ultra-slow, and basslines squelch beneath hopeful keyboard refrains, smooth as silk jazz journeys, and sci-fi laser displays.

The Pilotwings - Les Charismatiques (BFDM) In 2021, The Pilotwings added Lastrack to their ranks, and delivered one of the most stunning album experiences of the year in Les Charismatiques. Here, the trio deliver a candy-colored journey through so many shades and styles, with several parts of the album hitting like Trans Am circa Sex Change and Thing. Sparkling synth pop textures and new wave energy grooves merge together as sassy vocal flourishes, anthemic chants, and slap bass funk lines support sky-ripping glam guitars. Blasted boogie drums bash beneath mystical Eastern melodies and druidic throat chants, and serpentine folk guitars lock into psychedelic riff cycles over a stoner prog drum dirge while galactic synths descend rainbow stairways of light...the effect not unlike Pharaoh Overlord/Circle, though with occasional detours taken into soothing sexual funk. Elsewhere, The Pilotwings craft a headtrip of bonged out digi-dub...a skittering bass and splattered drum riddim panorama embellished by zany sample manipulations, aqueous angel breaths, and exotic telephonic tracer melodies. Tribal drum ceremonials awash in interstellar broadcast noise are joined by pastoral guitars swaying in a warm seaside breeze while South Pacific slide melodies, spaghetti western harmonicas, and hazy acid rock vocals create a cinematic panorama of balearic intoxication. Hand drums intersperse pounding funk grooves from faraway planets, wherein arena rock laser leads shred through moments of silence, and masculine vocal sleaze wafts lazily above majestic brass and choral fanfares. And nearing the album’s end, The Piltowings return to very familiar territory, delivering a chill-out breakbeat banger overwhelmed by baroque atmospherics, galactic electronics, and demonic scratch fx; a galactic dance freak jam that pulls much as from tribal trance as it does gonzo 70s space funk; and a sublime slab of eternal broken beat balearica led by faux-exotica vocalizations, new age chime webs, and spiritual shakuhachi spells.

Kanot / Vidock / The Pilotwings - Hit & Run (Abstrack) The Pilotwings were also involved in Kanot’s Hit & Run on Abstrack, which I reviewed in full here. On the two Kanot originals, Can-style krautfunk basslines ping, pong, and pulse over infectious breakbeats and minimalist jazz fusion grooves, while the background swirls with psychotropic shimmers, LSD-glimmers, and refracting webs of echo. Neon-hued synth leads rocket towards universes unknown, and electric and acoustic guitars color the spectrum via heavy doom riffs, liquid fuzz leads, palm-muted echo patterns, and jangling webs of forest folk psychedelia. As for the remixes, Vidock morphs “Turbulens” into a minimal expanse of tribal club drumming and esoteric dub stimulation, wherein acid lines filter through hazes of fire, basslines rattle the ribcage, and mysterious voices babble into the void. Then, The Pilotwings takes the listener on a horizontal rave odyssey awash in mystical magic, wherein ceremonial drums build ever towards ecstasy, futuristic angel voices are chopped into chill-out trance euphoria, laser light arpeggios fire across parallel dimensions, and spiritual choirs sing hymns of the interstellar abyss.

Soshi Takeda - Floating Mountains (100% Silk) Every time I listen to it, I am reaffirmed that Soshi Takeda’s Floating Mountains was my true favorite album of 2021 (I’ll probably say this a lot, but I really mean it here!). Treading the path forged by Larry Heard in the early 90s and possessing a unique melodic sense awash in vibes of imagined nostalgia and bittersweet melancholia, Takeda uses an all hardware setup to concoct escapist paraisos in the old skool balearic mold, majestically morphing between head nodding dream house zoners, trippy beachside chillers, and wide-eyed vistas of ambient intoxication. Loved up club rhythms and jazzy snare flourishes are guided by a bubble bass jack while deep ocean mists surround mystical panpipe leads, drunken sequence cycles, and swirls of galactic light. Equatorial hand percussions pop beneath a new age of panorama of stunning beauty, with smearing steel pans and angelic pad breaths evoking some epic slow motion sunrise...all before pulsing beats and seascape leads work the body into a gentle state of romantic rapture. Phaser strings, tremolo trills, and melting sonic crystals surround heartbreaking melodies of echo-soaked seaglass as they drift peacefully over a slow and low dancefloor pulse, and mermaid voices background prismatic chime displays while seashell flutes and dub chords alternate over rimshots, cymbal shuffles, and a big bulbous four-four kick. Jazz house drums swing and sway beneath smearing siren serenades as dazzling marimba descents pull the heart towards a heavenly horizon. And at the end, gamelan metals and tropical percussion accents support searching guitar slides and a club drum throb...the effect like being whisked away across an infinite ocean surface, with a sky slowly exploding in every possible color.

