isolatedmix 109 - Andy Green / Verdant Recordings

Back when I used to post a lot more mixes here on ASIP, Andy Green and his Verdant Recordings alias was featured quite a few times on the site. It’s a reminder of the magical small worlds we operated in as we stumbled across similar Soundcloud profiles or even personal websites with nothing but MP3 links and text docs with tracklists. It seems like a minefield nowadays to hunt down something special - so much choice - in both good and bad ways. So seeing Andy contribute to the isolatedmix series all these years later and being able to follow his progress with the Verdant Recordings label is a nice reminder of the early years.

Andy seems to have organically progressed through the years in a similar path to me, in fact. From a pure-music fan to compiling mixes across a variety of styles and now, curating a label, Andy’s always been in and amongst our small world and it’s a delight to finally invite him here to curate an isolatedmix.

Hi Andy. It looks like you've been running Verdant Recordings for about five years now. I notice you state that the label is unconstrained by genre, which is something I admire and try to uphold with ASIP too. What filters do you apply when looking for a label release?

Yes, it’s nearly 5 years and only 10 records released so I am rather selective and the projects take shape very slowly. I’m essentially trying to build a catalog that reflects my own evolving and diverse tastes by reaching out to established producers I really admire or new producers whose talents need a place to be heard. It is personally enriching to have had a handful of previously unreleased artists being heard for the 1st time via the label. The next record will feature the wonderful Jo Johnson as part of an ambient double 12. Our collaboration was first discussed at the inception of the label back in 2016 and in some respects, the music she has composed has benefitted from the time taken since then. The project's working title is ‘Less Popular Than Cats’ and also includes Reedale Rise, Outlier and !nterject!on…... if enough folk are keen to own a copy it should be available by the summer.

As a fellow label-head, what do you find most challenging about running a label?

I find promoting a mystery and difficult and it’s not in my nature to push the label on social media (which seems to be essential for smaller labels in current times). I also struggle telling people that I’m not able to release some of the wonderful music they are generous enough to send me….. and especially if they are somebody I know.

You're based in the UK so how do you see Brexit impacting your label operations? If at all?

I’m running the label purely for my own pleasure and quite a rubbish label manager when it comes to the business side. Brexit is a total shit-show and I’m (not) dealing with it by moaning and sticking my head in the sand. I see the impact now principally through the eyes of a collector, noticing that record prices from Europe have increased by 25% in recent months and shipping has become ridiculously expensive with an extra dose of extortion to add salt to the wound. I know that I cannot collect as much music now, so I fear sales will decline for everyone… I hear from vinyl die-hards that they’ll be buying digital music in the future.

You recently released 'Changing Seasons' on your Vertex label Project which I managed to pick up over here in the US and it features an ASC ‘Grey Area’ remix which sounds very much like his Comit output. I didn’t know the track was on there at the time, until I asked the store to give it a spin whilst I was browsing, and then shouted "hey this sounds like Comit?!" How did you go about choosing remixes for this project?

Jamie (Exalt) and I really are very proud of this Vertex project and it’s been a pleasure getting to know and work with Jonas over the last couple of years. The original was ostensibly a dub techno album but aimed at home listening and so the remix project was our attempt to toughen up some tracks but avoid doing straight-up dub techno remixes. We discussed remixers and between us reached out to some admired and favorite producers. I’ve probably collected more records of James (ASC) than anyone else in recent times so I was thrilled to secure his talents and that remix IS sublime. Similarly, having Mike Schommer onboard fulfilled another ambition. It's only just to acknowledge GRIT’s chunky take and of course, Bjarnar’s (Ohm) charming ‘Morning Glory’ who is a long-standing friend of Jonas and chuffed to say of mine now too. Coming back to the ASC remix there’s a good back story about the composition. The closing ambient section wasn't there initially and I had the nerve to ask James to develop what was a great remix already. It turns out he’d already had the identical idea and so the longer track became the remix he really wanted to make for us from the start and the one I really wanted to hear. He's also mentioned to us that it’s one his favorite remixes he’s recorded in recent times.

I was posting your mixes on ASIP over 10 years ago now (many are archived on the old site, unfortunately) but you've obviously been compiling mixes for a while, how did you get into it?

