Passing by: Markus Guentner, Odd Shapes, Audioglider, enh, Sonae and Mr Frankie

A few treats from ASIP regulars in this Passing By feature.

Markus Guentner – Our Home

A little gem released by Markus Guentner a few weeks back now; not to be missed and a free download. Dark, subdued and industrial with a reverberating bassline. Download on Soundcloud.

Odd Shapes – Ice Cream Cathedral’s ‘The Ranger’ remix

A superb EP all-round by Ice Cream Cathedral and a rare remix by Odd Shapes. You’d probably expect Asger to take the drums on this piece to another level, going by his remix duties on Uncharted Places, but instead he opts for a stripped back version, letting the beautiful vocal swirl and the melody shine. The Debut LP will be released March 4th through Oh!My Collective (ohm014).

Audioglider – Mixtape 14 (mix)

Audioglider always manages to come up with these mix tapes at the right time of my life, and as you’d expect from Roberto, it’s a dreamy, melodic and a perfect companion to lazy, hazy days. Featuring a bunch of great tracks from enh, Message To Bears, Bass Kittens and XSpance – the latter of which has a rather good album called ‘Night Echoes‘ up on Bandcamp. Download the mix on Soundcloud.

enh – So Zero (mix)

Continuing the ASIP contingent, enh‘s also been busy preparing his latest mix and it’s packed full of ASIP related goodies. From Roger Martinez’s Horizontal Excursions to Parks, Stray Theories, and Markus Guentner remixes from Uncharted Places. I can’t be biased all the time, but this one’s bound to be good with this lot involved! Download on Soundcloud.

Sonae – Winter (mix)

You may remember many moons ago, it was through Sonae’s mixtapes that she came to release her Places Series EP on ASIP. The mixes are quite the legend round these parts and we’ve been void of them for far too long now. Sonia’s back, with tracks from Loscil, Fieldhead, Jon Hopkins, Apparat and Peter Broderick. Play on Mixcloud.

Mr.Frankie – After The Bliss (mix)

I found myself enveloped in this mix by Mr Frankie – a beautiful blend of textures, dub and deep voids of techno. Some superb track choices including: DFRNT, Edanticonf, Voices from the Lake, Minilogue and Adam Michalak.

Image – Suddenly The Trees Are Giving Way (@astrangelyisolatedplace)

Passing by: Markus Guentner, Verdant Recordings, Audioglider & Todos

Markus Guentner – Golden Fall Mix

Not what you’re expecting from Markus, but for those not hemmed by genre this is a stunning detroit techno / deep house mix. Love it when ambient artists come out of their comfort zone, but then again, as shown with many of Markus’ recent remixes (such as his remix of Norge on Uncharted Places) he does like to stray into beat-heavy productions sometimes. This must be at least some of his inspiration right here.Download.

Verdant / Andy Green – Crashing Mix

It’s been a little while since we’ve been treated to a Verdant mix. Andy has weaved some stunners into this one, keeping it deep and unexpected the whole way. The Sight Below, Donato Dozzy, Robert Henke, Thomas Fehlmann and Claro Intelecto feature. Download.

Audioglider – Mixtape Vol.13

Roberto’s back with another dreamy mix and some of his recent inspirations. Never disappointing, always innovative and original. Starting beatless and progressing into more electronics and vocals the mix features Segue, Stumbleine, Vector Lovers, Hammock and Kyson amongst others. Download

Todos – Isolated

I must listen to a DJ Todos mix atleast once a week… If you haven’t heard his Kilchurn Sessions then PLEASE go listen – outstanding. This mix is very much along those lines, but more ambient focused, and featuring some of our favourite tracks of recent years intertwined with some hidden gems – an all engrossing journey as you’d expect from Todos. Download

Photo: LA flyover http://instagram.com/astrangelyisolatedplace

ASIP022 Audioglider - Heathaze Days

 

In a hyper-connected world of social media, information excess and a constant desire to show and share our experiences, we often overlook the simple pleasure of savouring it for ourselves. 

In a tumbling desperation to update, pin, poke and comment, it’s all too easy to forget that the truly wonderful moments are those that leave us awestruck and momentarily detached from the world around us. For Roberto Sodano aka Audioglider, one such experience has vividly endured for two decades. 

“I was doing a bit of travelling and working in Egypt and I went to Siwa, a large oasis in the middle of the Libyan Desert” he explains. “It was fantastic and otherworldly to arrive at this lush, palm-strewn, isolated island with a lake at its heart and I spent a fantastically slow week there, taking in the simple pleasures of the everyday sights and smells, and gazing in wonder out in the desert, at the starry night skies.“ 

Set in stark contrast to the cacophony and claustrophobia of Egypt’s capital, Siwa emerged as a green jewel in a barren desert crown, and ‘Heathaze Days’ charts the contrasts, encompassing the sand-blasted, sweat-soaked 10 hour drive to the blissful discovery of the oasis itself. 

