isolatedmix 105 - SaffronKeira

After a string of powerful albums with the Denovali label, Eugenio Caria is quickly becoming synonymous with the more epic and intense side of ambient music. Often introducing beats or IDM influences, amongst classical elements and big swells of atmospheric textures, with albums normally built upon strong, vivid concepts, SaffronKeira’s music draws you in for the full, immersive, storytelling experience.

Eugenio’s 2019 album ‘Automatism’, sat with many of my faves of the year, and with the new album ‘In Origine: The Field Of Repentance’ released just a few months ago, it’s clear that SaffronKeira has a lot to give. We sat down with Eugenio to ask a few questions to accompany his suitably powerful isolatedmix.

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Hi Eugenio, thank you for the isolatedmix and for the brilliant new album.
Hi Ryan! Thanks to you!

Many will undoubtedly know you as a producer in your own right, but some keen eyes may have spotted you on the credits of our recent Blinkar från Norr record. Can you tell us about that experience?

Yes, working with Andrea it was a really good experience, also because here in Sardinia we are very few who produce this kind of music ... when I meet Andrea he showed me his knowledge and passion of “that kind of music” and I see again myself at his age…

Andrea in the beginning, was a student of mine, studying production and some skills started to appear from his mind pretty soon… he’s shy but with a lot of intelligence and musical culture from such a young age. In the few years he has been producing music I have seen him embark on a beautiful musical journey. I think ‘Metaphors For Things’ is a great album! Working in my studio at ‘Suvitas’ was a pleasure with lots of good times and shared comparisons and choices together with him.

What do you try and bring to a new production relationship like this? Can you describe the process with Andrea?

I try to take the production to a higher level - trying to fill some gaps and give a continuous mood/color. But I always respect the philosophy and the will of the artist and look for a compromise through a comparison between us, trying to establish a long-term relationship and trust. It is very difficult to get your hands on work of others without compromising their vision sometimes, as it is still something intimate and personal. From my point of view the additional production is a different example from mastering (for example). Mastering is an art undoubtedly, and in many cases it gives high value to potentially dull work, but a mix for example, can drastically change a piece of music. 

Regarding the process with Andrea, we worked on the original material to create new drone layering through the use of echo tapes such as Roland Space echo, Chorus Echo and different vintage outboards. We also used different delay and reverbs trying to better understand the spaces by finding the right balance and also trying to remove - in some cases - that digital touch, trying to make it warmer and more alive. Then we moved on to the arrangement.

Your new album, ‘In Origine: The Field Of Repentence’ incorporates Jazz artist Paolo Fresu - what was the idea behind this collaboration?

I already released an album - ‘Cause and effect’ in 2013 with another Sardinia Trumpeter and I was astonished of the power and soul of this instrument. Paolo Fresu is one of the best trumpet players in the world, and he has worked with other heroes such Jon Hassell, Nils Petter Molvaer and many others. Here in Sardinia he’s an institution and a legend and I’ve know him as an artist since when I was kid… It was one of my goals to make a record with him, so I started some years ago to write draft/landscape sounds thinking about his projection with his great instruments on top of my music, even before I knew he would accept this collaboration.

It may have also came about from the relationship we have with our magic island ‘Sardinia’…

Tell us about that… Sardinia seems to have a lot of great music exports - why do you think that is? How does the music scene differ from the mainland at all?

Yes it's true, the Sardinian scene really has a lot of talented artists who are making their way and exporting their sound all over the world. See for example artists like: Claudio PRC, Dusty Kid, Perry Frank, Paolo Angeli, Paolo Fresu, Stefano Guzzetti (and Blinkar från Norr) just to name a few. All different from each other but each with their own identity which I believe is also transmitted by the power and magic of this land.

I believe that being partially isolated, we withdraw into ourselves by isolating ourselves and allowing ourselves to be contaminated by the scents and climate of this land, sometimes even by the desolation that occurs in the winter months... in the end I think this answer has a connection with ASIP :) a strangely isolated place = that's what Sardinia is!

You’ve been releasing on Denovali since 2012 as your only label home. Can you tell us a about your relationship with them?\

Well, like you said it’s like my home now. They were the first to believe in my art…and I feel super comfortable without any kind of pressure. The first love is never forgotten

Where do you take your inspiration from musically?

I try to find inspiration continuously, traveling, knowing and confronting myself with new and different cultures. This has given me so much in terms of inspiration. Unfortunately for problems that we all know, we cannot travel and I miss this so much. But all of this is also a time for reflection and inspiration; when you are hungry for culture, traveling is like a drug!

It allows me to escape and paint new ideas in my head that I can turn into music, so now that all of this is missing it makes me think a lot…

Other sources of inspiration include the music itself, movies, books, and nature is obviously always in the foreground. But also a man in his actions of the past and present is a primary factor that leads me to be inspired to make music… In fact the concept of my new album ‘In Origine: The Field of Repentance’ came from here.

I see you play live and recently played the notorious Funkhaus in Germany. What elements do you incorporate into your live sets?

