ASIP - Reflection on 2015

This years' ASIP Reflections mix closes out the annual "Advent Calendar" for our friends over at Das Kraftfuttermischwerk. 

Featuring just a few of my favourite tracks from 2015 the mix process is always organic for me, so ultimately always misses out several styles. This one, has focused more on the ambient and techno side of things, and doesn't include some of the many electronica, IDM, shoegaze or softer ambient music we have featured this year.

As a special treat, I've finished the mix with the first listen of a remix coming out on ASIP in January, as part of ASIPV003R.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone who has been reading, listening and supporting ASIP in 2015. We couldn't have had such an amazing year without you.

Download over on Soundcloud.

Tracklist:
01. Hior Chronik - Nest Of Autumn Feat. Sophie Hutchings (Kitchen) READ
02. Offthesky & Pleq - Ashes Of America (Infraction) READ
03. Leandro Fresco - Los Pasos Vacilantes De Los Reyes (Kompakt) READ
04. Heathered Pearls - Cast In Lemon & Sand (Ghostly)
05. Halftribe - Shells (Dewtone)
06. Rafael Anton Irisarri - Persistence (Room40) READ
07. ASC - Deluge of Thought (Silent Season) 
08. Synkro - Your Heart (Apollo) READ
09. Refracted - The Jungle Is Thick (Silent Season)
10. Voices From The Lake - Orange Steps (Editions Mego) READ
11. Martin Nonstatic - Granite (Ultimae) READ
12. Nautil - Mue (Further)
13. Acronym - Letting Go Of It All (Northern Electronics) READ
14. Voices From The Lake - Max (Editions Mego) READ
15. Donnacha Costello - Farewell (Self released) READ
16. Alessandro Cortini - Rimasta (Important)
17. Arovane & Hior Chronik - Day After Tomorrow (AMX) (A Strangely Isolated Place)

Tracknotes

Hior Chronik - Nest Of Autumn Feat. Sophie Hutchings (Kitchen) READ
This album is being heralded as one of the best by many in the past few weeks. My full review summarizes this beautiful piece of work, but this track with Sophie Hutchings is pretty outstanding.

Offthesky & Pleq - Ashes Of America (Infraction) READ
Infraction are one of the most consistent underrated labels out there, and this colab proves it. I'm pretty sure plenty of people skipped this album, but it's one of the most special soundtrack moments of 2015 - a true grower with an emotional climax.

Leandro Fresco - Los Pasos Vacilantes De Los Reyes (Kompakt) READ
Leandro has had a spectacular year, with the release of his dedicated Pop Ambient album and this, a contribution to the annual Pop Ambient compilation. His sound never falters and this is one of his more finer, articulate moments, slightly different to his regular stuff.

Heathered Pearls - Cast In Lemon & Sand (Ghostly)
Jakub's album is another being heralded across the many best-of lists. Body Complex crossed into more of his 'club' sound, whilst keeping his warm textures and this track was the closest to his previous ambient sound we've covered here on ASIP many times.

Halftribe - Shells (Dewtone)
Despite a relatively quiet year for the label, Dewtonw had a few stunners including the Shells EP by Halftribe.

Rafael Anton Irisarri - Persistence (Room40) READ
A Fragile Geography will undoubtedly be known as one of Rafael's best. Power, emotion and delicacy such as this beautiful track, traverse the album to show RAI's ever-growing library of sound.

ASC - Deluge of Thought (Silent Season) 
ASC on Silent Season is a guaranteed combination. His past outputs have been some of the best music of the year and Fervent Dream is no exception. Deep, dark and mysterious, James Clements crafts the finest of details into vivid landscapes.

Synkro - Your Heart (Apollo) READ
I'm a big fan of Synkro, along with his other guises such as Kiyoko. Changes switches between epic synth-laden ambient music and more upbeat electronica, all in a unique new-beat Synkro style that straddles the likes of Burial, the Autonomic sound and Drum'n Bass.

Refracted - The Jungle Is Thick (Silent Season)
Silent Season went deeper than ever this year and Refracted dug deepest. Bubbling, daunting techno that encapsulates and transports.

Voices From The Lake - Orange Steps (Editions Mego) READ
VFTL didn't do anything particularly new this year, but their LIVE album was another reason to fall in love with the duo. Whilst this track wouldn't stand out in its own, it fitted well in the mix and my favorite from the album was actually the below 'Max'.

Martin Nonstatic - Granite (Ultimae) READ
The sounds in this track and across his album are addictive, like an industrial clang of warm dub-techno. Martin's praise for this album is illustrated in the review, so it was no surprise he would have a place in here.

Nautil - Mue (Further)
A relatively overlooked techno release that more-or-less defined a few of the styles I really got stuck into this year, alongside the Refracted track and the likes of wndfrm. Further also had an amazing year as a label and look unstoppable right now.

