ASIP - Reflection on 2023

As with all past ‘Reflection’ year-end mixes, I start with a collection of albums, EPs, and compilations I have enjoyed over the past year. Through the process of compiling a mix, tracks are selected from this extensive collection. This ultimately means many of my favorite tracks and albums are often omitted in this process, due to the organic process of compiling a mix, things don’t fit, or fall by the wayside. There are many albums I had on high rotation missing from this mix, but I have to stop somewhere. As I say every year, this isn’t a definitive ‘best-of’ list, but a selection of *some* of my favorite music from the year in one listenable format. It’s the most enjoyable way for me to boil down the music I’ve loved from the year using these self-imposed restrictions, for you to enjoy and hopefully discover more, and for me to reflect on time and time again - like a photograph that captures the year in music.

I encourage you to use the mix to explore each artist, listen to the album in full, and explore each label (and check the Buy Music Club list at the bottom). If you want to see the majority of music I’ve been supporting this year, head over to my Bandcamp collection. For the ASIP year-end label compilation, see the feature and mix here.

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Yikes, I crossed the 3-hour mark! Well, that speaks volumes to the amount of great music that was released this year, and I’m already feeling guilty about omissions from this mix. But alas, it needs to stop somewhere, the Holiday’s are coming…

This edition marks the tenth year in succession (2010 was the first mix but I skipped doing this for two years for some reason) and it is an extremely enjoyable exercise I look forward to every year. Revisiting many of the albums I’ve purchased throughout the year, and records from my shelf, then taking the time to absorb more recent releases - the process is cathartic (after the slight anxiety that builds knowing I have a beast of a mix to tackle, and hard decisions to be made).

Looking back at previous Reflection mixes, I am evidently a creature of habit and seem to gravitate to certain artists more than most over the years (we all have our faves), but I also take a lot of time to dig for new artists and approaches to music in this realm, and this year’s edition is probably the most varied in music styles since the Reflection series began. Ambient, field recordings, drone (Power-ambient, even), big saxophones (the flute revival didn’t make it ;-), Japanese left-field pop, deep techno, chugging techno, modern classical, experimental, jungle, breaks, dub and more… as you might imagine, this is a 3hr mix that feels more like a showcase than a DJ mix in the traditional sense, as I’m focusing on creating chapters of different styles, but I hope makes for an attentive listen if you’ve got 3hrs to spare.

Am I going to write about all 42 tracks? Not this time, as I don’t think there’s much I can illustrate other than ‘go listen to that entire album!’ but I will make a few observations on themes that emerged as I was going through this process.

Firstly, the far corners of Bandcamp are very much alive, so for anyone looking for alternatives given all the talk with Bandcamp this year, please don’t hit the escape button and continue to support us- I continued to find so many new labels and artists, some of which are included here such as Liis Ring, Etüüd, ǝɯǝɐ, Azu Tiwaline and not to forget a kick-ass Jungle community throwing out some lovely 90’s infused comps. Bandcamp keeps small labels and artists alive right now (only two of these tracks were physical releases and not on Bandcamp - #19 & #42).

I spent a lot of time listening to music that would work for the two shows I played in Japan earlier this year, and for those who listened back to one of the sets I posted, you may notice a few similar tracks/artists appearing here again which I’ve held in high regard since their release, such as Jo Johnson, Field Lines Cartographer and Endurance. On reflection, there was a lot of deepness for me this year that came from preparing for and inspired by those sets, sitting on the edges of techno with lots of synthesizer/Berlin school projects (as well as a couple of artists I got to see in person whilst over there such as Yolabmi and Endurance).

There were a couple of glaring omissions from this mix (*checks Bandcamp app most played*) which I had on rotation so much this year that I still wanted to mention, such as Imaginary Softwoods, who was behind one of my favorite tracks of the year, ‘Diagrams of the Universe’. Along with Johnny Nash’s Point of Entry - a tranquil guitar-laden affair, both of which never left my turntable for long.

The ever-expanding ASIP roster of artists, both alumni and current, had an extremely busy year evidently (I try to restrict their inclusions in this mix where I can otherwise it could be an entire ASIP promo show… hey that’s an idea…). bvdub released about ~10 masterpieces, as only he can, flaunting all possible peripherals in his deep arsenal (along with rounding out the Earth House Hold project with us of course). ASC was crazy busy with his quality retro Spatial DnB releases (one of them made it in here). For those who enjoyed Alex Albrecht’s debut with us, don’t miss his earlier 2023 release. Deepchild released another great textured follow-up to his ASIP debut for those wanting more. 36 continued some rave-esque ambient no doubt inspired by his 9128 recording a few years back. Markus Guentner began an exciting collab project with Joachim Spieth (and also appeared in several other collaborations). RAI kept things relatively reflective with a few Bandcamp specials and recordings from his live tour. Benoit Pîoulard made a beautiful return to Morr Music, and Christian Kleine rounded out the year with a limited vinyl press. Those needing more from our 2023 new signing Mikkel Rev, can check out his earlier album released in January this year. James Bernard had a busy year alongside his wife as Awakened Souls, and found more 90’s DAT goodness among many other projects. Mick Chillage released a superb sleeper IDM album in the form of Initial Programs. Dr Atmo’s throwback to his early sounds saw a rebirth of one of his most enjoyed albums alongside new remixes. Wanderwelle made their second full-length odyssey for Important Records and Yagya continued to explore uncharted new takes on his sound through his new label imprint. Scanner’s innovative repertoire continued to expand and one of my faves of his came in the form of this collab. Hior Chronik published a couple of unreleased gems. And lastly, Ludvig Cimbrelius aka Purl/Illuvia and Arovane managed to sneak onto this mix with a couple of their releases…

