Portals: The KLF's Chill Out (A New Dimension)

First off, I’ve never had so much fun compiling a mix. Limitations really do help focus. But as soon as I had the idea and began strategizing how to go about it, I didn’t realize what I was getting into. I ended up in Psychedelic Rock Youtube rabbit holes, reading forums from the 1990’s that no longer worked in a browser; downloading .txt files from KLF obsessives; listening to the album on repeat, again and again. It was brilliant. And I urge anyone to do the same to truly understand a piece of music and go deep on something you enjoy. This album is the Holy Grail for many of us, and is without a doubt in my top 10 of all time. It’s at least one of my most played albums due to its inclusion as a regular bedtime routine (despite my wife asking why she can hear sheep noises and then continuing to freak out).

To reinterpret The KLF’s Chill Out, might be similar to many peoples polarizing opinions on remixes. Most of the time (and I often agree), it shouldn’t even be messed with. But, what’s interesting with Chill Out, is that it’s as much a DJ mix as it is piece of music. The line between producer and DJ is blurred. Apart from a couple of (soon to then be) popular KLF tunes in the latter half of the album, the majority of the recording is improvised sessions pulled together and re-recorded live, alongside a wealth of samples ranging from Elvis Presley, 808 State, Fleetwood Mac, trains, chanting and radio announcements. On hindsight after digging into this further than ever before, I started to wonder how this album is even any good. There’s crazy people shouting in the background and loud vehicles rushing past. How is this Chill-out? Well it is, and it’s a genius, landmark piece of work.

If you’ve got this far and have no idea what I’m talking about, then go listen to the original before going any further. That’s a large point of this piece - to hold in high regard one of the best electronic albums of all time, and like all of the Portal’s features, add my own deeper story and perspective to it.

Chill Out was pioneering in approach. Completed by mad-scientists Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond, who later went on to burn a million pounds, it was arguably the first time an entire album was thought of as one meandering journey with samples at the core. Eno was doing long-form ambient, but he certainly didn’t have the sheep. It was 1990. People got high listening to this (proven after digging into the forums and Youtube comments), came-down on this, or reflected on times when they were high and subsequently reached all kinds of new dimensions. There’s a reason those sheep, Tuvan throat singers and mad radio presenters are in here - they're moments you don’t expect, whilst at the same time depicting a vivid new (or old, or imagined) world - a world that is often attributed as a road-trip across the USA. That’s the very reason why the best Ambient music (and Chill-out in its earliest forms) are so powerful. The music transports you.

You could argue this album is just as relevant today than it was back in 1990. It’s no secret that The KLF were rebelling against a society and its norms, and this album was the gift they gave to everyone else suffering at the same time. The idea of a rave society as a form of rebellion was reaching its peak, and where raves existed, often too the come-down and the chill-out room. The album is peppered with political, likely subliminal messaging and samples. It would be easy to slip into a 2019 version of this - it basically writes itself with the crazy political world of 2019, but I chose not to take that route.

The overall idea for this mix has been in my head for a few years now. I got to the point where I decided to try and capture all new field recordings and maybe one day, actually make some music to accompany them. As it turns out, that was way too ambitious. I ended up staying as close to the original album as I could with the premise of not lifting anything from it. I laid the original album down as one track in Ableton, and then started adding music and moments in parallel, eventually removing the original album completely. The tracks I chose vary from classic pieces, to slightly more obscure, and some even released within the past few months.

The end result is a similarly timed and themed reinterpretation of the overall concept, with completely new music and samples. Just two small moments in here use the same sample that ended up in the original KLF recording (as much as we can only assume), but they are used slightly differently in this version. See if you can spot them. After completing the mix, I ended up reading the Discogs listing which does a good job describing the concept of the album, a concept I had coincidentally tried to adhere to.

"Chill Out is a single continuous musical piece having many distinctive sections, each of which either segues into or introduces the next. The album as a whole is a progression, with percussion gradually introduced during the second half. "

"The album has many recurring musical elements, which unify and merge the parts into the collective whole. Common characteristics of most parts include ethereal background synthesizers, the use of echo and pitch bend, samples of nature and transport, and the punctuation of soft synthesizer loops by sudden flourishes of harmonious sound.” - Discogs

I had to stop myself getting meta with the interpretation and remind myself to zoom out every now and then and build this as an enjoyable mix. I could have - in theory - copied every single moment down to a tee with a new or similar sound, but there were some moments that I enjoyed the flow and let it continue. There were moments from the original album that, when taken out of context, you could never even start to replicate in any way. And then there were some that seemed to be reflected nicely with a new piece of music.