Liila - Soundness of Mind (Not Not Fun) Liila is the duo of Danielle Davis and Steven Whiteley, who upon meeting at a Zen Buddhist monastery began constructing the mystical musical forms that would become Soundness of Mind. More specifically, the album was conceived during idle time at the monastery using samplers and synths, and later embellished at home studios with further acoustic treatments. The result is a kaleidoscopic journey of wonderment and mystery, which sees sequential cascades of mallet and voice merging, airy basslines bouncing through growing layers of psych organ luminescence, and majestic melodic motions soothing the soul before shaker rhythms introduce a climactic climactic climb towards realms of transcendental light, wherein rainbow lasers bathe the body in a celestial glow. At other moments, caravan jazz rhythms background displays of fourth world fireworks...these textural panoramas of voice, idiophone, and drum sampled and splayed out across the spectrum...and dreamspace pianos swim and soar amidst birdsong, bowed feedback drone, and a crystalline glow. Mystical chime orchestrations and tones of spiritual wood are backgrounded by animalistic saxophone skronk and arrays of methodical temple rhythms; fractal glimmers, orchestral shimmers, and weeping strings swirl above tick-tock marimba meditations and subdued beat structures; and cut-up voices and all manner of indecipherable samples flow in and out of maddening layers of morphing braindance...like Visible Cloaks constructing IDM-influenced dub. And towards the end, plucked zither strings drift through playful progressions amidst clouds of chromium vapor and looping space telephonics.

Troth - Small Movements in Radiance (Not Not Fun) Troth is another duo crafting bewitching ambiance, and in addition to Small Movements in Radiance on Not Not Fun, Amelia Besseny and Cooper Bowman also released their Oak Corridor LP on Knekelhuis. I’ll discuss Small Movements in Radiance here, and in some sense, the title says it all, as Troth use plucked strings, mallet strikes, field recordings, and droning metals to create hushed and subdued compositions awash in a spiritual light...these quiet spells cast against the negative forces of the world. Temple tones quiver, swells of feedback smolder and disperse, and flashes of lullaby melody thread in and out of an echoing forest drum ceremonial that soon recedes to silence. Faded synths hover in hues of monochrome while birdsongs—both real and synthetic—intermingle over a peaceful new age tone poem...one that blurs and softly smolders while bodies of morphing silver resonance occasionally arc across the stereo field. Wavering psych drones from the Bitchitronics school wrap around wind chimes and lofi piano incantations...the effect like an interlude from Mogwai’s Young Team pitched down to a somnambulant slowburn. Later, sacred idiophones ring into space while drones evoke the rippled landings of liquid droplets...a rainfall of ambiance that soon gives way to avian chatter and resonant wave mutations...everything periodically decaying to silence before being awoken again by rapid repetitions of bell and chime. Soothing bass soundbaths birth flowery growths of wordless voice...like angelic beings mimicking the spiritual breath of the universe...over which harp plucks dance like sunbeams, glockenspiels execute mysterious melodic themes, and kosmische organs flutter through slapback, with time kept by methodical chime strokes.

Andra Ljos - Fountain of Inspiration (Not Not Fun) While there is more Not Not Fun coverage to come in the second part of my 2021 in Review series, I’ll finish out this round by discussing the ancient sound ceremonies of Andra Ljos’ Fountain of Inspiration, which like its predecessor The Oasis of Little Birds, is influenced by mythical wellsprings, and more specifically, tells the story of an island water sanctuary in Ancient Greece...the location of Castalia’s death and transformation, and a bathing ground for those seeking the oracle of Delphi. As for the music, on side A, classical kosmische chord progression swim through rivers of sorrow, kalimbas ascend on currents of ether, and cymbal taps phase and flange while deep space leads thread through the air. Woven folk webs emerge over water, bass, and sitar buzz, and dazzling string harmonizations dance both in duel and in round while cracks in the Earth birth ghostly vapors. Cloudy prog chord progressions stoke ritualized energies while minimalist world drums and golden bells underly quivering organs influenced both by Klaus Schulze and reggae skank, which are further colored by whispers and psychotropic leads swathed in distortion. Mellotron flutes sing songs of deep devotion over sparkling oceans of starlight, while subdued sequencers and minimalist world music rhythms float far in the distance. Over on the B-side, sinister voices vaporize amidst headspinning drone constructions...these psychosomatic organ tones that seem to pulsate across the surface of the mind...and exotic dub chord and tribal tom progressions underly reverberating keys and Arabian desert strings. Further layers of Middle Eastern and Aeolian mysticism emerge as bongos background prismatic string plucks and solar organ seances, and eventually, camel caravan rhythms build in strength and propulsion. Elsewhere, time-lag organ accumulations and tremolo string sunstrokes meditate in hushed tones over water samples and cricket chirps, and anodyne android voices drift over a bed buzzing melodics while folksy strings play occasional ditties for a setting sun.

