ASIP - Reflection on 2021

As with all past ‘Reflection’ year-end mixes, I start with a collection of albums I have enjoyed over the year. Through the process of compiling a mix that flows well, songs are whittled down and selected from this collection. This means many of my favorite tracks and albums are often omitted in the process, due to the need for them to fit in a mix that comes together as organically as possible. As I say every year, this isn’t a definitive ‘best-of’ list, but a selection of just some of my favorite music from the year in one easily listenable format. It’s the most enjoyable way for me to boil down the music I’ve loved from the year using these self-imposed restrictions, for you to then enjoy and discover more. I encourage you to use the mix to jump off and explore each artist, listen to the album in full and see what else is on the label (and check the Buy Music Club list). Of course, releases or aliases a part of our own label/s are not considered (head over here for our label-specific 2021 showcase).

Another crazy year in the books (or is this the new normal?). Looking back, it’s been a tough year personally and one that in theory should have left me with more time to listen and absorb music but somehow did the opposite. This mix, as it does every year, serves as a great way for me to dedicate time listening to albums again, and I’m realizing this has become a yearly sort of musical therapy for me. The fact that people actually listen and await the mix, is a lovely bonus.

It’s been interesting to see the pendulum of music move across various online listening platforms during strict lockdowns this past year, and what seemed like an onslaught of output as artists buckled down inside. At one point, I am sure we were all left feeling truly spoiled with music choices and online events, despite not being able to attend physical events until the past few months. I know from my own experience, that many artists have albums in the locker and the labels are now struggling to keep up with the present vinyl production bottle-neck.

On the ASIP label front, we finally managed to launch our 9128.live sister label, producing physical and digital editions from notable live performances, with many more planned for 2022. Despite ACL recently commenting that ASIP seemingly “so far has seemed immune to the vinyl shortage”, we have been massively impacted and have only been able to keep somewhat of a cadence this year because we had so much in the pipeline. Next year, we may see bigger gaps between releases and different formats as we look to work with new plants and basically turn our production flow on its head. Numerous times this year I have questioned whether to continue with our current approach, and I am sure many other labels have felt the same.

On the listening front, and upon reflection, I have definitely been drawn to the more electronic-driven side of ambient music this year. Slightly darker and edgier perhaps for obvious reasons, with less instrumental, gentle, or orchestral sounds in my library overall it seems. The Reflection mix, as it does every year, ends up moving through several different stages and captures many of the different styles of music that have been on high rotation.

This year’s mix, begins with some more tranquil pieces (Hopkins, KMRU, Arian Shafiee), then takes a dive into the deep, dynamic elements (ASC, Inhmost, Sciama, AES DANA, Ulla, Bana Haffar), to then slowly emerge into melody just before the hour with Christina Chatfield. Things become more storied, as pieces are overlapped and looped, presenting the powerful drones of Christina Giannone, and more fluid, energetic beat-driven pieces from Ground Tactics, Whylie, nthng and Skee Mask - most of which made me crave the (out of bounds) dance floor. Beats then become crunched, textured and irregular, with the likes of new discoveries in, Hoavi, Vivan Koch, and Amandra X Matthies. The mix then begins to draw in, as more melodic moments take over from some (old but new) music from Niko Tzoukmanis and CiM, before the final chapter draws in with more organic and spiritual elements from Saphileaum, Alex Albrecht, ending on a positive curtain closer from Wau Wau Collectif. Ending the mix on something more optimistic seems to be a requirement after the journey of this past year.

Thank you to everyone listening and supporting what we do, and I hope you can find a new artist or album to support on Bandcamp with this mix - all this year’s inclusions are below in the Buy Music Club list. For a more extensive list of what I have supported and listened to this year, head over to my Bandcamp collection.

Listen on Soundcloud, Mixcloud, or the ASIP Podcast.