Is it as good as the original? No way.
Is it meant for sleeping? Give it a try.
Are there sheep? Not as you know them.
Is this sacrilege? To many of us, maybe.
But so is burning a million pounds 😉

Download MP3

‘Tracklist’

For the best experience, I would suggest listening without looking at the track list first. If you knew what was coming in the original album, would it have been as fun?!

Tracks are listed below in (very) rough order in which they first play. Most of the time 4/5 tracks are playing at the same time. Many tracks are used multiple times at different points in the mix. Plus there are other small samples used that were changed from existence and not listed below.

…

Keep going…

Keep going…

Ourson - Calm Mountain Night
Bartosz Kruczyński - Pastoral Sequences
Ourson - Mountain, Bird, Boo
Chris Watson - El Divisadero
Saariselka - Ceres
Markus Guentner - Sparks
Oneohtrix Point Never - Immanence
The Chi Factory - Part One
Fedor Tau Steppe Kargiraa
Markus Guentner - Express Yourself
Bochum Welt - Canyon Drive
Ernest Hood - Gloaming
Boards of Canada - Dave (I’m a real traditionalist)
Ernest Hood - From The Bluff
Tongues of Light - Healing Side
Priori - 2see
Klimek - Milk and Honey
Akis - The Powers of Pi
Boreal Massif - Weather In August
Heavenly Music Corporation - Cloudless Light
Boreal Network - Cumulonimbus
Ex-Terrestrial - Water Walk
The KLF - Snub TV interview
Bartosz Kruczyński - V
Perishing Thirst - Boshing So High
808 State - In Yer Face (Bicep Remix)
Leo Anibaldi - Universal
Boards of Canada - Ready Let’s Go
Boreal Network - Viewers Like You
Stranger On The Shore - Acker Bilk
Boards of Canada - Apparatus

Full Circle Anniversary and Charity Compilation: now available

We’re very excited to share with you our ten year anniversary compilation titled, Full Circle. This has been well over a year in the making and was due to be released on the exact anniversary of August 26th, (the date of the first blog post in 2008), but due to our need to get a perfect press, it has been delayed a little until now.

The music presented in this compilation is probably the closest distillation of what has inspired ASIP over the past ten years. The ASIP website and its many versions; blog posts; guest mixes; even some of the older archived (now hidden) posts, were revisited to find the perfect tracks to put forward.

There was however, a few limitations in mind: (1) It had to be a track previously written about or featured in some capacity on ASIP from 2008-2018. (2) The track has previously not been released on vinyl. (3) The artist isn’t currently a part of the ASIP label family.

The end result isn’t a compilation of rarities, b-sides or label exclusives that you may have expected at a typical ten year milestone. Instead, it’s a compilation of music that has helped define ASIP as many people know it today. From drone and space ambient; to shoegaze inspired guitars; nostalgic electronica and melodic synthesizer music, Full Circle presents many of the elements that have been captured over the past ten years on A Strangely Isolated Place.

Pressed into the grooves of this record is some of the finest music to grace my ears that I felt passionate enough to feature on ASIP in the past, and now once more on vinyl - Ryan.

To help celebrate the occasion, all profits from this compilation will go to a charity called The Harmony Project: www.harmony-project.org. We felt that investing in and helping the next generation of potential musicians would be a fitting tribute to the overall concept of the release.

In more ways than one, we’ve come full circle.

For more information, links to buy and listen see the release page.

Thank you to all of the artists, labels and everyone involved in bringing this to life.

Ourson - Simple Sanctuary

Luke Hazard, aka Ourson is one of our original ASIP finds, dating back to 2011 when we stumbled across one of his first albums, Warming Plant. This album still remains one of his strongest in my opinion and indeed my favorite (if only for the brilliant opener in, 237). However Luke's latest offering includes tracks from as far back as 2006, ensuring an overlap with the Warming Plant-production-era and a promise of similar-sounding textures. 

Whilst Ourson can also be heard capturing some amazing field recordings in 'Collected Natures', his latest album Simple Sanctuary gets back to the lo-fi, deep and textured recordings that made Warming Plant so special. Just like the artwork depicts, a very subtle, perhaps off-kilter edit on what would be a very innocent scene, Luke's music follows a similar suit. Extended drones harbor amongst echoes and reverb, with subtle melodies punctuating an otherwise dense blanket of rumbling bass, static and distant filed recordings. 

