Scanner Live Performance: Struktura Revisited

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

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

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

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

Buy tickets on Bandcamp

Cabin In The Woods: 24 Hour Halloween Stream Event (ASIP DJ set)

I’m excited to be joining friends and legends on October 31st for a special 24hr live stream event hosted at Modern Therapy’s Twitch channel. I’ll be preparing a 2hr DJ set featuring spooky sounds and a bunch of upcoming ASIP material (surprisingly dark stuff it seems!)

Hope to see you there.

The official intro…

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We may be in a pandemic, and the world in insufferable chaos, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still have fun! With Modern Therapy we aim to put the fun back into the individual's life by helping them step into their awakened selves—and what better time to awaken the dead than Halloween?
We’ve cooked up a 24-hour streaming adventure so you can rave and party in the comfort of your own home with trusted friends. Don’t worry about bouncers or security, just the dead trying to claw their way back into the fabric of reality on this spooky night.

We’ve got you covered with an all-star West Coast guest line up with Mr.C  ||  Bunny (Rabbit In The Moon) || Tara Brooks || Jon Charnis || NIKITA || Ryan Griffin (ASIP) || Ron Levy, and of course, the Modern Therapy residents ChristianBarrMusic || Dance Spirit || Tatiana Alvarez

We’ll be streaming Coyote Boozy giving on-site tattoos for our on-site Cabin in the Woods house guests, a viewer Halloween costume contest with a piece of Ashley Koprowski's KEEPER jewelry as the grand prize, and we’ll also have a live call-in segment with a real psychic medium!

The fun starts on Halloween, Saturday, October 31st at 7:06 pm PST, only on Twitch, so gear up and hunker down for this exciting adventure.

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RSVP on Eventbrite or join the Facebook Event here.

James Bernard / Atwater (ASIPV014) Live in Los Angeles

We're excited to announce the next vinyl release (ASIPV014) by modular synthesist James Bernard, titled Atwater. More details here.

To celebrate the release, James will be bringing his rig and playing a live modular set at LA's Stellar Remnant Record store in DTLA, from 5-8pm on Sunday 24th February.

There will be advanced copies of James' 12" 'Atwater', available to purchase along with a store full of great records. James will be supported by ASIP / Ryan Griffin spinning vinyl + more guests TBA.

Entry is FREE and open to all ages. We hope to see you there!

View / attend event on Facebook and Resident Advisor

Jóhann Jóhannsson at the Walt Disney Concert Hall: the prequel to the sequel

I've been in LA for almost two years, and finding a reason to see a show at the architectural wonder of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, has been hard. Tickets go fast for such a beautiful venue, but I was lucky enough to snap some up to see one of my favourite musicians, Jóhann Jóhannsson, as part of the Reykjavik Festival. Showcasing some of the best talent to emerge from Iceland, the festival is spread out over a few weeks and also features shows by Sigur Ros, followed by a long-running digital installation by Bjork. 

The venue is worth a visit on its own. From the outside, Frank Gehry's concert hall is a large metallic sculpture, with swathes of curved metal that reflect a spectrum of colored light, and looks even more glorious at sunset. It was the perfect setting for the future Blade Runner sequel composer- the epitome of futuristic architecture, sat right next to the towers of downtown LA. 

Our seats were on the terrace level, but dead-center and looking straight at the performers. As long as you don't mind heights, there didn't seem to be a bad seat in the house. The metallic features outside are replaced by warm wooden beams on the inside, with graceful curves the remaining constant, as multicolored seating rose steeply on each side of the stage. 

Bedroom Community kicked off the evenings proceedings. A collective of musicians currently based in Reykjavik, they took it in turns to host a piece they had each written, which resulted in a mixture of styles, ranging from beautiful folk, to Icelandic themed experimental, and more electronic IDM sequences from label founder Valgeir Sigurðsson. To quote my wife, every piece had a sweet spot of around 3-minutes which peaked her interest, but they tended to go on just a little bit too long, becoming more abstract, and pushing the boundaries amongst each of their talents on stage. For the experimental admirers in the room (of which my wife is not), it was undoubtedly an impressive feat as the collective transitioned through various movements and toyed with different song structures and moods. What would start as a simple piano piece, became a cacophony of drums, electronics, vocals and organ, ending on, for example, a simple folk melody. 