Yes, such a great experience, with a great audience; lineup; soundsystem and a magical place… If you have never been there you can’t imagine. The acoustics are fabulous.

Funkhaus is a temple of music, a journey through time. In this specific live set, I incorporated some draft and unfinished material from the new album and I used some trumpet loops that I had from Paolo Fresu’s recordings, processed live with a granular fx + some improvisation on a Eurorack system. Plus some unreleased material - I used a lot of beat, idm, ambient stuff.

Can you tell us about your isolatedmix and the idea behind it?

When I choose the music my main idea it was to have a continuous mood/status/path of thinking that would fit the ASIP world, but without using all music from the ASIP catalog. I hope that I reached this goal and the listener will have a good feeling… I’m huge fan of the isolated mix series!

Listen on Soundcloud, Mixcloud, or the ASIP Podcast.

astrangelyisolatedplace · isolatedmix 105 - SaffronKeira

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Tracklist

01. Blinkar från Norr - Motionless
02. Biosphere - Birds Fly by Flapping Their Wings (v2)
03. Becoming Animal - The Sky Is Ever Falling (Abul Mogard Remix)
04. Emra Grid - Trace It Back
05. Lawrence English - Hapless Gatherer
06. Cristian Vogel - Signal Symbol
07. Emra Grid - Fifteen Day Trilogy
08. Rafael Anton Irisarri - Black Pitch
09. Siavash Amini and Saåad - Dragging the Harrow
10. LF58 - Metamorfosi
11. Alina Kalancea - Devil's Lullaby
12. Saffronkeira - Chthonian (w/Mia Zabelka)

SaffronKeira | Bandcamp | Soundcloud | Denovali

isolatedmix 104 - Optic Echo

I feel a sense of nostalgia for this isolatedmix, for several reasons:

Firstly, Mike Jedlicka (Optic Echo) and I go back for some time now after initially meeting in Portland (Oregon) amongst the amazing ambient scene at the time. We would often find ourselves at the same shows in what is a small city, and both of us would make the trip up to Seattle for Rafael Anton Irisarri’s Substrata Festival (with one such memory being a field recording trip where I must’ve been the only one not knowing what the hell I was doing at the time).

Second, the artwork chosen by Mike for the captures the heart of Oregon, a place I still admire and go back to often. The shot of the Colombia River Gorge is synonymous with the good feelings of summer hikes amongst nature’s finest and ending the day at a brewery.

And lastly, the mix. Not only is Mike an avid-vinyl enthusiast, spinning vinyl-only for his Optic Echo Presents radio show mixes and applauded end of year lists, but his isolatedmix continues this theme with what I can only describe as some essential ASIP-loved vinyl. Many of the artists featured in the mix evoke memories of early ASIP blog days; such as Night Sequels, 36, Eluvium, and of course Wanderwelle all contributing isolatedmixes in the past at the very least - the tracklist strikes at the heart of the ASIP ethos.

Enough of my sentimental musings. To go into a bit more detail with Mike and his mix, I sent over a few questions:

Hi Mike, let’s start with how some people here may know you - making some great year-end mixes and hosting them with our friends at Headphone Commute - how do you go about choosing your favorite vinyl of the year?

Hi Ryan, we miss you here in Portland!

I have been trying to be mindful of new artists and non-mainstream records that I have enjoyed / been intrigued by over the year. I start by compiling a list of possible albums, usually 50+ records. It's helpful that I can look over my OEP playlists to see if I missed anything. In December I whittle it down a bit, pull all the records, and sort them into genres. I start experimenting with them, mapping out the mix around mid Dec. I'm usually receiving records till late December that I want to give a good listen, so I usually don't record the mix till the very end of the year or on NYD. I am thankful for Mike of Headphone Commute for giving me the opportunity every year!

Like me you now have a little one running (crawling?) about the house. How has having a child impacted your music life? Are you still buying as many records!?

It has been a monumental change in my life when he joined our family, and mostly positive. I had to restructure my priorities, as I haven't written my own music in a couple years. But I've kept up with my weekly 2-hour radio show on XRAY. I also attended way less live shows (pre-COVID-19) after he was born.

I had to slim down on buying physical records (my wife may disagree) by maybe 20%, which I really needed to do and probably should do more. I don't have nearly as much money to throw around.

As I mentioned above, I still miss the Portland ambient scene from a few years back. How has it changed over recent years?

I feel that I have not had my finger on the PDX ambient music pulse for the past 2-5 years as I used to, so I'd be better at telling my story. I was deep in it back when I threw the Aleatoric monthly starting ~2007. That merged into different monthlies with Coco Madrid and side shows with Tim Westcott (wndfrm) at Leaven and different churches around town. I've learned through experience to choose different venues (art studios, churches, community spots, outdoor events, etc.) instead of bars for ambient gigs, as people would listen more instead of talking while drinking.

My last show that I curated was Marcus Fischer, Simon Scott (of Slowdive), and Rafael Anton Irisarri. Tim had a contact that could get large venue speakers for a decent price, and we got a great deal for a nice Meyer system with a HUGE sub. That led to getting shut down by the police ... for an ambient gig. Perfect way to throw in the towel.