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astrangelyisolatedplace · ASIP - Reflection on 2021

Tracklist:

000.00. Jon Hopkins - Tayos Caves, Ecuador I (Domino)
006.20. KMRU & Echium - Unending (Self-released)
009.10. Bolivian Fireships - Quiet Room, Locked Door (Hream)
012.50. Arian Shafiee - Wembley (Constellation Tatsu)
018.00. Ab uno - Adonai (Mahorka)
019.30. ASC & Inhmost - Sunrise on Titan (Auxiliary)
026.10. Sciama - Periphery (Auxiliary)
029.00. AES DANA - Foreword (Ultimae)
031.40. Ulla - Shelter (Motion Ward)
033.30. Bana Haffar - Totally Alive and Totally Invisible (Self-released)
039.50. Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement - Flying Fish Ambience (Hospital)
043.20. Nadia Struiwigh - Organic (Nous’klaer)
047.15. Op Zee - Muziekkamer (Stroom.tv)
050.00. Christina Chatfield - Concatenate II (Mysteries of the Deep)
057.10. Nigel Mullaney - The Well Of Sleeping (Behind The Sky Music)
059.00. Avsluta - Meditation 16 [Notes on Iridescence] (e2-e8)
1.00.30 Marine Eyes - On this Fresh Morning (Stereoscenic)
1.03.30. Christina Giannone - Realms II (Past Inside The Present)
1.09.00. Milieu - Terpentine Xylophone (Milieu Music)
1.10.05. Ground Tactics - New Earth (Self-released)
1.16.10. Whylie - JGL24-04 (Lith Dolina)
1.19.40. nthng - Energy Reloading (Lobster Sleep Sequence)
1.25.58. Skee Mask - LFO (Ilian Tape)
1.29.15. Ocoeur - Breaking The Circle (n5MD)
1.32.57. Hoavi - Tessera (Peak Oil)
1.36.17. Vivian Koch - Closed (AD93)
1.39.20. Amandra X Matthies - Cornemuse (Nous’klaer)
1.43.30. Warrington-Runcorn Newtown Development Plan - Part of the Union (CIS)
1.47.35. Akira Sileas - Cliff Cooling (Rusted Tone)
1.52.10. Niko Tzoukmanis - Raindrops (Libreville)
1.57.15. Uf0 - Yeh Premoh (Self-released)
1.59.50. CiM - Metric (Delsin)
2.02.10. Sofie Birch & Johan Carøe - Portal of (Stroom.tv)
2.03.10. Saphileaum - Savar (Good Morning Tapes)
2.07.50. Alex Albrecht - Forest from the Trees, w. Sean La’Brooy (Analogue Attic)
2.12.00. Wau Wau Collectif - Yaral Sal Doom (Sahel Sounds)

isolatedmix 115 - HVL

I’m not sure how I first came across Gigi Kaiji, aka HVL’s music. But the Georgian artist has done an amazing job at releasing nothing but quality for the past few years now, establishing himself as a true hybrid of techno in all its various guises. Not only that, but the set Gigi played for the Astral Industries takeover on 9128.live was one of the most immersive moments of the event.

Whether it’s the meandering, grainy textures in Aura Fossil’s album opener Newenslo, or the addictive, bubbling didgeridoo in Sallow Myth, it’s no surprise to see Gigi getting plays and support from the likes of Aphex Twin, along with a bunch of superlative comments across his Bandcamp page, and inclusions in many of 2021’s ambient sets I’ve listened to. (Just this week, Trainspotters would’ve spotted HVL in Traumprinz’s latest mix dump).

In the same way perhaps that emerging producers such as Skee Mask are constantly adding new twists and fresh approaches to their music, through his own self-releases, HVL is quickly gathering a similar cult following that doesn’t really fit amongst the traditional techno crowd. As one person puts it on one of his Bandcamp albums, “…one of the world's most exciting, inventive electronic musicians”, or as a glowing RA review recently noted., “this is music that works well in large doses: dreamy and uplifting, all soaring rhythms and twilit atmospheres. It's also impressively dynamic”.

Given the many ambient and dreamy undertones to be found in HVL’s music, I was keen to find out a bit more about Gigi and invite him over our way for an isolatedmix.

Hi Gigi, can you tell us about your musical background?

I have studied classical music on piano and guitar since I was 6. Composed at a young age too, but discovered electronic music only in my late teens.

Your music is extremely varied, but how would you describe your own output?

I couldn't really. I know it's electronic because of the instruments I use to record it. I like to think of it as music that you can enjoy at home in your favorite chair, or on a night drive. Whenever you're comfortable to dive into it.

HVL albums have been released on your own label to much success on Bandcamp, what was the reason for not approaching a label with your great music? Do you think we will see vinyl editions of your self-released records at any point? 

I do work with labels usually, this time the reason was time saving and the fact that you can profit from it immediately. Also I had this batch of tunes that I wanted to put out exactly the way I wanted. With labels I'd need to make some adjustments. It's useful financially, especially because there are no live gigs happening in Georgia right now. 12" sampler versions of the two albums I released in 2020 will be out on Appian Sounds soon.

