isolatedmix 113 - Sunju Hargun

We’ve fallen a little behind the monthly schedule with isolated mixes recently, but that’s mainly because the artists lined up have been working hard on some very special journeys for us all. Getting back into the swing of things now, our latest mix comes from an artist who I got to know through a small online group that obsesses over Trance music, and ultimately helped us bring to life our recent Rapture Network 9128.live takeover, helping organize and provide the brilliant logo/identity for the festival and t-shirts.

When he and I are not obsessing over all types of ambient and psychedelic trance music, Sunju Hargun has been busy launching his new label, Siamese Twins Records, which since 2020 has not only been an outlet for some of his own work, but also served as an introduction to many pan-Asian artists through compilations such as Kāthā, and Vinyan, presenting a spectrum of “Eastern psychedelia”. The compilations represent a great starting point for many new artists stemming from a local scene, and one that I am excited about digging deeper into through both Sunju and his new label curation.

“A hypnotic sound bath in which tribally-rooted ambient morphs into one entity. Drones, live instruments and esoteric textures are transformed into a contemporary Kāthā interpretation.”

Coincidentally, during my trip to Hidden Sounds record store in London, I had picked up a remix EP from Sunju’s label, that delved into the slightly trancier side of his tastes (and label). It was a fleeting visit where the shop owner Alex loaded me up with so many nice bits, that I had hardly stopped to look at the artists and labels in my bag and was purely grabbing stuff on sound - always an exciting tactic for exploring new records when you get them home and realize you ended up supporting someone you enjoy based on music alone.

It’s with great pleasure to have Sunju behind the decks for this isolatedmix and a get peek into his own influences that undoubtedly shape his own productions, mixes and label output…

Hi Sunju, can you give us an intro to your musical upbringing?

I’m of Indian descent, born and raised in Thailand with some roots from Japan. I find love and happiness in connecting with people through music. I co-run the Siamese Twins records record label focusing on psychedelic sounds from the East. I’m also a part of the Karma Klique collective organizing parties in nature across Thailand with proceeds going to local social causes.

I was surrounded by lots of music when I was young. Lots of people whose music is sought after in the local Thai jazz/blues wave were my father’s friends, and some of that music was connected to psychedelic rock as well. Around that time was also another side of music which was an integral part of my life, came from my mother’s passion for Indian art and traditional Hindu soundtracks from the early 60’s to 70’s.

We are both deep Trance fans at heart - but how did you get into the ambient side of music?

At the time I was living in Shanghai, my friends would host intimate house sessions every other weekend to experience ‘trip’ gatherings with the music we felt connected to and grow our little prog-trance family by inviting other ravers we met along the way. Most of us were music nerds of the group that had to contribute to certain hours of the night to share our playlists, and I was mostly in charge of sunrise. Although I was not familiar with the term Ambient back then, instead referred to it as Reprise/Chillout'. Having the pleasure to breathe through the early 2000’s Prog era, I was heavily inspired by compilations from Global Underground, Renaissance & Producers like Satoshi Tommie, Spooky, Starkid, Leama, and Rabbit in the moon are just a few to mention that were a gateway to falling deeply in love with it.

Your new label Siamese Twins Records has made an excellent start, can you tell us a bit about the approach?

Thank you so much, very happy to receive great support and words from you about it.

It has been very community-driven as it's built upon mutual connections and friendships we made over the last five years running events with Karma Klique. We would invite artists from across the Asian region that gained our interest and with a similar ethos. There is a lot of mainstream electronic music here, but luckily there are also a lot of amazing artists, event organizers, record stores and labels that stubbornly do their own thing with a pure love for the art. While connecting with them often music they were working on was shared which we felt deserved a good home. This is also how we connected with Yoshi Nori who runs our sister label 禁JIN from Taipei and is one of the four co-founders of the Siamese Twins label.

The idea from the start was to embrace Asian identity and focus on the more psychedelic sound spectrum which can be both slow as fast. We release ambient, curated as long trips, compilations, but are also releasing trippy dancefloor orientated material ideally to be played at sunrise during a forest rave. We like to mix it up, stay weird. We care a lot about the total process from start to finish with lots of love and attention to detail. We approach it multi-dimensional and a way to have a dialogue with other expressions of Asian culture which shows in Taychin Dunnvatanachit’s artwork approach.

We hope to keep on building on these fundamentals. It’s very much our own thing and approach.

What is the ambient music scene like in Thailand? How do you try and stay connected locally?

Yes, Bangkok is a special city that I'm happy to call home.