After that I chose to pull back and just do support work for different ambient events, and I'm pretty good at working the door. I really dropped off the map by ... I want to say 2017.

I know Beacon Sound was a staple Portland record store, and is unfortunately shutting down, but I’ve seen quite a few new shops pop-up since I left, do you still dig locally? What’s your go to now?

I loved BeaconSound so much, its closing was terrible news but understandable in this time. They had (in my opinion) the best selection in town and Andrew is a wonderful human. His store was the last show I attended, a few weeks before COVID hit the US. I have been taking the quarantine seriously, which means I get most of my vinyl currently from Bandcamp.

Other record stores I enjoy in town (assuming they are still open due to the pandemic) are Exiled, Little Axe, and Clinton Street. I really miss record diving :(

Your isolatedmix sticks to your theme of vinyl only - what was the thinking behind the mix?

I did not have a theme per se, but I leaned more on the tempo / structured side of things, longer mixes, a few more classics, and less experimental music than my normal Optic Echo Presents mixes. I hold your isolatedmix series in high regard, so I took my time to get you something that I was happy with, while not playing it safe.

You've written some extensive mix notes detailing your transitions too - do you always do this? Why do you feel it’s important to highlight the technical aspect of a mix?

The notes were for you personally since I thought you might be interested, although I don't mind you sharing publicly. I preplan all of my OEP sets in this way, which takes way more time but will consistently give me the quality of mixes that I desire. It also makes it easier to live mix my FM broadcast (we are currently pre-recording shows due to COVID-19) or record at home, so the transitions come out to my expectations. I have an excel database that I've updated since my college downtempo DJ days 20 years ago of every (tempo driven) record that I own, so I am able to search for a specific BPM when I'm coming up with ideas to beat matching records.

Listen on Soundcloud, Mixcloud, or the ASIP Podcast.

astrangelyisolatedplace · isolatedmix 104 - Optic Echo

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Tracklist:

01. The Orb- Orbvs Terrarvm  c1.1
02. Pinkcourtesyphone- Sentimental Something  b1
03. W Tang- Instrumentals  b1
04. Night Sequels- Children of the Night Make Music  c2
05. 36- Dream Tempest  b
06. Lucy Gooch- Rushing  a2
07. Eluvium- Life Through Bombardment vol2  f1.2
08. William S Burroughs- Break Through in Grey Room  b4
09. Wanderwelle- A State of Decrepitude  a3
10. Future Sound of London- Lifeforms  b3
11. Clickits- Moteer 001  b4
12. Orla Wren- Butterfly Wings Make  a4
13. Ceeys & Constant Presence- Thesis 17  a1
14. Hildur Gudnadóttir- Chernobyl  a1
15. Four Tet- Sixteen Oceans  a4
16. Tom Scott- Hilldrop  b1
17. Dakota Suite (Hauschka remix)- The Night Just Keeps Coming In  a4

Optic Echo’s Mix notes:
The Orb- Orbvs Terrarvm c 1.1

Pinkcourtesyphone- Sentimental Something b1 na // -low, start w/ O, O out bef beat

W Tang- Instrumentals b1 90 // in ½ through P, start v low vol slow up but keep lower, play slow w/ WT EQs (keep low)

Night Sequels- Children of the Night… c2 90 // -mid, mix (+1.9) in WT end 20-25s, WT – mids end 7s

36- Dream Tempest b2 90 // mix in NS end 45s, keep mix lower vol

Lucy Gooch- Rushing a2 63 // @45, in on beat 5-10s bef 36 end lull, in at lower vol, don’t play last ½ 36 end lull

Eluvium- LTB vol 2 f1.2 na // -mid, f1.2=mid static 45-60s bef 2nd ½ pads, in LG end 1/3rd–¼th, mids in slow LG end 10s

William S Burroughs- Break Through in…b4 na // in r after LG out (3TT 3-7s bef LG out), keep at lower vol

Wanderwelle- A State of Decrepitude a3 na // -mid, in E 1/3rd through, take out E mids 1/3rd through W (keep out till W end 20-30s)

FSOL- Lifeforms b3 na-120 // in E at end lull, start 20s b2 end at lower vol

Clickits- Moteer 001 b4 120 // @45, -mid, mix (+1) 4 beats in F end beat only part (end 40s), mids in F beat out, F -mids ½ end 15s + lower vol

Orla Wren- Butterfly Wings Make a4 60 // mix (+0.5) in C end 30s

Ceeys & Constant Presence- Thesis 17 a1 100 // in at OW beat out (end 15s)

Hildur Gudnadóttir- Chernobyl a1 100 // mix (+0.5) in CCP ½ through, play w/ eqs, H fluctuates a bit

Four Tet- Sixteen Oceans a4 98 // -mid, mix (+2) v low vol 10s through CCP end 60s lull, FT mids & vol in at beat only 2nd part

Tom Scott- Hilldrop b1 na // in FT end 30-40s

Dakota Suite- The Night Just… a4 na// in 1/3rd-½ through TS

Optic Echo | Mixcloud | Twitter | Radio/Podcast

isolatedmix 103 - GiGi FM : Inner Mycelia Voyage (Full Hunter's Moon Ritual)

For our 9128.live guest takeovers that some of you may have experienced this past year, we invite other great labels to curate a lineup that is completely on their own terms. What I enjoy the most about this, is that I get to listen to new artists and DJ’s through it, many for the first time (in real time) and it becomes a discovery tool for me just as much as it does to all the listeners.

