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.

~

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

Download

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 86 - Scanner: The Night You Dreamt

Releasing music since the early 1990’s, electronic music producers rarely come as seasoned as Scanner. Robin Rimbaud’s productions can be found on seminal labels such as Sub Rosa (home to early records and label-mates such as Coil, Gigi Masin, Bill Laswell, John Cage, Stars of The Lid) Glacial Movements and Lawrence English’s, Room40 amongst many more over the past ~30 years.

But along with the relentless catalog spanning the full spectrum of experimental and electronic music, Robin has also scored over 65 contemporary dance productions including works for establishments such as The London Royal Ballet, the worlds first Virtual Reality Ballet, sound installations at airports, and collaborations with Bryan Ferry, Michael Nyman and Steve McQueen. And you know that classic trick of police scanner recordings over ambient music? Well Robin was doing that back in 1993, with Scanner -Scanner.

To try and do his background justice here would probably be an injustice… so to say, there’s a world of Robin Rimbaud to explore, is an understatement.

Our journey here though, begins after Robin and I were discussing some of his unreleased music which he made in Captiva Florida at the Robert Rauschenberg Residency last year. It featured only one synth and one effects unit, and was stunningly beautiful for such a minimal piece of music. It inspired me to ask Robin to make a synth-focused isolatedmix, of which he duly obliged and even included one of the pieces we were discussing. Timing worked out perfectly too, as we gear up for James Bernard’s Modular synth release on 25th Feb, this is a lovely warm up. The result is a true narrative told through the many styles of synthesizer-focused music. From vets such as Klaus Schulze and RDJ, to modern day innovators in Loscil, James Holden, OPN and Cortini, this is The Night You Dreamt.

Download.

Tracklist:

01. Coil: U Pel (Insense Offering)
02. Scanner: Captiva Pulse
03. Klaus Schulze: Wahnfried 1883
04. Alessandro Cortini & Lawrence English: Immediate Horizon 3
05. Aphex Twin: 101 Rainbows ambient mix
06. Oneohtrix Point Never : Child of Rage
07. Bruce Haack: Untitled #2
08. Matthew Shaw: Totemic Topologies part Three
09. Loscil: Deceiver
10. James Holden: Self-Playing Schmaltz
11. Scanner: Random Dreams

Scannerdot.com | Twitter | Soundcloud

isolatedmix 69 - Bersarin Quartett

One of the joys of being nearly 70 mixes into the isolatedmix series, is reflecting upon the many styles of mixes that artists have contributed. Straight-up playlist style curations, conceptual approaches, perfectly key-matched transitions, DJ mixes, genre or style showcases, or in the following instance, extensive, thoughtful journeys into a wide spectrum of influences.

Thomas Bücker aka Bersarin Quartett is likely a recognizable name to anyone who has dipped their toe into the modern classical world. Releasing primarily on the impeccable Denovali Records, his output has been modest, and yet extremely well respected under the Bersarin Quartett name, with many years of production prior under different names such as Jean Michel (if you choose to dig deeper).

His most infamous piece to date however, is undoubtedly his self-titled album released on German label, Lidar. Drawing comparisons with pretty much every beloved modern, neo, classical and ambient producer of our age in some shape or form with any review written so far, it's hard not to enjoy Thomas' approach. From downtempo, and jazz infused constructions, to experimental drone infused pieces, cinematic scores, and more intelligent electronic programming, Thomas has expressed himself through every potential connotation of ambient music across his modest catalog over the past few years. 

Originally aired earlier this year on Barfly Radio, Thomas' mix was deserved of another platform given its carefully considered track listing, slowly shifting sections and unearthing of many beautiful pieces. I had to bring it to a wider audience. Clocking in at 2-hours long, this is one of those life-affirming mixes - the kind of mix you remember exactly what you was doing when you first heard it, and the kind of journey any potential mix-curator longs to put together. 

