Sa Pa

isolatedmix 125 - Sa Pa (Sleep In)

 

As someone who enjoys the process of putting together mixes- specifically more conceptual ambient leaning mixes- I often think about how I would approach playing an event designed for sleep. I’m yet to play a set like this live, but I did tackle something similar in the Portals series by roughly mixing styles that aligned to specific sleep stages (eg, REM, deep etc). But in person, sleep is never as predictable as hypothetical sleep stages in a recorded mix, let alone the idea of a room full of people mirroring these stages at the same time. To approach an in-person set designed for sleep would be a daunting undertaking, but an extremely rewarding experience for both DJ and listener - the career highlight for an ambient DJ, maybe... They say the warm-up set is the hardest test for a DJ and I would tend to agree. But I’d love to see some of the world’s best DJs execute 3.5 hours of music for a room full of people looking to do the exact opposite of dancing, or even listening, for the entire duration…

Sa Pa has executed this concept flawlessly.

No stranger to the minutia and atmosphere needed to transport someone from a horizontal state into an elevated lucid dream, I can hardly think of anyone better to take control of such a situation than Berlin-based artist, Sa Pa. His latest release for Astral Industries (the undisputed label kings of lucid states, no doubt) is the perfect example of transportive and psychedelic ambient music down to the finest grain of sound, sample and texture.

If Sa Pa’s productions weren’t enough to demonstrate his transportive power and worldbuilding tendencies, then his recent captures from his own Absurd Lustre events, or his mix for one of our 9128.live takeovers, may have provided an additional glimpse of what to expect when he was given the reigns for an all-night sleep in event recently, in Leipzig.

“For years I've kept a mental cache of what music would I'd love to play at a sleep in, but was never really sure if there'd be a chance, so small some dreams came true that night for me too - it was a pretty rare experience I'd say especially with everyone there really taking part in the concept”.

It’s not often we get the chance to host a set from an event that by its very nature, is designed to be experienced in person, but after several trials of this mix (on a plane, going to sleep, and waking up from sleep, then all states in between), the concept translates to an outstanding headphone session and the perfect concept for a defining moment in the isolatedmix series of concepts and sounds.

“I think it was one of the deepest and most solitary DJing experiences I have ever been part of, and driving a three and half hour cloud through the pitch darkness was a beautifully liminal journey, caring for the dreams of those in the room, some 100-200 people or so”.

A 3.5hr liminal state available for your own time and place, in the gentle hands and ears of Sa Pa, displaying the very essence of horizontal ambient music designed to immerse, weave and transport. Featuring tracks from, Luc Ferrari, Zenxen, Pinkcourtesyphone, cv313, Jason Lescalleet, Yann Novak, BJ Nilsen, Robert Henke, Rod Modell, Ryoji Ikeda, Steve Roach and Sa Pa, himself.

Introduction and words from Sa Pa - ‘Diary of a Lonely DJ’:

There’s something about gazing out of a train window or being 30-thousand feet high up in the troposphere, that evokes a feeling of what we try best to describe as liminality. With this in mind, Deutsche Bahn had me scuttling toward Leipzig from Berlin on a typically stark and windy day that could of been taken right out of a Wim Wenders classic; the treetops lining Urbanstraße on the way to Hauptbahnhof looking as stripped and brittle as burnt skeletons in the snow.

Some 8-to-10 degrees warmer in Saxony, I arrived at a city shrouded in mist, with the darkness of the early afternoon somehow made a touch warmer by that first Friday-feeling of the year. Onwards to Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei - a converted cotton mill where this evening’s ‘Sleep In’ would take place - the 14 tram would rumble past the pink and lilac glow of the city’s opera house. Sleep Ins are no new thing, and to be in the arms of the proverbial morpheus with some 200 people in an industrial estate does have its abstract appeal, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a fan of the concept.