One of those artists who really jumped out (and was new to me at the time) was GiGi FM. An NTS radio regular DJ and event curator, GiGi was playing as part of the 9128.live Midgar Records takeover at the time. Her set was transcendent, flawless in execution and above all, completely original from anything we had during the multi-hour listening session (available here to listen back); taking us from deep mystical ambient, to tribal and spiritual rhythms all the way through to hypnotic techno. It had those special moments that make you turn to a friend in a club or a field and smile, knowing the journey is taking a new twist; that you’re all in this together on the same level; and it’s only just getting started. Of course, we were just sat at home listening in that example and not dancing under the stars, unfortunately, so I made a point to ask GiGi for an isolatedmix so that we could hear another side and take her storytelling with us whenever and wherever in the future here on ASIP.

GiGi was lovely enough to oblige, and even took the time to match the moment with the Full Moon (today, Thursday October 1st) for an extra special dimension, taking us once again, on another very special, spiritual journey under the stars.

Here’s what GiGi had to say about the mix:

~
Inner Mycelia Voyage is a ritual for the full Hunter's moon coming on October 1st.

Since the beginning of time humankind has always taken communal rituals in dancing as the best attempt to tune into the underlying essence of the universe, which was born out of sound and constant intense vibrating atoms.

Mycelia or mycelium literally means “more than one". Mycelium is one of the oldest living organisms and has helped shape lifeforms on earth. It is the guardian of the earth, the underground internet network of mother nature, making sure nutrients are redistributed to all.

The Full Hunter's Moon in Aries is the first of two Full Moons for the month with a Blue Moon at the month’s end. Having two Full Moons in the same month indicates a theme of clearing and purging.

The shadows are coming to the surface to be birthed into a new light.

Channeling the ancestral earth forces and holding the light of hope is key.

We must remember the wisdom of the numerology code of 2020 offered to us, like mycelia ~ Infinite potential when we work together - GiGi FM.
~

astrangelyisolatedplace · isolatedmix 103 - GiGi FM ~ Inner Mycelia Voyage (Full Hunters Moon Ritual)

Listen on Soundcloud, Mixcloud, or the ASIP Podcast.

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Tracklist

01. GiGi Fm ~ Live Intro Full Hunters Moon Ritual
02. Susumu Yokota ~ Spectrum of Love
03. Azu Tiwaline ft Cinna Peyghamy ~ Violet Curves
04. Unknown Artist ~ Forgotten Constellation
05. Black Merlin ~ Totek and Tim
06. Dino Sabatini ~ Prophecy
07. Trevor Morris ~ Vikings Attack Paris Ntogns Bootleg Version
08. Cassegrain ~ Hexagon Fifteen
09. Eduardo De La Calle ~ Forthcoming
10. VC-118A ~ Forthcoming
11. Donato Dozzy, Lerosa ~ Neon Snake
12. The Martinez Brothers ~ Ibadan Tool
13. T5UMUT5UMU ~ Artificial Blossoms
14. Wata Igarashi ~ Spirits In The Rain
15. Unknown Artist ~ I Become Overwhelmed

Mix artwork photo by Giacomo Marinsalta

GiGi FM Soundcloud | Instagram | Facebook

isolatedmix 102 - Charlie May

If you’re following our label output, you would have noticed a debut album by Quiet Places released last month. Alongside Dennis White and Dave Gardner, the UK-based production trio is yet another milestone in the esteemed Charlie May’s career - one that has brought us some of the most revered and innovative music of the past thirty(!) or so years, through the likes of the duo, Spooky, as Sasha’s engineer and producer, or more recently on stage with Sasha, Dave and Dennis as part of the Refracted Live Shows. To say I’m honored to have Charlie a part of the label alongside Dennis and Dave is an understatement, let alone having him provide us with this stunning isolatedmix.

Of course, by me holding back any potential royalty payments until he agreed ;-) I was able to persuade Charlie to go deep with this one - taking the time to answer a few questions, provide a meticulously detailed track list (for the diggers) and a journey that will battle for your very favorite mix of the entire 100+ series so far. Charlie warned me at the beginning of this; his mixes are rare in this shape and form and if he’s doing it, he’s going to put everything into it. He didn’t disappoint.

Thank you Charlie for the time and effort gone into this one. You can grab the last few copies of the Quiet Places record here, (or digital) featuring one third of the man himself.

Interview with Charlie May

ASIP: You're no stranger to production partnerships over the years, of course, but how did Quiet Places come about?