We spoke as Thomas prepared for two upcoming festival dates (June 2nd, Bielefeld, Germany, and July 6th, Tolmin, Sajeta Festival, Slovenia) and he had this short and sweet intro to the mix:

"Hi, I´m Thomas from the Bersarin Quartett, and I´m glad to share with you a new mixtape at this beautiful strangely isolated place. This mix takes 2 hours and it contains some of my favorite film scores and other cinematic tracks I like a lot at the moment. So turn off the lights, take a deep breath and enjoy the ride ... "

Download

Tracklist

00:00:00 : Rupert Gregson-Williams -- Duck Shoot
00:03:56 : Brambles -- Pink and Golden Billows
00:06:15 : Donato Dozzy -- Vaporware 1
00:06:32 : Alexandre Desplat -- Girl With A Pearl Earring
00:08:39 : Deepchord presents Echospace -- Untitled 12
00:09:17 : Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard -- A Little Push
00:11:24 : Andrea Belfi -- Roteano
00:18:54 : Cliff Martinez -- Death Shall Have No Dominion
00:19:48 : James Ginzburg & Yair Elizar Glotman -- Nimbes (Eric Holm's 1050 mix)
00:20:21 : Jóhann Jóhannsson -- Arrival
00:22:35 : Mica Levi -- Lipstick to Void
00:24:39 : Neel -- Storm in Stickney
00:27:18 : Akkord -- Greyscale
00:30:22 : Ancestral Voices -- Night of Visions [Snippet]
00:31:46 : Asche & Spencer -- Opening Title
00:34:12 : Deepchord presents Echospace -- Untitled 6
00:35:26 : New Rome -- Venus
00:38:02 : Rupert Gregson-Williams -- Dressing Down
00:40:51 : Rachel's -- A French Galleasse
00:46:52 : Lawrence English -- Forgiving Noir
00:49:30 : Mychael Danna -- The First Time
00:49:54 : Tropic of Cancer -- Stop Suffering
00:53:52 : Curter Burwell -- Canada
00:55:33 : Bohren & der Club of Gore -- Mitleid Lady
01:01:12 : Bersarin Quartett -- Die Nächte sind erfüllt von Maskenfesten
01:05:55 : Om Unit -- Le Singe
01:10:06 : Deepchord presents Echospace -- Untitled 5
01:12:05 : Voices from The Lake -- Drop 1
01:14:28 : Rachel Grimes -- The Herald
01:18:40 : Tim Hecker -- Radiance
01:20:43 : Antonio Sanchez -- Claustrophobia
01:21:50 : Brambles -- In the Androgynous Dark
01:26:05 : Duane Pitre -- Bridges CupAetherCrane
01:29:47 : Alexei Aigui -- Fall Of The Empire (prologue)
01:31:37 : Pedro Bronfman -- No Amnesty
01:33:08 : Jóhann Jóhannsson -- Hydraulic Lift
01:35:40 : James Newton Howard -- Hole In Shoe
01:37:31 : Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross -- What Have We Done to Each Other
01:39:37 : Shifted -- Untitled - B1
01:41:42 : Radian -- Codes and Sounds
01:44:09 : Asche & Spencer -- You're Real
01:46:10 : Elizabethan Collar -- 06
01:47:34 : Faures -- Orogenic Uplift
01:50:29 : Sophie Hutchings -- Half Hidden
01:52:55 : Tomáš Dvořák -- By The Wall
01:57:12 : Talk Talk -- New Grass
02:00:00 : End

Bersarin Quartett | Web | Facebook | Bandcamp

Optic Echo Presents – Best Vinyl of 2015

Mike Jedlicka's Optic Echo radio show consistently serves up some of the best ambient, experimental and modern classical vinyl-only selections. In this special edition, Mike has curated some of his favorite vinyl of the year specially prepared for Headphone Commute.

As you would expect from a weekly show trying to summarize a years worth of wax purchases, it was no doubt an arduous task narrowing it downvand the result is a lovely journey through the many styles Mike covers on his show.

Mike's included some of my favorite vinyl of the year too, namely Night Sequels, 36, wndfrm, Benoit Poulard and Inventions, all sitting proudly in my best of 2015 lists. And a big thanks to Mike for also selecting Arovane & Hior Chronik's release.

Check out the Optic Echo Mixcloud page for all of the previous shows and Headphone Commute for full details and all download options.

Download.

Tracklist:
Mountains – Parallel Two – You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever
Kreng – Bargaining- The Summoner
Night Sequels – Siamese Summer – Children of the Night Make Music
Jon Hopkins – I Remember (Nils Frahm Dub Interrupt Remix) – I Remember 10”
Four Tet – Morning Side – Morning / Evening
Max Richter – Space 11 (Invisible Pages Over)- From Sleep
Shuttle358 – Can You Prove I Was Born?
Andrew Weathers – We Will Never See A Cloud Again – Fuck Everybody, You Can do Anything
VA (Marcus Fischer) – Field Works: Progue’s Run
Rival Consoles – Ghosting – Howl
Pye Corner Audio – Quasar II – Stars Shine Like Eyes 10”
Benoit Poulard – Whose Palms Create – Sonnet
36 – Sky Fire – Pulse Dive
wndfrm – Monopole – Formal Variant EP
Christina Vantzou – Stereoscope – No. 3
T.Raumschmiere – 007 – T.Raumschmiere
Inventions – Wolfkids – Maze of Woods
Nils Frahm – Our Own Roof – Music For The Motion Picture Victoria
Arovane & Hior Chronik – Scale – In-between [BUY]
Valet – Transformation – Nature
Anduin – Last Days of Montrose House 10”
Helm – I Exist In A Fog – Olympic Mess
Kamran Sadeghi – The Right Direction is Left
Lawrence English – Antarctica – Viento
Olafur Arnalds & Nils Frahm – Three – Loon
Celer – Distant Misgivings – Jima

