From the very opening of this album I nearly sunk into the abyss. I've listened to this album on repeat since its arrival a few days ago and with each listen find a new element or focus point to sink into, it has depth, character, uniqueness and sounds unlike anything I would have expected from these two producers. Imagine you are a fish swimming through a sea gate looking out at the world from an underwater universe, it is bright and full of color: this record defines the term hypnotic. There aren't any suitable words to describe a masterpiece like this, you'll have to hear it to believe. Subtle change is everything and a moment lost would alter the listening experience, treat yourself to this record if you haven't already, it could change your life. It's now one of the most important records in my collection. It's a listening experience like few others. A true forward thinking sonic adventure, thank you Echospace.

Rome's piece de resistance of martial folk music begins with the ethereal Sonnengötter, a sublime pure ambient work that showcases Jérôme's virtuous talents as a Neo-Romantic bard. Towards the end of this opening lucubration, no sooner has a cultured voice sample whispered the title of the album, that the ghostly pads condense into the military drum of 'Der Brandtaucher,' a rousing centerpiece of the genre that achieves and surpasses the ideals set by industrial heroes Gerhard Petak and Dernière Volonté. Yet the apex of the album is not reached until the following composition: 'Das Feuerordal' - The Ordeal by Fire (if my German still holds up) is surely the magnum opus of Rome and the martial folk genre in general.

In 'Das Feuerordal', the aforementioned military thomp underlays an aggressive guitar chord progression, conjuring a beautiful dichotomy percolated by Jérôme's gravelly and mature vocals. Whilst the song structure resembles the strophic form utilised so oft in the cursèd pop music, the music is otherwise diametrically opposed to conventional filth, with the poetic lyrics mocking mainstream culture and melancholically handling the complex issues of love, life and faith. I am an acknowledged admirer of alliteration and other odic techniques; employed in the past by bawdy equivocators such as Shakespeare, and Rome's Platonic lyrics rank close to that bard's sonnets.

I digress - the next track, 'Die Nelke', must stand also on the podium of martial folk classics. The scorning and despondent lyrics had me in turns weeping with rage and holding up my fist in rousing defiance of tralatitious norms. Few tracks hold such elementary power to shake violent conflicting emotional responses in this vein. I must particularly note the potent poetry that is addressed to the average small-talker whom we with taste despise: "You have no self-control, you confuse talking with breathing, what do you know of the lives we're leading?" This is innervating balladry that equals Douglas Pearce in his most inspired moments.

Whilst these tracks are the grandest vade mecums on the album, needling the lack of self-control and general apathy in our modern capitalist society, most of the other tracks remain endeavors that cascade their wonderful songwriting and doggerel onto the rest of the folk world, leaving the majority of other songs far behind. The first-rate usage of samples of Weimar Germany in 'Wir Moorsoldaten' and the album in general is surely an original idea within the neofolk scene that will embolden prospective versifiers to come.

So, to summarise in simpler language, Masse Mensch Material is a transcendent climax of the mirror of the exemplary and is much enjoyed by artists and idealists prone to melancholy, such as myself.

Yesterday morning I checked this release and noticed that 133 people have it, despite only 100 copies being in circulation. Hmm, I thought. Looks like another release where Rod Modell and crew accidentally ran off 1000 copies of the album instead of 100 as they promised. So I sent a complaint to him via email and received a reply today:

"hi tennant

thanks for yor inquiry and support of my music. i did indeed print 1000 copies of subtraktive, i was just in the cd burning centre of smallfish and decided to mix things up a bit, and i pressed some different versions of the track....

Subtraktive (original 100 copies mix)
Subtraktive (DC 150 copies mix I)
Subtraktive ('I've got a good CV' 50 copies mix)
Subtraktive (Intrusion's 'Hitchell just burst into the room' 140 copies mix)
Subtraktive (Phase90 90 copies mix)
Subtraktive (Echospace's Glacial [starting snowing outside] 50 copies mix)
Subtraktive (Echospace's Reformed Christian 50 copies mix)
Subtraktive (Echospace's Unreleased mix)
Subtraktive (DC 150 copies mix II)
Subtraktive (Spacecho's Remastered Reshaped Remix 100 copies mix [edit])
Subtraktive (cv313's Midst of Something Hitchell 100 copies mix)
Subtraktive (cv313's oh sh*t I'm 20 copies short of 1000 mix)

the original pressing is limited edition of 100 copies as listed on my website

rod"

Unfortunately all the mixes sound very similar (the nature of techno), but I have been hunting them all down (the DC 150 copies mix II is my favourite, it's got some lovely hissing). I'm still missing the Echospace Glacial mix and will give $500 for it.

