V/A - Touched by Silence

This isn’t the first time I’ve felt compelled to share a release from Touched, but it is the first time I’ve been truly wowed by the effort Martin Boulton has gone to in aid of Cancer Research (and great music).

You can go for the epic end of the scale, and hunt down this wooden CD boxset containing full, new albums by the likes of Future Sound of London, and isolatedmix vets Scanner, Anders Ilar, Autumn of Communion + more, or you can scale it back slightly and get them all on digital (98 tracks). Or, if funds are tight but you still want music by The Orb, James Bernard, HIA, DF Tram, (Ghost), Atom TM + more, then there’s the ‘Touched by Silence The Compilation' featuring a more modest amount of tracks, still all for a good cause. All of the above, featuring designs by The Designers Republic.

I started at the compilation and with just this release alone, you’ve got some of the finest electronic-leaning ambient and ambient electronica of recent years. James Bernard is up there opening up proceedings, before a classic vocal dub track by The Orb, and a hypnotic piece by R&S vet David Morley. I also really enjoyed the DF Tram track, featuring an Orb-esque sample that sounds like an instant classic.

Available on Bandcamp

isolatedmix 70 - DF Tram & Rich-Ears : Solar Flare

Summer has hit, which means I often find myself looking to the balearic side of ambient and chill-out music as the sun glows and the evenings extend. I spent many years on the island of Ibiza, and still hold the island and its associated sound close. Depending on which face of the island you choose of course, you can have two very different experiences, but the one we're talking about here is the magical, spiritual side, often found in the mountains, in hidden chill-out bars on the north-side, and amongst the locals who stay year-round.

No better duo can bring this sound to life than our good friends DF Tram and Rich-Ears. This isn't their first appearance as a duo on the isolatedmix series, with their "Earth Apogee" mix in 2012 bringing their eclectic and sonic appreciations together for the first time. However, this one is a little more special, as it's the first time they've put a set together in the same room,  live, hosted on the island of Ibiza.

Two-hours of meandering downtempo, chill, ambient and balearic inspiration to soundtrack any slow, beautiful summer evening. 

"Our first mix in the same room together. The mix came together magically and organically. Maybe the Ibizan air? Or the audio interference of a Solar Flare? The intro is an ode to old radio programs of yesteryear.... hope you enjoy our journey" - DF Tram & Rich Ears.

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Rich Ears Soundcloud | Twitter | Facebook
DF Tram Soundcloud | Twitter | Facebook

isolatedmix 27 – DF Tram & Rich-Ears: Earth Apogee

It’s been an extended period since the last isolatedmix from Loscil, mainly because i’ve been focused on getting the Places Series off to go a good start. But also, as with all isolatedmixes, they don’t come around too often and I make a conscious effort to reserve the series for producers, DJ’s or artists that have a profound influence on me, be it recently or many moons ago.

Rich-Ears, with his many mixes, tribute sets and mind-bending journeys (half of which have featured on ASIP over the years), definitely falls into this category. His curations are reminders of just how expansive ambient, chill and electronica can be. They are packed full of crate-diggers gems and nostalgic samples. There isn’t a set that goes by without new music to my ears, classics re-emerging or favourites re-imagined.

And like all good journeys, it’s better experienced with a good friend. Rich-Ears’ parallel mind from across the ocean, DF Tram, joins him on this one, to rekindle a very special partnership which was evidently brilliant through their last masterpiece, Lunar Fizz.

This mix, titled Earth Apogee, is another dive into a vivid spectrum of ambient, chill, downtempo and samples that co-exist between two die-hard music fans. Their collections are expansive, their taste immaculate and this mix is a testament to their extensive music libraries and skills in curating a all-immersing musical journey.

Download.

Tracklist:
01. David Axelrod – The Warnings Part 1
02. David Axelrod – The human abstract
03. Carlos Niño -Rabbit Island Featuring Jesse Petersen
04. DF Tram & Future BC -Sonic Breakfast
05. Brian Eno & David Byrne – America is waiting (DF Tram edit)
06. Donovan – Barabajagal
07. Air – Modular mix
08. Ursula Rucker – 7 (feat. M.A.D.)
09. Carlos Ciño and Miguel Atwood Ferguson – Fall In Love
10. Mort Garson – Symphony for a Spider Plant
11. Wild Rumpus feat. Cosmo and Gary Lucas – Tikkety boo
12. Animat – Gogo’s dub (DF Tram & Future BC remix)
13. The Doors – Riders of the storm (DF Tram’s Dirty Windows edit)
14. Sense – Praise
15. Linah Rocio / Gigi Masin – Love Letter
16. Gigi Masin / Charles Hayward – Clouds
17. Daphne Oram – Lego Builds It
18. Kid Koala – Emperors Main Course In Cantonese
19. Abel – Skipping Puddles
20. Small Black – Intro
21. Schubotter – No Healing Through Pharma
22. XNTR – Bell Mountain
23. DF Tram & Future BC – Rue De Musique
24. Unknown – Nude Interlude #1 (Kinky Ladies of Bourbon Street)
25. Lush – Stray (Hole In The Sky Mix)
26. Amorphous Androgynous – Another Fairy Tale Ending
27. Barbarix – With Every Waterfall Comes A Rainbow
28. Dave Greening & Owsey – Purgatory (Owsey cover)
29. Scanner – Sounds Of Love
30. Kid Koala – Vacation Island
31. Eprom – If
32. Loop Guru – Katmandu…Crab People…
33. Ajanta – Perception of Time
34. The Normalites – The Sun Rising (Afterlife Remix)
35. Maps & Diagrams – Jupiter Incidental
36. Pharaoh Sanders – Astral Travelling (Boozoo Bajou Remix)
37. Saturn Never Sleeps – DRK
38. ActivePhaze – Soaring (Deep Haki Remix Pt2)
39. Maurizio Miceli – The Hope
40. The Orb – Pluto Calling (Twinkle)
41. The Beatles – A Day In The Life (Terminus/JFK Edit)
42. The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band – Yellow Submarine

Rich Ears Soundcloud | Twitter | Facebook
DF Tram Soundcloud | Twitter | Facebook
Artwork photo courtesy of Hikaru Funnell http://capturecollect.co.uk/