Interview: Expressive drones from the other side, with Rafael Anton Irisarri

 A cross-country move can be unsettling, let alone a move that follows the unfortunate theft of an entire studio. It's enough to make anyone pack-up again, give-up even. But then there are some who use it to channel energy to be even more creative; who use it as an opportunity for deeper expression. 

Not only did Rafael finish up a festival on the other side of the country during this turbulent time, he's been quick to jump back in the studio and put his emotions to good use. A Fragile Geography is Rafael's latest full-length under the RAI moniker and his third for Lawrence English's Room 40 label; after his 2010 release The North Bend, and 2013's sublime, The Unintentional Sea. 

A Fragile Geography is a personal tribute to Raf's torment over the past few years, and when such emotion is channelled into ambient or drone music, it's often a daunting, heavily-drenched, noise affair. But you should know by now that RAI is a master of sound manipulation, and channeling this type of emotion is his craft. With pure intensity, comes fragility. With a wall of noise comes waterfalls of color. With detailed field recordings, comes subtle storylines. 

Empire Systems is the apex of the albums intensity, a heart-crushing crescendo that powers and rattles through your head as the minute details, static and textures bounce from sine to sine. Hiatus, channels a feeling of displacement, discern and uncomfortable ground. Persistence glimmers with hope across softly degrading melodies. Secretly Wishing For Rain, a love song from the depths of falling mountains, grey clouds and a deep haze. Some people need lyrics to convey emotion, and some just need a guitar, the patience and skill for manipulation, and the ear for fine-tuning acoustics. 

With such a momentous return and a story behind it, I sent a few questions Rafael's way to get to know a little more about the album, his approach and what inspired such sounds.

Hey Raf, how’s the new studio treating you? Is it finally complete or are you looking to improve it still?

RAI: It's going really well, thanks for asking! Very busy these days, working on tons of projects- from mastering for several labels on a regular basis to mixing and remixing other artists - all while trying to finish a new The Sight Below album. 14 hour days are becoming the norm around here. But that's a very good thing: busy means working, and working means not starving. Can't complain really!

In terms of adding/improving: there's always room for this area. A studio is never 100% “finished.” It's always in flux. I've gone through several iterations of my current setup, and I only opened for business back in February, so I've been changing things around every couple of months or so.

I still have a long list of gear to reacquire, as I've prioritize to more immediate mixing and mastering gear. Eventually I'd like to build a bigger room out here in the woods, just so that I can incorporate a lot of those composing aspects I used to have in my Seattle studio and be able to write music more effectively. A piano would be fantastic, I miss that part a lot.

How’s New York? A departure from your previous home, Seattle no doubt? I’m jealous you’re getting some defined seasons over there (being in LA now I’m missing it!) Do you see your new location inspiring your music going forward?

RAI: NY is a strange place. It's been quite the cultural adjustment. Finding descent coffee in the Northeast is quite challenging, for example. We were very spoiled in the Northwest (though I reckon LA has some seriously great places – lots of Seattle & Portland transplants there). My location at this very moment is rather nice. I live away from the city in a fairly wooded area, so it's very quiet and isolated in a nice way. When I first got here, it felt a bit strange going to bed at night and not hearing any city noises – we are constantly bombarded by it in urban environments. Out here, I can open a window in my studio, clap fairly loud and hear the reverberation carry through the forest. The scenery is rather beautiful, though I reckon the weather is horribly mercurial. I miss that even keel gloominess of the PNW weather.

Your new album, A Fragile Geography, is a personal affair by the sounds of it, no doubt influenced by your last two years and the difficult times you faced regarding the studio. I’m interested to know how your mood affects your music. Do you set out with these intentions to portray, or is it more on reflection that you start to see the experiences come to life in your music?