The ambient movement is still quite young, but in the past year alone there might have been a spark of interest towards it being more appreciated by locals mainly because of spending plenty of time at home during the lockdown period. There is also a wave of music makers and collectives popping out at the moment who are heavily promoting it - A wonderful shift, with the hope that it earns a feature in festivals and gatherings on the horizon. The community of quality electronic music in Bangkok is tightly connected through record stores like More Rice and Zudrangma that promote a wide variety of world and electronic music. With the addition of a brand new local online-based radio called “BCR” that has managed to bring artists and friends to share music together during this time when clubs aren’t allowed to open.

You're a great visual artist too, is your music and art symbiotic in approach?

I would like to think there is an underlying secret connection towards some form of visual identity with my approach to music. In the past, I experienced moments of having these images built from dreams that became starting points to an idea of creating a track. Does not happen often, but when it does - I welcome it!

The mix feels very uplifting, especially near the end. What role does ambient music play in your life at the moment?

Ambient music helped me to understand sound layering in a whole different perspective. Over the past two years, I've especially embraced more experimentation in the studio and introduced sounds from various cultures rooted in Asia. This helped a lot to push creative boundaries. When possible I try to spend time learning more about sound’s behavior as well and how daily noise from our surroundings can impact us. Keeping my eyes & ears wide open to observe the smallest details.

Where was the mix prepared and what is the idea behind it?

The mix was recorded at home at approximately 10:30 am on a rainy morning. The concept behind the mix was to include tracks that are influencing me at the moment. I'm finding myself drawn towards music from Japanese producers more and more these days and wanted to share some of those discoveries alongside other favourite labels and promos from friends. The mix itself carries a story that feels fluid with a lot of focus on space, texture, and a hint of nostalgic memories. I hope the listeners will enjoy it and feel the same way.

~

Listen on Soundcloud, Mixcloud, or the ASIP Podcast.

astrangelyisolatedplace · isolatedmix 113 - Sunju Hargan

Download.

Tracklist:

01. Adi - Haz
02. Androne - Signs of life
03. Yagya – Old Dreams And Memories
04. Yumi Iwaki - Sleepy Fog
05. Pataphysical - Moonlit Picnic
06. Vivian Koch - Who
07. Lemna - Moments In Eternal Recurrence
08. Celestial Trax - New Masters of Psychedelic Ambience
09. Avsluta - Meditation 16
10. BLNDR - Callopsis
11. Vivian Koch - Closed (Yosemite Version)
12. JakoJako - Ochros
13. Only Thingz - Eyes Wide Open
14. Kosei Fukuda - Sky Clair (Uchi Remix)
15. Underworld - Dark & Long (Most 'Ospitable)
16. Talvin Singh - Butterfly

~

Sunju Hargun | Soundcloud | Bandcamp | Instagram | Bandcamp (Siamese Twins)

isolatedmix 112 - Suna

So many of the sets that have been a part of 9128.live these past few years have been outstanding, and some artists have even been able to make a couple of appearances across multiple takeovers. One of those artists who ticks both these boxes is Suna.

Based in Seoul, Suna made her first appearance in our world for the Astral Industries 9128.live takeover over a year ago, and was then invited back by Joachim Spieth for the Affin takeover earlier this year. Her set for this takeover was spellbinding, and I was obliged to ask Suna to present this mix once again for the isolatedmix series, for even more people to enjoy.

For those who are new to Suna, she plays a crucial part in the burgeoning electronic scene in Seoul - one I have heard amazing things about but yet to experience. As part of the infamous club vurt, Suna can often be heard as part of the lineup gracing the infamous concrete bunker with her carefully crafted ambient sets, of hypnotic deep techno, or just as busy running things behind the scenes.

ASIP - Thank you, Suna, for allowing us to republish this mix. It was one of my favorites from the 9128.live Affin takeover!

Suna - First of all, I feel very grateful to have an opportunity to take part in 9128.live, I enjoyed working on it.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your role at vurt?

vurt. is a crew that seeks the pure spirit of underground culture and timeless electronic music. We hold a slogan, 'Ancient Future'. Before opening vurt., I often felt there's a systemic problem that DJs cannot improve their music with their own identity. DJs were asked to compromise our musical direction that could have been related to the revenue of clubs, and new trial and challenges were not accepted. Superficiality was the only dominating concept, wearing the mask of the underground. I felt strongly that we are in need of a venue that DJs can build up their musical style through experiences, experiments and improvements.

vurt. wants to make everything possible, developing and realizing pure music that hold each one's character and identity. We keep the olds, welcome the new, and bridges various generations and their knowledge and experiences. 

