isolatedmix 119 - Wardown

Not many producers can create new aliases after 10+ years and still manage to drop something completely unexpected and refreshing.

Peter Rogers’ Wardown project did just that in 2020, debuted on the respected Blu Mar Ten label, the self-titled album found admirers from a cross-section of music styles; spanning Jungle, Drum’n Bass and a strong atmospheric element. Wardown / Wardown was consequently one of my most played and admired albums of the year (finding a sweet spot in the Reflection on 2020 and Atmoteka mixes). I found it near impossible to stop the album once it started, as it flowed easily between stories, styles, and sentimental reflection.

Peter is now set to drop his second album under the Wardown alias, simply titled Wardown II, but those who absorbed the nostalgia from his first, will undoubtedly be confident that despite its modest title, the conceptual approach is as strong as ever, and the music will once again be left to do the storytelling.

Continuing with this brilliant reflective approach from the first album, Wardown II can be considered another vivid capture of one of Peter’s undoubtedly many memories he has begun to create with this alias. And just like his productions, his isolatedmix is a natural extension of this approach. As is the case with many producers in this genre, DJ’ing is integral to the culture, so it’s of no surprise for us to be treated to a little bit of a masterclass with this latest installment…

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ASIP: Many people may know you as one half of the d&b duo Technimatic (and even making an appearance as Technicolour on our Energostatic comp which we were proud to host a few months back). Can you tell us a bit about how you got into producing music and your background?

Pete: I started making electronic music in about 2002. I’d been into jungle and drum & bass as a teenager growing up in Luton, and played in a jazz funk band for many years too. But 2002 - after I’d finished studying graphic design at university and moved to London - was the first time I had the opportunity to buy a computer of my own and actually start trying to create stuff with it.

You debuted the Wardown project on the Blu Mar Ten label in 2020. What inspired this new alias after years under others?

I started Wardown because I had quite specific things I really needed to express and put into music that I didn’t have to the opportunity to elsewhere. Technimatic is my main musical focus of attention and I love it, but sometimes there are things unique to you that you need to be able to say, that might not fit within the canon of music you're making as a duo. Things much more personal. I’ve known Chris Blu Mar Ten for many years and have huge respect for the vision and A&R of his label, so it felt like the perfect fit. Thankfully he was really enthusiastic about putting it out.

Vignettes of people talking about your hometown of Luton open your first Wardown album, (which was a surprise for me to hear, as I grew up in a nearby town). How would you describe your formative years there? How did it impact your music?

Luton has a very chequered past. It’s regularly featured in the kinds of ‘shittest towns in the UK’ lists that appear online. It’s been home to the English Defence League, Islamic terror cells, and is generally thought of as a fairly ugly, non-descript town on the outskirts of London that has an awful airport. But as a kid, I had a really good upbringing there. And crucially, being near London and the M25 motorway, back in the 90s it had a very strong connection with rave, hardcore, and jungle music. Legendary hardcore DJ Swan-E was from Luton, Blame was from just down the road in Dunstable, there were pirate radio stations broadcasting the music 24/7 in the area, and most importantly for me, there was an amazing record shop called Soul Sense where as a teenager I spent a lot of my time, learning and being inspired by 90s underground music.

I assume you made several trips to London back in the day like most music lovers living in the Shires, for the big nights and DJs in the capital. Who, or what was your mecca back in the day? And which record stores were you gracing?

Absolutely. Once I was allowed to go into Luton town centre on my own without my parents, it wasn’t long before me and my friends were getting on the train and heading into London to buy records. This was the mid-90s and obviously long before smartphones and the internet, so on several occasions we went with the intention of going to Blackmarket Records in Soho, but ended up coming back empty-handed as we simply couldn’t find it! But eventually, we worked it out and it was always a huge buzz. Section 5 on Kings Road in Chelsea was another favourite.

In 2000 I moved to London and that’s when my real clubbing experiences began. Swerve at The Velvet Rooms on a Wednesday, Movement at Bar Rumba on a Thursday, but the real Mecca for me and my friends was The End. It’s still my favourite club that’s existed and so much of my dance music education happened there. We went to most d&b nights but the key event for us was LTJ Bukem’s Progression Sessions, which ran monthly there throughout most of the noughties. I think I went to every single event from about 2002 - 2007.

The Wardown debut was one of my favorites from 2020. A wide spectrum of sounds, running from lush ambient pieces to extremely energetic tracks. The narrative aspect pulled me in, giving off a nostalgic mixtape type of vibe. It felt like it was a pivotal album for you to get out into the world given how personal the elements contained within were - almost a ‘letting go’ kind of feel?

Absolutely. During the start of 2019 I returned to Luton quite a bit. My granddad, who was the last remaining family member living there, was ill. So I went to visit him at his home, and then the hospital until he eventually died. He was 98 so it was no huge shock, but when I was back there, these ideas started forming in my mind. Luton was my home town but the last remaining Rogers had now left and there was nothing left linking me to it. But despite losing those roots and living away from the town for over 20 years, it still had this strange power over me and I felt a really deep connection. Obviously, some of that was down to simple nostalgia for my childhood. But there was something else tied up in it. Something a bit more complex. And making that first album was an attempt to try and express those feelings.

That first track on that album (Culverhouse) has to be one of the most euphoric moments to kick off an album in recent memory of mine. I was definitely keeping it locked for the remainder after that beginning! What was the intention with the sequencing of the album?

I honestly can’t remember much about the sequencing of the first album. It wasn’t like I made 30 or 40 tracks and then whittled them down and picked my favourites. It’s a 10 track album and I think I made 11 tracks, and decided to ditch one of them. I wanted it to be a mix of jungle and ambient soundscapes as I think despite the two genres being in some ways at the opposite ends of the spectrum, they also work beautifully together. When I was initially buying records in the 90s, I used to be obsessed with the intros and breakdowns of certain jungle records. There was a run of releases on DeeJay Recordings from DJ Crystl and Future Sound Of Hardcore that had these sprawling instrumental openings that I used to play over and over again. And obviously LTJ Bukem and a lot of those early releases on Good Looking Records are on the same page. That aesthetic felt like a really good way to try and manifest the ideas I was having.

According to your first album notes, Wardown is an attempt to capture what the Germans call 'sehnsucht', an "inconsolable longing in the heart for we know not what". Where did this attachment come from?

That quote is from the author CS Lewis, attempting to describe the sense of longing he felt for much of his life. And I’ve been kind of obsessed with that feeling for quite a long time too. ‘Sehnsucht’ is a German term that gets somewhere close and there are others in various languages. But it’s a very hard thing to accurately pin down and describe. I sometimes feel as though to get a sense of it I have to look out of the corner of my eye, as when I try and focus directly on it, it disappears. It’s often a very fleeting feeling brought on by certain scenes in the world, weather, photographs, old films. A kind of bittersweet, melancholy feeling about the past and things that have been lost. But quite often it’s a longing for things I’ve never personally experienced or may never have even happened.

