todos: Ten Years of A Strangely Isolated Place

The impossible task. Find a way to summarize the last ten years of music featured on the A Strangely Isolated Place blog and website.

First off, we have created the ‘tagged’ project, listing some of the hundreds of artists featured on the blog for you to explore over here. And pretty soon, we’ll have a special release for you all.

But I also wanted something that was closer to our blog beginnings, and a story told through a mix. What better way than tasking our favorite journey-maker, todos.

todos and his Kilchurn Sessions have been a staple of ASIP over the past ten years. We’ve even collected them all in one place, given how many posts they ended up spanning. I don’t need to add many superlatives about him here, but they are some of the best recorded mixes I have ever heard. And I mean it. You can hold-up (my personal favorite) professional mixed CD’s by Sasha, or James Holden for example, and I would be just as pleased listening to some of todos’ Kilchurn Sessions. He has a knack, a perfection and an obsession with mixing unique journeys that span everything from ambient, electronic, techno and instrumental elements, alongside a unique use of samples and movie quotes. He creates familiar and emotive narratives that need multiple revisits to appreciate the detail, skill and passion he put in.

Once todos agreed to my ask (nearly a year-ago now) I sent him the archive of posts from the old site, and a list of all the tags used across both new and old. My only criteria was that he needed to select tracks from artists or albums that were a part of that list - an attachment to ASIP and the blog. He had hundreds to sift through, some known, some new to him.

I don’t know how he did it.

I do know it was a headache for him, for months, but what he turned in, was something well beyond my expectations. He went through many iterations and different approaches, trying to do one chronologically in the order they were featured on ASIP for example, sending me revisions up until the very last minute, but in the end, he managed to find a selection of tracks that truly reflect the past ten years of discovery here on ASIP. And in a style only he knows how to execute.

A big BIG thank you to todos for soundtracking ASIP all these years. And for this, a superb piece of no-doubt painstaking work to help us celebrate ten-years of existence.

Once you’re done listening here, check out our ‘tagged’ project to explore even more.

Download MP3

Download WAV

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Ten years of A Strangely Isolated Place - mixed by todos

Tracklist:

1. Minilogue - ‘Yesterday Bells’ edit (2008)/ Grzegorz Bojanek - A Huge Explosion After The War’ edit (2017)

2. Altus - ‘Virgo’ edit (2013) / Little Dragon - ‘Twice’ edit (2008) / Lights Out Asia - ‘Except Europa’ edit (2010)

3. Herbstlaub - ‘Softly hidden she.’ (Stray Theories remix) (2016)

4. Stellardrone - ‘Pale Blue Dot’ (2010)

5. Freescha - ‘Kite High’ (2009)

6. Benjamin Dauer - ‘Harmony Bound’ (2011) / Rhian Sheehan - ‘Standing In Silence Part 1’ edit (2010)

7. Jon Hopkins - ‘Private Universe’ (2008) / Opus III - ‘It’s A Fine Day’ edit (2009)

8. Sasha - ‘Broadcast’ (2016)

9. Umber - ‘Tomorrow We'll Throw Out Some Old Shoes’ (2011)

10. Kiyoko - ‘Sea of Trees’ (2012)

11. Bjorn Rohde - ‘Forest of Forgotten Hearts’ (2013) / Nils Frahm - ‘Peter’ (2013)

12. Jason van Wyk - ‘Eyes Shut’ (2017)

13. Roel Funcken - ‘Android Robson’ (2016)

14. Synkro - ‘Midnight Sun’ (2015)

15. Martin Nonstatic - ‘Open Minded’ (2015) / Aphex Twin - ‘Rhubarb’ (2009)

16. Sonitus Eco - ’Storegga Slide’ (2015)

17. Vermont - ‘Übersprung’ (2014)

18. Ocoeur - ‘Resonance’ (2013) / Sigur Ros - ‘Takk’ (2011) / Carbon Based Lifeforms - ‘Intro’ / ‘Hold’ (2014)

19. Donnacha Costello - ‘That Empty Feeling’ (2011)

20. Rhian Sheehan - ’Sileo’ (2013)

21. Markus Guentner - ‘Baryon’ (Feat. The Sight Below) edit (2015) / Porya Hatami - ‘Fen’ (By Segue) edit (2015)

22. Tegh - ‘Down’ (2014)

23. Arovane - ‘Woven’ (Peter Benisch Remix) edit (2015)

24. John Beltran - ‘Seasons Go’ (2013)

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Includes audio recordings taken in and around USA, Germany, UK, Italy, Poland, Australia, Netherlands and Japan.

Special thanks to Ryan, Marcel, Eiko, Spencer and James for the support and sending me snippets of your own strangely isolated places. It was a pleasure incorporating them into this mix.

*Years indicate when tracks were featured on ASIP, not necessarily when they were released*

Artwork by ASIP, containing elements from Mario Morales and Nick Brzostowski.

Passing by: Carbon Based Lifeforms, Ourson, Vermont, GWFAA, & Ametsub

Carbon Based Lifeforms – The Path

This is CBL before they were even CBL. This is spaced-out ambient music from Sweden before we even knew there were producers IN Sweden. This is music thats spinning off the back of The Orb, FSOL and Aphex Twin in the late 90’s; mixing psychedelic soundtracks, samples, synthesizers and god-damn didgeridoos. Two of the finest carving the very CBL sound we know of today. Available on Bandcamp.

Ourson – Light From A Closing Door

Only the long-time ASIP readers will remember the name Ourson. But after what seems like an eternity, Luke has put a neat little album of previously unreleased works up on Bandcamp. Think long-form grainy, warm ambient and you’re in the right zone. It’s just… if you get in that zone, it’s pretty hard to get back out with this kind of stuff… Available on Bandcamp.

Vermont – Vermont

Kompakt isn’t in the game of taking on too many new artists. You’ll often find their deep roster on rotation or releasing under numerous guises, but here’s a new colab between Innervisions’ Marcus Worgull and Danilo Plessow (of Motor City Drum Ensemble fame). I had no ideas what to expect with this album due to minimal knowledge of Motor City Drum Ensemble, but after several listens, this is definitely growing on me.

It’s alarmingly addictive straight-up synth-muddled ambient electronica. The tracks are simple, memorable and obviously produced by two guys exploring each others styles, yet individually, know where to take a track if they needed to; they just strapped restraints on themselves this time around. I can foresee some pretty amazing remixes coming out from this album… i’m thinking (hoping) Pantha Du Prince, The Field or even Dominik Eulberg – there’s certainly enough to play with. Available on Kompakt.

Good Weather For An Airstrike – A Home For You

I know how many fans of Hammock there are out there. And trust me, if you’re one of these then you’ll love what Tom has to offer with Good Weather For An Airstrike. He’s by no means an imitation – rather a younger prodigy of the ambient post-rock genre. ‘A Home For You’ is a beautiful new album peppered with emotion, heart-wrenching crescendos and best of all, the ultimate space to breathe and take it all in. That is until, you experience the epicness of the track ‘Tides’. Available on Bandcamp.

Ametsub – Seek Sick Sound Podcast

What starts as a jazz-oriented ambient interlude, soon progresses into the notorious glitchy world of Japan’s finest IDM master-mind, Ametsub. Never one to remain stagnant in a mix, Ametsub then goes on to present moments of dub-techno, breaks and even more complex beats. If your world of melodic bleeps isn’t quenched with this one, then try his slightly more subtle isolatedmix which he did for us back in 2012. Download and more information on Seek Sick Sound.

Photo taken on approach to Dallas by A Strangely Isolated Place.