How has vurt been impacted by the past few years? And what do you see as the future of clubs in this new world?

Like every other club in the world at the moment, vurt. has been influenced by Covid19 big time. 

Last year, the Korean government started to shut down clubs officially, and even before several months from that point, we were advised(morel like coerced) to keep shutting down. 

When we were having such a big difficulty without receiving any financial support or aid from the government, many local and international artists helped us.

Alex from Cassegrain released an album called <in_vurt> with many other artists, and they donated the sales revenue. I don't know how many times one gets to experience such a special gift, I still haven't figured out how I can pay them back. I feel indescribably grateful. After that vurt. and two other clubs in Seoul, Faust and Volnost joined forces and made a VFV Club project. We raised funds via a streaming event. Things were still on pause, and the pain was roaming in the air. I gained lots of energy to move forward while meeting people who were in the same shoes. Just by talking about how the camera is, how the streaming is, I felt like it gives me power. In the retrospect, it was a meaningful time to get to understand further about each other, before that event we three didn't really have that active communication. I thank all the listeners and people who donated. We also got great spiritual supports from loving friends of vurt., and the financial support from Jaegermeister was a meaningful help as well. So far, it was a miraculous time that we could hang in. 

We couldn't just shut the door, sit down and wait, so now we turned the venue into a bar and focusing on ambient music than techno. Before the pandemic, we were running vurt. as an ambient bar during the weekdays so the transition was somewhat natural. Now, we are doing exhibitions once every two months, we showcase the artists who have connections to vurt.'s identity. The latest exhibition last month was very meaningful and special. The artists were rather young, all based in Seoul and regulars of vurt., and for the last few years we have grown together. They were students who study art and photography, it was difficult to make an opportunity to do something together when we were running as a club, but at this point when things are paused because of the disease, they utilized our venue and created their narratives. The title of the exhibition was 'Symptoms', and it was about various symptoms that are being created while being deferred, and the hopes that are jumping in. While the exhibiting period, I felt the venue was revived by the young friends who have visited here countlessly and grown up together with us. When the venue lost its role, and we were getting tired of it, they brought the new hope to us. I felt strongly about the younger generation's power. 

However, it is a sorrowful, desolating thing to see that techno music cannot be played here, which was built and existed for that very reason. I keep thinking about how it could function was a club, in this confusing time.  

Can you summarize your approach to the mix you prepared?

I was invited by Joachim Spieth last January, and joined 9128 live - Affin invites to play. 

I like to deliver the vitalities that are newly created when one track meets another in my set. I also want to communicate emotionally, via various strange sounds that are related to the terra incognita. It would be a great pleasure for me if I could give a moment as a present when the listener's consciousness wakes up responding by deepened, spacious sounds. 

The mix holds a wish to heal our bodies and minds that are damaged by the sense of loss because of the prolonged pandemic.

~

Listen on Soundcloud, Mixcloud, or the ASIP Podcast.

Download

astrangelyisolatedplace · isolatedmix 112 - Suna

Tracklist:

1. Joachim Spieth - P 680 [Affin]
2. The Abyss Within Us - Life in a Circle - Part 1. [Astral Industries]
3. Biosphere - Gilberg [The Senja Recordings]
4. Kassel Jaeger - Fog Constellation (approaching)
5. Kassel Jaeger - Paris Mustangs
6. MonoLogue - A1 [Chemical Tapes]
7. Guy Hobsbawm - Brumaire [Mysteries Of the Deep]
8. Ab Uno - Sophia [Mahorka']
9. The Caretaker - In the deep and dark hours of the night [History Always Favours The Winners]
10. hakobune - Seamless and Here [Patient Sounds]
11. MonoLogue - A2 [Chemical Tapes]
12. Ryuichi Sakamoto - Andata [Commmons]
13. Saenïnvey - The Big Travel [Eilean Rec.]
14. Magna Pia - The Mirror [AWRY]

~

Suna | Soundcloud

isolatedmix 111 - Ian Boddy (DiN)

There aren’t many ambient labels that have been going for 20+ years, but you can count Ian Boddy’s DiN as one of the greats. An amazing musician and synthesist himself, Ian has curated one of the finest ambient synthesizer-focused labels around, with many of the genre’s greats gracing the catalog over the years. Scanner, Tetsu Inoue, Robert Rich, Nigel Mullaney, Bluetech, and Markus Reuter featuring with stunning full-lengths, and within the label’s Tone Science compilation series, the curations spreads its arms ever wider - proven with the latest edition Tone Science Module 5, featuring works by Hélène Vogelsinger, Johnny Woods and Lisa Bella Donna.