Mystery solved, and I am glad to serve the Discogs community as usual.

Liumin is named after an antiques shop that Modell and Hitchell saw during their stay in Japan - apparently it summarised the whole experience for them. With Tokyo having the highest population density in the world, a journey there can be nothing less than a grand experience; one that Echospace have created in sound.

Unlike the Coldest Season, this album is warm, capturing the late night groove of city life. Instead of a storm, field recordings involve discussions in Japanese merging perfectly into the music and giving the album a laid back energy. Alongside the beautiful chilled Firefly and Burnt Stage, there are a mix of more uptempo dub tracks like BCN Dub, which sounds like a King Tubby track repeated, looped and and broken down, becoming a fragment of a powerful memory. The mix takes you on a cohesive journey that ends with the ambient Warm, just the sort of way I wish that The Coldest Season had.

Liumin Reduced is an excellent addition, consisting of pure field recordings and some downtempo drones - this work definitely involves Modell more than Hitchell, the former of whom is very interested in the idea of capturing the vibrations of a location using field recordings. I'm sure than anybody who is a fan of dub techno can appreciate the atmosphere and beauty of this second half, it's fantastic.

Every time you think that dub techno has stagnated, Echospace take the genre in a new direction. Liumin is another outstanding release by these guys.

The Coldest Season opens with an atmospheric storm of white noise; a field recording manipulated by Modell and Hitchell. After minutes of buildup a beat unexpectedly kicks in, panning and evolving constantly. Thus marks the beginning of Echospace's first album and a new direction for dub techno.

The storm is prevalent for the entire duration of the recording, a high frequency hissing offset by killer bass hooks. Just like the minimal cover art is grey and white, the contrast is obvious and delightful for anybody 'trained' in dub techno. Special mention goes to Aequinoxium with the most addictive bassline I have ever heard in a track - 13 minutes of relentless sub-marine exploration. Celestialis is also a favourite, with glacial bursts added in the first few minutes and the bass gearing up throughout the track. It's the most progressive track on the album - most of them are content on chugging hypnotically onwards.

The only disappointment for me is the closing Empyrean. This track sounds playful and more clubby - not a good way to end such an album as this; it's not a bad track in it's own right but it would be more appropriate somewhere else. An ambient exit, slowly peeling off the layers, would have been preferable.

This album sounds even better played during snowy days in the winter months, when the land outside your window looks like the cover art. At other times it reminds me of traversing the ocean floor due to the deep underwater sounds.

Production here is excellent, but doesn't reach the quality of the vinyl segments of the Coldest Season (CDs never will). Be sure to listen with awesome headphones for a massive experience.

Not long after Gas had caught our attention with his unique self-titled debut in 1996, this classic followed which proceeded to popularize the project with the dub techno and ambient crowd. It's a beautiful world, with a euphoric orchestra and a relentless dub rhythm.

Zauberberg I begins without the beat and just wonderful atmospheric pads - this should be Gas' theme tune, since the feeling conjured is light-headedness - a somniferous, beautiful state which sums up the name of the project. Zauberberg II is the start of the lush foggy rhythm and enveloping bass, but with the incomprehensible human voice in the background, it's actually a déjà vu moment. And Zauberberg III has to be one of the crowning achievements of Gas with the enraptured cry of a distant orchestra: this is a spine-tingling psychedelic train journey.

In Zauberberg IV, Gas does doom jazz (a genre worth checking out if you are so inclined, I recommend starting with Bohren & Der Club of Gore). Zauberberg V, too, is very murky, with an angry rhythm and infinite depth, and only fragments of the orchestra appearing now and then. In Zauberberg VI, the orchestra builds up from nebulous craters into earth-shattering repining - this is the most defiant Gas composition ever. It's worth noting that the progression in this track is much more obvious than in the usual repetitive Gas track, yet the hypnotism is maintained with the great bassline which is later to be used in Konigforst I. Then we reach Zauberberg VII, similar to the first track and totally beautiful.