It’s a journey in every sense, the simple, sparse beats capturing the monotony of transit and the layered bursts of melody blossoming as Roberto delves deeper into the green vitality of Siwa. It builds a warmth and quiet euphoria that comes with selfishly holding onto a moment because it’s yours, so that as Roberto's desert odyssey longingly comes to an end, and the harmony wistfully fades out, the moments of discovery and reflection are as vivid as ever. 

“It was a relief to the senses to be cut off and isolated, to recharge and get a different perspective because there really was a sense of stillness,” he says. It was an opportunity to reflect, take stock and enjoy the moment for the moment, in the moment." 

isolatedmix 30 - Audioglider

I guess this is why I love running this site. The evolution of friendships, of musical knowledge, and being witness over the past four years or so, to numerous artists flourishing, progressing, developing their sound and finding whatever it is they’re seeking from their musical ventures.

Roberto Sodano is one of those artists. From tuning into his beautiful ‘mixtape’ series spanning ambient, electronica and shoegaze, to seeing his remixes come alive for Joey Fehrenbach; AUDIOGLIDER has now made one of the biggest steps in his career signing with with Nick Brennan’s (Tripswitch’s) label, Section Records. As always with the isolatedmix series, I reserve invitations for those who have made a significant impact on me musically, and funnily enough, I think Roberto’s only just getting started. I hear tonnes of remixes are planned, a new album, and one thing I do know for definite, a sneaky Places Series release is also on the horizon. About time Roberto stepped up to the isolatedmix series I say.

We’re going straight to the heart of the AUDIOGLIDER sound with this one. Roberto’s music is varied, progressive and always emotive, and as he goes on to describe below, this mix captures the essence of his production approach with some of his biggest inspirations. It’s a tracklist which can easily be glanced over to the untrained musical eye, but one that comes to life upon reflection. Manual features twice, as does the more recent Bristolian pioneer Stumbleine,  Ambient, electronica, shoegaze-hints of new and old, as well as an exclusive remix, this one’s got it all.

I’ll be the first to admit – I’m a bit of a music nerd – its a bug I’ve had since I was a kid – not because my parents had an amazing record collection or anything – (Demis Roussos anyone?), but the way music, sounds, sonics, audio whatever you call it, were able to connect with me, was astounding – especially to a shy kid growing up in South Wales. It became a way to escape and connect with another world of unlimited potential. And even while the present immediate availability of any music from any artist has made events like buying an album a thing of the past, I still get excited discovering new artists and music that affect my soul in the same inspirational way.

When I was asked to put together an Isolated Mix for ASIP, I thought, oh bloody hell, you’ve got to have a theme – all the best ones have a theme. I considered doing an ‘influences’ mix, but having been round the block as I have, I didn’t want it to be a trip down memory lane, or too nostalgic – I’m not really one for retrospectives, and there’s still so much new music and so many new artists for people to discover and hopefully put on the map. So i thought, try and capture the spirit of all my musical influences, all the contradictions, all the inconsistencies, and attempt to create something of a journey that reflects all of these – the ex drummer and DJ who makes music on a laptop, the ex vinyl junkie who embraced the fantastic netlabel scene, the ex shoegazer who traded in fx pedals for a 4/4 beat, a strobe, and a sub bass, the technophobe who embraced technology, the 4AD freak who…….the list goes on…….

There are a whole heap of artists on here that have blown me away with the sheer quality of their creative output, Manual, Syntaks, Stockfinster, Motionfield, ST, Dub Tractor – coincidentally all from Scandinavia – I hadn’t really thought about why all of these artists’ music resonates with me but here goes – its how their melodies and compositions manage to create warmth out of glacial sound palettes – something I strive to be able to do in my own compositions – Elsewhere we have Russian artists Slow, SEVEN, and Seaman S, who make beautifully emotional melodic ambient – I was lucky enough to get samples from one of them to create the closing track track to this Isolated Mix as a collaboration, and available exclusively here. Other recent discoveries that are on constant rotation on my headphones – are the majestically lush Horizon Fire, Stumbleine w/Essay, Arms and Sleepers and Marconi Union, and the amazingly enigmatic, chilly, deep and groovy Ghosting Season.

This list could have gone on – but I had to stop somewhere. Hope you enjoy the ride as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

Roberto / AUDIOGLIDER

Download

Tracklist:

1. Slow – Aura
2. Dub Tractor – And You Are Back
3. Stockfinster – Seventeen
4. Syntaks – Twentytwohundred
5. City of Satellites – Skeletons (Manual remix)
6. SEVEN – Summer Whitephone
7. ST – Rest Your Eyes
8. Horizon Fire – Plutonian Shore
9. Manual & Icebreaker International – Beacons
10. Ghosting Season – Time Without Question
11. Motionfield – Indian Summer
12. Stumbleine – Lunar
13. Essáy & Stumbleine – Rhiannon
14. Arms and Sleepers – Kepesh
15. Marconi Union – Broken Colours
16. AUDIOGLIDER v Seaman S – Lost Planet

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