Li Yilei - 之 / OF (Métron Records) Conceptual sound artist Li Yilei, together with Métron, released one of last year’s most compelling and challenging collections of ambient esoterica in 之 / OF. The album was conceived in and around a time of turmoil and transition for the artist, largely stemming from their exodus to Shanghai from the UK at the onset of the pandemic. Having to quarantine for several weeks upon arrival, Li Yilei used the time in isolation to investigate their relationship to the flow of time and to the natural world, while also using the music as a way to digest a wide range of emotions and concepts...”grief, panic, healing, cessation, melancholy, vastness, hope, joy and emptiness.” What results then is a set of meditations on temporal displacement based on reflective introspection, wherein allegorical sound structures merge with snippets of sound from the natural world...everything intertwining, obscuring, and rebirthing into ever new forms. Fractal bell tones quiver in morning mist, birdsong surrounds minimalist dream sequencing...alternatively smeared out or landing like Reich-ian mallets...folk strings turn to ether beneath a rain of celestial arpeggiation, and shaker sounds and field recordings move like a swarm of swallows. Metalloid globules morph through currents of cricket chirp, music box melodies lose themselves in a storm of reversing siren sound, and waves crash over psychosomatic flanger fog before giving way to swirling galactic mists, water drop melodics, and mystifying whispers. Lullaby electronics malfunction alongside industrial engine drones and chickadee chitters and screaming geese blend with broken satellite transmissions while elsewhere, symphonies built from bowed alloy and vibrating crystal detune wildly, digital marimbas dance amidst typewriter buzz, and voices babble over kosmische tribal.

Sasha Vinogradova & Alina Anufrienko - Oko (Hidden Harmony Recordings) Hidden Harmony Recordings continued to source incredible sounds in 2021, and I was particularly enamored with Sasha Vinogradova’s & Alina Anufrienko’s Oko LP, which merges electronics, voice, and strings to stunning effect. Cello drones and filter sweeps support flutters of wordless vocalization, meditative metalloids melt over subliminal beat structures, and mesmerizing bow strokes refract layers of light as Vinogradova’s singing grows increasingly unhinged...the whole thing not unlike early Charalambides. Wooden drums and dubby downtempo sub bass background moonlit synth leads and careening phaser cellos—and twinkling keys, wheezing reeds, and underwater orchestral accents support a drifting vocal elegy concerned with the strength in sadness and the silence following death, which eventually devolves into a wordless wall of droning terror, wherein unknowable voices speak the secrets of ghosts. Malfunctioning morse codes buzz over broken string seances and modular electronics add a subtle sense of propulsion while anti-musical organs obscure conversational chit chat. Rains of seasick sequencing evoke falling snow as child-like voices grow increasingly unhinged while dancing upon threads of cello-generated serenity...all before rustling tribal beats make an appearance...like a brief astral flight towards some psychedelic forest ceremonial. Exotic percussive whispers support lullaby sequences and strange synthetic squiggles for a fourth world odyssey into the sphere of dreams, with the album’s liner notes suggesting visages of a “giant ship sailing in the distance.” Then, at the end, tick tock taps and flutey synths dance together while strings sing whalesongs over harmonious chimes..the whole thing slowly vaporizing into otherworldly ether.

B'Zircon / Perko - Lazulination EP (Kalahari Oyster Cult) B'Zircon is something of a sonic dream team, pairing as it does two of my favorite practitioners of triptastic rave: Roza Terenzi and Fantastic Man. There are two original cuts here on the Lazulination EP, with opener "Azure" barreling down into a deep trip of progressive house ecstasy that features lysergic vocal cut ups, bugged out acid basslines, and anthemic chord progressions. On the flip sits "Lazulination," an extended excursion starting its life as a liquid breakbeat trip out before evolving into a zoned out odyssey of progressive, techno, and trance textures...the vibe at once energizing and calming. And as a special treat, Perko's remix smashes both cuts together into a balmy and futuristic slice of dubwise downbeat.