Whilst some tracks, like Gems Of The Dry Season, ring hope and light, others such as Sunbeams Through Treelines portray a more ghostly and ethereal sense. There's often a very deep, driving swell amongst Luke's music, pushing it along into (sometimes) deep-dubby-techno-territory, with  tracks such as We Fell (The Well) immersing the listener into a cloudier, more cotton-wool based Deepchord world. It all makes for a varied and emotional listening experience, invoking the kind of nostalgia you can only get from old equipment, and a musician with his ear to the ground. 

Luke calls is "sci-fi ambient for dusty basement tape decks", and to be honest, I couldn't put it better myself. 

Available on Bandcamp

Portals: Music For Mindfulness

Mindfulness, is undoubtedly subjective and situational. But one thing I’ve noticed, is that most of the material you hear on this topic often has a stereotypical sound; normally new-age, and often yoga or meditation focused with buddhist chanting, or crashing waves. Sometimes, you might be lucky enough to find a sweet-spot with Brian Eno, and with it, you draw a sigh of relief. 

I've often wondered how (or why) hotels and spa's choose their music and how this 'background style' has become so mistakenly synonymous with ambient music. Ask anyone who isn't familiar with ambient music is and they’ll likely say "spa music" or "meditation/yoga stuff". No digs on that type of music, I mean some elements even find their way in here - it's the root to many ambient concepts, and I could sit and listen to the sound of the sea and waves crashing for years on end. But as with all of these Portals series, I try to find and explore a different perspective where possible. 

The goal of this feature and accompanying mix was to create a journey of escapism and comfort. Whereas the previous Portals feature, ‘Music For Sleeping’ could be deemed very similar, the approach here focused on keeping an attentive layer/s that ended up being more pure to Brian Eno’s definition of ambient music: “As ignorable as it is interesting”, which aligns very well with the definition of what it means to be mindful; "the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something”. 

There’s a lot of ambient music that fulfills this goal, so what’s different here? As I was curating tracks for this mix, I found common themes that resonated with me personally when it came to mindfulness, which I tried to reflect throughout, and ultimately formed a filter for what should be included. Perhaps you’ll identify with one or more and can descend into a rabbit-hole of exploration, or hopefully you'll enjoy it as a whole. 

Nature
Field recordings and the pure sound of the outdoors is undoubtedly calming and reassuring. It’s an escape from our busy lives, and a reminder of what’s good in our world. The mix opens with my favorite field recording from Biosphere that somehow encapsulates the exact sound I used to hear from the field behind my childhood house. Nature sounds are a common theme throughout this mix, whether on purpose or inadvertently as an intro or ending to certain tracks. 

Submersion
The warm, blanket-like approach to ambient music is a favorite of mine, often created through analog equipment, or layers of undulating synthesizers that build, wrap and immerse. Markus Guentner, Donnacha Costello, Marcus Fischer, Heathered Pearls, bvdub, and Billow Observatory are just some of the many moments in here that keep you warm and comforted. 

Subtle/subliminal layers
The KLF’s ‘Chill-out’ album is one of ambient music’s most pioneering pieces, and on paper, it really shouldn’t be. The sound of trains, sheep and Elvis Presley are not the first ingredients that come to mind for relaxation, but the key here, is how they’re interwoven into a moving piece of musical art - an undercurrent of subtle moments that on their own would be distracting, but together form a story. They provide moments of interest and escapism - enough to keep one foot in the door, and one foot in a world of your own. I’ve tried to replicate this approach in this mix, by lowering volumes of certain tracks into the background, or including something a little unexpected in a few places, so if you see something you like in the track-list, don’t assume it will feature prominently. 

Choral sounds
Beautiful, emotional choir singing is pretty cliche, but who can argue against it when it comes to feeling good? Whether it’s the religious connotations, or just the simple realization that the sound you're hearing is coming from a person, is as stunning as it is comforting. Moments from Hammock and Jonsi & Alex provide the highs in this instance. 

String instruments
Whether it’s a slowly drawn cello, a harp, or a lone guitar pluck, there’s something about string instruments when it comes to reflecting positivity (and in the right context, ultimate sadness!) However, I often associate these sounds with light - I have no idea why - but perhaps thats why they feature in here so heavily. Be it the acoustic version of Aphex Twin’s ‘Rhubarb’, Mary Lattimore’s beautiful harp, or Kit’s portrayal of a walk on the beach as fireworks light the horizon. 

Strong-sounds can also go to the other end of the spectrum too, with reverb-laden guitar-haze forming complex palettes that you’d normally expect to come from synthesizers. Examples in here being Manual and to a simpler extent, Neozaïre. 