“at its simplest, Wardown II is a vision of the future from the past.”

The new album is a subtle shift in concept from the original and perhaps a continuation chronologically. The nostalgia is still there, but I’m getting a look at the future instead of back like the first album. Maybe the artwork is subliminally pointing me in that direction too. Is this Luton today or in the near future?!

With the first Wardown album I was trying to evoke those feelings of loss and yearning I felt for my home town and earlier life. And that got me thinking about nostalgia in a wider sense and why it’s so alluring, particularly as you get a bit older – but also why it’s so pervasive everywhere you look these days. TV, film, music, advertising, even politics draws on the past, utilises it, and sometimes even weaponises it. It’s an incredibly powerful thing, and for me it can create a strange kind of ‘uncanny valley’ feeling, as though today’s popular culture has become unmoored from history and its once-definitive eras and epochs. So much of what we consume today is full of anachronism, a kind of rehash of what’s come before. I found myself wondering: what happened to the future I imagined when I was a kid?

I think nostalgia is incredibly alluring right now because the future no longer looks bright. We live now with the looming threat of climate change and a catastrophic loss of biodiversity across the world, not to mention war, economic instability and the rise of populism and nationalism. It all feels just too much sometimes, and nostalgia is always there, showing us how better things were in the past – even if the safe, optimistic world it portrays didn’t actually exist in the first place. In that way, nostalgia is dangerous because it stops us looking forward and taking responsibility for the future, with all its challenges – something we all need to do.

Of course, all this is strongly culturally inflected, and when I say ‘we’, I’m coming from a white, Western and affluent perspective; the relationship between nostalgia and progress is likely to be very different for someone born in the global south. But as someone who came of age in Britain in the 90s, the future means a different thing today than it did when I was a child. Back then it felt like there was still a kind of general, unwavering optimism about the coming years, a faith in progress and a belief that society was on the path to an increasingly better place. The fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of communism in the USSR and other Eastern European countries, New Labour, the impending Millennium, which felt like the epitome of all things futuristic – all these things pointed to the fact the future was something to look forward to.

So at its simplest, Wardown II is a vision of the future from the past. I decided to give it quite a strong 1950s / 60s flavour, as to me it seems like that is when the idea of ‘the future’ was at it’s most potent. After the devastation of two world wars came the rise of modernism and its belief that, rather than just being an aesthetic, it could literally improve people’s lives through the creation of a new kind of architecture and design. There were the American and Russian plans to send people into space. Film and TV that painted the future as a shiny kind of utopia, with flying cars, and machines that allowed humans to forget the horrific memories of war and enjoy a life of comfort and leisure.

Samples are obviously a big part of your work (and your isolatedmix). It sounds like your first album was more personal, collected soundbites and samples. And this new album seems a little more abstract in its samples and direction. Can you describe your process for the sample-heavy tracks such as Instant Money? Do you build a track around a sample, go looking for something specific, or have a bank of samples ready to go?

I’ve always been a fan of collage. Art that brings lots of different, often disparate sources together to create something fresh. As a kid I used to cut up catalogues and booklets that came through the front door and make these mad, stuck together images with them. And at university, I was fascinated by the work of artists like Robert Rauschenberg. So when it came to making music, growing up through an era of sample-heavy jungle and hip-hop (‘Entroducing’ by DJ Shadow is one of the most important albums in my life), I adopted a similar technique.

However, with Wardown the approach is slightly different to when I’m working on other things. I initially try and establish quite a strong conceptual starting point before I’ve made any music. I do lots of reading, watch things, and generally think about the world I’m trying to create before anything is made. Obviously things change and develop through the process of actually creating the music, but by starting out like that, I try and attune myself to what I’m looking for, samples wise. It’s like I put little antennas up and then go about my usual life of reading, watching films and documentaries, and listening to music. But because my antennas are up and scanning for quite specific things I’m able to isolate sounds that can potentially work a lot better; sounds that would probably pass me by if I had just been taking it all in in a more general sense. And once I’ve had a strong idea for something I’ll then dive a little deeper, in terms of second-hand records, tapes, online archives and the like.

I’m also a little gutted that Instant Money didn’t make it onto the mix in full here (i hear a quick sample only!) It’s one of my faves and extremely addictive (reminds me a bit of Roni Size’s Dirty Beats in how the vocal burrows deep inside your brain for hours after listening if I dare compare). What was your intention/concept for the mix overall?

The idea for the mix was essentially an extension of what I’ve done with the two albums. A collection of jungle and electronic music combined with longer ambient passages. There are a few personal favourites in there, as well as some lesser-known stuff I thought worked well. I’ve also taken apart elements of some of the music from Wardown II and used that throughout. More collage!

The drum’n bass / jungle mixtape is of course an iconic piece of music culture and by the sounds of it, you’ve perfected your skills at putting one together. Do you consider yourself a DJ? Do you enjoy this aspect of your music?

Well I’ve just come off the back of playing a summer of festival shows as Technimatic, so in that regard, definitely. I do think these days however, there is quite a big difference between being a DJ who plays live shows, and someone who puts mixes together online. Years ago you would just press record and essentially recreate what you do in a live setting. But because of the changes in technology and what you’re now able to do with sequencers, recorded mixes feel like they’ve become a separate thing in their own regard. They definitely are to me, anyway. I love putting together online mixes that pull apart tracks, alter tempos, have multiple elements working at the same time to create something really unique. Maybe a really talented DJ could do it live, but I definitely can’t!

What have been some of your fave mixes over the years that we could go check out? A favorite of all time?

I can’t really discuss jungle and Wardown without mentioning LTJ Bukem’s ‘Essential Mix’ for Radio 1 in 1995. It really was such a defining mix, one that created a kind of blueprint for a whole new musical sub-genre. All the classics are there, and it still sounds fresh and exciting to me. In terms of more recent times, Visible Cloaks’ ‘Music Interiors’ from 2013 is another really important mix for me. It’s a collection of 80s ambient and experimental music from Japan, and it totally blew my mind when I first heard it. The fact there was this huge, rich, inspiring area of music I had no idea existed before listening was really extraordinary. And it just flows so well. I’m eternally thankful for VC for creating it; I’ve played it more times than I can remember.

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astrangelyisolatedplace · isolatedmix 119 - Wardown

Listen on Soundcloud, Mixcloud, or the ASIP Podcast.