Fantastic Man - Cloud Management (Test Pressing x Love International) Speaking of Fantastic Man, the artist teamed with Test Pressing and Love International for the excellent Cloud Management 12". Here, Fantastic Man pushes towards some of his most balearic work yet, with euphoria-inducing breakbeats and psychosomatic bass patterns working the body beneath dreamspace pianos, aqueous pads, and polychrome clouds of electro-tracer lysergia. Elsewhere, low slung acid lines grind and growl as slow motion tribal rhythmics and animalistic electronics evoke alien jungle ecosystems. And rounding out the experience is a jacking acid and breakbeat workout accented by flowing melodies of sea-floor crystal.

Peyote Dreams / Roza Terenzi / Alex Kassian - State of Mind (Slack Mix) (Love on the Rocks) “State of Mind (Slack Mix)” by Peyote Dreams was written in 1993 (and remixed in 94), and was put back into the ether last year by Love on the Rocks. The original is a pure adrenaline rush of proto-trance rhythmics, rubber band synth bass, popping tabla rhythms, Goan forest squelch, and cosmic synthesis that doesn’t let up for a single second across its extended run time. Instead, it just continually evolves, working the body into a state of pure ecstasy, and tickling the mind with layers of extra-terrestrial acid psychedelia. On the B-side, Alex Kassian presents a muscular and supercharged update that skews close to the vibe of the original, though a bit slower and more spacious—minimized in some respects, maximized in others—with dopamine vocal samples, cracking dub drum fill fx, and a modernized big room trance feel. And then there is Roza Terenzi, who makes the absolutely inspired decision to slow the track way down into contemporary trance and progressive breakbeat territory, with the subsonic frequencies jacked up and that bassline becoming a slithering dub club head-nodder. Tablas pop slow and low and the beats are bolstered by additional percussive accents, while slow motion space sequences, otherworldly synth fogs, and psychotropic dolphin calls arc across the sky.

Alex Kassian - Leave Your Life (Pinchy & Friends) While on the subject of Alex Kassian, I’ll mention here the artists utterly spellbinding Leave Your Life release on Pinchy & Friends. If “Fallen Star” by Fuga Ronto was my track of the year, “Leave Your Life (Lonely Hearts Mix)” was a VERY close second, and sees Kassian deftly sampling a familiar Jon Anderson vocal hook and then repurposing it into the single greatest pop track of 2021, one that’s earned more than a few Talk Talk comparisons. The drums stomp steadily beneath a rainfall of shimmering guitar, with emotive basslines growling and sliding into the depths of the heart. Multi-lingual vocal samples flow in and out, subdued pads breath in hues of gold and silver, and by the time that anthemic hook hits, there is nothing left but pure surrender, as mind and body succumb completely to Kassian’s blissed out world of wavey art rock perfection. Following an amped up, dubbed out, and tribalized house remix of “Leave Your Life,” Kassian then delivers “Spirit of Eden,” an exotic hammock house sundowner owing a bit to Metheny and Mays, which is subsequently transformed by Bill Laswell into a deeper than deep jazz flute and echo dub odyssey.

Pejzaż - Wyspa (The Very Polish Cut Outs) Bartosz Kruczyński’s sample/edit project Pejzaż released not one but two new albums in 2021, though I’ll only discuss Wyspa here, as Noce i Dnie has yet to arrive. Even for Pejzaż, the range of styles and moods presented across the Wyspa LP is shocking, as Kruczyński expertly weaves together hundreds of samples sourced from forgotten corners of Poland’s musical history, resulting in perhaps his strongest work to date. Woozy rap and lysergic trip-hop rhythms boom and bap, with thrilling transitions and startling cuts giving a continual sense of narrative progression. Forest folk guitars drift over acid jazz breakbeats while emotive soul hooks loop through the air, filmic orchestrations sing through layers of vinyl crackle as sleepy-eyed voices spit lyrical flows, and samples of earnest art-rock ephemera transform into glorious hymns of praise for eternal ocean, while elsewhere, piano loops shower down moonlight and strings sigh beneath layers of falsetto pixie soul. Porn funk wah guitars waver over rain samples and broken downtempo grooves while ivories, mallets, and sax evoke vaporwave sunsets; mysterious drones murmur through stretches of melting ambient; and fried fuzz guitars shred over power trio psych grooves before dropping abruptly into bouncing bubblegum pop exotica. Best of all, minimalist cascades constructed from synthetic FM glass give way to a completely arresting section of DnB and junglist mayhem, the gonzo layers of adrenaline fueled beat science alternaely supporting syrupy raps and heart-wrenching hooks of paradise soul.