CM: Dave Gardner, Dennis White and myself were an integral part of the Sasha Refracted Live shows. I think we spent 6 months building this technical monster with 16 musicians on stage and over 2hrs of material all of which had to be meticulously planned and executed. It was like putting a man into space. No room for error and of course we wanted to do it the hard way... without laptops on stage. It was a beast. So Quiet Places came about by necessary accident.

The three of us were programming and rehearsing all the time and of course we would continually come up with these little jams which we always recorded one way or another. As an antidote to the stress and structure we were under the Quiet Places project fell together very loosely, and that looseness and need to relax musically became a template for the album. Only 2 rules : no beats and no grid. Once you step away from those two constraints you are in a different world sonically. It's a very loose jam with laptops .. playing all the weird and wonderful nuggets we've each been hoarding over the past months. So what began as purely therapeutic became a rewarding record making experience.

Pictured - behind the scenes with some of the Refracted Live crew

What do each of you bring to the studio and process when making a Quiet Places record? 

CM: Whisky, plenty of sci-fi both new and old, books and movies and a particular strain of humour that few can grasp / tolerate ... Dennis is a first rate engineer as well as an accomplished drummer. He's about the only one who can play anything in time and also remember what to play immediately. Plus he gets saddled with a lot of the arranging and mixing .. all the grunt work which on a seamless ambient record can get fairly hefty.

Dave is a bit of an encyclopedia of just about anything as long as it's weird and no one makes a sandwich quite like he does, so we always eat well. He has this amazing knowledge of electronic music and its production .. who did what when and how. He's the one who will turn around and say 'that's shit' or 'take half of that out and it's great'. He gives me crap for liking Def Leppard but it's only because he hasn't seen the light yet.

I have no idea what I do .. play some bits and find weird sounds and samples .. bitch and moan about everything and try to understand their contraband humour. We'll probably hate each other by album 3 and throw in the towel for good. 

“I couldn’t live without the dark underbelly of music and the peek behind the curtain that is offered when a particular bunch of sounds sparks up the old brain”

I've read plenty on your musical inspirations over the years, but who are some more modern producers that excite you in the Ambient realm? 

CM: It's weird but since I stopped buying vinyl and CD's .. hard copies of music that I can physically hold and look at, I can't remember the names of artists or the track titles. Other people seem to be able to reel off huge catalogues of hot product verbatim but I draw a blank. I am going to make a concerted effort to buy hard copies again and move away from this 'music by mouse' clicking nonsense .. next next next .. 

I think it's albums that I remember not tracks. Online music seems so instantaneous and track orientated that I just glaze over in the deluge.

“we are so drenched in constant noise in our weird over strained culture that occasionally I want to grab little pieces and frame them”

I don't think many Charlie May fans will be too surprised to see you creating Ambient music in Quiet Places and putting together epic Ambient mixes like this, but can you tell us a little about how Ambient music has played a role in your life over the years? 

CM: 'Ambient' is one large bucket now isn't it ..!? We all define music so differently but with me it was always about music that evoked something transcendent. Not necessarily emotion based but always with that sense of 'other'. I grew up in a classical environment and for as long as I can remember I felt drawn to the slower more expansive pieces along with those composers who re-evaluated their sound palette and turned traditional uses of orchestra or piano or voices inside out.

I can't really put my finger on what it is that gets a hook in me musically, and I don't feel I need to as long as it continues to do so. Needless to say I couldn't live without the dark underbelly of music and the peek behind the curtain that is offered when a particular bunch of sounds sparks up the old brain. If nothing else then existence and all its associated weirdness is fundamentally magical, and without music that evokes that magic, be it sinister or blissful, things are going to get pretty dull. 

Going by the Quiet Places record and of course this mix, you're a big fan of using samples to add atmosphere and feeling - are you always on the hunt? Whats the weirdest or most surprising one you've used?! 

CM: Sometimes I like to make imaginary sci-fi movies with sound, and samples seem to me to be the audio equivalent of photographs. Little evocative snapshots. They can be very powerful if used well and very annoying if not so it's a fine balance which I still struggle to get right. Also we are so drenched in constant noise in our weird over strained culture that occasionally I want to grab little pieces and frame them .. otherwise I never get a foothold it seems. I do constantly record and photograph stuff .. I try and be discerning rather than compulsive as you can drive yourself nuts grabbing samples constantly. The modern 'smart' phone, despite being the brain-melting saboteur of human destiny and personal doomsday device of our worst nightmares is actually a very handy recording studio / sound library. As is the internet .. I love all the low quality nuggets people post everywhere .. all that detritus .. like electronic landfill. I like to scavenge about the scrap heap picking out the gems. It's highly satisfying to make music with sounds that you didn't generate yourself. You get away from that 'preset' sound immediately. As far as the weirdest samples I've used .. well just one look at some of the stuff on line .. absolutely bonkers. It's a wonderful way to capture how utterly lollipop the world we live in actually is.

“I am wrestling with this whole beats issue at the moment .. it hasn’t been that kind of musical year for me so far which usually means some heavy beat driven techno is on its way in the studio.”