I was a very late starter when it came to mixing music though I have danced, listened and collected for over 3 decades now. My first few years of mixing were focused on ambient and experimental music simply because I assumed it was easier and the mix for you back then was actually one of the earlier podcasts requested. Nowadays, I record mostly beat-driven music but my passion for ambient music remains and it’s a treat to do this for ASIP again after the gap. For the record, I’ve since appreciated that a well-mixed ambient set is harder to achieve than boshing out a techno set.

Your mix, is therefore a suitably deep affair. Can you tell us a little bit more about what you had in mind putting it together?

The majority of my mixes are rather spontaneous and I don't tend to pour over track selections or plan them out too carefully (this shows!) ….. Usually I aim for a feeling and go from there and so they tend to reflect my current headspace. Like many of us over the last 12 months, I have experienced some darker days but also a few good times. I recorded this a few days after a rare day last October….(Jane Fitz' and Jade Seattle’s Day Moves actually) where I had caught up with some lovely friends for the 1st time in nearly 9 months. When it came to the mix I think I was trying to channel some of the residual glow but also contrast that with that some of the more introspective moods we have found ourselves in. Thanks again for giving me the chance to share this experience.

Listen on Soundcloud, Mixcloud, or the ASIP Podcast.

astrangelyisolatedplace · isolatedmix 109 - Andy Green / Verdant Recordings

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Tracklist:

01. Move D /The Silent Orbiter (…txt)
02. Donato Dozzy /Comfort Zone (IDO)
03. Taece /Time In Waves (unreleased)
04. Biosphere /Warmed By The Drift (Touch)
05. Ligovskoï /Mungu (Field Records)
06. Deepchord /Immersions (Astral Industries)
07. Konduku /Panorama (Mantis)
08. Radiohead /Treefinger (XL Recordings)
09. Fatih Tuter /Appreciation (Shimmering Moods Records)
10. Harold Budd & Brian Eno /Dark Eyed Sister (Editions)
11. Jock Burton /Lake Monger (Analogue Attic Recordings)
12. Marow /Inter 3 (IDO)
13. Night Sea /This Will Take Time (Silent Season)
14. Healing Force Project /Kinetic Drawing (Porn Sword Tobacco Edit) (Wicked Bass)
15. Mihail P /Jellyfish (Self Released)
16. Chapterhouse (retranslated by Global Communication /Delta Phase (Dedicated)
17. D.K. /Untitled (12th Isle)

~

Verdant Recordings | Bandcamp | Soundcloud

ASIP Wantlist #1

Introducing a new feature series for the diggers out there; the ASIP Wantlist. We'll be asking friends and artists for the five records that sit at the top of their wish list, the records they make a beeline for every time they step into a record store, the covers they've never ran their finger across, the pieces of wax that long for a space on their shelf. 

Finding these elusive records has been made increasingly easier over the years with the likes of Discogs and eBay, but if you ask any record collector, nothing beats finding a piece of vinyl without the means of the internet; wrongly filed, turned backwards, hanging on to an original, busted sleeve, and inappropriately priced. The moment that goes through all of our heads; "is this it? Is it the original? Is it in OK condition? Yes! Why is it it filed in the Jazz section?? OK, how much is it..."

Some submissions in the series will undoubtedly be easily found on the internet, maybe at an extortionate black-market price, but this isn't just about highlighting the rarest LP's with only one acetate ever pressed. Instead, it's a personal love affair with a cherished format. It's a chance for the people who appreciate the physical product, to talk about the pieces they've wanted for some time, and the copies they long to find in a dusty old store - the earned find, not the one-click buy. Nothing beats it. 

I'll kick things off.

Doing this was harder than I thought given how many sought-after records have been re-pressed recently, but I found this to be a proof point in why this feature could be interesting. It wont be a list to show-off peoples collections; "hey why don't you tell me about all those great records you have?" No. It will probably end up being a weird anomaly of records that unearth a bit of nostalgia and personality surrounding said person. I toyed with including some wants from my techno list, my trance list even, but ultimately settled on an ambient theme to begin proceedings. 

