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isolatedmix 42 - todos

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In its fifth anniversary year, it’s only right to end the year’s isolatedmix series with something that connects back to the very first few posts on ASIP. For those that have been with me for the full ride, you’ll recognise the name, todos.

His mixes were some of the very first I posted on the site back in 2008 and some of the best mixes I had heard in a very long time. Revisiting the feedback on the first mix he ever posted just now, lots of people are with me and still exploring his early mixes to this day.

Spanning multiple genres, creative, unique, meticulously crafted and above all epic, todos spends months at a time putting these journeys together. Upon listening you’ll hear the blood, sweat and tears that have gone into each one.

He is a pioneer of todays shift to digital mixing, but he doesn’t use it for lack of laziness. Amongst the 47+ channels of audio and midi lie a multitude of custom samples, tempo blends and effects – something of a trademark since todos’ very first Kilchurn Session.

The Kilchurn Sessions have reached a special anniversary tenth edition and i’m beyond pleased that todos has crafted this milestone as part of the isolatedmix series. It’s been a great five years for ASIP and i’m proud that the likes of todos have been a part of it since the beginning.

“Five years have passed since I completed the first Kilchurn Session mix. A mix inspired by my partner, and our Winter’s walk at Loch Awe in Scotland; a place of outstanding landscape and beauty. The challenge for me was to create a mix using tracks with extreme differences in tempo, something I would not have been able to do using a set of 1210’s and mixer.

It would comprise of a collection of personal favourite tracks, old and new, laced with soundscapes, samples and spoken word, yet not following a set genre throughout. What was supposed to be a one off, gained surprising feedback and support from Nick Warren and ASIP which catapulted it into places I never thought it would reach. The demand for another soon followed and now, 5 years on, it is with great pleasure I can bring you the tenth instalment as an isolatedmix, and a first that incorporates original compositions by Devoted Enemies, in which I am involved” – todos .

 
 

Download

Tracklist:

01. todos – ‘Intro’
02. Abstract World – ‘Mirage’
03. Sigur Ros – ‘Varðeldur’ / Sigur Ros – ‘Ég anda’ edit
04. Jon Hopkins – ‘The Wider Sun’ / King Creosote & Jon Hopkins ‘First Watch’ edit
05. Kiyoko – ‘Something To Think About’ / Jon Hopkins ‘The River’
06. Devoted Enemies – ‘Anx’
07. Nils Petter Molvær – ‘A Small Realm’
08. Apparat – ‘Tod’
09. Mogwai – ‘Letters to the Metro’ edit / S O H N – ‘Bloodflows’ / The XX – ‘Chained’ (Sasha Beatless Mix) edit
10. Oxia – ‘Exaila’
11. Abstract World – ‘Path’
12. Agnes Obel – ‘The Curse’
13. Sin Fang – ‘Young Boys’ (Jonsi Remix)
14. Nathan Fake – Paean (Coda)
15. Pye Corner Audio – ‘Toward Light’
16. Moderat – ‘The Mark (Interlude) / Boards Of Canada – ‘Nothing Is Real’ edit
17. Lowb – ‘Whealer Dealer Healer’
18. Boards Of Canada – ‘Telepath’
19. Daniel Avery – ‘Platform Zero’
20. Clark – ‘Black Stone’ / todos – ‘Subway’
21. Cotton Wolf – ‘Cassette 98′
22. Alt Fenster – ‘Sur Cette Feuille’
23. Borealis – ‘Nightfall’ (Ben Lukas Boysen remix)

Plus samples & effects.

 

Markus Guentner – Shadows Of The City

 
 

Progression and fate are two words that immediately come to mind after a few hours spent with Markus Guentner’s new record.

Firstly, I know how proud Moodgadget owner Jakub Alexander must be to have one of his heroes release a record on his own label. Ever since Jakub enlisted Markus on remix duties for his own Heathered Pearls ‘Loyal’ reworks, I had a hopeful feeling it was going to lead to something bigger. With Jakub’s warm, swirling ambient style it’s easy to see how these two have come together – two paths destined to cross.

And secondly, after seeing through a couple of Markus’ own productions recently, namely his Places Series EP ‘Talking Clouds’, and his two stunning remixes on Uncharted Places, it’s clearly evident that his sound is gently progressing into a defining symbol of lush ambient music peppered with hints of techno.

‘Chromatic Fields’, the subtle opener for the powerful six-track EP, with deep tonal-bass changes is a light-hearted lust for more and more…

‘Ashes’ re-ignites the clashing world we saw when Markus took on Heathered Pearl’s music last year, with pale textures, soaring synths and a taught air hanging over a misty landscape.