Ian also makes brilliant label-focused mixes that highlight some of the work on the label, in both mixed and individual track format, so when I proposed an isolatedmix, we went straight into discussing his own personal inspirations as a mix concept. In true OG style, Ian has dug into a selection of early ambient music, that is often presented in extended (long-form) style (as it was much more back in the day) which means these types of tracks rarely see themselves as a part of DJ mixes nowadays. Ian has taken these excerpts and seamlessly blended them into one educational look back into some of the greats of the early ambient style.

A big thanks toWendy Carroll for the isolatedmix art/image.

~

ASIP - You're likely considered a veteran of the scene now, but for those new to you, can you give us a brief introduction?

IB - Well I first got into Electronic Music in the mid-1970s through bands such as Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Vangelis & Jean Michel Jarre. In 1978 whilst at University studying Biochemistry I was introduced to an open-access sound studio at a place called Spectro where I was confronted by weird & wonderful instruments such as the VCS3 & a host of Revox reel to reel tape recorders. It didn’t take long to get hooked and in 1980 I released my first cassette album & started to play improvised concerts. In 1983 my first vinyl album The Climb was released followed by a performance at the very first UK Electronica festival.

I continued to release albums & perform concerts & hone my craft and then in the 1990s, I got into producing library music as well as sound design work. In 1999 I launched the DiN label & in 2002 after 12 years working for Akai I went full-time professional earning a living from my music. The intervening years have seen me split my time between pursuing my own releases / running the DiN label, composing library music & creating sound libraries/sound design.

Your mix contains a lot of early ambient musicians. Whether it’s Kraut-rock, Berlin-School, or Brian Eno, what's your point of view on the absolute beginnings of the ambient genre and what was your own experience?

It’s a very different experience hearing new music for the first time in your formative years - which is usually in your teens - then coming to a genre of music later in life or when said genre has already been out for quite a while. So the first two Electronic Music tracks I can distinctly remember hearing were The Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares by Tangerine Dream from the album Phaedra & Wahnfried 1883 by Klaus Schulze from the album Timewind. I was probably about 15 or 16 and they simply blew me away. I hadn’t heard anything like this before because, well, there simply wasn’t anything else like this before. Each of these artists only had a handful of albums out so it didn’t take long to discover their back catalogues. There were no reference points. This was an incredibly inspiring time for me to hear this music and I think the many years that they have been out now & the tsunami of other music like this will diminish the effect for someone getting into this music now.

The term Ambient music is much overused and I was also around at the time when Music For Airports came out & again this was incredible to hear at that time. What both these styles have in common - the Berlin School guys and the ambient side that Eno championed was the ability to get lost in the music. To quote Julian Cope when talking about the very early Tangerine Dream album Zeit - “the music becomes the room”.

What made you start DiN in 1999?

In the 1980s my cassette & vinyl releases were on a series of small boutique labels and then in the 1990s, I started to release my own work such as The Uncertainty Principle & The Deep on CD on a label I called Something Else Records. However, it was very piecemeal and had to be fitted in & around my family life & work at Akai. There was no real plan or strategy. I’ll openly admit I really got into the Fax label and liked how the sorely missed Peter Namlook had a rotating pool of artists with lots of interesting cross-genre fertilisation of ideas.

So in 1998, I started to formulate my own ideas for a label. I wanted to combine my own Berlin School synth heritage with other styles of electronic music. I’ve never been one to do the same thing over & over again. I also wanted to more actively pursue musical collaborations with a range of artists. I also wanted the label to have an identifiable visual aesthetic and to be released as collectible limited editions. Thus DiN launched in 1999 & to date (May 2001) has 66 physical releases on the main DiN label, 5 volumes of the Tone Science series & 26 digital-only albums - with plenty more to follow.

The label has a rotation of very consistent artists, but what do you look for in any new artist demos that come your way?

Two things really - a certain, almost indefinable “quality” & a musicality which catches my ear. It’s just one of those things - you “just know” when something is good - trust your instincts. I mean I’m not running DiN as some huge multi-national corporation where profit is the only driver of your business. I have other forms of musical earnings from the more commercial worlds of library music & sound design so in a way I can afford to indulge myself with DiN. It’s a reflection of my musical personality.

What's been your proudest moment running the DiN label to date?

I wouldn’t say I have a proudest moment more than I’m very proud of DiN in its entirety. I can’t quite believe it’s been going for over 20 years now and that there have been almost 100 releases in total. I’d like to think that for someone new discovering DiN it would be like “Wow” what is this label and then the joy of working through the catalogue. Sure not every release is going to appeal to everyone but I can remember having that experience with Fax & it was quite a ride.

Your partner’s (Wendy’s) art features heavily on the label and on this mix - are there any creative differences when it comes to choosing art or working together?

Yes, Wendy & I have been together for almost 8 years now. She’s a very talented photographer & artist who is just now later in her life finding the time to spread her creative wings. I’ve always had a certain aesthetic for the DiN artwork which avoided the obvious cliches of space & sci-fi imagery. I like the ambiguity of Wendys work - they’re often familiar things such as rock, tree bark or rust but presented in such a way that they go beneath the surface and show the whole amazing world of detail & texture that many folk often don’t even notice.

Your career has undoubtedly seen many chapters of synthesizer music over the years. What's your point of view on the future for this style? Do you feel like this type of music will become even more accessible with the advent of software and cheaper versions of classic synths?

Well, certainly when I first started out in 1978 it was very expensive to buy these instruments. I think my first synth was a Jen string machine in 1980 and then shortly after a single case of Roland System 100-M modular which I still have. This was pre-MIDI & computer software but it doesn’t really matter. The technological side of electronic music has always been a driving force for how it sounded but musically a composer will always find a way of expressing themselves whatever the tools they have available. Now of course it’s so much easier in so many ways to record & release music in all genres let alone electronic music.

However what hasn’t changed is that you as the composer has to have a musical idea, there has to be some form of a creative spark of what you are trying to achieve musically. The whole renaissance in the use of modular synths is very refreshing. I mean during the 1990s folk were throwing these things away but I never gave up on my use of modular. But the last few years have seen an explosion in the use of these systems. I think this is great as it’s brought a new generation of musicians in who are finding new & evolving ways of expressing their own musical personalities which I for one find fascinating.

Can you tell us about the mix you have prepared for us and the inspiration behind it?

I wanted to showcase my musical heritage - there’s no reason why I should hide away from it, so much of the music is what inspired me when I was a teenager & into my twenties. So there are tracks from Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze (part of Wahnfried 1883 which I mentioned above), Vangelis, Ashra & Popul Vuh. Also connecting to other artists I’ve talked about & which are important to me is part of Discreet Music by Brian Eno which uses tape looping that I used to experiment with whilst at Spectro as well as a piece by Peter Namlook.

I’m also very much into classical music too which for me often has crossover with some styles of Electronic Music especially those pieces that have an impressionistic feel. I couldn’t resist using a piece by Ligeti - probably made famous by its use in the film 2001 crossing over into Rubycon by Tangerine Dream.

The set closes with one of my favourite composers Arvo Pärt with this incredible piece that comes out of a track by Biosphere - such lovely juxtapositions. I’ve done a lot of these mixes on DiN with the six iNDEX compilations as well as the two DiN mixes and Tone Science albums so I’m always looking to take the listener on a musical journey with highs & lows, points for reflection and emotional intensity.

~

Listen on Soundcloud, Mixcloud, or the ASIP Podcast.

astrangelyisolatedplace · isolatedmix 111 - Ian Boddy (DiN)

Download

Tracklist*:

01. Vangelis - Creation Du Monde
02. György Ligeti - Atmosphères
03. Tangerine Dream - Rubycon Part One
04. Ashra - Nightdust
05. Klaus Schulze - Wahnfried 1883
06. Brian Eno - Discreet Music
07. Popul Vuh - In Den Gärten Pharaos
08. Pete Namlook - Trip 1
09. Wendy Carlos - Fall
10. Biosphere - Kobresia
11. Arvo Pärt - Cantus In Memory Of Benjamin Britten

*Many of these tracks are extended / long tracks, so you could consider these as excerpts.

~

Ian Boddy | DiN | Web | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube

isolatedmix 110 - Marius Bø (Ute.Rec)

It’s no secret I’m a Trance music fan. We could debate forever, what, when or why Trance was good, but for me, it was one of my many gateways into ambient music growing up. Be it via Pete Namlook, proggy mix CDs, or 90’s pioneers such as B12 and Global Communication, where many began to blur the divide; there’s an unwritten relationship between the two genres which is hard to actually pin down. Maybe one day I will do due diligence and try and trace this connection a bit closer, but until then, I am busy unearthing the brilliant sounds emitting from UTE.REC - a label collective from Norway that manages to bridge the divide between expansive, meandering Ambient Trance, and full-on (what I may consider, proper) Trance music.

For our next isolatedmix, I invited UTE.REC and one of the founders, Marius Bø to prepare a mix that reflected the label and of course, Marius’ own personal identity as it relates to the collective. Evidently, and as many ASIP label followers may soon find out (hint!) the collective is sitting on a treasure-trove of music as their inspiration and productivity hits new highs, and alongside some classic cuts from Global Communication, James Bernard, Pete Namlook and Gas, we’re treated to a wealth of unreleased/upcoming music from UTE related artists…

I sent a few questions Mario’s way to get a bit more detail on the label and inspiration.

Can you tell us a bit about UTE, how it came about and the sub-labels?

We are a group of friends where some of us grew up together, and some of us went to high school together. We started out hosting forest raves in Oslo, which later grew into club nights, and now we also do a small intimate festival. A couple of years ago we started Ute.Rec. We had a lot of music we wanted to release, and we felt it made sense if we did it ourselves on our own platform. Starting up the sub-labels came to our minds later, when we felt that we wanted to release more music that couldn't fit or come through on Ute.Rec. The releases are more short-term, and from in-house artists. We all love the whole spectrum of trance, ranging from goa trance to hard Trance, to ambient trance, so having different imprints where we release all these kinds makes sense to us. Sinensis is an ambient plattform where we release CDs. Every release consists of a one, hour-long ambient track to really get you to trance away. The hour-long tracks are paired with a clubbier B-side, but in the psychedelic and dreamy vibe as well. Translusid on the other hand is a digital platform where we do releases with a lot of collabs and aliases. This is a platform with more room for the artist to experiment and do things they don't always do.

The labels are run by Teo Bachs, Filip Storsveen (Oprofessionell) and myself. In the Ute crew as whole there are also Mikkel Rev, Haider and Carl Fuck and Marilao.

What was your introduction to Trance music?

For my musical development Filter Musikk in Oslo has played a big role. Run by the local legend Roland Lifjell. Digging in the second-hand boxes in the back of his store really introduced me to the 90s trance and techno. Ranging from techno, hard trance, progressive and goa trance. Roland Lifjell was a trance DJ back in the 90s with a huge collection, and he regularly put parts of it out in the store for us trance heads to hunt. Sharing and playing music with the Ute guys is also very inspiring and educating.

Trance definitely seems to be a trendy genre for some people nowadays with many techno DJs diving into the classics. Do you think Trance gets an unfair rap nowadays?

There are definitely some not-so-good takes on the term “trance music”. But having people digging and educating themselves in trance is of course good. I understand that people seem to have some bad connotations if they only associate it with the Millenium trance era or superstar DJs dropping trance classics. The millennium era was a period with a huge lack of creativity and the music became super generic. There still are some takes on trance that have these similarities, but there will always be good and bad music of every genre I think... But for me, trance can be a kind of music filled with unique emotions, innovation and creativity instead of formula-based music for the masses.

Your label releases range from ambient to hard-trance across the 3 sublabels - is there a particular criteria you try to stick to?

I wouldn't say that there's a specific criteria when seeking out tracks and releases, more of a feeling and mood. It's not so easy to put our finger on what we are looking for. We all have quite the same taste of music, so we tend to collectively know it when we hear it. When our artists are sending us tracks for releases, it often can be harder choosing which tracks to exclude rather than choosing which ones to include. With that said, we are trying to keep consistency in our releases as well as diversity.

How would you describe the Trance scene today? And specifically in Norway?

The Trance scene in Norway is absolutely growing, but not something big. The club scene, pre-pandemic, was mostly dominated by deep house and tech-house. But the scene is in progress, not just trance, but other cool genres as well, with acts like OT2, Suvatne, Snorre Magnar Solberg and Fakethias. Pre-pandemic, the bookers became more and more open-minded, opening up for a broader and better club scene. Across the Norwegian borders, the Trance scene is absolutely growing, and the Scandinavian scene as a whole is blooming. With Copenhagen and Malmø doing great things, and all over the world there are collectives doing great things in Europe, Asia and Australia.

Where else would you point people to who are looking for similar music as what they might find on UTE?

Malmø and Copenhagen as mentioned. The Copenhagen labels Amniote, VALIS, Bunkerbauer, Kengu and Kulør, and the Malmø labels Morph and Bodycount are all putting out so much great music. We actually have a fundraiser co-release with Mama Snake’s Amniote coming really soon, filled with trance, ambient and techno.