RAI: For the longest of time, music/s been a way to cope with my own frustrations and health issues. Depression can be a powerful ally when you channel it correctly. This new album is indeed a reflection of a period of my life. There's great beauty in sadness. One could say it mirrors the general anxiety we are currently living in the United States today. Some of my earlier works reflected on the notion of a decaying American dream. Almost 10 years later since my first release, and we are living in a very tense America, one where opportunities seem to be eroding more and more which each passing day. Sometimes I look at the world and the only sensible thing to do is make a bunch of noise and let it all out somehow.

Is your music always emotionally charged? The complexity behind your music would definitely make me assume so, but I also know you’re very much a scientist, as well as an artist (with regards to your studio, production, techniques etc). How do you balance the two? 

RAI: Yes, it's definitely driven by it when it comes to my own productions. Of course, when it comes to other people's music, then my focus is a clinical one. I'm doing technical work, creative still, but more focused on problem solving and making small improvements to the material I'm working on.

Whenever I listen to your music it sounds harmonious and refined, yet I can imagine given your guitar usage in much of your music, there’s some serious manipulations and tricks hidden behind what is a very simple end sound? Can you explain some of the processes or techniques used on the record? 

RAI: Yeah, there's a lot of different things going on the album. Lots of heavy processing of source material. For example, the very final piece on the album, “Secretly Wishing For Rain,” was a sketch I recorded in my Seattle studio early in 2014. Just a piano improv. Sometimes I would sit on the piano and just play, from the heart, no click track, no backing tracks, no specific tempo – just whatever I'd be feeling at the time and record it. Well, since I lost all my recordings, this one should have been lost along with the rest. I just happened to have recorded it as well on my phone's voice memo. So as I was transferring files into a new phone, I discovered it. I then took the source material, processed it in the studio here in NY and composed a piece with that source material. It was a very low quality recording, so it took some time to shape it into form. After I had written the piece, my friend Julia Kent played a few cello lines on top, which then I used as source material and created many layers with her playing, which ended on the final recorded version of the song.

Are there any surprise instruments or samples on the record which might not be distinguishable to the normal listener?

RAI: One of my favorite sounds on “Empire System” is a recording of one of the biggest organs in all of Europe. I was field recording in Cologne back in 2013 and captured a Catholic sung mass. As a recovering Catholic, it was fascinating to hear this familiar ritual in a completely foreign language, German in this case, and still be able to follow it (12 years a catholic school boy). Anyway, I took a section where the organ played solo and was playing very sustained notes, so I put in my sampler later on and used it as one of the layers.

I’m sure lots of people will be surprised just how much guitar and its many manipulations plays a central role in your productions. Why is that? 

RAI: I started to play guitar when I was a teenager. It's a very powerful instrument, very versatile – you can play very aggressive music, or very melodic music with it. It's punk, it's rock, it's classical, it's ambient, all in one. For the longest of time, I wanted my guitar to not sound like a guitar, but more like a synth – I can play it with a bow and get cello-like sounds from it, I can use some very light picks and a volume pedal and make it sound like some very nice Enoesque pads. As time has passed, and I've gotten older (and dumber), I've started to see the guitar in the same way one would see a module in an Eurorack – strictly a sound device. I can sound design with a guitar and a few effect pedals, record it, then load into a sampler and then continue processing in my laptop, to the point it is no longer recognizable as a guitar. It's become something else, something new, unique and very much my own. Where most people would see a limitation, I see endless sonic possibilities.

Are there any instruments you don’t play and wish you could master one day? 

RAI: I would have loved to be born with a velvety voice and be able to sing. The human voice is such a fascinating instrument.

Lawrence English mastered your album and helped on a few tracks. What’s the thought process behind getting someone else to master your record (when you’re fully capable to do so?)

RAI: This may come as a shock, but I NEVER master my own music. I relish having another person listen to it with fresh ears and opine, then have a conversation on HOW it should sound. Lawrence is somebody I trust, like his aesthetic and he knows my music very well. This is very important, possibly more important than any equipment. I wouldn't want the same person that worked on the latest EDM atrocity touching my work, no matter how good they might be as an engineer or how much gear they've got – without a real connection to the music, it means absolutely nothing. It's one of the reasons why I refuse to mix or master music I do not genuinely enjoy.

Are you still learning? If so, what or who is your inspiration? Is it just through self-experimentation or are you always seeking out further knowledge when it comes to production, mastering etc?