Download

Tracklist:

01. Soft Robot - ‘Point Nemo’
02. Kerguelen - ‘Proxemics’
03. Sycamore Investments - ‘Cherry Bomb’
04. Wardown - ‘Stimulus Progression Pattern’
05. LTJ Bukem - ‘Rainfall’
06. Offthesky -‘Insofar, In So Far’
07. Freedive - ‘Watering A Flower On The Moon’
08. Photek - ‘Complex’
09. Ki One - ‘Life At The End Of The World’
10. Micronation - ’Photographs of Clouds’
11. Wardown - ‘The Ideal City’
12. Advanced Sound & Vision - ‘The Engineered Yes’
13. Wardown - ‘Lifespan’
14. Fisher Associates - ‘Scorched Earth’
15. Wardown - ‘Graphite and Glitter’
16. The Architex - ‘Altitude’
17. Creative Innovations Inc. - ‘Stone Tape Theory’
18. r beny - ‘Eistla’
19. Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - ‘Song Of Forgiveness Pt. 1’

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Wardown | Bandcamp | Discogs | Twitter | Instagram

Portals: Atmospheric Drum & Bass Vistas

After we announced Illuvia’s, ‘Iridescence of Clouds’ on the label earlier this year, the nostalgia and admiration for atmospheric Drum and Bass within both myself (and I’m sure many of you) it seemed, was quick to rear its head once again. There were two things I wanted to make sure would happen around the same time of the Illuvia release. First, was inviting Ludvig (Illuvia) to record an isolatedmix with some of his many inspirations behind the record (listen here), and second, to create an in-depth Portals feature on the genre. Not only to keep the conversation going but for me to also learn a thing or two, amongst a style I would never profess to be an expert in.

There are no-doubt many experts on the atmospheric Drum and Bass genre, and indeed, many artists to this day still creating music in this style who would be more than suitable to provide a feature. But there’s been one blog/website that I can draw many parallels to ASIP in approach, that also obsesses over this style of music and became the perfect candidate to help out.

Spyros Papatzitzes began God Is No Longer A DJ in 2012 and the blog has become (like many ‘blogs’ nowadays) a rare gem of a resource on the Drum and Bass genre.

Paraphrasing Nick Horby: “What came first, the music or the obsession?” 

I’ve always had this vague idea of keeping a musical diary to capture blurry memories and reflect on the arrogance and naivety of an earlier life I wasn’t quite ready to leave behind, with drum & bass being the focal point. Thoughts and scribbled notes gradually took the form of this blog, which went timidly online in 2012. Fast-forward to the present, this has been a unique opportunity to connect with some of my musical icons, as well as with many like-minded people across the world and celebrate the music we all love. 

Along the years, the content and the scope of the blog expanded to contemporary music, as well as non-d&b material, mainly ambient and modern electronica; music I enjoy when I am not listening to drum & bass, emphasizing on the ‘encyclopedic’ aspect, if I am allowed this self-indulgent term. - Spyros/God Is No Longer A DJ

It was an easy decision to invite Spyros to help create this Portals feature, and along with his encyclopedic knowledge and passion, he partnered up with an old friend, DJ Sin, whom he used to run a DnB radio show with to provide the Portals-specific mix. For this accompanying journey, all tracks were hand-picked from Spyros' record collection bar three, (‘Callisto’, ‘Icefields of Proxima’ and ‘Exhale’) which are only available in digital format.

When I started listening to drum & bass I was intrigued, inspired and seduced by the faceless mystique and the self-reliant attitude of so many artists and labels exploring this bold new cultural form. That experimental fearlessness, an entry point and an outlier both at the same time, captured a vital moment – one that could probably never be replicated – where no approach was off-limits. In the early 90s, the connections with my musical heroes were the odd dj gig, cassette tapes changing hands, magazines and the liner notes/credits on the record sleeves. Then the internet revolution came, which provided a portal to a (brave) new world and unprecedented access to all of us who had been on the outside looking in.

Tracks with long intros, string sections, artful vocal fragments and long emotional breakdowns, which sometimes had been met with cynicism, became an art form with an elevated degree of musicality, rather than formulaic dj tools to facilitate the transition from one track to another. It’s beautiful music inviting the listener to a long idyllic journey, beyond the walls of a mundane reality. 

So, essentially, this playlist consists of snapshots that capture and reflect various moments from my musical journey in the realm of atmospheric music (and drum & bass in particular) for more than 25 years. To be more precise, as I see purists’ eyebrows raising already, there’s a handful of tracks here that are not bona fide d&b, but I’d still argue that they fit in terms of tempo and overall aesthetic and demonstrate the evolution of the atmospheric sound, explicitly representing a counterpoint to the misconception that drum & bass is a musical genre with emphasis on fast beats, which are resolutely cold and mechanical.

I contemplated too long about which tracks should feature on this list, applying some self-imposed restrictions. If I were to compile this list again, it would probably be different, but I had to draw the line somewhere. On reflection though, every single entry is a track I wish I’d written. - Spyros/God Is No Longer A DJ

We hope you enjoy reflecting upon the greats of the style or discovering something new amongst one of electronic music’s most beloved genre ‘glues’ - whether it’s forming a bridge between Ambient music, Jungle or Dub - Atmospheric Drum and Bass has continued to be a genre loved by the majority of electronic music’s followers in some shape or form, whether they know it or not. Spyros has done an amazing job going into detail on the music included here, so grab your headphones, hit play, and carve out some time to admire the storied commentary behind the music behind one of the genres most passionate writers and collectors.

A big thank you to Spyros, and DJ Sin for the effort and detail.

Listen on Soundcloud, Mixcloud, or the ASIP Podcast.

Download

astrangelyisolatedplace · ASIP - Portals Episode 9: Atmospheric Drum & Bass Vistas

Full Mix Tracklist (Track Notes + introductions + links, ordered by year of official release follow below)

01. Photek – T-Raenon (Op-Art, OP1, 1996)
02. Ulrich Schnauss & ASC – 77 (Auxiliary Music, AUX007, 2012)
03. Akasha ‎– Brown Sugar (PFM’s Cosmic Journey Mix) (Wall Of Sound, WALLT028X, 1997)
04. Bungle – Astral Travel (Soul:r, SOULR060, 2013)
05. Jonny L – Underwater Communication (XL Recordings, XLT74PR2, 1996)
06. Voyager – Apollo (Good Looking Records, GLR027, 1998)
07. Blu Mar Ten – Believe Me (Blu Mar Ten Music, BMT002, 2009)
08. Bop x Synkro – Blurred Memories (Punk’s Not Dead LP, MEDIC41LP, Med School, 2014)
09. Omni Trio – Who Are You? (Aquasky Mix) (Haunted Science LP, Moving Shadow, ASHADOWLP6, 1996)
10. Forme – New Element (Headz 2A, Mo’Wax, 1996)
11. Justice – Aquisse (Pseudo Jazz EP, Basement Records, BRSS54, 1996)
12. Om Unit – Adventures in Eden (Torchlight Vol. 2, Cosmic Bridge, CBR014, 2016)
13. Future Engineers – Exhale (Exhale EP, Transference Recordings, TRF003, 2013)
14. KMC – Space Echo (Partisan Recordings, PART015, 1998)
15. Aural Imbalance – Icefields Of Proxima (Legacy LP, Cadence Recordings, CADLP001, 2012)
16. Seeka – Momento (Modern Urban Jazz 01, Creative Wax, CWLP001, 1997)
17. Intense – The Genesis Project (Earl Grey Remix) (Rugged Vinyl, RUGGED17, 1996)
18. Wax Doctor – Offshore Drift (R&S, RS96103, 1996)
19. Alaska – Jasheri (v2) (Arctic Music, AM009, 2017)
20. Klute – Angel Makers (Read Between The Lines LP, Commercial Suicide, SUICIDELP018, 2017)
21. Boymerang – Soul Beat Runna (Regal, REG14, 1997)
22. Naibu – Opium Lady (Horizons Music, HZN030, 2008)
23. Shogun – Together (Nautilus EP, Renegade Recordings, RR008, 1996)
24. Seba – Dangerous Days (Warm Communications, WARM015, 2009)
25. Eschaton – Callisto (Drum & Space Vol. 2 LP, Omni Music, OMNI016, 2013)
26. dBridge & Instra:mental – Translucent (Sepia Tones EP, Darkestral, DARKESTRAL 004/005, 2009)