DJ wise there are acts like Lund&Rønde, Lasse Vind, Mama Snake, Ibon, DJ Tool, Ezy, Peachlyfe, Araknyl, Omniself and Courtesy really pushing it and doing great things, all of them involved in the labels above. In Malmø there is a faster and harder take on trance. They are all so skillful and the tracks are super well-produced, with so many great DJs. There is also a very exciting scene in Hague doing more experimental, tribal and psychedelic trance, with artists like Spekki Webu, Woody92 and Jeans. They have a very unique approach that I really love. And finally, the legend Alpha Tracks, who was really one of the first producers sparking trance back to life some years ago. One of the best out there...

And looking back, who is the king/queen of Trance music in your opinion?

Haha, difficult question. It's impossible to pick out only one. But some of the artists from the early days that have influenced me a lot are Ollie Olsen, Robert Leiner, Ramin (RIP) and Pete Namlook. They all had a huge and wide output, releasing under so many different, great aliases. Just an adventure going through their catalogues... Goa trance legends like Orichalcum, The Infinity Project, Technossomy and Blue Planet Corporation are also top-tier legends for me.

And lastly, your isolatedmix, what inspired it?

The original photo (which is beautifully re-worked by Woody92) is from one of our forest parties a couple of years ago. Deep in the woods of Oslo, at the end of a long and intense party, after a beautiful sunrise. I wanted to capture a little bit of that energy into this mix. Optimism and happiness for the summer and the brighter times to come. The mix starts calmly, slowly and mystically, and ends more euphorically. For me it's a perfect listen for these beautiful spring days.

Listen on Soundcloud, Mixcloud, or the ASIP Podcast.

astrangelyisolatedplace · isolatedmix 110 - Marius Bø

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Tracklist:

01. Mikkel Rev - Unreleased
02. Suso Saiz - Dulce
03. DJ Ibon - Sorgpad
04. Mikkel Rev - Unreleased
05. Gas - Microscopic
06. Joey Beltram - Across The Hemisphere
07. 2030 - Intermissions
08. Alpha Tracks - L'amore Innocente
09. Ra - Light Receiver
10. Mikkel Rev - Unreleased
11. Global Communication - 5:23
12. James Bernard - Lost In It
13. Eliza Michel - Eli's Exodus
14. Oprofessionell - Unreleased
15. Naone & S.O.N.S - Separate Ways
16. Mikkel Rev - Unreleased
17. Omformer - Unreleased
18. Mikkel Rev - Unreleased
19. Pete Namlook - Subharmonic Interference (Excerpt From Namlook VII)
20. Mikkel Rev - Unreleased

UTE.REC | Discogs | Bandcamp | Soundcloud (Marius) | Soundcloud UTE

isolatedmix 109 - Andy Green / Verdant Recordings

Back when I used to post a lot more mixes here on ASIP, Andy Green and his Verdant Recordings alias was featured quite a few times on the site. It’s a reminder of the magical small worlds we operated in as we stumbled across similar Soundcloud profiles or even personal websites with nothing but MP3 links and text docs with tracklists. It seems like a minefield nowadays to hunt down something special - so much choice - in both good and bad ways. So seeing Andy contribute to the isolatedmix series all these years later and being able to follow his progress with the Verdant Recordings label is a nice reminder of the early years.

Andy seems to have organically progressed through the years in a similar path to me, in fact. From a pure-music fan to compiling mixes across a variety of styles and now, curating a label, Andy’s always been in and amongst our small world and it’s a delight to finally invite him here to curate an isolatedmix.

Hi Andy. It looks like you've been running Verdant Recordings for about five years now. I notice you state that the label is unconstrained by genre, which is something I admire and try to uphold with ASIP too. What filters do you apply when looking for a label release?

Yes, it’s nearly 5 years and only 10 records released so I am rather selective and the projects take shape very slowly. I’m essentially trying to build a catalog that reflects my own evolving and diverse tastes by reaching out to established producers I really admire or new producers whose talents need a place to be heard. It is personally enriching to have had a handful of previously unreleased artists being heard for the 1st time via the label. The next record will feature the wonderful Jo Johnson as part of an ambient double 12. Our collaboration was first discussed at the inception of the label back in 2016 and in some respects, the music she has composed has benefitted from the time taken since then. The project's working title is ‘Less Popular Than Cats’ and also includes Reedale Rise, Outlier and !nterject!on…... if enough folk are keen to own a copy it should be available by the summer.

As a fellow label-head, what do you find most challenging about running a label?

I find promoting a mystery and difficult and it’s not in my nature to push the label on social media (which seems to be essential for smaller labels in current times). I also struggle telling people that I’m not able to release some of the wonderful music they are generous enough to send me….. and especially if they are somebody I know.

You're based in the UK so how do you see Brexit impacting your label operations? If at all?