RAI. Of course, one should never stop learning and been inquisitive. I learn a lot from my peers, my colleagues, etc. In Seattle I had a huge community of people surrounding me, many artists, etc. Here, I was expecting to be VERY isolated when I moved out here, BUT, as it turned out, I'm extremely lucky: I live now close to two other amazing engineers, Dietrich Shonemann (who cut AFG to vinyl), and Taylor Deupree (who's also an amazing artist on his own right as well, as running the 12k label). We are always hanging and exchanging ideas, discussing, testing and comparing gear, or simply just chilling out. It's nice to have a community, even when you live in the middle of nowhere.

Outside of music, what else inspires you?

RAI: Visual art is always inspiring. I'm naturally drawn to minimalist painters, and as it turn out, I live now very close to the Dia: Beacon museum, which is absolutely amazing and awe inspiring. Beautiful building with possibly the largest collection of minimalist art in the world. I also find inspiration in films, books, and history.

You’re working on a secret ASIP  remix project at the moment, can you tell us how you approach remixes? Do you decide whether it’s an RAI/The Sight Below remix beforehand, or do you see what happens in the process? What defines the style?

RAI: Well, first and foremost, I must enjoy the music, or at the very least, find something, maybe if it's one element, that captivates my attention in order for me to commit to doing a remix. A remix, in my opinion, must hold the same weight as any other of my songs, sound just like any other of my own tracks, have that sonic footprint.

In regards to how I decide which musical persona: that's fairly simple, sometimes I hear something and just know, “oh, this would be a great little motif for a TSB” track. It's something that happens organically, so unless somebody actually requests a specific remix, I'll pretty much just let the process play out.

Speaking of remixes, your Unfurled Remix EP was a momentous occasion and I’m the proud owner of a copy. Can you tell us a little bit about how that was conceived and the decision to not make a digital download available?

RAI: Well, first off, thank you VERY much for the support and plonking down some serious dough for that, so much appreciated! The track itself was the last TSB song I produced at my studio in Seattle. When all this crap went down last year, Ghostly were the first people to call me up. They were like “What can we do to help?” I'll never forget, so grateful for that...Anyway, as we were discussing perks for the fundraiser they were doing, I thought this might be a good track to release and have some remixes, as I happened to have the stems for it on my laptop, possibly one of the very few things left. I asked a few friends/colleagues I like and they were all like, yeah, of course I'm on board. They all put some serious thought to it too, and all the tracks came out superb.

I really wanted to make it special and unique, so early own we decided not to make it available digitally or elsewhere, just on that specific vinyl. It's an ACTUAL Ghostly official release, with it's own catalog number, so it's canon. It's the rarest Ghostly release ever, with just 40 copies made. I'm very happy with how it came out and again, couldn't be more grateful to everyone involved in making this happen for me.

Who would you love to remix and how would you approach it? (past and present?)

RAI: From a technical standpoint: I'd love to get my hands on an original Phil Spector session or anything off the St. Pepper sessions. From a personal standpoint: I'd of course love to remix (or work in any capacity really) with Slowdive (above).

You’re a big fan of drone (#dronelife!) and seem to be amazingly knowledgable on the genre. How did you get into it?

RAI: Listening to drone music is like enjoying eating a pomegranate. You have to dig through, but it rewards in the end. It's a sonic ecosystem which requires a certain degree of time commitment – generally all things ambient aren't expressed necessarily as the usual 3 1/2 minute song. A truly acquired taste - usually only gained through a personal epiphany enabled by patience - it doesn't necessarily provide instant gratification to the casual listener.

What do you think makes a good drone record? Attention to detail? Melody? Depth? 

RAI: Ambient music is a deceptively simple style – it seems as if anyone can do it at home, therefore easy to dismiss as pedantic or amateurish. And that may be true to a certain extent – it's not hard to do at all from a few technical perspectives. The important part is not so much about the ease to make, the sound quality or the performance of the musician but rather the content itself: is it distinct? Is it expressive? Is it memorable? This is why X piece of music can be a masterpiece and Y or Z total rubbish. In my view, I find a piece like “Not Yet Remembered” by Harold Budd and Brian Eno memorable, significant and impactful. I can't say the same about most music heard on commercial radio, dance clubs or elsewhere over the last couple decades. Then again, it's all in the eye of the beholder...

For anyone new to this style, who would you recommend listening to?

RAI: I'd just say, browse through my curatorial CV on my website, www.irisarri.org. Anything I've book for Substrata Festival (2011 – 2015) is a good starting point – it's a diverse ecosystem of all things minimalistic and gorgeous.

A Fragile Geography is available now on Bandcamp in digital and vinyl formats.

~

Listen to Rafael's contribution to Markus Guentner's upcoming album, Theia, below.