What role does ambient music play in your life and music production?

That's all I listen to in recent years. Most of the music I play at home is either drone or ambient. I haven't really done that many ambient tracks but I use elements of it quite often.

Some people might have discovered you from Aphex Twin playing your music in his DJ sets - did this come as a surprise to you?

It was a big surprise when I first found out on reddit by accident, but then I learned that he's quite a digger of obscure stuff and it made more sense to me.

Also, it was very humbling as I have enjoyed his music for more than a decade now, so It felt great!

You have a great track record on Bandcamp so far, so what can we expect from you going forward? 

I like to release almost everything I record, so there will be more albums on my Bandcamp and friends' labels too. 

And lastly, can you tell us a bit about the mix you have prepared?

This is a collection of tracks that I would use to fall asleep. Enjoy!

~

Listen on Soundcloud, Mixcloud, or the ASIP Podcast.

astrangelyisolatedplace · isolatedmix 115 - HVL

Download

Tracklist:

01. Aleksi Perälä - UK74R1619200
02. Tamo Nasidze - In Memoriam
03. Area - Tessellated Rhubarb
04. The Abyss Within Us - Part I
05. Ryo Murakami - Deist
06. Bowery Electric - Under The Sun
07. LF58 - Metamorfosi
08. Gustavo Santaolalla - Breathless
09. Unearth Noise - Message From The Dead
10. Seal Bient - Runout 06.08
11. ZOV - Yedoma
12. Bipolardepth - Runout 01.06
13. Shine Grooves - Salubrious Waters
14. Seal Bient - Runout 06.03
15. Okinawa Lifestyle - Underwater
16. Ludvig Forssell - Bridges
17. Levan Shanidze - L1 (chushi edit)
18. Vladislav Dobrovolski - type 2
19. Kaiji - teapot_lim_hi
20. Unearth Noise - Soul Surgery
21. Masterknot - 14.03.2018-3
22. Nuances - We're Becoming Each Other
23. HVL - Temppa
24. Donato Dozzy & Tin Man - Test 3
25. Nuances - Death of November

~

HVL | Bandcamp | Discogs | Soundcloud

2021 ASIP Label Compilation (mixed by todos)

For last year's label compilation, I mentioned how I hoped to invite a guest DJ to compile the next edition, and here we are! Of course, it just had to be our long-term musical companion, a good friend of mine, and well-respected DJ, todos.

I was first introduced to todos through his well-respected Kilchurn Mix series. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, they remain some of my favorite mixes of all time (listen to them all here). His ability to craft a narrative, manipulate samples and respect the grey area between ambient and electronic music, is second-to-none.

Since blogging about his mixes all the way back in 2008, and inviting him to compile a special isolatedmix a few years later, Doug (todos) and I have stayed in touch and connected further after learning we grew up with very similar musical trajectories. Doug also coincidentally, ended up living where my family is today (and where I spent my life growing up) in a surprising twist of fate. And in 2021, after years of speaking online, we finally got to meet, play records (in real life!), and go for a long overdue beer.

I always earmarked Doug to be a part of ASIP somehow, so it is my absolute pleasure to hand over the DJ reins for the 2021 compilation edition. Doug had free choice over which tracks to choose, as long as he included one track from each release of the year. The result is a very special mix, taking us through the ASIP 2021 release catalog in his unique, signature, todos style.

“2021 has been another tough year but the music that has come out of it has been wonderful. With so many excellent releases on the ASIP label, it was exciting yet challenging to be asked to showcase a few on this mix. Massive thanks go out to Ryan for the opportunity and trust in letting me do this, the artists for their incredible talent and hard work, and lastly all the supporters of this music we love, I hope you enjoy.”

— todos

ASIP 2021 mixed by todos is available on Bandcamp, and the digital is currently name your price, with the mixed CD version also available on Juno (and more stores to follow soon).

Gailes / Session 2 (9128-2)

The very first live stream on 9128.live broadcast from the studio of Rafael Anton Irisarri, as he and Thomas Meluch (Benoît Pioulard) pieced together a completely live improvisation, christening the newly created 9128 airwaves in 2019 and setting the bar for many more live takeovers.

With one album between them as Gailes, and profound work individually (also together as Orcas), Rafael and Thomas are masters of the ambient craft, combining intricate field recordings, guitar, pedals, vocals, and heady reverb across a 40-minute non-stop immersive listen, split into two 20-minute sides for the inaugural 9128 vinyl release.