Repetition
We’re creatures of habits, and the beat of the drum is what makes all music so special. When it comes to ambient music, this often comes to life in loops, or slowly evolving textures that do just enough to keep you intrigued, yet are familiar enough to hypnotize and make you feel comfortable. Given its minimal nature, most ambient music is repetitive, but sometimes it can become more evident in its form, for example, a track here Klimek that anticipates each evolution and movement with a similar instrumental pluck of strings. 

Overall, I have tried to avoid anything that can be seen as daunting, intriguing or so vividly different that you switch into new worlds with every track. You may notice some distinct phases throughout the mix, where similar sounds are tied together, and you may prefer certain phases to others, but eventually I hope you finish on an extremely positive note. Just sat here listening back and writing this, I’m feeling better than I was a few hours back...

Thanks to everyone who commented on the original Facebook post with their own suggestions, a few of which made it into the final journey. 

Download.

Tracklist + links to buy/download:

01. Biosphere - As The Sun Kissed The Horizon [Biophon]
02. Ourson - Mountain, Calm Day, Birds, Saw [Self]
03. Brian Eno, Roger Eno, Daniel Lanois - Deep Blue Day [EG / Polydor]
04. Parks - Forest [Self]
05. Kit - Girl Walking on The Beach Wearing A Skirt [A Strangely Isolated Place]
06. Sage Taylor - Raintime Ten [Cold Fiction Music]
07. Bjorn Rohde - Intentionally Gone [Self]
08. Billow Observatory - Calumet [Felte]
09. Hammock - Now And Not Yet [Hammock Music]
10. Heathered Pearls - Glass Routine [Self]
11. Donnacha Costello - This Way [Ursa/Self]
12. James Devane - Rhubarb (Acoustic) [na]
13. Aphex Twin - Rhubarb [Warp]
14. Marcus Fischer - Arctic 2 [Luxus-Arctica records International]
15. Helios - Halving The Compass [Type/Unseen]
16. Yeter - Dart 2 [A Strangely Isolated Place]
17. bvdub - 10 [Self]
18. Markus Guentner - Express Yourself [Kompakt]
19. Leyland Kirby - Polaroid [Ghostly]
20. Martin Glass - Welcome To The Four Seasons [Kit Records]
21. David Bowie & Brian Eno - Moss Garden [RCA]
22. Klimek - Sun Rise [Kompakt]
23. Mary Lattimore & Jefre Cantu Ledesma - Borrego Springs [Soap Library]
24. Brian Eno - Music For Airports 1/1 [Polydor]
25. Jonsi & Alex - Boy 1904 [XL/Parlophone]
26. Neozaïre - Blue Bell Treasure [Fauxpas]
27. Manual - Azure Vista [Darla]
28. Peter Broderick & Nils Frahm - Sketch 24 [Fugues]

If you enjoyed this, dive deeper into ambient music with our in-depth introduction 'Neither Scene Nor Heard: An Introduction to Ambient Music', or some of the other Portals series, below. 

ASIP - Mysteries of the Deep LXVII (Windows at midnight)

I am very honored to be a part of the great Mysteries of the Deep series, which has hosted some of my favorite ambient DJ's and producers over the years. 

The mix I put together was drawn from a scene in my head which involved a kid escaping his bedroom at midnight. After the initial jump down into the garden, the complex emotions as he explores uncharted territory follow. He's scared, intrigued, has a sense of freedom and joy, but knows he shouldn't be out there, as he explores close-by woods, and deserted streets under the yellow hum of street lamps.

A big thank you to Mysteries of the Deep for hosting and to Candace Price for the beautiful accompanying artwork. I hope you enjoy it. 

Tracklist:

01. Ourson - Night Roads [Self]
02. Arovane - Electroacoustic Session 7 [Self]
03. Harkan - Unnamed [Self]
04. 1 Mile North - Broken Corners [Wortcunner]
05. Rafael Anton Irisarri - Abandoned (too soon) [Self]
06. Secret Pyramid - VII [Proposition]
07. High Plains - A White Truck [Kranky]
08. Malibu - Held [PAN]
09. Richard A Ingram - Valehouse 2.2.01 [Medium Format]
10. Arovane & Hior Chronik - Dornenreich [A Strangely Isolated Place]
11. Broken_Canyon - (MISSING) (Sea Of Clouds)
12. 36 - Black Horizon [Self]
13. Steve Moore - Depths Of The Earth [Moon Glyph]
14. Abul Mogard - Unarmored Love [VCO]
15. Paul Wolinski - MidiFlood [Self]
16. Carl Stone - Kuk II Kwan (1981) [Unseen Worlds]
17. bvdub - 01 [Self]
18. Ourson - Night Roads + Carl Stone - Kuk II Kwan