isolatedmix 80 - Roel Funcken

Roel Funcken is well known around these parts; playing an engaging role in our small online ambient community and amassing a respectful following for his output. Whether through his unique IDM releases (read about one we covered a few years back, or a recent favorite of mine here) or even some of his epic ambient and electronica mixes, he's always been one to spend his time pushing the electronic sound forward.

Just this past month, Roel decided to combine a few of these aspects and bring together some of his close community for a worthwhile charitable release. With the help of the esteemed charity collective, Touched Music, "Dear of the Yog" was released to help raise funds for as the name might suggest; a charity that aims to improve the welfare of dogs and cats in Asia. Roel has brought together some of our favorite artists to take on some of his own productions, including Lusine, Martin Nonstatic, Illuvia (Purl), Kettel, and Ochre, whilst also providing a fine bunch of remixes himself. 

If you're familiar with some of Roel's previous ambient-oriented mixes, you'll know he tends to err of the side of 'epic' when it comes to duration. Take a few of his contributions over on Headphone Commute for example. Whilst his isolatedmix isn't quite a six-part series in a similar manner to his Isotope Cobalt project, we still have a trademark journey on our hands reaching nearly 2-hours in length and featuring a wide range of influences, from the deep worlds of ASC, Abul Mogard and Deru, to the light touches of Nest, Purl and Marcus Fischer and the metallic electronics of Ital Tek and Lorn. 

Roel demonstrates a unique ability to effortlessly match tone and texture whilst keeping every twist and turn interesting through many evolving through styles. 

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Artist/Track/Release

01. Marcus Fischer & Simon Scott - Thorns (Shape Memory)
02. Toàn - Unsolved (Histós Lusis)
03. Pepo Galan & Max Würden - All Of A Sudden (All Of A Sudden)
04. Deru - 1979 (On a Snowy February Day) (1979: Remixed)
05. Solo Andata - Loom (Solo Andata)
06. Roel Funcken - Android Robson (Ochre rmx) (Dear of the Yog)
07. Rival Consoles - Be Kind (Persona)
08. ASC - Quaoar (Trans-Neptunian Objects)
09. Huerco S - A Sea Of Love  (For Those Of You Who Have Never...)
10. Julien Neto - III (Le Fumeur de Ciel)
11. Clark - Oaklands  (Clarence Park)
12. Autechre - Altibzz (Quaristice)
13. Nest - Charlotte (Retold)
14. Lorn  - SPINNING IN A DREAM (A/D)
15. Rival Consoles - Memory Arc (Persona)
16. Abul Mogard - The Purpose Of Peace (Abul Mogard)
17. Woulg - Ocean (Thin Veil)
18. Kane Ikin - The Violent Silence (Sublunar)
19. r beny - cities sleep like seeds  (cascade symmetry)
20. Legiac - Bycam Fosfane2  (The Voynich Manuscript)
21. Roel Funcken -Pead Bandorum (Kettel rmx) (Dear of the Yog)
22. Purl - Montauk (Evighet)
23. Ital Tek  - Reflection Through Destruction (Hollowed)
24. Roel Funcken - Spawkings (Martin Nonstatic rmx) (Dear of the Yog)
25. Sofus Forsberg - App lol (Udefra)
26. Boards of Canada - Nothing Is Real  (Tomorrow's Harvest)
27. Lorn - Mercy (Ask The Dust)
28. Arovane - ambelio (Atol Scrap)

Roel Funcken Web | Bandcamp | Soundcloud | Facebook

Imagery by Antonie Rault, Hao Wang & Rene Bohmer - edited by ASIP. 

Roel Funcken - Iridium Flare

A perfectly suited aesthetic for the dynamic, every-changing liquid state of Roel Funcken's latest album, Iridium Flare. Roel's previous albums all don a similar look-and-feel, yet the shimmering and twisted metallics on this one are a perfect match for the electronic organism battling to emerge from the steel box that contains it. 

Most IDM can present itself as a mess - a cluster of drums, bleeps and synths that sometimes have no construct whatsoever. Beats stray so far away from the expected repetition; and the LED's light up a path so unclear you're often left wondering where the hell you'll end up - but that's the magic of IDM and what made the likes of Autechre famous in keeping a room full of heads trying to nod to a completely nondescript rhythm. A spectacle to say the least (even when the lights are off).

Iridium Flare has elements of this randomized IDM sound, yet never strays too far off the path, which is the perfect recipe for an IDM album built to be consumed personally.

Arovane'esque tracks like the opener Android Robinson sit at one end of the spectrum, rich in melody and atmosphere pinned against the ticks and punches of an entertaining beat structure. 

Greyzone Baxter's bulbous and engulfing synths play out like a live performance, as delays, echoes and filters toy with the omni-present streams of sound. Leaved introduces a lighter side to the album with a beautiful piano and vocal engulfed in the patterings and tinkering's of drum'n bass. Aggressive sounds are often underpinned with a subtle harmony; the clashing of liquid metal against the tough interior of its captor.

Iridium Flare is a class in balance and restraint. The sounds and manipulations
demonstrated throughout are carefully placed and never feel out of sync, despite the complexity of beats, progression and slowly growing electronic organisms.  It's an album built for intense listening, longing to be played out live in an epic futuristic setting. As far as Intelligent Dance Music goes, this one's begging to escape any confines you dare to place on it. 

Available on Bandcamp as Name Your Price.