The title piece, ‘Shadows Of The City’ rekindles Markus’s heritage in techno and his recent travels into beat-driven ambient. A shuffling dark number with simple, dramatic strings.

My favourite of the bunch, ‘The Run’ is one of Markus’ most emotional pieces to date – layer upon layer, the constantly mixing colour palette paints vividness, hope and despair.

‘The Coral Crowd’ is a signature Guentner piece, shrouded in recognisable samples, flat-ended twinkles and a gentle curve upwards into the sky, akin to ‘Saint’.

And lastly, ‘Eternal’. Stepping down from the soaring sky, the focus turns to what seems like a dense jungle floor. Buzzing density and a slow murmuring beat occupy a hazy, very still, shadow-cast lake.

‘Shadows Of The City’ is available to stream on the ISO50 blog and below, and available for just $3.99 on iTunes for the first two weeks. You can also download the title track for free on Soundcloud.

Download Markus Guentner’s Places Series EP for free here. His isolated mix here. Or his two remixes for Uncharted Places here.

 
 

ASIP028 36 - Heather Spa

 

There’s always private pleasure in seeing beauty where others don’t. Sometimes it’s just a case of the personal outweighing the spectacular but in a part of the world as vast and stunning as Yorkshire, the abundance of scenery makes finding that place an infinitely easier coincidence. Ilkley or ‘Heather Spa’ is one such place for 36 aka Dennis Huddleston. A moorland area on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, it’s served as both a place of escape and inspiration. 

“It’s a place I’ve visited many times at various stages of my life,” he begins, “coming from Bradford, which has had its fair share of social and economic problems over the years, Ilkley provided an escape from the city and is somewhere me and my friends spent many days and nights. It isn't the largest, nor the most beautiful countryside in England, but it has an undeniable charm that’s felt by everyone who’s visited.” 

You feel that connection throughout ‘Heather Spa’. It’s one of familiarity and rejuvenation with the exhale of the strings evoking happiness and a gazing contentment. ‘Heather Spa (Burning)’ is just as poised and gentle with its slow, weaving melodies and whilst it’s more clouded and subdued, it leaves a determinedly resonant impression. 

“There was a huge fire in 2006 which destroyed vast areas of the moorland,” Dennis explains. “I had visited it only a few days prior and the lush green land was replaced by charred cinders, completely decimating the landscape. It was quite a sight to behold and there was an undeniable melancholy in the air. Reseeding efforts and the tough will of nature has reversed most of the damage and Ilkley Moor is alive once again.” 

The initial inspiration for the ‘Shadow Play’ album, this final instalment of ‘Heather Spa’ marks the culmination of Dennis’ personal trilogy, and helps the ‘Heather Spa EP’ feel like a very natural conclusion to a journey of transition, progression and redemption. 

"It's come full-circle in a way,” Dennis muses, “Heather Spa as a concept was the catalyst for my latest album 'Shadow Play' and you can see three distinct yet fully-connected chapters on what is a single story; the inception with Heather Spa, the realisation with Shadow Play, and finally with this EP for the ASIP Places Series, an epilogue. I think they're some of the most emotional pieces of music I've worked on and I hope you enjoy taking this final journey with me, right back at the place where it started".

Preghost - Ghost Story

I love it when my musical worlds collide. Like an instantaneous moment of record geekiness, I had a minute of joy when reading the press release for what will be, n5MD’s last release of the year; Preghost’s ‘Ghost Story’.

Preghost is also known as Kosuke Anamizu; a name I became familiar with during my years of obsession over Traum Schallplatten (have a read and listen to this feature/mix if you want to dive into that particular world). Kosuke was responsible for one of my favourite tracks, ‘Moopy’ released as part of the Elektronische Musik Interkontinental 3 compilation, but more specifically, the vinyl flip-side to a Process track (at which point I was buying up every single piece of Process vinyl I could find). It was a track I loved but for the life of me, and the one thing I remember about it, could never mix very well (that darn funky bassline).

 
 

It was also artists like Kosuke that led me to discover Mule Electronic too, another stunning record label worth trawling through (see this small post from back in 2009). Some years later this musical yellow-brick-road begins to sweep back into a more recent world, as Kosuke took on his new (and more infamous) alias, Moshimoss and released the superb ‘Endless Endings‘ on Ametsub’s label, Nothings66. Mastered by Nils Frahm, it was a dive into the realm of Sigur Ros with gentle electronics and angelic atmospheres.

