Various - Bblisss01 [2xLP]

Cultishly adored ambient compilation ‘bblisss’ finally lands on vinyl, replete with the first Huerco S outing under his Pendant alias, plus material from West Mineral regulars Uon, Ulla Straus and Exael.

Pulled together and first issued on cassette by Ryan Fall (uon, Caveman LSD) a.k.a. DJ Paradise in 2016, ‘bblisss’ has since become one of the most sought-after surveys of contemporary ambient music in circulation right now.

Upon its initial release, ‘bblisss’ introduced many of its artists and aliases for the first time, perhaps most notably Huerco S trading under the Pendant sigil, and also Ryan Fall’s emergence as DJ Paradise, which ushered in a gauzier take on the sublime dub abstraction found in his subsequent uon productions.

As DJ Paradise, Fall offers two of the set’s sweetest highlights with 12 minutes of coagulating ambient clag in ‘Ssumo’, and what sounds like a balearic grooves heard from under those greasy puddles on the rocks outside Cafe Del Mar in ‘Mbizi (R)’, while Huerco S a.k.a. Pendant rolls that vibe out to sea in the gently mesmerising slosh of ‘Des Vieux Temples.’

Along with the shimmering debut entry of Ulla Anona, who would later team with Pontiac Streator for ‘Chat’ on West Mineral, a hyaline vignette from Billington & Trampish, and the slowly strung out, systolic throb of ‘Procel’ by uon collaborator, Naemi (a.k.a. Exael), the sublime potential of ‘bblisss’ is pretty much guaranteed.

2 x 12” Vinyl, LP, Album