Isorinne - Stumhetens Toner

Just when everyone has their end of year lists wrapped up, Isorinne drops what he considers a tape full of tracks that are “pretty frail and unrefined"… Now, I don’t think that’s lost in translation and is actually mean’t to say, ‘a delicate collection of stripped-down ambient tracks’, but that’s exactly what we have on our hands with his latest on Northern Electronics.

Isorinne has been presenting us with these melodic, nostalgic, emotional pieces over his last few albums on Northern Electronics - namely ‘Views from a Balcony’ on Echoic Memoir, and his outing on Field Records in 2016. Stumhetens Toner, is no different in its design or output, despite Michel’s modest introduction. These are romantic vignettes for a voiceless film. The storied strings of Medan världen passerar förbi or the slow-burning-dystopian-style-synthesizers of Efterbild and Upphängningspunkten. The undertow of the guilty and foreboding Evighetsarp - almost ‘Twin Peaks’ theme in its subtle backing-synth. These are moments for future worlds and unwritten love stories.

Available on Bandcamp.

Isorinne also recently put together this beautiful mix (and interview) for Monument which echoes the style describe above in his latest album and also includes a few unreleased tracks, namely a collab with Wanderwelle under his Bandhagens Musikförening duo.

Acronym - Malm

There's an uprising of deep techno coming from Scandinavia these past few years. Hypnus Records for example, responsible for bringing Luigi Tozzi, Feral and Fjader to the fore (more on them soon). Northern Electronics, helmed by Abdulla Rashim and churning out relentless, quick selling LP's by the likes of Varg, Dorisburg, Isorinne, and one of our favorites, Acronym. 

While Northern Electronics, or even Spain's Semantica have had the pleasure of Acronym in the past few years, it's the more established dutch label, Field Records that presents his latest album, Malm.  Known for his heady, deep and often abstract techno, Acronym found a new home for his ambient opus, with Field Records a well-known dutch destination for some of the best ambient and techno compilations of recent years. The output amongst the aforementioned labels contains some of my most treasured music, so to see their best artists switch things up on the label front is nothing but good news for us listeners, as long as the music finds a deserving home. 

Malm is Acronym's most emotive piece yet. The icy, vastness portrayed across the ten tracks takes you to a grainy, freezing landscape as depicted in the cover artwork. But it's not your usual long-paintbrush drones and crackling field recordings. Acronym has transported his heart and soul in the album's structure and melodies, with careful attention paid to the lush pads and flourishes of color, which make each track a piece unto its own. In a similar manner to the electronic wizardry of Biosphere, Acronym brings originality across the album very rarely replicating form or format across the ten tracks, electronic in sound yet deep in emotion. 

The glistening melting synthesizers on The Final Decision, juxtaposed with the heavy orchestral drones of Inner Conflict, and the slow acid-pulse of No Regrets, highlight the many outstanding styles you can find across the album, without a weak track amongst it. Malm manages to capture nearly every single element of electronic ambient music I love; be it the ability to transport to an off-world, the detailed textures that bring it life, the storytelling as the album evolves, or the melodies that make you hit repeat again and again. 

One of 2017's finest - don't miss it.

Available on Bandcamp. 

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.

bvdub, Miktek, Synkro, Northern Electronics

bvdub - Lost Ambient (and more from the archives)

That day has come. Brock has embraced the world of Bandcamp and we're set to be both musically better-off and monetarily worse off. He's not just uploading any old crap either, we're treated some lost ambient tracks, as well as a twenty-six track compilation titled tech from times past. For once, Brock's titles are as a literal as could be, and in this instance, it means we've got some old ambient gems and tracks from his techno roots to dig into. Available on Bandcamp.

Miktek - Ambient Network III

For the Ultimae followers out there, Miktek will be old-hat to you by now. As a past home to Carbon Based Lifeforms, Solar Fields and many other space-ambient style astronauts, the label is a breeding ground for this style of  music. However it's nice to see the individual artists break-out to give us something plucked from their back catalog - the brilliance of Bandcamp. Miktek treats us to a unique collection of delicate sounds that will appeal to any lover of slow-paced ethereal soundscapes. Available on Bandcamp.

Synkro - Changes

As one half of Kiyoko, Joe Synkro has long been a household name for Drum'n Bass followers, however it's Joe's evolution in this sound which is attracting listeners from across genres. Similar to the likes of ASC with his progression of the autonomic sound, Synkro's heritage in Drum'n Bass has led him to explore more atmospheric sounds, underpinned with some unique beat-work and a general push-back on any genre pigeon-holing associated with such styles. You'll find some lush ambience wrapped in scattered beats, old-skool Jungle, and OPN-style choral, synth work amongst the many iterations in Changes. Available on Bandcamp.

Northern Electronics (RA Label Of The Month mix)

Something a little different, a mix from the land of RA. Northern Electronics are causing quite a stir in the world of techno with their barrage of deep swells hemorrhaging from the mind of label head Abdullah Rashim. Both Varg, and Acronym have produced some stunning favorites of late, and I'm not even a tenth of the way through the label's extensive catalogue on Bandcamp. Dig deep and you'll find some truly amazing ambient music hidden as preludes and intros to the many banging techno albums, along with styles progressive, immersive styles normally associated with Voices From The Lake. 

So what better way to get to know the label than this mix. Deep techno that will speak to anyone wishing for a darker pulse in their heartbeat.  Download available on Soundcloud.

ASIP - Silhouettes

“Ascending mountains, shrouded in fog, dark silhouettes guide your path.
”

A dark and introspective techno mix I managed to squeeze in between my move from Portland to LA. Mostly new stuff, including an exclusive by Roel Funcken (half of Funckarma) from his new forthcoming Legiac album, n5MD's latest roster addition, Okada, WNDFRM's defining moment on Prologue, and Sebastian Mullaert's second record from his Wa Wu We imprint. 

Links below link direct to buy and support the artist/label. 

Download.

Tracklisting:
01. Legiac - Transcendental Sea (The Voynich Manusscript) / Forthcoming
02. Tegh & Kamyar Tavakoli - Fractal (Through The Winter Woods) / Hibernate
03. Okada - Vulnerability (Impermanence) / n5MD
04. Sven Weisemann - Landscape With The Fall Of Icarus (Fall of Icarus EP) / Delsin
05. WNDFRM - Monopole (Formal Variant EP) / Prologue
06. Exos - Eastwood (My Home Is Sonic) / Delsin
07. Cio D’Or - Tomorrow Was Yesterday  (All In All) / Semantica
08. Varg - Vitberget (Ursviken) / Northern Electronics
09. Acronym - Back To Understanding (June) / Northern Electronics
10. Donnacha Costello - Blue B (Blue) / Minimise
11. Wa Wu We - 002 B1 (Wa Wu We 002) / WaWuWe
12. Conforce - Artefact From A Higher Dimension (Presentism) / Delsin
13. Aphex Twin - ssnb (Unreleased/ Soundcloud)