Around 6PM, dragging their mattresses in with them, it was encouraging to see people arrive some eight-hours before the witching hour. Tuning in to the event myself, and finding a little respite backstage, I drifted in and out of consciousness, occasionally breaking REM sleep to acknowledge the sounds of “Simple Headphone Mind” and Zoviet France’s remix of Panasonic, reverberating in the hall.

With a medley of lullabies soundtracking the evening so far, preparing selections too deep even for my own Absurd Lustre event, provided a much needed boost of waking life before taking to the couch in the DJ booth. Over the course of the next three-and-a-half hours, in near pitch-darkness, I was able to draw from a rare cache of non-music and atmosphere, embraced at large by a small flotilla of sleeping souls, leaving port to navigate the inner landscapes of a technicolour head trip.

With only the dimmed lights of my equipment and an exit sign illuminating the room, safe to say, it was a resolutely profound DJing experience and deep journey into the estranged fields of time and space. There were moments at the helm where I felt like a small craft adrift in a sea of voluminous black, while simultaneously part of a delicate collective sub-consciousness, sailing through a dream-like abyss. As if bridging a void between the physical world and something beyond the imagination, it was truly a strangely isolated place.

~

Listen on Soundcloud the ASIP Podcast or the 9128.live iOS and Android app

Download MP3

The start of the event, as attendees bring in mattresses ready for the night and Sa Pa’ set.

 

Astral Industries 9128.live Takeover April 4th/5th/6th

 
AI-9128_V4.png
 

*Now updated with Mixes that were posted online after the event*

Our good friends at Astral Industries were set to throw a weekend of music at Cafe OTO in London recently, but had to cancel due to the Coronavirus situation. Instead, we’ve teamed up to present a similar weekend over on our radio station, 9128.live.

During the event, we’ll be asking for a small donation of anything you can spare, to be split between Astral Industries (to help recoup the thousands lost on the cancellation), the artists involved and the South London Refugee Association, who provide expert advice, specialist services and effective support (made even harder given the current situation) to refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants in South London.

See 9128.live for the full schedule and to tune in.

Lineup + details:

Exclusive material:

The Chi Factory premiere new material and future releases on Astral Industries.

Deepchord presents 2hrs of previously unheard ambient works, as well as a 1hr live mix of Immersions, including the previously unheard Immersions III & IV.
A first full play of LF58’s forthcoming album on Astral Industries - Alterazione - out on Monday.

Craig Tattersall, aka The Humble Bee, premieres an hour of new music.

Get a sneak preview of Waveform Transmission’s next LP, V 3.0-3.9.

Wolfgang Voigt presents an hour of music from his unreleased ‘Konstrakt’ project.

Live sets:

Enjoy previously unheard exclusive live mixes from Ligovskoï and Sa Pa.

Listen to a 90 minute live mix from Menion comprising of solely his own productions.

A first airing of Multicast Dynamics’ live set at FOMO Club, Białystok last month.

Sonmi451 digs into past, present and future tracks in a one hour exclusive live mix.

An hour of Tape Loop Orchestra’s own productions, including fresh, unheard material.

Wanderwelle share a specially made one-hour live set, including a track from their forthcoming album.

DJ recordings:

Check out 90 min cuts from both Ario and Guillam’s DJ sets at the Astral Industries takeover of Haimney Gallery in Barcelona back in November 2018.

A first listen back to Chris SSG’s mix from Kizen Records x Astral Industries in Hong Kong in December 2018. 

Claudio PRC dives deep for 2hrs at Ambient Bar x Vurt, Seoul back in September 2019.

An exclusive first play of LF58’s marathon live set at Brancaleone, Rome.

DJ mixes:

Anthony Linell (including an exclusive unreleased track of his own), ASIP (including eight forthcoming tracks on A Strangely Isolated Place), Azim FathiDjilogueEight Fold WayF-onGeorge SovaGrant AaronhemsHVLislasKoen HoetsKoshinLynneo.utlierRefractedRomiSUNA & Unjin.

Mixes posted after the event: