Illuvia / Iridescence of Clouds (Sea of Vapor)

 

The original process working alongside Ludvig Cimbrelius on his album Iridescence of Clouds, was an insightful journey through an artists’ meticulous mindset, as Ludvig let me in on the many iterations and versions of tracks he built along the way. I can be completely honest here; every single version I heard was brilliant he sent my way, but of course, his own artistic vision needed to be fulfilled, and certain versions were left by the wayside. Fast forward a year since the amazing response to this album, and we’re now treated to an entirely new album that is now presented alongside the original. Fully remastered by Ludvig himself to help fulfill every inch of his own vision in complete totality.

Now available on Bandcamp on Digital + 2CD Digipak, see the release page for full details and links to buy.

Illuvia expands upon his 2021 ambient drum'n bass hybrid album Iridescence Of Clouds, with a new suite of alternate and once discarded versions. Revisited, remastered, and presented as an extended digital album and double CD, with a new artwork version by Noah M / Keep Adding. 

"During the two-year process of creating the music that became Iridescence of Clouds, I ventured deep in attempts to give form to visions I’ve been catching glimpses of since my youth. Translating emotional landscapes to sound is somewhat of an undertaking when you care about every detail. As it often happens for me when working on an album, the alternate versions and discarded tracks were legion. Amongst them were everything from sketches to almost finished tracks that had been part of the album at some point, later to be replaced and left by the wayside. A while after the release I found myself revisiting these versions and outtakes, and I began gathering up a selection to form another album that I called Sea of Vapor.

It soon became clear to me that all these tracks felt emotionally tied to the original album, and I didn’t really have the sense that this new chapter wanted to stand on its own. That is when the idea of making a double CD came to mind—letting the two chapters come together as one story. Perhaps another reason why this idea resonated with me is that my early days of discovering and exploring the bright new world of atmospheric jungle and drum’n’ bass happened exclusively via the medium of CDs (and not uncommonly double discs). As shared in my entry for ASIP’s mix series [isolatedmix107], those CDs meant the world to me at the time and certainly left a deep imprint, perhaps even down to leaving me with an emotional affinity for the format.

So after another year of traveling through this vaporous rhythmic soundworld, it feels special to be able to present an extended edition of this album complete with a new rendition of the awe-inspiring original artwork by Noah M / Keep Adding (though the original version still leaves me speechless). As far as the music goes, there is no point in pretending that my journey with Iridescence of Clouds has been an easy one, but as a friend and fellow ASIP artist reminded me—maybe it shouldn’t be. And as time passes, it seems to me that the memory of our struggles fade while the beauty of our work remains" - Ludvig Cimbrelius

~

The digital edition of the album will be name-your-price for a limited time on Bandcamp, and all proceeds from digital sales will go directly to support the people of Ukraine. We encourage everyone to give as much as they comfortably can, and all together we will make a difference for those who need it the most right now. Human lives are at stake and your support matters. When we have received a big enough sum to make an impact, we will make an announcement and the sum of all the proceeds collected will be divided equally between Unicef Ukraine (www.unicef.org/ukraine/en) and Nova Ukraine (novaukraine.org)

 
 
 

Video: Markus Guentner / Here

 

A new abstract video created by Markus Guentner to showcase the closing track HERE, taken from his latest album Extropy.

The remaining copies of the 2LP are available on Bandcamp and a few select stores still have some in stock.

 

Video: Scanner Live on Bandcamp

 

Last week we held our very first live stream over on Bandcamp with Scanner, as he further reinterpreted his works that form his new album alongside Olga Wojciechowska/Strië, ‘Struktura Revisited’.

The full show was around 45-mins long, as Robin took the original material into a more rhythmic and dubby direction - listeners head nodding at home no doubt - but you can watch a small edit of the show below.

Make sure you’re following our Bandcamp page to ensure you don’t miss our next stream.

You can buy Scanner’s new album with Strië here.

 

Scanner Live Performance: Struktura Revisited

 

For the official release of Struktura Revisited' by Strië & Scanner, we have Robin Rimbaud, aka veteran electronic music producer, Scanner, performing live, taking his reinterpretations from the release, one step further.

A regular performer on Bandcamp live, Robin will be further improvising around his reworks, like a chamber of mirrors, rethinking, rebuilding, reinventing. He will remain online afterward for a chat with everyone to answer questions.

You will be able to purchase the new album during the Livestream, and ticket buyers also get an exclusive track from the album (which will not be made available publicly) and a free download of the ASIP 2021 Label compilation included in the ticket price.

All ticket funds from this event go straight to the artist for his live performance for which he has meticulously prepared especially for us.

Buy tickets on Bandcamp

 

Strië & Scanner / Struktura Revisited (ASIPV034)

 

Polish composer Olga Wojciechowska and veteran electronic producer Robin Rimbaud aka Scanner, combine on A Strangely Isolated Place to revisit a beloved Strië album - Olga’s more electronic and experimental alias. 

With previous releases on Serein and Time Released Sound as Strië, Olga Wojciechowska’s ‘Struktura’ was released in 2015 to a limited audience due to its physical-only format. As Olga’s work becomes increasingly more coveted, through her more recent releases on A Strangely Isolated Place (Unseen Traces & Infinite Distances), and with Struktura praised as one of her finest albums to date, the discussion to breathe new life into the album resulted in a unique pairing with Scanner, an electronic music producer and multimedia artist responsible for some of the most defining works of the genre since the early 1990s. 

Blurring the line between harmony and dissonance, Struktura’s original recordings paint an eerie, haunting and beautiful picture, conceptualized around abstract art, with intricacies and mystery abound. Strië’s original recordings remain untouched, albeit lovingly remastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri, and it is left to Scanner to provide further interpretations of Olga’s original recordings. 

Scanner productions can typically traverse a myriad of styles, but here, Robin took a primarily live-hardware approach to the remixes, allowing the rawness of his recordings to add story and depth. Recorded in one take, with no overdubs, the reinterpretations strip the melodies and textures to their original essence, bringing an entirely analog element to Olga’s intrinsically detailed originals.

Featuring artwork by Rep Ringel and mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri, Struktura Revisited will be available on Gatefold 2LP in a black/grey half-and-half vinyl, with 6x6” soft-touch heavy art card.

Release date: January 31st, 2022
(Preorder January 10th, 2022)

Join us on January 30th, 11am PST on our Bandcamp page, for a LIVE performance by Scanner, where he will further reinterpret the music from Struktura Revisited.