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Artwork photo by Spyros P: “I took the original photo on a cloudy November afternoon in 2017. The view is from the hill where Glasgow Necropolis is located, the 19th century Victorian cemetery overlooking the city. The still loosely reminded me of the record sleeve of the Trans-Central Connection, one of the Moving Shadow regional compilations in the 90s and I tried to capture that moment. ”
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Photek – T’Raenon
(Op-ART, OP1, 1996)

Rupert Parkes’ and Kirk De Giorgio’s long-term friendship culminated into a record which introduced, for the first time, the crossover sensibility that earned Photek a record deal with Virgin’s sub-label Science and catapulted him to mainstream fame. Rupert and Kirk used to exchange studio tips and rare records to sample from and ‘KJZ’ from Photek’s seminal ‘Modus Operandi’ stands for Kirk’s Jazz. 

Written for De Giorgio’s imprint Applied Rhythmic Technology ‘T-Raenon’ is a tribute to techno and its Detroit origins within a drum & bass context. The EP includes an elegant extended version, where Photek replaces his signature breaks with techno kick drums and celestial snares that still carry the production prowess and majesty of his previous works.

Omni Trio – Who Are You? (Aquasky Mix)
(Haunted Science LP, Moving Shadow, ASHADOWLP6, 1996)

Robert Haigh is a seasoned musician and one of the most respected artists in drum & bass. Under his d&b alias Omni Trio he enjoyed a glistering, prolific and acclaimed recording career with Moving Shadow, especially throughout the 90s. With five personal albums, dozens of stellar singles, EPs and remixes, including an endless list of drum & bass anthems like ‘Renegade Snares’, he garnered universal recognition and praise from his peers and fans alike, despite keeping a low, often mysterious profile. 

The Aquasky remix is taken from ‘Haunted Science’, Omni Trio’s 2nd album for Moving Shadow. Robert Haigh’s extended artist profile and discography highlights from the blog’s archive here.

Justice – Aquisse
(Pseudo Jazz EP, Basement Records, BRSS54, 1996)

Named after a short-lived dilutable soft drink ‘Aquisse’ is a track with anthemic status and probably the one Justice has been most associated with and he’s proudest of. How the track came about has been well documented; one of those precious moments when it becomes apparent that something special has been created. Justice used to work with Vinyl Distribution at the time, who signed it for Basement Records and a couple of weeks later it was licensed by R&S for their ‘In Order To Dance Vol. 6’ compilation. To celebrate the track’s 15th anniversary in 2010, an Aquisse remix project brought it up to date for a new generation of d&b fans including also the original mix and the ’06 reboot by Justice & Neil Trix. 

‘Aquisse’ is set for a re-release on a vinyl pressing of Justice’s debut album ‘Viewpoints’ this year (fingers crossed!). It was due last year, but circumstances delayed it. It has a fully redesigned artwork and contains all the tracks from the LP on vinyl this time around. Also at some point, there will be a few ‘Aquisse’ re-workings dropping on a limited edition lathe cut.

Shogun – Together
(Nautilus EP, Renegade Recordings, RR008, 1996)

Under the Shogun guise, Oliver Lomax released a string of brilliant classics for Trouble On Vinyl, Renegade and R&S. After signing with Good Looking Records, Lomax adopted the Artemis moniker, which became synonymous with GLR’s deep, atmospheric drum & bass sound, also taking over engineering duties for various GLR artists. He also formed the one-off project Machine with Danny Coffey (Endemic Void) for Creative Wax. The precursor to the Machine project was Shogun’s beautiful re-interpretation of Endemic Void’s ‘Hydrosphere’, the opening track to the ‘Equations LP’. A little fan fact: On the back sleeve production credits of the ‘Modern Urban Jazz’ compilation (CWLP001, 1997) Oliver Lomax is referred to as S. Gunn (a nod to his Shogun alias).

Despite being overshadowed by the undisputed classic ‘Nautilus’ on the flipside, I’ve always had a soft spot for ‘Together’, hence its place in this list. 

Jonny L – Underwater Communication
(XL Recordings, XLT74PR2, 1996)

Inspired by the tectonic shift in sound that paved the way for the emergence of techstep, Jonny L (John Lisners) released his seminal debut LP ‘Sawtooth’ with a glowing return to his hardcore breakbeat origins (he’s been label-mates with The Prodigy at XL Recordings until 1999). Combining the immediacy of techno with the raw edge of drum & bass and delicate synths with retrofitted 303-style acid effects, Jonny L created a drum & bass staple, although apparently it was not premeditated:

“Sawtooth is a mix of sounds I was into at that time. I wasn’t completely sure what I was doing. I knew how I wanted it to sound, so it was a matter of putting that into reality as best I could. I wasn’t trying to make a statement. I was interested in topics like life and space, and using those themes in the music.” – Jonny L

‘Piper’ and ‘Tychonic Cycle’ have been the obvious hits from ‘Sawtooth’, however, it’s ‘Underwater Communication’ (taken from the 2nd part of the promotional 10” single series) which has resonated with me the most. When dolphins sing …

Wax Doctor – Offshore Drift
(R&S, RS96103, 1996)

Wax Doctor (Paul Saunders), who started djing in the late 80s juggling part-time mixing and a promising footballing career (!), eventually made his discography debut on Basement Records in 1992. One of the originators of jungle techno, with clear Detroit influences instilled into his productions, alongside recording partner Alex Reece, Wax Doctor helped into shaping the early sound of Metalheadz, Precious Material and Creative Wax, before drifting towards the mellower and jazzier side of the spectrum for Talkin’ Loud and R&S.