 
 

As if that wasn’t enough for 2013, Kosuke has chosen to debut his latest alias, Preghost on the brilliant n5MD label, with ‘Ghost Story’. Now, I finally made it, apologies it took this long, but it’s worth the read. Now where to begin…

Stunning is a good word to start. Kosuke has gone and mashed every style he’s mastered over the years, From the melodic techno of early Traum, to the atmospherics of Endless Endings, to the beautiful and unique sound which n5MD seem to be cultivating at the moment – a new monster has been born.

A stirring mass of atmosphere and harsh distant guitars give way to a floating, echo of a vocal. What seems like a subtle Saxaphone creeps in the distance, but before you know it, the squelchy warm beats kick off and ‘Seeker’ begins the Ghost Story.

‘Snow Leopard’ begins with a very similar feeling to a lot of recent bvdub work (particularly his productions as Earth House Hold) with a sampled, looping vocal leading up to a stomping dubby-beat and dirty underlying bass – my favourite track on the album.

 
 

Intricacies come to clear in ‘Alter Ego’, a dreamy and busy track with a subtle melody and again, a gentle progressive stance that leaves you floating amongst a pattern of violins and complex beat structures.

By ‘Predawn’ I noticed how much of a perfect fit this album was for n5MD’s electronica roster. Elements of Ocoeur, (ghost) and bvdub, shining through by the second, particularly with the clean, clicky ‘Predawn’ beats.

Washes fizzle amongst a mechanical, growing presence on ‘Cliff Edge Ghost’, a dark and haunting repetition that summons you into a euphoric steam of power –  like the morning’s mist rising from the sea over an intimidating cliff-face.

A more conventional electronic beat takes centre stage on ‘Lostus’, prefaced by a creepy vocal and later bathed in swathes of choral ambience – a slightly jarring and uncomfortable juxtaposition that continues Kosuke’s ghostly theme. ‘Siusin’ is also similar in style, with swirling vocals perched on top of a driving dub-techno beat and again, that formidable bass.

Ametsub then provides a remix of ‘Lostus’ staying true to the major elements mentioned above but paying more attention to the complex beat structure. More of a composed ‘song’ structure is present, instead of the long progression you’re used to by now, helped by a break into the main melody half-way through and the keys being pitched slightly higher. It’s the slightly happier version of what is a dark and haunting original by Kosuke.

Ending on ‘Departures’, the album finishes with one of its finest moments. A pounding combination of glittering vocals, melancholic piano, bright ambient pads, and that simple but very present beat you’ve been addicted to throughout the album.

 
 

This is definitely my favourite work Kosuke has produced in the nine or so years i’ve followed him, and i’d go as far to say one of the best electronica albums of the year. An insight into the complexities that adorned his early techno work balanced with the hypnotic and atmospherics of his more recent work as Moshimoss.

It also caps off what has been an unbelievable year of releases from n5MD which have all set the tone for a new breed of electronica artists; Ocoeur, (ghost) and a return of some of the best (bvdub, Arovane). If you’re a fan of n5MD’s output this year, then Ghost Story is the unexpected crowning glory of 2013.

Available now on n5MD.

Passing by: Markus Guentner, Verdant Recordings, Audioglider & Todos

Markus Guentner – Golden Fall Mix

Not what you’re expecting from Markus, but for those not hemmed by genre this is a stunning detroit techno / deep house mix. Love it when ambient artists come out of their comfort zone, but then again, as shown with many of Markus’ recent remixes (such as his remix of Norge on Uncharted Places) he does like to stray into beat-heavy productions sometimes. This must be at least some of his inspiration right here.Download.

 
 

Verdant / Andy Green – Crashing Mix

It’s been a little while since we’ve been treated to a Verdant mix. Andy has weaved some stunners into this one, keeping it deep and unexpected the whole way. The Sight Below, Donato Dozzy, Robert Henke, Thomas Fehlmann and Claro Intelecto feature. Download.

 
 

Audioglider – Mixtape Vol.13

Roberto’s back with another dreamy mix and some of his recent inspirations. Never disappointing, always innovative and original. Starting beatless and progressing into more electronics and vocals the mix features Segue, Stumbleine, Vector Lovers, Hammock and Kyson amongst others. Download

 
 

Todos – Isolated

I must listen to a DJ Todos mix atleast once a week… If you haven’t heard his Kilchurn Sessions then PLEASE go listen – outstanding. This mix is very much along those lines, but more ambient focused, and featuring some of our favourite tracks of recent years intertwined with some hidden gems – an all engrossing journey as you’d expect from Todos. Download