And as a reference for all the true crate diggers, I've been collecting for about fifteen years now, which is not that much compared to many people, so expect a relatively modern list, all things considered. Future Wantlist features will undoubtedly dig even deeper...

1. Gas - Gas. 1996. Mille Plateaux [Discogs]

I'm yet to find a Gas vinyl in a record store  and I don't own any Gas on vinyl. It kills me. And given the quality across his four albums between '96 and '00, any of them could be on this list.  

The grandfather of ambient techno (you could say) Wolfgang Voigt, released his defining self-titled LP on the just-as-legendary Mille Plateaux label in 1996 and has seen nothing but praise and imitators (in the good sense) ever since. His sound undoubtedly went on to influence his curations for Pop Ambient  (this is where it started) and likely spawned a generation of washed-out, blissful techno music that straddled between ambient and dance-floor techno. 

Wolfgang is a big influence to many of the artists I listen to today and is responsible for Kompakt's infamous contribution to the ambient world, making his LP's top of my Wantlist by a long way. 

2. Slowdive - 5 EP. 1993. Creation Records. (12") [Discogs]

Perhaps an obvious choice, but I don't own many Slowdive records. I'm not sure if it's down to them generally being hard to come across; if I haven't had the urge to dig them out; or if deep down I can't even begin collecting Slowdive records properly until this one is in my collection (I'm an all-or-nothing type of person). 

In Mind is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever created and Rachel's soft, angelic voice sounds even better on a warm, crackly piece of vinyl. I also want this to accompany my treasured Reload remixes of In Mind 12". Which leads me nicely on to...

3. Chapterhouse Retranslated By Global Communication ‎– Pentamerous Metamorphosis. 1993. Dedicated. (2xLP)  [Discogs] 

Another shoegaze related want, with Chapterhouse receiving the remix treatment from Global Communication at the very beginning of their infamous ambient era. Tom Middleton and Mark Pritchard set the bar high in 1993 with this unexpected remix album, yet managed to better it even further with the release of their genre defining 76:14 album a year later. Whilst I'm lucky enough to own an original copy of 76:14, it's this remix album I'm on the hunt for now. Each track, taking the core of a Chapterhouse melody, feeling or vocal and capturing the very essence of Global Communication each and every time. 

4. Brian Eno With Daniel Lanois & Roger Eno ‎– Apollo - Atmospheres & Soundtracks. 1983. Editions EG. (2xLP) [Discogs]

This is an example of an LP that is commonly available online, but one I long to come across in a record store, in pristine condition, sat there patiently waiting for me. It's a classic ambient album, inspired by America's conquest of new frontiers, and contains one of my favorite tracks of all time, An Anding (Ascent). It's the the blueprint for the likes of the KLF's Chillout album (combining elements of Country music for example), undoubtedly some of the Aphex ambient sound, and plenty of Pop Ambient musicians who went on to use subtle guitar loops as textures. It's heralded as one of the best-ever ambient albums for many reasons. Not to mention the track, Deep Blue Day, used in that infamous Trainspotting toilet scene. A must have in any collection, and surprisingly, one still missing from mine...

5. Alessandro Cortini - Forse 1. 2013. Important. (2xLP) [Discogs]

This last one took me a while to think about. There's hundreds of older records I'm on the hunt for (which I'll no doubt have to cover in later features), but I wanted to provide variety across the five, so I looked to more recent 'misses' which are now on my hit-list.

Alessandro Cortini (of Nine Inch Nails fame) has released three Forse albums and I unfortunately jumped on the bandwagon just a little too late, picking up the third (purple) last year.  I now need to track down the previous two, because not only do I have an obsession with completing sets (for example, I'm still on the hunt for a few remaining Donnacha Costello Color Series 12"s and a couple more Pop Ambient LP's to complete those collections) but Alessandro's albums are similarly worthwhile collectors items. Beautifully presented, color vinyls, quality packaging and above all, include some powerful, stunning music by Alessandro and his synth-obsessed world.

I think Alessandro's albums will undoubtedly become some of the most sought after records for ambient/ drone/ experimental fans in years to come. If you see Forse 1 or 2 in the store, you know where to send them...

~

Wantlist #2 coming soon, featuring five selects from friend, Jamie Mccue of Silent Season.