“I've played abroad and people try to dance to the actual breakbeat, but it's the soul inside the breakbeat you have to go for. Some jungle tunes are slower than garage, and if you can't hear it, I think you haven't got any soul”. – Wax Doctor

In a plethora of classics, I’d argue that ‘Offshore Drift’ is Saunders’ magnum opus and can be also found into his retrospective compilation ‘Selected Works 94-96’ (R&S, 1998).

Intense – The Genesis Project (Earl Grey Remix) (Rugged Vinyl, RUGGED17, 1996)

Intense (Dan Duncan, Simon Vispi & Beau Thomas) have been one of the most innovative and exciting production outfits that have graced drum & bass. From their UK hardcore origins to their live PAs accompanied by a full band under their brand name, their sound has been rich with ingenious and ground-breaking ideas, even when electronic dance music was limited to standard analogue sounds. Their unique studio approach, the polar opposite of calculated austerity, mapped jazz free form sensibility into a drum & bass context, sprinkled with the stardust of avant-garde ambience and nouveau funk, ripping the seams of technology and recasting the fragments into new alluring shapes and structures.

Transitioning from the hardcore fringes to the emerging drum & bass sound, Intense made a statement of intent applying a cinematic outlook to their productions for Rugged Vinyl. Drawing inspiration from a wide palette of sounds, from cult sci-fi and horror films (‘Predator’, ‘Army of Darkness’) to Enya’s dreamy pop, Aaliyah’s and Mary J Blige‘s diva vocal lines, they forged an idiosyncratic yet distinctive musical profile, which cemented their reputation. However, it would be their jazz and rare groove aesthetic influences that would open the door to fame and a worldwide audience.

Counter-intuitively, I have chosen the Earl Grey remix instead of the original version of ‘The Genesis Project’, partially because it featured in one of my favourite mixed CDs (LTJ Bukem - The Rebirth); every track from that mix could/should be on this playlist.

Forme – New Element
(Headz 2A, Mo’Wax, 1996)

Forme is the recording moniker Richard File (aka DJ Aura) used for one of the most venerated atmospheric d&b classics of the 90s ‘New Element’. He later resurrected the project for Adam Freeland’s Marine Parade label. Originally hidden in the Mo’Wax ‘Headz 2A’ compilation and featuring on the mixed CD version of ‘Logical Progression’, as well as on Bukem‘s legendary 1996 Essential Mix (BBC Radio 1, 24-03-1996), ‘New Element’ has recently got a new lease of life with a new track on the flip-side by the Russian label Okbron. Another previously unreleased track from that mix and well-sought after by Bukem aficionados (‘G-Force – Proximity’) is also available now from Okbron.

Seeka – Momento
(Modern Urban Jazz 01, Creative Wax, CWLP001, 1997)

Justice is credited with the discovery of the unsung, but incredible talents of Seeka (Alex Blyth); the electronic reverie ‘Momento’ being my personal highlight from the ‘Modern Urban Jazz LP’. Blyth’s discography debut, as ½ of the production outfit Protaflight, had been released by the obscure Basement offshoot Test Press Records. Although Seeka’s releases have been only a handful (for Modern Urban Jazz, Terry Wilson’s Funk 21 and Nu Directions), each and every-one is outstanding.

“Seeka I had discovered early in the year in a studio I was using at the time in London called ‘New Age’. I had arrived early for my slot one evening and found a young guy producing some of the most interesting d&b I had heard for a while. I subsequently released two of these tracks as a 12”, MJAZZ 004, ‘Divers’ and ‘Wasteland’ and still had a track left on the DAT which was ‘Momento’, so it was an easy choice to include it, as along with all his productions it was some of the most challenging and different d&b around that time. Just as a side note, when I refer to the music now as d&b, I never really considered it much then. I know that may sound strange, but I think we always operated as outsiders, I personally always felt on the outside looking in, which is why the Glider-State track was called so. It was always much more about the vibe of the track and its sound, texture and how they fitted together or sounded alongside one another. Seeka’s stuff was just that, I never heard it and thought that’s a stunning d&b track, I always just thought that’s a great sounding track that fits in with the ethos of what we were doing or are about” – Tony ‘Justice’ Bowes

“Seeka casts his mind back, a memory that is a soundscape created by melodic strings and electro funk beats” – MUJ Liner Notes

Akasha ‎– Brown Sugar (PFM’s Cosmic Journey Mix) (Wall Of Sound, WALLT028X, 1997)

“I am the first word in motion, my moments are eternities…”

PFM (stands for Progressive Future Music) is a drum and bass outfit synonymous with the atmospheric and mellower side of drum and bass. PFM were formed in Suffolk by Mike Bolton and Jamie Saker, after meeting with Bukem in the early 90s, who eventually convinced them to enter the studio a few years later. They returned the favour with a string of seminal classics for Bukem’s labels. Around 1997, Saker left PFM and Bolton effectively continued the project solo with remarkable success, establishing himself as one of the most in-demand cross-genre remixers. PFM has remixed: Art Of Noise, Lisa Moorish (Saker is credited also for the remix of ‘Love For Life’), David Holmes, Mandalay, Mulu, Eat Static, Trickbaby, Espiritu, Forces Of Nature, Lil’ Louis & The Party and Akasha.

Akasha (Charlie Casey & Damian Hand) formed in 1994 in Brixton and released their debut EP on Wall of Sound the same year. Following a performance at Glastonbury’s Jazz Stage, Akasha released the singles ‘Spanish Fly’ and ‘Brown Sugar’, foreshadowing their acclaimed debut album ‘Cinematique’, with guest appearances by Maxi Jazz from Faithless and Neneh Cherry, who deliverd a stunning cover of Guns ‘n’ Roses’ ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’.

PFM’s ‘Cosmic Journey Mix’ retains esoteric lyrics and stylishly captures the emotional gravity of the original.

Boymerang – Soul Beat Runna
(Regal, REG14, 1997)

I can hardly recall a producer who’s had a brief spell at drum & bass and left such an indelible musical print other than Boymerang. Graham Sutton, member of the post-rock band Bark Psychosis turned Grooverider’s acolyte, has been a purveyor of an apocalyptic breakbeat noir. ‘Soul Beat Runna’ is the lead single from Boymerang’s ground breaking album ‘Balance of The Force’, released on Regal (a part of EMI Group) and features on the menu of the main FIFA Series, France ’98 video game (by EA Sports).

I have found an excerpt of Sutton’s comments on the making of the iconic drum loop in my digital archives. Sadly, I don’t remember where I copied it from (DOA perhaps), so I apologize for not properly crediting the original source:

“You'll have to throw your mind back to a time before computers were audio-manipulators, to when everything was hand-made in a hardware sampler, and the computer was merely a MIDI sequencer. The gear at the time consisted of:
Atari ST running Cubase
Emu E4 - 16 outs
Roland JV1080
Boss SE50
Mackie SR24:4
Sony Portable DAT
...and that was pretty much it!