After the interlude, the stage was changed slightly, with just one grand piano remaining, two synthesizers/pianos, a reel-to-reel, and a seating arrangement for five string players. Whilst the stage was still empty, the reel-to-reel was switched on, crackling through the short-wave radio transmissions we heard throughout Jóhann's latest album, Orphée. As Jóhann's orchestra took their seats and began to layer on top of the tape, the show quickly flowed through some of his most majestic pieces.

Because of this uninterrupted approach, it was hard for me to identify the many beautiful stages and compositions amongst his extensive catalogue. Tracks from Orphée, peaked at several points, but I didn’t take any mental notes for every other track, and kept my trainspotter activity to a minimum - it was the perfect score to drift off and immerse to on a Monday evening after rushing from the west-side. Flight From The City was odds-on to be the defining moment of the show, and it didn’t disappoint, with Jóhann's perfectly timed, and delicately sensed piano caressing the beautiful, heart-wrenching strings to his side. The emphatic Fragment II closed out the show to flickering strobe lights and a well deserved standing ovation. 

Unlike the Hans Zimmer show I saw the previous week, Jóhann didn't provide any commentary between scores, and instead chose to flow them together, sometimes with the help and interlude of the reel-to-reel short-wave samples. This practice became somewhat of a spectacle in itself, with Jóhann stopping the tape whilst his orchestra remained, placing the tape back into boxes, and then reattaching new tape for the next composition. It was a nice addition to the show - the refined and beautiful violinists purring away as Jóhann sorted through boxes, created a juxtaposed left and right stage atmosphere. Jóhann's cues and signals did not come in the form of a classical conductors hand wave, but instead from the crackling shortwave numbers and distorted vocals emitting from the reel-to-reel tape. 

I left the show feeing like I’d just witnessed a skilled professor give a masterclass. Jóhann was diligent, and every move he and his orchestra made was purposeful and poignant. His moments behind the piano were rare, but powerful- like a secret weapon amongst his many beautiful pieces - it kept each moment he sat down at the keys, extremely special. 

Only once, did he resort to instructing his fellow orchestra, pre-empting them to raise a section of one specific score. The rest of the time, he let them be the focus, whilst he gracefully assembled his reel-to-reel, or added subtle elements through his laptop setup. 

As I left the venue, it was an unusually foggy evening in downtown LA and the high-rise offices surrounding the Walt Disney Concert Hall mimicked scenes from Blade Runner, as the dim glow of coloured lights pulsed from the sky above. It was as if Jóhann Jóhannsson had planned it all along - this show, featuring discovered tapes from the past, set amongst futuristic architecture and a dystopian Los Angeles skyline; a prequel to the highly anticipated Blade Runner 2049 score he is set to deliver later this year. 

Hans Zimmer live in Los Angeles: lifting the curtain on the magic behind the music

Last Friday, I took my family to a sold out Microsoft Theater in downtown LA to see Hans Zimmer on his first US tour date.

The energy before the show was palpable, as people chatted before taking their seats, admiring the extent of the venue - it was clear this was no ordinary composer. Hans was now a rock-star in his own right, with whistles, cheers and rapturous support from the moment he walked on stage. Hans either has lots of friends in LA (very likely, actually given his base in Santa Monica and the glitz of Hollywood) or rather, this hidden genius, behind some of today’s most infamous films has truly solidified his status as one of the most revered composers of today. His reasoning for this tour, in his own words, was due to friends prompting him to get out of his windowless room and meet the people who admire his work. Much to everyones relief, they came in their droves to see him on this, his opening night of an extensive worldwide tour. 

The show opened with the emphatic jazz-inspired energy of Driving Miss Daisy, as his band were revealed, followed by an additional full orchestra tier, and finally a silhouetted choir lining the back of a massive stage. This opening track likely helped ease my in-laws into the night, as they had no idea what to expect after my vague "movie score" intro.

Hans took his place on the piano as the energy quickly ramped up and the fast paced tinkering kept everyone fixated. It was a perfect crescendo to open the show, leaving gasps and then applause, as the crowd realized the extending stage presence with each reveal of the curtain. 