The 9128 label aims to document significant live performances by artists that previously performed on the 9128.live platform. With recordings initially created for a singular collective listening moment, and often as part of a festival or takeover weekend, label recordings will re-present this music for further listening across various formats that best suit each release.

Gailes - Session Two, is available as a digital download and 12”, printed in a reverse-board die-cut sleeve, black vinyl.

Buy on Bandcamp

Buy on Juno (UK/ROW)

Buy on One Eye Witness (EU)

isolatedmix 114 - R.A.D.E

Our latest isolatedmix comes from R.A.D.E, an English artist who (at the time we first spoke) was living in my home of Los Angeles. We were introduced to each other after both he and Illuvia were included in a Bandcamp feature by Joe Muggs, and I thanked Joe for bringing R.A.D.E’s music to my attention, along with many other great releases in the article. It turned out both David (R.A.D.E) and I were both in LA, so had planned to meet up and talk all things music, but life got in the way and David unexpectedly moved to Barcelona earlier this year.

Mixing breaks, ambient, bass, and DnB elements, R.A.D.E’s music sits in that nostalgic territory for anyone who grew up listening to a wide variety of electronic music. Working anywhere between the dancefloor and the chill-out room, it’s a style that draws upon the best parts of each genre, sometimes across a single track, and is often caught varying in focus between each EP, making each of his releases so far, a lovely, varied listen.

As Joe Muggs, put it in the original Bandcamp article best; “The L.A.-based R.A.D.E. loves smooth textures and high production value in his outer-space inspired grooves. Occasionally, that can steer things towards the excesses of prog house (as on “Alta Vista” here); but more often, it works as an update of the warm ‘90s vibes of The Orb, Future Sound of London, and LTJ Bukem”.

With an obvious connection to a musical era and many heroes that I grew up listening to, I was keen to get to know what inspired the (so far) two lovely EP’s from the R.A.D.E camp.

ASIP: Your R.A.D.E catalog is still in the early stages with two mini-albums on Bandcamp - when did you start producing and what was the inspiration to begin R.A.D.E?

R.A.D.E: I’ve been making music for quite a while and put out a couple of releases under a different name on labels in the UK. This would have been mid 2000’s and I would say at that point I hadn’t really found “my sound” so there was a lot of exploration and experimentation but also a lot of procrastination which meant that not much got finished. When I moved to California in 2015 it felt like a new start and I had more of a creative urge than I had for a while, so I spent some time reflecting on the music that had shaped my taste over the years and tried to distill the common elements...The atmospheric nature of ambient music, the low end of dub and drum n bass, recycled breakbeats - these all seemed to be recurring motifs in a lot of the music that I loved, so I tried to weave them together with R.A.D.E into something that sounded contemporary and coherent.

Was it a surprise to be picked out and featured in the Bandcamp article?

Absolutely! Especially given the other artists that were featured - Illuvia, Special Request, Zed Bias, Distance - these are people whose music I really admire. I was very conscious of the fact that R.A.D.E is a new, self-released project and that I didn’t have any kind of profile or label support, so to find myself in that kind of company with my first release gave me a huge confidence boost and motivated me to get back in the studio. I should also shout out Joe Muggs at this point, who wrote the article for Bandcamp and introduced the two of us. His book “Bass, Mids, Tops” is a great window into the influence of UK soundsystem culture. Highly recommended.

Your music takes many sources of inspiration, can you tell us in your own words what influences your output? 

In terms of musical genre, I already mentioned some of the reference points... I’m drawn to the more electronic end of the ambient spectrum, but breakbeats and bass have also been a constant musical thread for me whether via hip hop, breaks or D&B. A lot of the music that I love fuses those two things - the atmospheric, immersive aspects of ambient and the physicality of Soundsystem music. 

I used to DJ chillout rooms and post-rave spaces and so R.A.D.E was partly inspired by that - I wanted to capture some of the communal energy and exhilaration of the rave and blend that with the more solitary, inner exploration that ambient music tends to encourage. There are a lot of interesting contrasts there I think - euphoria versus melancholy; introspection versus shared experience; listening versus dancing; headphone music versus Soundsystem music... 

You recently moved to Barcelona, do you see this impacting your music in any way?