I remember Dennis (Quiet Places) telling me there were clearance issues with some of the samples on the original Quiet Places demo (which were later replaced). Do you feel like the record ended up better off for it now? Any samples that you still wish remained? 

CM: There's always a moment of panic ... several actually, when you use a sample that may have clearance issues further along the road. You get attached to it very quickly only to have it feel like having a tumour removed when you stubbornly realise you can't use it. But strangely enough you can usually replace it with something better. There were a couple on QP01 like that and they ended up being much better when we replaced or resourced them so although that whole clearance deal can be a drag it's important to have faith that u can get around the problem. That's where having a good publisher can really help. Thanks Richard!

There's a cheeky ambient self-release on your Bandcamp page that people here might be interested in, how much more of this music do you have in the locker? Are you always dabbling in this style? 

CM: I have quite a bit lying about that I am constantly in the process of finishing up and hopefully releasing. The 'Short Back And Sides' album on Bandcamp was originally put together in the mid '90's .. 25 years later i had to find all the old DAT tapes and hope they still played. I had to finish and release it in order to sleep at night .. unfinished albums can do that to you. There is another ambient album being complied and jigged around with at the moment that i am keen to get out this year. I do love working without having to face 'drums' and tick various stylistic boxes along the way .. so the ambient pile is constantly growing.

How would you describe your isolatedmix before people dive into it? 

CM: I went slightly down the rabbit hole with this one .. what with pretty much all musical antics of this summer having been vaporised by 'the malarkey' I thought it a good time to go through a 30 year old music library and start something.

I must have pulled out hundreds of tracks and then foolishly attempted to make them all get along happily which was never going to happen. So it became this sort of hearts of darkness sci-fi journey .. I love stories so it has that kind of structure to it. All the usual protagonists. 

There are no beats (I like to be able to fall asleep to a good downtempo mix) and heaps of samples and effects with sporadic moments of terror and bliss. Many twists and turns but hopefully in the final reckoning the theatre of it all produces some kind of resolution. It's up to the listener to make of it what they want. I went sightly crackers making it and have more than enough tracks left over for another. However, am going to need a lot more ram next time ...

Did you contemplate taking it into more beat-driven territory or was it always an intention to keep strictly horizontal?

CM: I am wrestling with this whole beats issue at the moment .. it hasn't been that kind of musical year for me so far which usually means some heavy beat driven techno is on its way in the studio. In the case of this mix however adding beats would have broken the spell and immediately diluted the cinematic vibe. Plus this way it's far easier to mix and i can ignore things like tempo and pace and cut in half the stockpile of potential contenders. The lazy option in other words.

Any tracks that you thought might make the cut and didn't? 

CM: There are so many great tracks that i tried to shoe-horn in there but they just wouldn't sit comfortably with their neighbours .. that's the bitter pill of building a mix .. sometimes you have to ditch your prized tune for the benefit of the collective .. making that decision never gets any easier either. 

Quiet Places Vol 1... we are all assuming more volumes, right?!

CM: Volume 2 is currently underway in assorted darkened bunkers .. we'll see how it turns out. It's slightly different from Vol 1 and as yet still slightly feral but sounding really good to my ears. Before that though we have a full length film of Volume 01 nearing completion which is something that I am interested to see.

I suppose as long as the three of us keep our inane whatsapp group foolishness going there will be more Quiet Places records. But it's also the sort of musical collective that flourishes under intense existential pressure. Short of the total collapse of human civilisation which at this point actually seems quite possible we may make it to Volume 03 yet. Thanks for listening and enjoy !

~

astrangelyisolatedplace · isolatedmix 102 - Charlie May

Listen on Soundcloud, Mixcloud, or the ASIP Podcast.