Step 1: got the original Amen Break, played at original speed, and hand-chopped it in the E4 up into *every* constituent hit, including tiny-tiny flams etc etc.

Step 2: sequenced all the fragments, moving the pieces by the tiniest of amounts, so they played identically time-wise to the original.

Step 3: Using the timing refs from step 2, replaced all the sounds (still at old school original tempo). Only rule was no sound could come from a break that I'd heard already used. You can probably spot at least a JV ride in there.

Step 4: Kept engineering different layers of background noise etc etc, till it sounded "new but old", at least to me.

Step 5: Re-sampled the whole break to DAT, then dumped it back to the E4.

Step 6: Replay back at sped up DnB speed to check for tone and vibe etc. Usually this would then involve going back to Step 3.

Step 7: CHOP CHOP CHOP - one new break to use!

Hehe, it sounds like an easy operation written like that, but honestly, it was fucking time consuming. Probably took a week or two till I was happy. I was so happy when I started hearing others using it, starting with Dilinja's Silver Blade, as I'd left a couple of free bars of just the break in the track, so it could grabbed …”

Voyager – Apollo
(Good Looking Records, GLR027, 1998)

Pete Parsons’ musical career started around the dawn of 90s as an in-house producer, remixer and sound engineer at the famous ‘Monroe Studios’ based on Holloway Road, London and has been involved in production and engineering for a large cross-section of musical styles for many different labels, including the likes of Dee Jay Recordings, Lucky Spin, Moving Shadow, Impact, Suburban Base, Soapbar, Proper Talent and Sound Entity. In 1994, Lucky Spin Records relocated from King’s Road (the premises were taken over by Moving Shadow setting up their own record shop and sub-label Section 5) to Holloway, next door to the Monroe Studios and Parsons soon became the main engineer for Dee Jay & Lucky Spin. After a string of collaborative releases (under various monikers alongside Slipmaster J), Parsons adopted the Voyager recording guise for his productions. With tracks garnering anthemic status at the ‘Speed’ club nights hosted by Bukem and Fabio, it was only a matter of time until he recorded for their labels. The cinematic and breathtaking orchestral strings of ‘Apollo’ render it one of GLR’s finest moments.

Spearheading a more streamlined approach to drum & bass, the artwork has been in tandem with the musical output; futuristic, unconventional and thought-provoking. The sleeve design by Propeller Studio is self-explanatory and depicts blurry parts of the inscriptions on the ‘Voyager Golden Records’, which are two phonograph records that were included aboard both ‘Voyager’ spacecrafts launched in 1977. The records contain sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth, and are intended for any intelligent extraterrestrial life form, or for future humans, who may find them. Those records are considered as a sort of a time capsule. Had it been recorded 20 years earlier, ‘Apollo’ could easily feature on the discs; drum & bass’ future legacy.

KMC – Space Echo
(Partisan Recordings, PART015, 1998)

A short-lived, but highly influential label, Partisan was formed by the former Moving Shadow managing crew under Derek Birkett’s One Little Indian Records wing. Sustaining  the quality standards established at their previous posts, the ethos of the new label was to champion distinguished production and artists who were possibly overlooked for not being within the high-profile glittering circle (history, label profile and discography highlights here).

KMC (Keith McKnight) has been the first d&b producer from Scotland to release a d&b record, as well as a owner of Drastik Plastik Records, the mastermind behind the ‘Jungle Book’ d&b events in Edinburgh and artistic supervisor of Temple Music. Regrettably, he abruptly left drum & bass at the end of the 90s due to wranglings with GLR over their record deal; however every single one of his productions is an atmospheric d&b staple and ‘Space Echo’ for Partisan is one of the highlights. In 2009 he launched the digital label Micro Deep Beats offering a bundle of older unreleased tracks for free, as well as new material.

Naibu – Opium Lady
(Horizons Music, HZN030, 2008)

French producer Naibu’s (Robin Leclair) meteoric rise to drum & bass came in 2008. His talents were readily picked up by Fabio’s Creative Source and Horizons Music, the latter becoming Naibu’s creative home in the following years. 

‘Fireflies EP’, where ‘Opium Lady’ is taken from, has been the prelude to his sophomore self-titled album, which was released a year later with a similar artwork concept and the lead track was remixed by Seba. The Japanese culture references are ubiquitous in the graphic illustration designed by Foldesign. The title of the EP is inspired from the emotionally draining 1988 Japanese animated war drama ‘Grave Of The Fireflies’ and the geisha portrait in the sleeve completes the concept.

Blu Mar Ten – Believe Me
(Blu Mar Ten Music, BMT002, 2009)

A few weeks before the official release of the album, I had a casual online conversation with Chris Marigold, which turned out to be prescient; he had been booked on late October 2009 to play Athens for the first time in light of the ‘Natural History’ promotion tour. 

‘Believe Me’ is the lead single and a highlight from Blu Mar Ten’s ‘Natural History LP’, paying homage to Steve Reich (the main riff is sampled from Reich’s ‘Music for 18 Musicians’). The emotionally draining and intimate vocal hook is sampled from The Carpenters’ ‘Tryin' To Get The Feeling Again’. The song was recorded in 1975 but was not officially released until 1994 for The Carpenters’ 25th anniversary. A cover version by Barry Manilow became a hit in 1976. Blu Mar Ten aficionados will recognize the vocal from an older Blu Mar Ten track ‘The Feeling’ (released on Deep Structure, 2003).

A 2-part remix package was commissioned the next year, featuring remixes by Klute, Seba, Stray, Bop (who contributed a microfunk re-interpretation of ‘Believe Me’), Kastle & Badmammal. The alluring hand-painted imagery sleeve illustrations of the first singles as well as of the next BMT projects are designed by ithinkitsnice. 

An inside view into all Blu Mar Ten albums from the blog’s archive here.

Seba – Dangerous Days
(Warm Communications, WARM015, 2009)

Blade Runner and Vangelis’ musical theme have been the unofficial sample pack for electronic music, but if you are looking for a captivating d&b rendition, then look no further. Seba is one of the genre’s most prolific and consistent artists, having recorded literally for every label that matters; with a signature sound that effortlessly sways from the deep and emotive corners to the darker edges of the d&b spectrum. ‘Dangerous Days’ is the second in a string of releases (7 to the time of writing) for the finest Texas-based outlet Warm Communications.

dBridge & Instra:mental – Translucent
(Sepia Tones EP, Darkestral, DARKESTRAL 004/005, 2009)

In 2007, Instra:mental signed with Darkestral Recordings, the eclectic leftfield drum & bass label run by Paul Laidlaw aka Rico Drkstr. Though short-lived, Darkestral introduced cinematic aesthetics, with outstanding releases, supplemented with bespoke vinyl art and packaging. The label’s ethos is summarized in the maxim: “170… respect the speed limit”. Instra:mental found their natural habitat and forged their own musical path with a string of ground-breaking records. 

