ASIP - Reflection on 2010

You’ve seen the A-Z of music which made my 2010, but what’s a year-end wrap-up without a mix?!

A reflection on 2010 is an overview of my favourite artists and albums of the year. Whilst some tracks may not necessarily be the best from each respective album, I’ve gone for those that fit the overall mix. And of course, by doing this I’ve missed out plenty and the more upbeat electronica has been left to one side for now… But I’m hoping you’ll value this as a listening experience rather than just a year end list.

Once again, thanks to all the artists featured and I hope you all enjoy it. If you fancy any of the tracks featured, follow the album links in the tracklisting below (some are free!)

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01. 36 – Geiga [Hollow]
02. Nest – Charlotte [Retold]
03. Mig Dfoe – Real de 14 [The Stone Master]
04. Ous Mal – Marraskuu [Nuojuva Halava]
05. Loscil – Fern and Robin [Endless Falls]
06. bvdub – No One Will Ever Find You Here [The Art Of Dying Alone]
07. Pantha Du Prince – Im Bann [Black Noise]
08. Thomas Fehlmann – Falling Into Your Eyes [Gute Luft]
09. Elika – Stand Still [Snuggle Bunnies]
10. Ulrich Schnauss + Manual – In Odense [Epic]
11. Solar Fields – Unite [Origin#01]
12. Stellardrone – Milliways [Energostatic] FREE
13. Dalot – XX [The Reconstruction Of Fives]
14. D_rradio – Midnight on a Moonless Night [Parts]
15. Horizon Fire – Denver River Logging [Chemtrail] FREE
16. Foxes in Fiction – Karma Bank [Swung From The Branches] FREE
17. Rhian Sheehan – Texture 2 [Unreleased]
18. Casino Versus Japan – Hello You [Night On Tape]
19. Verulf – Sunlight and Sea [Self titled] FREE
20. Dextro – Ring Cycle (Live version) [Zero Circle]

ASIP - Inspirations (Live set)

This has been sitting in the ASIP vaults for quite some time now – a DJ mix I recorded about three years ago featuring some of my all time favourite tracks, most of which inspired me to set-up this site. My friends CDJ’s were on loan and together with my turntables, I set off with the aim to complete my first ‘downtempo’ DJ set, recorded live with no computer intervention whatsoever.

I spent half the morning trawling through my favourites, sorting by BPM and putting in to some kind of coherent order and was expecting tens, if not thousands of attempts before I got this right. Luckily, it was done in one go – probably the biggest fluke of my life considering the amount of intro’s I looped and my relative inexperience using CDJ’s.

You’ll likely recognise all the tracks here, so I’m hoping you enjoy the overall flow of the mix as well as the classics I’ve included. I was going to talk through each track but seeing as most of you have been following this blog for a while now, you probably already know what I would say about music like this... no surprises here.

I hope you enjoy it.

1. Aphex Twin – Rhubarb
2. Underworld – To Heal
3. Global Communication – 14.31
4. DJ Shadow – Blood on the Motorway
5. Ulrich Schnauss – Between us and them
6. Boards of Canada – Dayvan Cowboy
7. Bibio – Cherry Blossom Road
8. Honeyroot – State of mind
9. Thievery Corporation – Shaolin Satellite
10. James Bong – Never Say?
11. Aim – Cold Water Music
12. Boards of Canada – Happy Cycling
13. Ulrich Schnauss – A letter from home
14. 7 Hurtz – Malibu
15. Biosphere – Kobresia

ASIP - Traumbient

There was a time when I was hunting down every single release on this label. ‘T’ for techno. ‘Minimal’. ‘German Techno’. ‘Kompakt & similar’. ‘Electronic’… Find the box, find Traum. Find the LP’s. Find the EP’s. Find them all.

Beginning with some of the first outputs from Phillipe Cam, Miss Dinky and Process, Traum Schallplatten went on to introduce me to Fairmont, Jesse Somfay, Nathan Fake, Minilogue and Dominik Eulberg. Responsible for the introduction of many of these artists to a wider audience, Traum still stays true to it’s original ethos today and continues to deliver hypnotic, melodic and defining techno.

Looking through Traum’s extensive ten year catalogue, you’ll find big hitters such as Minilogue’s ‘Certain Things’, Nathan Fake’s ‘Dinamo’,and Dominik Eulberg’s ‘Der Buchdrucker’, to name just a few of my favourites. Dig a little further and you’ll also stumble across a more gentle side of melodic techno tucked away in the Traum vaults.

For this mix, i’ve put the dance-floor orientated tracks to one side and focused on some of the more ambient outputs in a hope to reflect a treasured yet sometimes overlooked side of Cologne’s finest export. I’ve included releases that reflect the deep, atmospheric, gentle but unexpected sounds I’ve come to associate with this great label; from 1999’s Fantasias Animadas, to Max Coopers ‘Sea of Sound’, set to be released this month.

Here’s my own little dedication to a defining techno label.

Download.

01. Iquinn – Fall [TRAUMCD08]
02. Broker-Dealer – Stormy [TRAUMCD07]
03. Miss Dinky – Nora [TRAUMV11]
04. Fantasias Animadas – Mike’s Road [TRAUMCD01]
05. Waki – Baikamo [TRAUMCD06]
06. Kubikov & Milutenko – Structure [TRAUM13]
07. Process – Room [TRAUMCD13]
08. Kubikov & Milutenko – Special Communication [TRAUM13]
09. Gustavo Lamas – Dulces [TRAUMCD02]
10. Leandro Fresco – Recordable [TRAUMCD01]
11. Yuxtapose – Sciex Elan [TRAUMCD01]
12. Oxtongue – Elba Life [TRAUMCD07]
13. Darmush – Rarpa [TRAUMCD11]
14. Max Cooper – Sea Of Sound (Ambient rework) [TRAUMV131]

ASIP - Balearic Brilliance

It’s been a while since I visited the White Isle, but the influences from my visits still ring true today – I’m a sucker for classic Balearic chill-out.