Two labels who hit home runs for me this year with the majority of their releases. Illian Tape had some extremely great (and varied) electronic releases. And while Mysteries of the Deep’s output was relatively choice (quality over quantity), 3 out of the 4 releases made it onto the mix!

There are a couple of tracks in the mix from albums that align with what seems to be, the common consensus on some of the ‘best’ electronic releases from the year (one of the advantages of my waiting until mid-December to finish this mix is I see what other people are rating highly or what I might’ve missed) such as James Holden’s psychedelic return, and Purelink’s amphibious dub LP. But other than those two, I think everyone should find something new among the twists and turns across the 3 hours and 42 tracks.

For the mix artwork this year, and after last year’s terribly basic AI take (it’s come a long way in a year!), I toyed with creating another AI attempt on a “A Strangely Isolated Place” prompt, but you have to spend time to get quality back out of these lil’ work gnomes. Every image I created from that prompt ended up being a stereotypical lonely hiker (with 4 fingers I’m sure) strolling through a highly conceptual colorful future universe. Either that or a decrepit shed…

So instead, I opted for an image that means much more to me… a wall. Not just any wall though, it’s the wall outside of Spread nightclub in Tokyo where I had the pleasure of playing an ambient set this year, meeting new friends, and making some amazing memories.

Thanks to all of the artists and labels included here who have soundtracked my year in more ways than one, and the many more I didn’t manage to include this time around. Be sure to check the previous year’s Reflection mixes for more of the same.

Hope you enjoy the listen back at a great year of music.

astrangelyisolatedplace · ASIP - Reflection on 2023

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Tracklist:

01. Sleep D - Hector (Dreaming) (Butter Sessions)
02. Liis Ring - after-image IV: abborresjön (Breton Cassette)
03. William Selman - Leaky Paradise (Mysteries of the Deep)
04. Etüüd - Õhtute kollane tolm (Self released)
05. TU M' - Monochrome #26 (Line Imprint)
06. Arovane - ypaal (Quiet Details)
07. Field Lines Cartographer - Mountain Icicles (Castles in Space)
08. Dream Dolphin - Gaia (Ethereal Fantasy) (Music from Memory)
09. Salamanda - Nostalgia (Wisdom Teeth)
10. Endurance - Crest v2 (Muzan Editions)
11. Suzanne Ciani & Jonathan Fitoussi - Coral Reef (Transversales)
12. Alex Israel - Vacua (Somnambulant Drift)
13. The Black Dog - The Mundane (Dust Science)
14. Locust - Miriam (Mysteries of the Deep)
15. Niko Tzoukmanis - Way Home (Libreville Records)
16. Jo Johnson - Transience (Mysteries of the Deep)
17. Dasha Rush - Dubby Doo (Raster Noton)
18. ǝɯǝɐ - Andrei Rublev (Secuencias Temporales)
19. Gigi Masin & Rod Modell - Red Hair Girl At The Boat Shop (13)
20. Toki Fuko - Part Two (Astral Industries)
21. shedir - Deer Fluent in the Wind (n5MD)
22. Ayaavaaki & Purl - Distant Lights (Ovum III) (LILA)
23. Bana Haffar - Sit Still (Touch)
24. Mike Lazarev - Tonality Number Two (PITP)
25. Claire Deak - In Defiance of Time (Lost Tribe Sound)
26. Lord of the Isles feat. Ellen Renton - Don't You Ache (AD93)
27. nthng - Unlimited (I) (Self released)
28. Donato Dozzy & Sabla - Flusso III (Gang of Ducks)
29. Sindh - Spyres (Sindh)
30. James Holden - In The End You'll Know (Border Community)
31. Andrea - Audieze (Ilian Tape)
32. ASC & Aural Imbalance - Overcast Skies (Auxiliary)
33. Accelio - The Garden (Sawteeth)
34. Yolabmi - Liquidity (29 Speedway)
35. MPU101 - nurMKS30 (Ilian Tape)
36. Ylia - Ame Agari (Balmat)
37. Azu Tiwaline - Antenna Opening (I.O.T Records)
38. Purelink - We Should Keep Going (Peak Oil)
39. Priori - Top Soil (Rhythm Büro)
40. Hysterical Love Project - Ionian Sea (Motion Ward)
41. Om Unit + TM404 - Microdose Mondays (Acid Test)
42. David - Daybreak (Simpler Times)

Buy Music Club List (all tracks available digitally on Bandcamp other than #19 (here) + # 42 (here)

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:

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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.
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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

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