Overall, this is the foggiest, darkest and most menacing Gas album, yet there is still the right amount of euphoria and moments of alluring ambiance at the beginning and the end. There is huge depth to this music and wonderful subcutaneous layers. This ranks alongside Konigsforst and Pop as Voigt's best compositions.

Time to review another classic ambient album: well, Lifeforms is THE classic ambient album. It's widely available and evokes the most wonderful of atmospheres. Really the magnum opus of FSOL, Lifeforms made the duo and is always referenced as their best.

The atmosphere conjured up by the album is stunning. Lifeforms really shows the oxymoron better than any other album - an organic, breathing jungle is being created purely with electronic sounds and some instrumentation. Cascades begins as such, with a guitar supported by an ambient landscape. Flak builds up the dense environment with magical chimes and plodding herds. Dead Skin Cells is the beautiful and sad call of a lonely animal. Lifeforms showcases the darker and more hostile side of the jungle. Amongst Myselves - the death of an explorer lost in glimmering caves below the rainforest.

Disc 2 should be listened to straight after Disc 1 since it's here that the journey becomes really exciting. Domain is a wonderfully fragile piece which borrows Pachelbel's Canon. Vertical Pig is apocalyptic - humans have come to raze down the jungle. Cerebral is the sad cry of the animals who are having their habitat destroyed. The layers slowly decrease and fold up - the lifeforms abandoning their dying realm. The end of Little Brother is the final call of helplessness from the forlorn creatures.

Truly one of the masterpieces of ambient since it achieves a special, ineffable kind of atmosphere with ease. I feel like an adventurer, exploring the rich textures of this beautiful album. Towards the end the lifeforms slowly die out as the forests are cut down by men in place of Dead Cities...

This is a good example of an album which desperately needs a re-release. This album is history - it was the start of Ultimae's excellent long running chill catalogue, which I pray will continue for years to come. Code Eternity, however, is very slightly out of place with the rest of the record label. It has more of a Goa sound and is more engaging to listen to compared to the lush sound of most of Ultimae's releases.

Code Eternity usually has a great synth sound going which holds the tracks together, along with a powerful beat and the old 4/4 kick. Soaring strings add atmosphere and power. This has been labelled as psychill, but I would say that it's closer to Goa trance in most parts.

Simply Blue is a fascinating track which builds tension with a small drum loop and a breathing synth which dilates until it almost becomes unbearable. A distant police sample tops off the track, making it truly wonderful. My other favourite is XP Continuum, which reminds me of battles taking place on Middle Earth. It really has that epic sound, along with the echoing drumbeat and a convincing atmosphere. Top marks for those two tracks alone and the rest of the album is also excellent.

The tracks face being a little inaccessible due to their lengths, but this truly allows for development. Vincent Villius and Charles Farewell really did something wonderful with this album - it's a great soundscape, ambient with much more of a kick and with more power and perhaps hostility. Excellent album and one of the very best in the Ultimae catalogue.

For the record: this is the longest piece of continuous music ever produced. Over 7 hours of Robert Rich's best, beautiful ambient works.

Water effects drift in and out of heavenly chords. Birds sing and nature calls. This piece of music is wonderful, absorbing ambience. There is nothing decayed or dead here; everything is working in harmony. Changes in sound are so subtle that you find yourself in different landscapes without realising it.

Part 1, a perfect countryside walk which lasts for days. You slowly venture into a mutating forest... Part 2: a visit to underground caverns filled with sparkling crystals and unknown wonders. Part 3, you are floating through space on an endless voyage to nowhere, occasionally being brought back down to Earth to enter calming forests with the alluring sound of birdcall brushing your conciousness. You are always detached but never lonely.

Overall this is a wonderful album and one of the best ambient pieces I have ever heard, worth getting just because it's a record breaker alone. Other ambient record-smashers include the Orb's Blue Room, the longest single to be in the UK chart at 39:58 minutes long. And it reached #8!