It’s getting seriously cold in the UK now and with the summer long gone, we’re all wishing we were  somewhere else. The first in a two-part series, the idea for this mix come from a short tweet conversation between DJ Rich-Ears and I. A little love for a Balearic track and before we knew it, the challenge had been thrown down.

My choices reflect some of my fondest and personal memories – specific days, nights and mornings. You’ll find classic balearic chill, to more recent efforts and even a hint of my trance influence.

ASIP was up first. DJ Rich-Ears to follow with Pt 2.

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Tracklist
01. Rhian Sheehan – Te Karanga
Not only can Rhian strut with the finest cinematics, Balearic also comes naturally.

02. Language Lab – Burning Disaster (Groove Armada Bedtime Story remix)
The original is totally different. Instant relaxation with this one.

03. Ganga – Luna
Ganga is one of them artist’s you can brush over too easily. ‘I Dream About Trees’ is a must if you like this track.

04. Jose Padilla – Adios Ayer (Paul Daley remix)
Ibiza’s father of chill meets Mr Leftfield. What else could you wish for? The original is hard to beat, but Paul Daley provides a modern twist on a Balearic beauty.

05. The Beloved – The Sun Rising (Tom Middleton DnB edit)
A classic Ibiza track revamped into a subtle Drum’n Bass style by Global Communication’s Tom Middleton.

06. Mark’s & Henry’s – (The Making Of…) Jill / A conversation with Rickie Lee Jones
Retro Ibiza, with a little sample which epitomises Ibiza for me. Overused maybe, but I’m never one to stay on trend.

07. Rocket Empire – Montezuma’s revenge
One of the newest tracks on here, great synth progression and really atmospheric.

08. Energy 52 – Cafe Del Mar (Michael Woods ambient remix)
My all-time favourite trance track stripped back to the core, and focused on the one part which everyone has come to love.

09. Moby – My Beautiful Blue Sky
Moby’s early ambient productions are still as influential as they were in 1993.

10. Chris Coco – My Sunset
Chris Coco needs no introduction and deserves his place amongst the tracklist. The vocal in this track takes you somewhere else…

11. Dousk – Anagram
A hard one to fit in. First heard on Sako’s ‘Last Days’, this track was made for Balearic Chill and had to be included.

ASIP - The isolated 1000

One month ago, we were approaching 1000 ‘likes’ on the ASIP Facebook page and with such a great milestone nearing closer each day, it was the perfect time to get you guys involved and collaborate on a celebratory mix. The premise was simple, name a track that you have come to love because of an artist/mix previously featured on the ASIP blog.

Submissions from the inspirational Kilchurn Sessions, Nick Warrens isolatedmix, Ulrich’s shoegaze mix, DJ Vorn’s Electronic Explorations, plus recent stunners from Tropics, Lights Out Asia and Horizon Fire. From ambient, nu-gaze and shoegaze to electronica, prog and classical – this was going to be some journey (if not a little hard to piece together!)

Thank you to everyone who submitted and made up the first 1000. Unfortunately not all of the submissions are included in the mix – some were impossible to track down in mp3 or good quality (Release The Krakken and the Stina Nordenstam remix for example?!) Also, a few were just too hard to fit in (especially with my lack of software), so a big apology if yours didn’t make it.

I even managed to sneak in my own submission; it was one of them track’s you hear years ago, only to disappear without a trace. Luckily, DJ Rich-Ears ‘Sound of Ancient Leafs and Bamboo‘ resurrected it from my long lost musical mind – a worthy entrant I think? For a peak at all of the stories and inspiration behind many of the choices included, see the isolated1000 Facebook note.

I hope you enjoy it.

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Your Tracklist:
01. Helios – Vargtimme (submitted by George Potter)
02. Robert Frost – Fire and Ice (Sample)
03. Tropics – Soft Vision (submitted by Roberto Sodano, Audioglider)
04. Leandro Fresco – Buenos Amigos (submitted by Pete Srdic)
05. Lights Out Asia – Except Europa (submitted by Wes Marlan)
06. Underworld – To Heal (submitted by Danny Fletcher)
07. Thomas Newman – Brooks Was Here (submitted by Rob Abery)
08. Adham Shaikh – Journey To The Sun (submitted by DJ Rich-Ears)
09. Bruno Sanfilippo – Intropassion (submitted by Pete Srdic)
10. Ulrich Schnauss – Blumenwiese Neben Autobahn (submitted by Matt Acornley)
11. Boards of Canada – Olson (sumitted by DJ Todos)
12. The Last Atlant – Twin Of The Sun (submitted by DJ Todos)
13. Vector Lovers – Neon Sky Rain (submitted by Justin King)
14. Adham Shaikh – Journey To The Sun (submitted by DJ Rich-Ears)
15. Lostep – Burma (Sasha’s Involver Dub) (submitted by Kevin Lloyd)
16. Pete Lazonby – Sacred Circles (Healing mix) (submitted by ASIP)
17. Sway – Fall (submitted by Sbando Lorenzo)
18. Horizon Fire – Passed Out In A Datsun (submitted by Mach V)
19. Edward Shearmur – Coda (submitted by Danny Fletcher)
20. Leona Naess – True Love Will Find You In The End (submitted by Michael Pinn)