The pinnacle of their Darkestral discography has probably been the ‘Sepia Tones’ EP (where ‘Translucent’ is taken from), co-produced with dBridge; literally a musical artifact, which foreshadowed the emergence of the ‘Autonomic’ movement. ‘Sepia Tones’ was published in three vinyl variations limited to 500 copies (one in plain black, one in gold and black and one in sepia; the latter probably the most collectible and sought after version) beautifully packaged in reversed heavy board sleeves, coloured pantone black, both inside and out, with gold foil block logos and lettering front and back.

Instra:mental’s discography highlights, profile, interview excerpts, and the background story of ‘Photograph’ from Sepia Tones narrated by Damon Kid Drama has featured on the blog’s ‘Tracks I Wish I’d Written’ here.

Aural Imbalance – Icefields Of Proxima
(Legacy LP, Cadence Recordings, CADLP001, 2012)

Another label that gracefully and unabatingly championed the atmospheric d&b movement in the new millennium is Cadence Recordings; part of the movementinsound music group and home to a wide array of veteran and new producers.

Aural Imbalance (Simon Huxtable) has been a stalwart of atmospheric d&b, who has also broadened his repertoire to accommodate for a more nostalgic electronic sound drawing from his rich production palette. ‘Icefields of Proxima’ is taken from his debut album ‘Legacy’, which is rather poetic, as Cadence is  the label Simon’s recording career started from. ‘Legacy’ is a mixed album, as it has been Simon’s intention from the start; each individual track is part of a larger story.

“I have put my heart and soul into every track with a nod to the past and an eye to the future, in terms of both production and sound. I find it poignant that ‘Legacy’ has found its natural home, as it were on Cadence Recordings, which is where my astral d&b adventure started many moons ago. It's with this in mind that the artist wishes you the listener, a deep and atmospheric voyage with both Cadence and myself! Enjoy” – Legacy liner notes

ASC & Ulrich Schnauss – 77
(Auxiliary, AUX007, 2012)

James Clements (ASC) and Ulrich Schnauss are two of my all-time favourite producers, purveyors of the finest electronic music. Their musical paths had crossed in the past (they had both signed tracks with Good Looking Records in the early 00s) and apparently they were both into each other’s music, so the collaboration seemed inevitable. The title ‘77’ refers to another thing James and Ulrich have in common: their year of birth. 

“It's always been my lucky number too due to that, and I know Ulrich has used it before with his Ethereal 77 project, so it seemed like a natural choice for our first collaborations” - ASC

Beyond the confines of drum & bass, despite being written within the 85/170 framework, ‘77’ is an elegant and adept study of modern electronica. James’ and Ulrich’s long-term dalliance with vintage synths is omnipresent, evoking IDM memories of times past. 

A feature dedicated to ‘77’ as part of the blog’s ‘Tracks I Wish I’d Written’ series is available here.

Bungle – Astral Travel
(Soul:R, SOULR060, 2013)

Soul:R was created by Marcus Intalex and S.T Files in 2001 and soon became the focal point for drum & bass in Manchester and beyond. With an impressive back catalogue and home to some of the genre’s most influential artists, the label is now dormant due to the untimely death of Marcus in 2017. In his loving memory, the ‘Marcus Intalex Music Foundation’ has been established; a cultural hub for Manchester’s electronic music scene and a platform to support and nurture talent in many aspects of music development (Read more about MIMF here).

‘Astral Travel’ (b/w ‘Aura’) is one of the label’s finest moments; in fact I still haven’t decided which side I like the most. Written and produced by one of Brazil’s first-class d&b ambassadors Bungle (André Oliveira Sobota), it was released as part of the 10th soul:R anniversary celebrations.

Future Engineers – Exhale
(Exhale EP, Transference Recordings, TRF003, 2013)

Future Engineers are among my all time favourite producers and have made their name synonymous with the ‘atmo-tech’ pole of the d&b spectrum (alongside Blame, ASC etc.). An exclusive interview with Lee Batchelor, when he was our guest in Athens, Future Engineers’ artist profile and discography highlights are available from the blog’s archive here, so I’ll pick up narrative after Keir and Lee went their separate ways (ca 2007) and Future Engineers became Lee’s solo project. 

Lee launched Transference Recordings in 2010 to release new Future Engineers material. ‘Exhale’ is the lead track of the eponymous EP on Transference, which marks a shift towards more experimental and dystopian avenues. Lee explains:

“I consciously set out to have a variety of styles on the compilation. The bulk of the tracks are primarily aimed at the dance floor but tracks like ‘Exhale’ and Dystopia’ have given me the opportunity to experiment a bit more with the music and the beats. It is quite nice to work on music and not have the restraints of ‘dance floor compatibility’ in the back of your mind. So, I would like to work on some more experimental releases going forward. The flexibility of digital I think also gives you more freedom to experiment” 

Eschaton – Callisto
(Drum & Space Vol. 2 LP, Omni Music, OMNI016, 2013)

One of those labels that have consistently carried the torch of atmospheric drum & bass is Omni Music. The ‘yin & yang’ logo encompasses the vision and ethos of the label: the symbol of dualism, the vicious pendulum between light and dark, reality and fiction, hope and despair, where seemingly contradicting forces actually interconnect and counterbalance. 

Eschaton (Chris Wright) is Omni Music’s founder; a prolific producer and an avid fan of the album format (he has released 21 LPs at the time of writing). Concepts and themes usually revolve around science fiction, cosmology objects and dynamics, real and imaginary travels, as well as the mysteries of the universe that have regaled human imagination for centuries. His affinity for sci-fi literature and cult horror films is demonstrated in his latest venture; book writing. The third and final part of his ‘Survival’ series is out now and the accompanying OST is available here.

‘Callisto’ is taken from ‘Drum & Space Vol. 2’ and the track title refers to the second-largest moon of Jupiter. It is the third-largest moon in the solar system after Ganymede and Saturn's largest moon Titan. Through a telescope, Callisto is brighter than our Moon, due to its surface made up of a very thick layer of ice.

Bop x Synkro – Blurred Memories
(Punk’s Not Dead LP, MEDIC41LP, Med School, 2014)

After 13 years and over 90 releases, Med School completed their natural cycle last year. Med School has been the sister label of Hospital Records and started as a platform to promote new talent, groom them for the main label and accommodate for music that wasn’t exactly suitable for the Hospital sound. Bop is one of the most prominent ‘graduates’ of a special project that in some cases I’d dare say it outclassed the parent label.

