OKRAA / 1994 (ASIPV038)

 

We’re very excited to announce our next release, by a brilliant artist who may be new to our ambient-leaning circles…

Colombian-born, Juan Carlos Torres Alonso aka OKRAA debuts here on A Strangely Isolated Place with a set of four extended, beguiling tracks that harness the power of a slowly developing, cathartic process of experimentation, textures and noise.

With Garage and Electro releases amongst labels such as Lobster Theremin and Shadow Puppet, Juan’s OKRAA alias has laid ambition to cover many unrestricted styles moving forward, and none could be as fluid in description as ‘1994’.

What began as an experiment in minimalism, 1994’s approach was dictated by the methods used within the creation of its very first track, ‘Ola De Luz’. After developing 15 modules and patterns that were originally meant to be performed live, Juan continued to use this bank of sounds as an expression of his many emotions over the years. Each track on 1994 is inspired by different personal life events, but built upon and evolved from this similar palette of sounds, patches and field recordings.

The result is a record that feels extremely focused, yet alive and growing with each listen, reflecting the many years of changing emotions. The sounds of underwater field recordings cascade into waterfalls of noise, and uniform waves of light, both stimulating and transformative, birth new levels of movement and energy as each track progresses. It’s a combination of majestic force and respect for the detailed listening experience, minimalism birthing maximalism, in many ways.

View full details and links to buy on the release page.

 

The ASIP 'RSS' tee

You know we love to make some fun t-shirts every now and then.

This one stemmed from an exploration around the original ASIP logo, where it ended up looking like an old-skool Blog RSS feed icon.

If you have a sharp eye, you will see the ‘a, s, i, p’ in this smaller version on the front of the tee, but I thought it would be fun to further deconstruct it on the back too, and then top it off with some actual code from our RSS feed… slightly modified!

The tee is available in 3 colors (Sand, White and Navy) via Everpress, which means they gather all the pre-orders and then, create the tee and ship it directly to you. It’s slightly more expensive than usual as I have selected the best quality blank they have, and then we have two sides of printing. You have just 30-days to get your order in!

Order via Everpress

Check out the rest of our past designs on the Everpress store and grab some of the very last tees we have left in stock over on our merch page.

 
 

Mostra Takeover on 9128.live Sept 17/18th

 

Join us this weekend, September 17/18th on 9128.live, as we repeat an immersive listening experience from Barcelona’s recent Mostra Festival and the ambient/experimental-focused Hangar stage.

Beginning on Saturday morning and running for 13hrs, we will repeat some of the many sets that debuted at Mostra this past April, including live and DJ sets from:

Balmat
D.Humo
LF58
LOG
Nono
Timnah Sommerfeldt
Vicki Siolos
Ylia

“Mostra is more than a festival: it seeks to offer an alternative experience that brings us closer to the city. We want those who call Barcelona their home to make this position their own and to feel it belongs to them. That's why we're working to create a network in the scene among collectives, labels, artists, record shops, and other agents in the city.

Because we believe that the new normal must be to cooperate and create community. Barcelona needs a festival like Mostra: we are here to join forces and become a benchmark for a new type of festival with its own identity, committed to what’s local, what’s inclusive, and what’s sustainable.” More on the festival

For set times and the full schedule, visit 9128.live

 

($5k reached!) Portals: Energostatic (For Ukraine)

 

We just hit a massive milestone with our Energostatic charity mix and compilation, hitting just shy of $5k ($4733.52 to be exact, but rounded the donation up to $5k). I’m humbled by the support this has received, given it is a digital compilation, to hit this number is magic. I am glad we could do something small but meaningful to help with the situation in Ukraine, and specifically, the affected children of Ukraine.

The donation to Save The Children and its specific Ukraine efforts was made today.

Once again, a big thank you to everyone who has purchased the album and enjoyed it along the way. And again, to Energostatic label founder Marc Atmost for helping make this happen.

Let’s keep going!

 

Viul & Benoît Pioulard / Konec (ASIPV035)

 

Our next release comes from the esteemed pairing of Benoît Pioulard and Viul with a 2LP collaboration titled Konec.

This album stuck inside my head as soon as I was done with the first listen. Closely rooted in each of their own aesthetics, it sits somewhere between a hazy city sunset and a dystopian swan song, evoking a lot of nostalgia and plenty of memorable moments throughout the twelve tracks. One of those albums where everyone has a different favorite track!

Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri and featuring some stunning hand-drawn artwork by Liz Harris, the gatefold is printed on reverse board gatefold to enhance Liz’s artwork and pressed on Transparent vinyl.

Preorder is available on Monday 15th with full release on August 29th.

Listen to the album and view links to buy on the album release page.