Through it all, n5MD‘s music has retained essential qualities that keep its roster in heavy rotation and every new release worthy of attention: massively talented artists, immaculate production and presentation, and a consistent undercurrent of pure emotion sets its output above the flood of soulless, by-the-numbers releases clamoring for our clicks and spins.
A whole range of styles, plus points outside and beyond
Has it really been twenty years? I suppose so; both the objective marker of calendar dates and the subjective feel of accumulated weltschmertz suggest so. Time feels like it’s telescoped since Mike Cadoo began the n5MD label out of Oakland, California. Hell, 2020 feels like a decade all to itself, and the fact that the MD in the name stands for Sony’s MiniDisc format, quickly sunk beneath the inexorable tides of digital distribution and open standards, only brings the effect into sharper relief.
Cadoo notes the evolution the label’s sound has taken in the liner notes for this massive, 31-track compilation from artists past and present: it “moves from the label’s experimental electronica roots to our electro-acoustic leanings and our more current penchant for heartfelt widescreen ambient.” And yet, through it all, the music has retained essential qualities that keep its roster in heavy rotation and every new release worthy of attention: massively talented artists, immaculate production and presentation, and a consistent undercurrent of pure emotion sets its output above the flood of soulless, by-the-numbers releases clamoring for our clicks and spins.
That whole range of styles, plus points outside and beyond, is available on Twenty Years Away. Rather than go track-by-track through its nearly three-hour runtime, I wanted to simply point out some highlights that mark various points on the journey Cadoo describes. For example, Arovane presents a bit of a throwback to his Cycliph days and away from recent ambient moods with “Barkk Mnt,” a jittery chopped-up number. Proem and SubtractiveLAD tease at dark ambient, both with the title and opening minute of “Ventilation Drones”, but the track opens up into a delicate, sweeping middle section and moves to a crunch-laden, epic finale with duelling synth arpeggios.
Proceeds will be donated to the Cystinosis Research Foundation
Cadoo’s own entry under his Dryft pseudonym does hit that “widescreen ambient” mood on “Alkaline,” but it gets some dirty beats in as well; a welcome return for the groundbreaking industrial/IDM crossover sound that Cadoo pioneered. On “Mono No Aware,” OKADA represents the more acoustic end up the spectrum, with a repeated piano figure interacting with a backdrop of what sounds like manipulated field recordings of water on rock and a ghostly string section. Winterlight’s “Alone Together” not only nails the zeitgeist of Covid-era isolation in its title, but also its wistful guitar lines that manage to be heart-wrenching and hopeful at the same time.
The final third of the compilation moves squarely into the pure-ambient realm, with luscious, beatless pieces from bvdub, Jason van Wyk, Dreissk, and others. ILUITEQ’s “Still Lives on Barren Lands” was a standout for me, leaving a reverberant impression of vast empty space. SubtractiveLAD returns to carry that emotion to the release’s conclusion with “You Are Forever”: shifting beams of sunlight, a possibility of hope and redemption in these, the darkest of times.
One additional note that lends a special poignance to the release: proceeds will be donated to the Cystinosis Research Foundation, inspired by Clay Emerson (longtime roster artist Loess), whose daughter is affected by this rare disorder. It’s a classy, heartfelt move that exemplifies the tight-knit community around n5MD.
Twenty Years Away is available on n5MD. [Bandcamp]