Download

Tracklist

01. Sample - Storm beach 01
02. Brian Eno - Aragon
03. Dick Mills - Adagio
04. Aphex Twin - Tree
05. Ryuichi Sakamoto / Alva Noto - Second Dream
06. Field recording - Victoria line 01
07. Henry Wolff + Nancy Hennings - Time Ice
08. Sample - meta 03
09. Sample - last breath
10. Henry Wolff + Nancy Hennings - The Silver Eye
11. Brian Eno - Tal Coat
12. Chris watson - Vatnajokull
13. Jerry Goldsmith - The Alien Planet / Main Title
14. Sample - last breath
15. Field recording - rain roof innit
16. Field recording - rainy thundery aug 2020
17. Field recording - speed lift 01
18. Leandro Fresco + Rafael Anton Irisarri - El Reflejo Que El Sol Ha Perdido
19. Field recording - gong 01
20. Burial - In McDonalds
21. Jon Hopkins - Feel First Life
22. Sample - terrence mckenna
23. Julianna Barwick - Inspirit
24. Sample collage -  misc instagram
25. Colleen - Please Gamelan Again
26. Sample collage - misc instagram
27. Monolake - Silence
28. Aphex twin - White Blur
29. Fennesz - Shift
30. Earthaven - By the Little Mississippi River
31. Earthaven - Massasauga Marsh
32. Donato Dozzy - Vapourware 01
33. Sample - metasynth 01
34. Sample - metasynth 04
35. Andy Stott - Leaving 
36. Sample collage - misc instagram
37. Mark Pritchard - ?
38. Sample - din is noise
39. Max Richter - Infra
40. Sample - ram dass - fear
41. John Cage - Dream
42. Leandro Fresco + Rafael Anton Irisarri - Elevado Como Barrilete
43. Robert Henke - [_Flicker]
44. Robert Henke - [Convex]
45. Lorn - I Am A Dagger
46. Sample - misc instagram
47. Brian eno - Shadow
48. Cliff Martinez -  My Name On a Car
49. Hans Zimmer / Benjamin Wallfisch - All The Best Memories Are Hers
50. Daniel Lanois - Space Love
51. Lorn - Replika
52. Lorn - All Directions Are The Same
53. Thomas Ankersmit + Valerio Tricoli - Hunt
54. Bernard Szajner - Spice 
55. Sample - misc instagram
56. Sample - winter storm ambience
57. Mozart - Sequentia Lacrimosa Dies Illa (cm re-tweak)
58. Sample - ufo sighting
59. Stormloop - Snowbound
60. Cliff Martinez - Wrong Floor
61. Cliff Martinez - I Drive
62. Daniel Lanois - Carla
63. Sample - metallic portal 
64. Vivaldi - Winter (cm re-tweak)
65. Henry Wolff + Nancy Hennings - Transmigration 02
66. Brian Eno - Matta
67. Merrin Karras -  Drawn, Quartered
68. Sample collage - misc instagram
69. Sample - sophia - i will destroy humans
71. Allen Bruce Ray - High Spirits Walnut Condor cm flute
72. Jonuzi Me Shoket - Vome Kaba (cm re-tweak)
73. Dead Can Dance - The Host of Seraphim
74. Lunatik Sound System - November Sky
75. Sample - ce5 radar
76. Sample - byron katie - walk in silence
77. Sample - misc instagram
77. Brian Eno - Unfamiliar Wind (Leeks Hills)
78. David Hykes - Current Circulation
79. STL - Loosing Touch With My Mind
80. Sample collage - misc internet
81. Sample - overview effect
82. Robert Henke - Signal To Noise 2
83. Sample - instagram drone
84. Sample - acustica purple demo
85. Jon Hopkins - Campfire
86. Sample - Ekhart Tolle - Resist Nothing
87. Ólafur Arnalds - Brot

~

Charlie May Soundcloud | Instagram | Discogs

isolatedmix 101 - 100% De Lichting (mixed by Nathan Kofi)

We go from one of our musical heroes in isolatedmix 100 (Tom Middleton) to an exciting, new discovery with Dutch label collective, De Lichting.

I came across the label on Bandcamp late last year after they had just released the third of their compilation series; 'Één', ‘Twee’ and ‘Drie’. It must’ve been the pastel color thumbnails that drew me in (!) as I had no prior knowledge of the label or the artists involved. But I was quickly moved to purchase all albums on vinyl and stump up the delivery cost all the way from Europe - they were (and are) that good. A blend of more electronic leaning ambient, ambient techno and in some instances full-on techno, the variety yet strong cohesion amongst them all (and in such quantity across 3 compilations) made me realize this was a label with a very strong and clear approach to quality music - and definitely something to get excited about in the future.

When I received the three vinyl compilations, they unfortunately came really bent out of shape from shipping, and I sent an email to the label to sort out a replacement. This happened twice in fact (just a string of bad luck it seemed), but De Lichting dealt with the replacements with grace - quickly and without complaint - and my affinity for them grew even stronger.

More recently I stumbled across this recent AV live-set by De Lichting artist Boris Acket alongside the wonderful visual artist Vincent Rang, who recently provided some outstanding art for the Astral Industries 9128.live takeover. It was one of those special moments that starts to bring numerous musical paths together within our small world, not to mention a lovely way to immerse yourself for an hour. >

The request for an isolatedmix came around primarily due to my newfound admiration for their output, but also because of the desire to get to know the people behind the label a little better. Out of the three compilations, every artist was new to me at the time - and it felt like a goldmine of new music to explore. So to extend that phase of excitement and open up the De Lichting world to even more people, Nathan Kofi (Keyeke) from De Lichting has prepared a special showcase featuring 100% label material both present and upcoming. And of course, I fired a few questions their way to extend the introduction to this new and exciting collective.

~

Hi Nathan, can you tell us a bit about the label; how it formed and what inspired it, who it’s made up of?

De Lichting is, in essence, a tight-knit of friends who combined efforts by merging three Amsterdam based imprints into one joint venture, run by seven music heads from the same city. The majority of the crew knew each other when we as individuals embarked on music studies in the same college. And some of us intersected in life via other routes and hopped on the bandwagon a little later.