I’m running the label purely for my own pleasure and quite a rubbish label manager when it comes to the business side. Brexit is a total shit-show and I’m (not) dealing with it by moaning and sticking my head in the sand. I see the impact now principally through the eyes of a collector, noticing that record prices from Europe have increased by 25% in recent months and shipping has become ridiculously expensive with an extra dose of extortion to add salt to the wound. I know that I cannot collect as much music now, so I fear sales will decline for everyone… I hear from vinyl die-hards that they’ll be buying digital music in the future.

You recently released 'Changing Seasons' on your Vertex label Project which I managed to pick up over here in the US and it features an ASC ‘Grey Area’ remix which sounds very much like his Comit output. I didn’t know the track was on there at the time, until I asked the store to give it a spin whilst I was browsing, and then shouted "hey this sounds like Comit?!" How did you go about choosing remixes for this project?

Jamie (Exalt) and I really are very proud of this Vertex project and it’s been a pleasure getting to know and work with Jonas over the last couple of years. The original was ostensibly a dub techno album but aimed at home listening and so the remix project was our attempt to toughen up some tracks but avoid doing straight-up dub techno remixes. We discussed remixers and between us reached out to some admired and favorite producers. I’ve probably collected more records of James (ASC) than anyone else in recent times so I was thrilled to secure his talents and that remix IS sublime. Similarly, having Mike Schommer onboard fulfilled another ambition. It's only just to acknowledge GRIT’s chunky take and of course, Bjarnar’s (Ohm) charming ‘Morning Glory’ who is a long-standing friend of Jonas and chuffed to say of mine now too. Coming back to the ASC remix there’s a good back story about the composition. The closing ambient section wasn't there initially and I had the nerve to ask James to develop what was a great remix already. It turns out he’d already had the identical idea and so the longer track became the remix he really wanted to make for us from the start and the one I really wanted to hear. He's also mentioned to us that it’s one his favorite remixes he’s recorded in recent times.

I was posting your mixes on ASIP over 10 years ago now (many are archived on the old site, unfortunately) but you've obviously been compiling mixes for a while, how did you get into it?

I was a very late starter when it came to mixing music though I have danced, listened and collected for over 3 decades now. My first few years of mixing were focused on ambient and experimental music simply because I assumed it was easier and the mix for you back then was actually one of the earlier podcasts requested. Nowadays, I record mostly beat-driven music but my passion for ambient music remains and it’s a treat to do this for ASIP again after the gap. For the record, I’ve since appreciated that a well-mixed ambient set is harder to achieve than boshing out a techno set.

Your mix, is therefore a suitably deep affair. Can you tell us a little bit more about what you had in mind putting it together?

The majority of my mixes are rather spontaneous and I don't tend to pour over track selections or plan them out too carefully (this shows!) ….. Usually I aim for a feeling and go from there and so they tend to reflect my current headspace. Like many of us over the last 12 months, I have experienced some darker days but also a few good times. I recorded this a few days after a rare day last October….(Jane Fitz' and Jade Seattle’s Day Moves actually) where I had caught up with some lovely friends for the 1st time in nearly 9 months. When it came to the mix I think I was trying to channel some of the residual glow but also contrast that with that some of the more introspective moods we have found ourselves in. Thanks again for giving me the chance to share this experience.

Listen on Soundcloud, Mixcloud, or the ASIP Podcast.

astrangelyisolatedplace · isolatedmix 109 - Andy Green / Verdant Recordings

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Tracklist:

01. Move D /The Silent Orbiter (…txt)
02. Donato Dozzy /Comfort Zone (IDO)
03. Taece /Time In Waves (unreleased)
04. Biosphere /Warmed By The Drift (Touch)
05. Ligovskoï /Mungu (Field Records)
06. Deepchord /Immersions (Astral Industries)
07. Konduku /Panorama (Mantis)
08. Radiohead /Treefinger (XL Recordings)
09. Fatih Tuter /Appreciation (Shimmering Moods Records)
10. Harold Budd & Brian Eno /Dark Eyed Sister (Editions)
11. Jock Burton /Lake Monger (Analogue Attic Recordings)
12. Marow /Inter 3 (IDO)
13. Night Sea /This Will Take Time (Silent Season)
14. Healing Force Project /Kinetic Drawing (Porn Sword Tobacco Edit) (Wicked Bass)
15. Mihail P /Jellyfish (Self Released)
16. Chapterhouse (retranslated by Global Communication /Delta Phase (Dedicated)
17. D.K. /Untitled (12th Isle)

~

Verdant Recordings | Bandcamp | Soundcloud