Mori-Ra - Japanese Breeze (Rotating Souls / Forest Jams) Turning my attention now to another master of the edit, Mori-Ra released his most ambitious and colorful work to date with Japanese Breeze, which features selections from the artists long running mix series of the same name. Though this is not always the case, Mori-Ra’s productions tend towards the ultra-psychedelic end of the balearic spectrum, with the artist reconfiguring all manner of popular and experimental musical ephemera from his native Japan into far-out drug chuggers, blasted and bass heavy dub disco dancers, slow stoner funk rockers, equatorial exotica boppers, and stretches of hypnotic body music minimalism. And while much of this is indeed present on Japanese Breeze, the artist seems to be operating with a slightly lighter touch at times, and many of the tracks are are suffused with an air of tropical city-pop optimism and a clean jazz fusion sheen, including the ripping phaser leads and adrenaline heavy funk disco rhythms and prog rock progressions of “Sky;” the infectious electrosoul rhythms, slap bass flourishes, photo hip hop hooks, and sky-burning solos of “Suddenly;” and also one of my favorite tracks all year in album opener “Feel”...a fresh blast of bouncing synth bass, fuzz guitar pyrotechnics, and hazy AOR hooks that seem to drift towards infinite horizons. Elsewhere, Mori-Ra barrels down into stretches of sorcerous dance psychedelia and leftfield groove esoterica, such as on “Pygmy,” where chaos clusters of tripped out organ fall over a sweaty and tribalistic house groove; on “Image,” which layers idiophones, desert riffs, and whooshing winds over a Latin-infused drum machine groove; and on “Modern,” with a vibe looking forward to Land of Light’s “Flares” and wherein skeletal beats and squelch bass blasts underly gothic string incantations, mystical piano cascades, islander hand drums, and threads of angel breath...all before ascending to the stratosfear on waves of celestial light...as liquid keys and harmonious chord strokes rain down over a triumphant rhythmic eruption.

Various Artists - Chill Pill III (Public Possession) Public Posession’s Chill Pill series is, at least to my mind, a modern attempt to recreate the vibes of Jose Padilla’s Cafe del Mar mixetapes, as well as things like React’s Real Ibiza series. In other words, they are compilations intent on surveying and collecting some of the finest downbeat, chill-out, ambient, and outsider balearica being made currently. But whereas the first two volumes leaned slightly more balmy and blissful, Chill Pill III at times pushes into psychedelic, rocking, and club friendly territory, and the interplay between the heady and horizontal makes for an extremely captivating listening experience. There are truly too many standouts to name across the 2xCD set, but I will at least mention the Floydian prog funk of Turzi’s “Watermill,” the anthemic downer pop of “White Flag” by 6 Underground, the Ibiza-gazing and jazz-indebted downtempo of Nice Girl’s “Will U,” the supremely stoned fuzz rock cruiser “P.C.H.” by Avocado Highway, and the setting sun soul sway of Mogwaa’s & Xin Seha’s “숨(Breath)." Elsewhere, there are moments of blissful introspection, such as the organic rhythms of and sleepy-eyed acoustic flourishes of Martin Brugger’s “Fall Out,” and the American primitive and freak folk romances of Suzanne Kraft’s “ChaptersAC464.” Andras deliver krautrock-leaning stretches of cloudform breakbeats in “cp3”...like Harmonia scoring a post rave chill-out room...and R_R_ lets a dusty and jazz-soaked hip hop rhythm walk beneath melting pads, quivering melodics, smearing chime strands, and lullaby arps. And as for one of my absollute favorite tracks all year, Superpitcher’s “Sometimes” lets narcotizing minimalist club grooves and lysergic sample manipulations dazzle the mind and body while kinetic echo guitars, mystical Middle Eastern melodies, and stirring string synths flow in and out of the stereo field.

Various Artists - HOME (Warm) HOME is a towering achievement in the world of compilations, and is that ultra-rare type of collection that functions as a seamless and self-contained whole. Carefully and lovingly curated by Ali Tillet, the album merges field recordings from Gary Moore with exclusive selections from a truly incredible selection of artists, and each side is themed after different scenic locations around Tillet's home of Dorset. The result is a paean to both landscape and soundscape, as gentle, horizontal, and organic strains of ambient and balearic merge with immersive soundbaths sourced from the natural world. To name some highlights, Natural Calamity deliver a beautiful expanse of Café del Mar-style magic, as jazz cymbals, island hand drums, shakers, and gentle rainfalls of acoustic guitar are overlaid by heartaching string orchestrations and wordless vocal enchantments...the effect not unlike Sth. Notional’s “Yawn Yawn Yawn.” Paqua are here with an instrumental version of “Escondido” from Claremont Editions 2, wherein lofi exotica beats anchor an infectious acoustic guitar, funk bass, and squelch synth sway, one that eventually builds to a climax of oceanic pad layers and a ripping solo of stoner blues. As for Coyote, the pair thread a characteristically lysergic vocal sample through stuttering broken beats and prismatic dub electronics, while overheard, seaglass pianos, currents of brass, and angel breath guitars land like a mirage. Kirk Digorgio presents AS One contributes a stirring post-classical meditation for spectral strings and storming bass, and Brainchild merge chamber orchestrations, jazz rhythms, and fusion piano pyrotechnics, resulting in a rush inducing post-rock epic. Richard Norris lets victorious new age pianos ascend through clouds of galactic ether; Fug craft ambient soul and R&B poetics over minimal arrangements of piano, contrabass, and heavenly voice...all before transitioning into HOME’s second section of emotional post-rock; and Bobby Lee & Mia Doi Todd craft a pastoral psych blues and folk shuffler in the vein of Nev Cottee, Almunia, and Pink Floyd. Appearing again on this list, Pablo Color is joined by HOVE for a study in quiet ambient minimalism and sparkling space drone, which is eventually given motion by currents of deep ocean bass, and to close, Âme create fourth world and minimalist dream music, with smooth brass and balafons dancing...the kind of thing that would fit nicely on D.K.’s Distant Images.

