Prior to the creation of the label, Alphaform was the first teaser from Panospria that we released on CD in July 2002 through Psychonavigation Records out of Dublin, Ireland. Consisting of producers from the flatlands of Canada with little regard for any stylistic confines, it would foreshadow the launch of our eclectic imprint soon after. The last song was previously featured on the first Psychonavigation compilation a couple of years prior and has been included here as a bonus track.

Looking back, we’re glad this era was documented as such; it stands to illustrate the diverse styles that emerged from this particular region in the wake of the late 1990s rave scene. It was a time when many of the big parties hosted chill rooms at their events, plus a few eclectic nightclubs that were a haven for many of us weirdos who were cutting our teeth as bedroom producers and DJs. Shouts out to the Plastic Puppet Motive, Phi-Q & Dasein, CFCR FM, Connect festival, Uninhibited crew, Zombies, Amigos, December 5th, Isosceles, Blueprint, Urban Survivalist, Pop Up, Brave New Waves, and everyone who supported us back then. It’s been a journey!

Reviews:
“Imagine piles upon piles of compilations strewn across my desk, littering nooks and crannies, all full of songs, tracks, moments of sound, each and every one of them hoping for words… A little fanciful perhaps, but this is often how I feel: the compilation is at once, or has the potential to be, a fantastic journey through a label’s oeuvre, a sampling of unheard of artists or a familiar taste of some of the best tracks from the best musicians; at other times, the compilation can be a disorganized mess, a sketch of tracks with no thread to pull them all together. Luckily, Alphaform is of the former, a great collection of primarily ambient-styled tracks with a few beat-oriented jams in the middle to firm out the ground. This is a collection of music from relative unknowns within electronic music. Some are just finding their path; others know it well and strike off in original directions. Take the first two tracks, Separating Oxygen by Holzkopf and Choughm by Silent Q. The first is an almost Tim Hecker-esque tone-grind that sets the stage well for a take on ambient that is attempting to redefine itself in the light of newer strategies and sounds. The second is a throwback, for me a nostalgic trip into memory lane, where bombastic, almost FSOL-like beats carve through ambient synth swashes. That the new introduced the old leads us to consider the rest of the album in a similar light—that is, as somewhat of a battle between those pushing towards an edge, and those who are happy to reinvent the genres of old, or at least perform their movements well enough. This is more obvious when we consider the retro-IDM feel of Peter Creep who brings home the melody through well-produced and sliced breakbeats that nonetheless sound very similar to Bola or Plaid—although an excellent track for what it is, I’m not feeling that a trajectory with a personal inventory and incline was forged and fired. Much the same can be said for Multidimensional’s tribal techno drum jam, which unfortunately is the weakest cut on the comp; and even Fidget’s Nag Champa and Various Rarefaction’s Tentative Anagram make prodigious use of previous IDM conventions. But these tracks are quickly overwhelmed by the edge-boundaries: Holzkopf’s second and noisy track, Hagenback Zoo; the video-game metallic cuts and bangs of HD Mons by Turner of Wheels; Jon Vaughn’s clicky brilliance, (Oh) Baby, which carves circles around itself in trying to find a concurrent rhythm, lost in its glitched fuzz; Max Haiven’s minimal click-house jam, Windecks, which would be excellent for a 12 inch vinyl release and reminds me of some of SND’s work; and the sound-scape field recordings, meandering and melancholic, with touches of piano and drifting squalls, of Deep Space Comforter’s Spiritually Aggressive, who walk one of the more divergent paths on the album. And so—here we are, at the end, with a collection that re-listens to the ambience between new and old. What next?”
—Tobias C. Van Veen

“Are your ears craving something innovative, something a little different? Some experimental music, perhaps? If so, you might want to pick up Alphaform, a new compilation album featuring several current and former residents of Saskatoon. Released in July, this project features artists from Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba that are currently producing electronic music. They describe some of the music on the disc as ambient, techno, glitch, and breakbeat. The CD has gone out to college radio stations in Canada and is available both at the Vinyl Exchange and on the web.”
—Shannon Boklaschuk, Star Phoenix

“Many artists and old friends from the flatlands of Canada on this one so I can’t really be objective, but this is very representative of Saskatoon’s second-wave of electronic artists that took over the mantle from the PPM. I loved them all.”
—Devin Davidson, Discogs

“I have finally received a compilation disk from the Psychonavigation record label called Alphaform. This label is based out of Dublin but the man behind this work of art is former Saskatoon-based artist Constantine Katsiris. His goal was to showcase electronic music from around Canada and especially the prairies. Each track is distinct from the other and ranges in all genres of music from ambient, experimental, downtempo, electro, breaks, and trance. Local producers included are Peter Creep, Fidget, Jon Vaughn, Max Haiven, Silent Q and Deep Space Comforter. For something a little bit more out of the norm pick up a copy of Alphaform, you won’t be disappointed.”
—Shumon Khan, Tribe Magazine

• Disponible le:
  2022-01-29