Acronym - Letting Go Of It All (Northern Electronics) READ
I could have included a host of Northern Electronics tracks in a year-end mix and it was hard enough narrowing it down to this one from Acronym. I've seen the album, June, pop up on a few lists and I'm glad Abdulla Rashim's ever growing techno label is getting some well-deserved attention. 

Voices From The Lake - Max (Editions Mego) READ
This track epitomizes VFTL's album productions and their stray into the ambient world. Melodic, warming and above-all, memorable.

Donnacha Costello - Farewell (Self released) READ
Donnacha's Love From Dust may be my favorite album of the year. An amazing return centered on his spectacular synth work. Donnacha went on to release another album, Stay Perfectly Still, which was just as good.

Alessandro Cortini - Rimasta (Important)
Alessandro continued his yearly Forse analog assault to great effect. Despite being one of the most 'famous' people on this list through his Nine Inch Nails involvement, he was surprisingly my biggest discovery of the year which led to me hunting down all of his previous synth work.

Arovane & Hior Chronik - Day After Tomorrow (AMX) (A Strangely Isolated Place)
A little taster of the next ASIP release - a remix EP of Arovane & Hior Chronik's In-between.

Hior Chronik - Taking The Veil

When I first listened to the Arovane & Hior Chronik demo many months ago, two things became clear regarding my understanding of Hior Chronik and his music: One, his touches are minimal but complimentary and powerful. And two, he seems to work extremely well with partners, or in collaboration.

Hior's most powerful work to date and his first 'solo' effort, stays true to those two observations. Taking The Veil, recently released by the esteemed Singapore/Tokyo based Kitchen Label, is a series of collaborations that place Hior's minimal, piano-focused compositions front and center alongside a number of talented partners. Included in the modest yet brimming lineup are: Field Rotation (Denovali Records), Aaron Martin, Sophie Hutchings (Preservation), Luup (Experimedia) and Japanese composers Yasushi Yoshida (noble) and Yoshinori Takezawa (Schole Records).

From such an extensive list of artists, you'd expect an album that spanned many styles as each artist took it upon themselves to shine. But here, the duos are never overly present and the album is a masterpiece in complementing Hior's core talent. Taking the Veil comes off in one fell swoop as an immersive journey into delicate and intricate tales told by a truly talented cast.

Hior's beautiful Piano-work is apparent throughout, adorning dreamy vocal tracks such as Between Two Rooms alongside Seiji Takahashi, and patiently backing Luup's enchanting Flute-work. The instrumentalists conjuring the paintings at-hand are unclear - Nest Of Autumn, alongside the uprising Sophie Hutchings (go check her free EP here) floats by so unassumingly that to think the two have only collaborated on this one track, is a crime. Hior makes it clear he has no intention of being the star of the show, but instead, has sought after the very best to help him along these vivid creations - an avid photographer, it's clear that Hior paints with music.

I'm a big fan of Field Rotation, and Oblivion is the defining piece of this album that would put some of the best Motion Picture Soundtrack pieces to shame. Oblivion could live amongst the likes of many Clint Mansell or James Newton-Howard scores - The Village  (a big favourite of mine) actually came to mind as this track unwound across the four, way-too-short-minutes.

Aaron Martin, who also stars on the upcoming ASIP release with Hior, pairs up in a similar manner to provide added texture to one of the most beautiful melodies on the album in Quiet Inside Your Chest. And if you thought the album would continue in a similar vein with the piano taking center-stage, Amber Ortolano provides a wistful and dreamy vocal across the tinkering bells of Sailing Away and Yoshinori Takezawa adds a child-like playful element to an otherwise very serious album in We Are All Snowflakes.

ASIP star Halo also graces us with another masterful composition. When similar talent like Pasquale and Hior collide, the roles in tracks like The Sense We Make become unclear, but as I mentioned earlier - this effect, most definitely intentional, is often hard to contain with such a long roster of collaborators. Hior's hand-picked roster has accentuated each of his productions, allowing every single track to shine in its own unique way - something single artists albums often struggle to do. The smallest of details from the producers featured here are given the room to grow.

What I love most about this album is that despite the intensity, the detail, and the assuming amount of effort gone into collaborating, Hior graces us with a couple of very magical unexpected moments: a short, but very sweet rendition of London Bridge Is Falling Down, and a cover of Little Dragon's track, Twice with album starlet Amber Ortolano giving her own spin on the unique vocals of Yukimi Nagano.

An irrelevant fact: Little Dragon's Twice was the very first track I posted here on ASIP some seven years ago - to see it recreated by Hior at the same time he prepares a release on ASIP gave me a small, token smile - and on a very personal note, sums up an absolutely brilliant album that touches on some of the finest moments of music I often seek. Taking The Veil presents us with thirteen delicate compositions and beautiful hand-crafted melodies, with each tracks' own unique, respected nuances left to shine and revel in the power of the multiple masters at hand. 

Taking the Veil CD available now at Kitchen Label which also includes the above pictured Art Book.

https://soundcloud.com/hiorchronik
Preview Hior's upcoming collaboration with Arovane.