Various Artists - Lucky Are Those Who Hear the Birds Sing (Growing Bin Records) On Lucky are Those Who Hear the Birds Sing, Growing Bin main man Basso has pulled together another surprising set of rarities and forgotten gems dedicated to those chance encounters in life where special records seem to find you, rather than the other way around. Though only progressing across a handful of tracks, the stylistic ground covered is characteristically vast, beginning with the proto-Wolf Müller style tribal dance trance of One Tongue’s “Coffee,” which further features mystical voice samples, Can-style bass mantras, forest flutes, mundane spoken word, and blasts of saxophonic fire. Stars of a recent revival collection on Left Ear, I.A.O. appear next with a track of sunday strolling new age and flowery soft jazz, led by cymbal taps, Afro-folk lullaby melodics, and purring woodwinds. Matthias Raue’s contribution is a joyous set of percussive texture and melodic mirth, as mechanized world drums lock into tribal ceremonial while poorly synthesized orchestras weave hymns of sunshine exotica. “Fruendschaft” by Hardy Kukuk finds mutating sequences tripping and falling over plodding drums and kosmische synths descending like rays of light on a shimmering sea surface, until the whole thing morphs into a soaring slice of pastoral prog balearica. On the flip, Frank Suchland whispers expressively over pan pipes, chime strands, subliminal soul samples, and pooling vortices of reverb in “Schnee,” and on “Conversations of Everyday Lovers,” Die Fische travel to faraway desert oases with their meditative caravan jams...bowed strings, droning organs, and Arabian synths that land like a mirage over methodical world drum structures. And ending the show is perhaps Basso’s finest discovery yet in Hugh Mane’s “Out in the Ether,” wherein liquid future jazz basslines, popping breakbeats, infectious handclaps, morphing space leads, and gemstone idiophonics ride some eternal wave of circular jam fantasy.

Various Artists - Air Waves (Dream Chimney) Dream Chimney made a return to tape in 2021 with the release of Air Waves, and as with their awesome Demo Tracks cassettes from a few years ago, we are treated to an expertly selected set of baked wave chillers, California coastal cruisers, and balearic beaters sourced from all across the world. To be brief, I’ll again mention a handful of highlights, starting with LOVA’s “Lento Levante,” a loved up boogie beat and tropical synth bass groove out surrounded by washing ocean vapors and accented by some of the catchiest guitar hooks of the year...these paradisiacal licks and wailing leads that soar the soul towards a perfect sunset horizon. Also on Side A, Giorgio Lopez lets equatorial idiophones and synthesized ocean crystals sparkle over hyperactive synth bass and desert island dub beats...the whole thing landing somewhere between Fuga Ronto and A Vision of Panorama. Longstanding favorite Faint Waves is also here with a heart-wrenching soft pop sundowner featuring sea samples, symphonic strings, and an understated yet completely dazzling interplay between synth, marimba, and steel pan. Over on Side-B, Sorcerer delivers wiggy, wavering, and futuristic beach funk with some truly stunning whammy bar and surf psych riffadelics, and all-timers Bonnie & Klein amp the energy with hard-hitting slab of mediterranean dance club euphoria led by spacious disco drums, palm-muting riff percolations, glass-toned fusion runs, and galactic descents of synthesized neon. And showing up again to end the show is new favorite Soshi Takeda with tones of spiritual metal and wood falling like a soft tropical storm over a breathtaking soundworld comprised of new age angel pads, minimalist world percussions, sea spray guitar slides, and mutating pan-pipe leads.