We, as a 7-headed collective, strongly believe in a DIY mentality, which instigated the urge to self-release music in the first place. The industry and its gate-keeping mechanisms, when artists are searching refuge for their music, are apparent. And we collectively were tired of not receiving any comment or feedback on sent-out material. So we took up things for ourselves, and have been doing so ever since! Stubbornly, freely, passionately but not without struggles.

 The group is made up of: Boris Acket, Eversines, Human Space Machine, Kaap, Nathan Kofi (Keyeke), queniv, and RDS. And several alter-egos; as you might’ve noticed in the tracklist. We are all currently based in Amsterdam, apart from queniv, who resides in Utrecht. Everyone contributes and plays their part in operating the platform. I maintain and keep close contact with our PR relations and make sure the right music and narrative is communicated when a release is on its way.

So there are quite a few people involved in running the label! How do you come to decisions? Does it always go as planned?

It isn’t always easy when it comes down to decision making. All of us have strong unfiltered spirited opinions on label matters such as; pr, pressing, promotion, design, playlist etc. With regards to our solo EP series; although each one of us has a certain amount of jurisdiction, we do allow the person who’s releasing, to have the last say in certain aspects. At times difficult decisions can be as easy as ABC. And other times minor details can fire up a passionate debate for hours. However, In the end, it always pans out to an agreement, in which everybody can find peace and comfort, and thus our collective narrative.

Musical styles on the label so far are very diverse - from ambient through to techno (just what I like!) is this on purpose? Do you have a limit on genre?

Not really though. We all deeply enjoy the craft and art of music production in all its glory and ugliness. So there is no limit, per-se, on genre. We uphold freedom of artistic expression as well as experimentation in a myriad of ways. There is no right or wrong. However, we do intend to express a collective narrative holistically that balances between all genres within the experimental electronic dance music spectrum. And I personally feel that to be one of the strong trademarks of our platform. The process of selection starts with hours-long listening sessions, where everybody can freely present their ‘work in progress’ made over a period of time. And from that point, we try to connect the dots from the first track to the last.

What’s the goal of the label and what do you have planned for the future?

Well, first and foremost; the future will bring a lot more new releases! From tape/cassettes, digitals and of course vinyl. In July we are releasing another compilation but this time we release it exclusively digitally, due to the catastrophic backlash of the COVID-19 crisis on the entire industry. So no vinyl, for the first time… Although it pains us not to be able to press on a physical carrier, as well as, not to celebrate the release with friends and family on location. We had to be creative and came up with a cool idea to honour our release rituals. We’ll be live-streaming the new complication and during the stream, a robotic arm will translate the frequencies of the tracks on paper, which can be bought afterwards.

Can you tell us about your mix? Looks like there’s lots of unreleased music in the pipeline?

The mix I prepared for ASIP contains 100% De Lichting material. Each one of us has contributed at least 2 to 4 tracks. The mix from beginning to end is my personal interpretation for an ambient journey through the collective spirit of De Lichting.

The process started with me digging into the endless hallways and corridors of unreleased and released work from the crew. And carefully listening to each of the tracks and simultaneously puzzling all of it into a cohesive narrative. As you might’ve noticed, the focus is mainly beatless. And I tried to be as versatile as I could by combining different vibes, BPMS, genres of tracks together that aren’t normally expected to be paired together. And this the result!

An opening track from Kaap brings us into a deep meditative melancholic mood before we swiftly drift-of into a more light-hearted atmosphere. Halfway through you’ll hear field recorded ambiences, rhythmic syncopes, noise sweeps, synthesizers breathing and coming to life. And near the end the vibe becomes sedative and dream-like, just enough, to calmly awaken you with a conclusive fast-paced anthem called 'missing' by Eversines & RDS. 

~

astrangelyisolatedplace · isolatedmix 101 - 100% De Lichting (Mixed by Nathan Kof)

Listen on Soundcloud, Mixcloud, or the ASIP Podcast.

Download

Tracklist:

01. JøBurg - Voices From The Void 002 [unreleased]
02. queniv - Modular Test [De Lichting]
03. Boris Acket - Home Rehearsal 1 [De Lichting]
04. RDS - Untitled [unreleased]
05. Kaap - Solus Ipse [unreleased]
06. Human Space Machine -  Kirkyra 001 [unreleased]
07. Keyeke - Peninsula [unreleased]
08. Boris Acket - Home Rehearsal 2 [De Lichting]
09. Eversines - Bau [unreleased]
10. queniv - Ambient 012 [unreleased]
11. Keyeke - Omío [unreleased]
12. RDS -  Jazz Experiment [unreleased]
13. Jøburg - Epoch [unreleased]
14. Keyeke - Morphosis [De Lichting]
15. Nathan Surreal - Dream [unreleased]
16. Human Space Machine - Persist 2 [unreleased]
17. Eversines - Distant Comfort [unreleased]
18. RDS - Onvoorwaardelijk (Ambient) [De Lichting]
19. Eversines & RDS - Missing (Mix I) [Forthcoming Kalahari Oyster Cult]

De Lichting | Bandcamp | Website | Facebook | Soundcloud | RA