Difficult to say right now as I’ve only been here for a month or so. I think California definitely had a subliminal effect on the music. There’s a certain optimism, maybe idealism that is associated with the West Coast and I think that crept in there - albeit tempered with some good old British realism. One of the reasons that I’m drawn to the music of the 90’s is also that there was a lot of positivity and optimism about the future and technology’s role in it during that era. Obviously that’s become quite tainted in recent years, but it’s good to recapture some of that idealism at a time like this I think. 

We previously spoke about how you used to DJ as well as produce, what came first and was the mix a nostalgic trip to your DJ days? 

DJ’ing came first - just because of a love of discovering new music and sharing it with people. And I enjoyed the fact that in the spaces where I was playing, there was less pressure to make people dance and so you could experiment a bit more and play for people’s heads rather than their feet. Early on, I didn’t think that making music was an option for me since I don’t have any formal musical training, but once it dawned on me that Ableton Live was just another instrument, I dedicated myself to learning to play that and DJ’ing took a back seat. I rarely DJ at all these days, so the mix was an opportunity to dust off my record box and dig out some old favourites but I wanted it to look forwards as well as backwards, so there are quite a few recent tracks in there as well. I’m as excited about discovering new music as I ever was.

Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind the mix and the tracks featured?

The mix is almost like a blueprint for the R.A.D.E sound really - it takes in quite a few of the influences that I mentioned earlier and transitions from spacey ambient dub into more breaks driven territory in the second half.

It’s book-ended by Carl Sagan - starting out with his famous “Pale Blue Dot” monologue and then the voice you hear in the final track “Touch Forever” is Sagan’s wife Annie Druyan. She’s talking about how they met and fell in love whilst working together on the Golden Record that accompanied NASA’s Voyager spacecraft. It’s like an interstellar love story - I loved the epic scale of that and the Pale Blue Dot speech. I return to that a lot when things get overwhelming and I need to regain perspective ;-)

So the first two tracks (by Reagenz and A.P.L) are both perennial favourites of mine and then the Om Unit track that follows is taken from his “Acid Dub Studies” LP that came out earlier this year. Jim (Om Unit) is the type of producer that I really admire. He’s not confined by genre and is able to transition from one style to another in a really authentic way. Whether he’s making jungle, footwork, ambient or in this case electronic dub - the quality and consistency is never in question. There are a couple of pretty chill dubstep tracks on there from Ruckspin and Reso after that and then a bit of a lost classic (in my opinion). Jaguar’s “Odyssey” came out in 1998 I think on Rennie Pilgrem’s TCR label and is a great example of the kind of atmospheric breakbeat stuff that inspired R.A.D.E. That sort of sets the tone for the second half of the mix I suppose, although most of the tracks that follow came out in the last couple of years. MOY is from London and has been putting out some really emotive acid breakbeat records on Bandcamp. Long Island Sound are two lads from Dublin who have their own label called Signs of Space. The Will Silver track came out on LA’s Nice Age label and just seemed to be crying out to be mixed into Orbital’s “Belfast” (I’m sure I’m not the first to do this). Plus it was really nice to include Orbital because without them I never would have got into making electronic music in the first place. I remember reading an early interview with them and being struck by their punk DIY ethic - but instead of “buy a guitar and start a band” they applied it to computers, synths and samplers which I found much more relevant and inspiring. And then the last two tracks are both mine. “Witch U” is from my recent EP “Pacific” which was kind of a farewell ode to California and “Touch Forever” is from my debut EP which was called “The Overview”. If you want to know what R.A.D.E is all about I think the mix is a pretty good introduction - I hope you enjoy it.

Listen on Soundcloud, Mixcloud, or the ASIP Podcast.

astrangelyisolatedplace · isolatedmix 114 - R.A.D.E

Download

Tracklist:
01. Reagenz - Ä
02. Carl Sagan - The Pale Blue Dot
03. A Positive Life - The Calling (Loved ‘Ub Mix)
04. Om Unit - Rolling Stock
05. I:Cube - Le Dub
06. Ruckspin & Quark - Sunshine
07. Reso - Namida
08. Jaguar - Odyssey
09. Lone - How Can You Tell
10. MOY - Megatherium
11. Toke - Coast Line Thoughts
12. Long Island Sound - Shadows From Nowhere
13. Will Silver - We Can Talk|
14. Orbital - Belfast
15. Baile - Amae (Sasha Fabric 1999 Mix)
16. Barker - Paradise Engineering
17. R.A.D.E - Witch U
18. R.A.D.E - Touch Forever

R.A.D.E on Bandcamp | Instagram