Hear & Now - Milvus (Claremont 56) Hear & Now delivered their third immersive long player in 2021, with Milvus landing as always on Claremont 56. The duo of Marcoradi and Ricky L here deliver another stunning collection of spiritual ocean ambient, delirium inducing dreamhouse, funk-infused space disco, and soul-balm balearica, wherein seaside jazz bass walks beneath purring noir brass and fluid blues guitar while cosmic synths and coral-colored pads repeatedly crash like waves to shore. Spaghetti Western whistles flit aside smears of trumpet and sprays of lead guitar over a triumphant Italo house body groove, and melodicas thread through solar organ ska strokes and hovering hazes as dub basslines work the body in support of a rocksteady riddim flow. Seasick pads guide a stretch of Floydian disco and futuristic funk, with thrilling key change basslines and climactic displays of dueling space guitar. Glass pianos climb currents of Adriatic ambient before dropping into chordscape wonderment as everything else transitions towards low down and body banging deep house bliss...a transcendental 90s headtrip perfect for sunset dance escapism...while later, star-dancing disco is pitched down and spread way out, resulting in a head-nodding stretch of slow bass funk and dopamine club drumming overlaid by whalesong guitar ambiance, reverberating reeds, and dub percolations. Metronomic shakers and kicks shuffle beneath subearthen bass slides and raining cascades of seafloor crystal before those infectious whistles return once more, first floating over a beatless paradise, then guiding a sleepy-eyed ambient house dream journey, and at the end sits an engrossing expanse of horizontal romance...a hand drum guided flight into heavenly spheres, with mind and body caressed by angel voices and fuzz guitar vapors, and carried out over the surface of some eternal sea by serene shaker rhythms and pulses of bass sensuality.

Tony Esposito / Hear & Now - Kalimba de Luna (Archeo Recordings) Tony Esposito’s “Kalimba de Luna” is presented here in its long version, and is as searching and sun-soaked as ever, with textures of tropical reggae, cosmic prog, Italo pop, and tribal psychedelia merging beneath colorful woodwind accents and Esposito’s pleading vocal refrains. As for the remixes by Hear & Now—which sound all the more radical and transformative sitting next to the original—we first have the “Land of Sunshine Remix,” which sees balmy sunrise swells and hand drums backgrounded by seaside field recordings while emotive basslines walk white sand beaches. Snippets of voice smear into oceanic fog, gemstone pianos ascend to the heavens, and during a midtrack breakdown, guitars quiver and sing alongside celestial strings and desperate voices...all until hand drums and liquid leads return the spirit to a world of ambi-balearic bliss. Hear & Now’s “Onda Nueva Remix,” on the other hand, immediately launches into narcotizing disco and burning boogie, with syncopated bassline stabs, cracking club drums, Floydian palm mutes, heady future chants, and energized 70s-style piano riffs...everything building and building towards a climactic launch into a neon sky, with interstellar arps firing and galactic blues guitars wailing far in the distance.

L’Eclair - Confusions (Les Disques Bongo Joe) L’Eclair’s newest 2xLP Confusions takes things to a whole new level for the band, as they wrote and produced the album over an extended period of months, which contrasts their usual tendency to record live to tape over the course of a few days. Afforded the space and time to refine their compositions, L’Eclair ended up producing an expansive and awe-inspiring paean to the history of progressive head music, one that—at least to these ears—intersects the various works of a wide range of artists and styles...Emrbyo, Can, Mushroom, Magma, Tortoise, Guapo, The Heliocentrics, Cave, and the entire constellation of artists emerging from Miles’ 70s fusion period. But this is not a simple study in psych music nostalgia, for the group also fold in textures influenced by Artificial Intelligence-style ambient and IDM, by the shadowy melodrama of giallo soundtracks, by production techniques and melodic progressions from the world of reggae and dub, and by a crate diggers sense of rhythmic flow owing something to legends such as Madlib, Doom, and Dilla. And while there’s so much to love here, with the group effortlessly flowing through syncopated sci-fi disco and futuristic boogie, space age lizard lounge, alien ecosystem lovers rock, proto-technoid body funk, tribalistic acid house, squelch bass balearica, desolate desert dirge, kosmische experimentation, first wave post-rock ritualism, and much else besides, I’ll make special mention of sidelong epic “Cosmologies.” Here, the group morphs from angular fusion into a sorcerous spell of heavy breaks, Cuzkay bass, palm muting shadow descents, and filtering synths that burn the air like fire...all before dropping into an extended section of cinematic guitar and piano folk overlaid by all manner of avant-garde melodic magic. And as the filmic ambiance fades away, a slamming section of kinetic breakbeat funk and minimalist drone psychedelia emerges, working both the body and mind into a state of total transcendence.

