Apollo – Past, Present, Future

Apollo, the ‘ambient’ subsidiary of rightly famed and recently resurrected Belgian dance music label R&S Records, has resurfaced with an outstanding compilation of blissed out beats. Having released Aphex Twin’s genre-defining Selected Ambient Works 85-92, it’s appropriate that a remastered ‘Heliosphan’ features here, encapsulating everything good about the label. With warm, vintage tones set to a throbbing breakbeat, it’s just one of many styles represented here: trance, hip-hop, trip hop, acoustic indie, and even reggae feature with a deft vocal performance from Finley Quaye on Manna’s ‘Who Changed The Order?’ Set to the steady heartbeat of a trembling sub-bass note, its ambience allows Quaye to shine as he sings, quite beautifully, “Somebody change the order, humanity’s in trouble, trouble, trouble.” It’s perfect late night listening.The overall feel is reminiscent of Global Communication’s classic ‘76.14”², with a tone throughout that suggests comedown music for the early mornings after spending a vicious night in thronged spaces imbibing various lethal, mind-altering substances in small yet effective doses. Though this trait is evident everywhere, the steady, childlike techno of Andromeda’s ‘Mundo Musique’, which casts a spell over the listener as pulsing synths and broken tweeter sounds are steadily built and then dropped, seems to exemplify this music.Not one of the 14 tracks presented here is less than excellent. Label owner and selector, Renat Vandepapeliere, has done a fine job of filtering and filling the entire length of a CD, which kindly ensures value for money. As the title suggests, it’s not just vintage tracks appearing here. New material from hip-hop producer Paul White (’Alien Nature’) and remixers Bullion (’Rude Effort’) is included alongside an exclusive, acoustic ‘Dreams’ by Dave Angel.Past, Present, Future comprises a fine balance of material, almost functioning as a mixtape on its own. Subsurfing’s eight minute, instrumental, dub excursion, ‘The Number Reader’, lies between two tracks by The Locust: the trippy, drifting ‘I am a murderer’ and the chilled ‘Just like you’, with both boasting sensual vocals to massage tight knots in tense shoulders, revive tired legs and relieve aching jaws.With dance heavyweights such as Underworld and Biosphere appearing alongside lesser known bands such as Pinback whose fantastic ‘Penelope’ kickstarts the album; Past, Present, Future serves as a stark reminder and brief introduction to the label. Welcome back, Apollo. It’s great to hear you again.