Hans played the role of graceful host throughout the evening, giving short stories about his life, about the work that was to follow, and bellowing support for his fellow musicians. He was gentlemanly and appreciative, making the bustling theater feel like we were all sat in a glorified and intimate practice session. It was after all, an extremely manicured and refined setup, but he would go on to warn us of newly added middle-parts to tracks we know all too well, and some experiments the band wanted to try. One of which, included Hans sitting down and jamming on guitar in the middle of an the infamous Gladiator score, bookended by some beautiful vocals by Czarina Russell. It was an extended section to one of his best pieces to date - he was having fun, and it was infectious.

After a sombre but immersive Crimson Tide soundtrack, the programming moved relatively slowly, and the majority of pieces remained separated by Hans' personal introductions. With a production of this size, these guys needed time to rearrange and catch their breath. This was until, the familiar Lion King chant dropped without any notice - the stage background slowly lit by an African sunrise, and guest vocalist (and original Lion King vocalist) Lebo M, and his daughter, flanked the stage powering through the ‘Circle of Life’. It was a switch in pace, but for the eclectic crowd - many of which probably know him due to The Lion King and its extended franchise, it was the perfect energy bump for a set largely devoid of lead vocals. 

After the break, Hans had changed into a black t-shirt, and with a sly knowing of intent, introduced the following section of the show, as "the super-hero part". Hans’ fans likely arrived through many avenues over the years - his Academy Award winning Lion King score, his early 90’s scores for Crimson Tide or, The Thin Red Line, but perhaps most notoriously, his major epics for The Dark Knight, Pirates Of The Caribbean, Gladiator, Inception and most recently, Interstellar. It was within these pieces that we saw some of the key musicians in his band come to the foreground, with Cellist Tina Guo flawlessly displaying her eccentric and passionate style, drummer Satnam Singh pounding through a percussive, tribal Batman theme, and in the end, Hans himself pouring over the piano for my favorite piece to close the show, Inception. Hans would end up playing piano, guitar, banjo, drums (“when it’s your own band you get to decide”) and even a tribal chant as part of the Dark Night’s elevating and driving percussive suite.

Uploaded by Coachella on 2017-04-17.

Throughout the evening, Hans made sure he gave the spotlight to each of his key players on stage in a humbling manner. Not only were we dealing with one of the most successful composers of all time, but the likes of James Newton Howard was also plugging away somewhere back there, pioneering cellist Tina Guo could’ve been selling out concerts of her own and 'Multidirectional Flute Soloist’ Pedro Eustache, was truly one of a kind - and we were very lucky to have him (You may have heard his previous work on this classic chill-out track.) At one point, I’m sure I witnessed Pedro pick up three different wood-instruments in the space of 1-minute, all executed flawlessly as he ran from stage-right, to stage-center. Timing these energetic displays with 50+people could go very wrong, but this guy was truly the Pied Piper of the show. 

Surrounding himself with friends within his music is a sentiment that's echoed throughout Hans' career, for example, refusing to enter scores into Academy Awards due to the requirement of a singular composer credit. This collective approach has undoubtedly won him respect and admiration from his fellows, let alone his fans. Most of these relationships, as Hans explained, have been formed over many many years, and it was evident this wasn’t a band brought together by the shallow ask of a tour. Instead, this was a band brought together by decades of practice, friendship and shared experiences that have formed the DNA of every one of his soundtracks. Only someone like Hans Zimmer can distill that process into the epic sound we hear behind some of the worlds biggest movies. 

Next time you listen to a Hans Zimmer score, know that the energy and emotion you hear isn’t necessarily a canned Hollywood style, pre-programmed output. In Hans’ instance, it’s likely the result of an amazing group of friendships formed over many years, who are amazing at what they do, and evidently, have a lot of fun doing it.

And as Hans went on to detail at one point in the show - debunking the glitz and glam of Hollywood - it's often these simple friendships that provide the spark to the most epic of journeys. A phone call at 9am between Hans and his good friend, and director, Ridley Scott, decided they needed to make a film about Gladiators...

“Oh you boys", Hans' wife said at that moment.  

Hans Zimmer has forever been the Wizard of Oz, hidden behind the grandeur of the music, and some of the most successful films of all time. But with his friends at his side, this show lifted the curtain on the humble heart and driving passions behind it all.