Maston with L’Eclair - Souvenir (Innovative Leisure) While on the subject of L’Eclair, the group joined together with psychedelic cineaste Frank Maston for one of the years most surprising and exciting outings. On Souvenir, lilting rhythms land like air while plucked electrics background vibraphone enchantments and synthesizer strings...all before a slowburn ascent towards the night sky, as menacing fuzz guitars twang alongside theremin-esque siren spells. Keys and guitar converse across the stereo field as a stretch of Broadcast-leaning psych pop waltzes in support of fluid bass guitar melodics and romantic woodwind leads, and in one of the most stirring moments of the year, Maston pleads “do you feel it working?” atop a mysterious jam of prog-Americana and orchestral Laural Canyon blues, his heavenly hooks wrapping around the heart as the spirit drifts lazily through flower field grooves and tropical jam flourishes...with harp-like tones falling and psychedelic wah licks riding on a head bopping hand drum beat. Daydream organs and bell-tone keys call back and forth over jangling guitar webs, funk basslines, and sunny soul rhythms, and falsetto voices coo softly over a dubby broken beat swing, wherein soaring squelch synths and twang guitars execute magnificent harmonizations...something about the vibe reminding me of Greg Weeks, if only vaguely. Flutes purr and prance over down low tropicalia, as exotica basslines lead shuffling ska funk rhythms, and Canterbury-esque prog folk balladry lilts over equatorial island jazz drum beats and whispering wah guitars while organs play colorful cycles and aqueous chord orchestrations....all as Maston sings with innocent, sweet, and soulful grace. And at the end, buzzing subsonics, stoner prog basslines, and methodical doom rhythms hold the flow beneath menacing guitar twang, string synth melodramas, moonbeam leads, and shades of freakadelic fuzz.

Maston - Darkland (Phonoscope / Be With) Maston's Darkland also saw a vinyl release in 2021 courtesy of Be With. Culled from the same sessions as the artist’s incredible Tulips LP—and in some sense forming a shadow self to that album—Darkland lands with a similar sense of cinematic grace, as Maston delivers another set of filmic miniatures, library flourishes, and extended songforms influenced by the likes of Ennio Morricone, Jean-Claude Vannier, Piero Umiliani, and of course, the music of vintage KPM. Throughout the album, radiophonic vibrato melodics and baroque keys ring over pulsing prog ballads, church organs sing sorrowful serenades, and martial snares and bell tapes underly fairy flute ascents. Primitive rhythm box beats support carnival basslines and lysergic melodies of childlike mirth, while later, bedroom fantasy orchestrations float above a psych jazz drum swing. Low down stoner funk bass, tight breaks, and solar riffs jam beneath swaying theremin symphonics and lofi western twang, and heading into the B-side, evocations of sunset tropicalia introduce a cinematic pop psych epic replete with desert sand string symphonics and an infectious reverb guitar and swing drum interplay that reminds me so much of Broadcast’s “The Book Lovers” (there is no higher compliment I could possibly pay!). Smokey guitars lead a short stretch of sundowner funk, and dreamy heart & soul melodics transport the mind to a fabled 50s pop paradise. Elsewhere, porn funk wah guitars and space age bachelor pad keys intermingle, twanging surf guitars meander over ethereal jazz pop and doo-wop ephemera, and acoustic guitars sketch out psych folk romantics. Perhaps best of all, there is a chill-inducing melodic callback to one of Tulips’ stand out tracks, with ”Endless” on Darkland referencing the wide-screen Morricone adventures of “Rain Dance.”

Common Saints - Starchild (Starsonics) Following on from a completely stellar debut in Idol Eyes, Charlie J. Perry and his Common Saints project dropped a new set of starry-eyed pop and astral psychedelia in 2021 with the release of Starchild. Ecstatic and wordless vocalisms soar over burning fusion jams that break down into soulful expanses of ambient funk, airy grooves awash in Floydian blues and pastoral prog background ethereal vocalizations and liquid guitar leads, and serpentine basslines slip slide over melodramatic grooves as they vibe between subdued Arabic surf and baroque acid pop...all as Perry flows through hyperventilating hooks, ripping fuzz solos, and shadowy layers of vocal desperation. Elsewhere, smoldering stretches of sundowner soul and islander funk support golden-toned falsettos, spirit-stirring croons, and Laurel Canyon folk harmonies, and doom-tinged dirges are built from epic overdriven riff progressions before giving way to paradisiacal stretches of pop perfection in the style of Hiroshi Sato...that is, until everything builds towards an absurdly anthemic climax of heavy stoner riffing and sorcerous six-string soloing.

(images from my personal copies)

13 notes · View notes