Entering a grey area, where the lines between genres become vague, ‘Blurred Memories’ is taken from Bop’s 3rd personal album playfully titled ‘Punk’s Not Dead’ featuring the Autonomic star (and owner of Synkro Music and SK1 record shop) Synkro, who brings new influences to the  ‘microfunk’ sub-genre and beyond.

Om Unit – Adventures in Eden
(Torchlight Vol. 2, Cosmic Bridge, CBR014, 2016)

A keen music scholar and a significant presence in various bass music circles from hip-hop to drum & bass, Jim Coles adopted the Om Unit moniker to re-imagine and cross-breed new sonic tropes, mapping the stylistic links of jungle and footwork with a series of edits, which drew the attention of the drum & bass scene.  In 2011 he set up his own label Cosmic Bridge as a platform for his own material and like minded-artists. Operating on the fringes of various musical styles, Om Unit has methodically enfolded the endless possibilities of bass music under the Cosmic Bridge umbrella. 

After two decades in London, Coles relocated to Bristol in 2015. From his new studio on the English west coast he continues his search through production work and aesthetic exercises. ‘Adventures in Eden’ is taken from the second volume of the ‘Torchlight’ trilogy.

Alaska – Jasheri (v2)
(Arctic Music, AM009, 2017)

Paradox (Dev Pandya) in an older interview cited Future Bound’s ‘Blue Mist’ (Timeless Recordings, 1996) as an inspiration for his early Alaska ambient jungle material. In 2006, Pandya released his second album titled ‘Arctic Foundations’ on 13 Music (a Vibez Recordings’ subsidiary), which foreshadowed the creation of Arctic Music the same year as an exclusive platform for future Alaska recordings. The original version of ‘Jasheri’ was released in 2014 and has been reissued 3 years later with a heartbreaking alternate version (which features in the mix). I can’t help imagining Kiyomi’s fragile and whispery vocals somewhere in the breakdown.

Klute – Angel Makers
(Read Between The Lines LP, Commercial Suicide, SUICIDELP018, 2017)

A certified album artist with a rare consistency that spans more than two decades, Klute (Tom Withers) has opted for full-lengths as a means of artistic expression, although he could get away with releasing music for pretty much any label he deemed fit.  ‘Read Between The Lines’ is Klute’s 8th studio album; a distraction, refuge and personal remedy from the white noise and political hysteria of his surroundings and encapsulates the artistic maturity and versatility of an artist that has defied trends, formulas and genre confines. Renowned for his unique talent to instill a multitude of influences in his productions, from his punk/hardcore origins to techno, house and dub, Klute’s broad repertoire abounds with incredibly inspirational music.

‘Angel Makers’ is taken from ‘Read Between The Lines’ and is a tribute to Brian Bennet’s ‘Rock Dreams’ closing vignette.  I also attach Withers’s poignantly prophetic comment that captured the vision and essence of the album and still sounds as relevant as ever:

“We can’t take things at face value. Work out what people are getting at, question their motives. We’re being led down a dark garden path. Something suggests to me that this was the plan all along” – Interview for UKF, March 2017

isolatedmix 107 - Illuvia

It’s not often that we get ASIP artists to contribute with isolatedmixes, but Ludvig’s journey with his Illuvia alias revives a love for the Drum and Bass genre in all of us electronic music fans, triggering the emotion, highs, and nostalgia that so often comes hand-in-hand with the atmospheric side of DnB.

Ludvig’s upcoming LP as Illuvia (Iridescence Of Clouds) sits at the apex of both ambient and Drum and Bass - somehow quenching the thirst of both sides whilst inciting something new and exciting. After being a part of this journey with Ludvig over the past few years, we got talking about the many inspirations behind the album and I urged him to put together this mix for us all by way of further insight into the album. I will leave the rest of the introduction to Ludvig, as he has taken the time to pen an intro to the mix; the inspiration behind it, and how it connects to his upcoming release.

What I will say, however, is the exact same as the comment I left on the original Illuvia album on Bandcamp back in 2017… “LTJ Bukem, eat your heart out”!

“

I’m not too big on genre definitions per se – I prefer to describe music in terms of its emotion and energy, its flavors and colors. But when talking about music it is also helpful if we use these definitions to simplify the description process. If I say atmospheric drum & bass (or ambient jungle if you like), everyone who has an interest in electronic music knows what I’m talking about. Genres are funny though – they seem to gather their own momentum and become these overarching stylistic markers that many artists (myself included) then allow to color or even define their own unique expression, making it fit within these imaginary boundaries defined by the ones that came before – the ones who broke new ground. I’m all for staying true to one’s inner vision, and I’m also particularly fond of the aesthetics of atmospheric drum & bass, which have influenced my work from a young age. There are probably many reasons why.

During my teenage years, I was experiencing perpetual anxiety and slipping deeper and deeper into depressive states of mind. Few things had the power to reach me and lift me out of such states (at the time; being alone in nature, getting lost in music, or complete physical exhaustion basically). I remember one time in particular when I was experiencing deep anxiety, staying in an apartment with friends who lived in the city. We had been drinking and getting high, and this only exacerbated my anxiety. I always carried my portable CD-player and had brought with me a couple of newly purchased Good Looking Records compilations. I went to lie down on the floor somewhere, put my headphones on, and slipped into another world.

Gently I was lifted out of the panic that was gripping my heart and into a world full of wonder. The contrast to my previous state was extreme. The body was relaxing while I was traveling in astral realms defined by emotion and color. The senses merged, the music became visual. Of course, this experience was enabled in part by a chemically induced altered state, but I have later traveled in similar ways without that component, and I would definitely say that the experience is even more profound when you learn to just use the focus of your mind. The music becomes a bridge, letting you cross over from your present, often very limited state (such as believing that you are a person in a body), into greater awareness of the limitless nature of existence. Why do people love these experiences? Because they are natural.

Back to atmospheric drum & bass in particular, and those qualities embodied within it that my heart will always stay warm to (and, by the way, all of this is naturally my subjective interpretation and rather fluid as such).

Primarily, it is the lightness, playfulness and childlike wonder that I gravitate to so deeply. There are drum & bass tracks that are nothing but pure, distilled joy and wonderment (a few by Artemis come to mind). It’s quite rare to find artistic expressions of pure happiness among all the (man-made) troubles of the modern world. When artists “in” this genre are exploring other states in their expression, such as sadness, loneliness, longing, desolation etc., these are approached in a refreshingly non-personal way and instead interpreted more cinematically. It seems to be all about taking on a grander view of life, of existence, and the personal drama is simply not that significant in the cosmic scheme of things (thankfully). Along the same lines, there seems to be a near-total absence of “coolness” or attitude to this particular style of music, which makes me think that the intent is more about sharing a positive experience rather than that of impressing someone. Of course, not always true and definitely not exclusive to this genre (!), but it just seems peculiarly prevalent in my view. Less “look at me!” and more “look at this amazing view!”.

Possible Worlds a track by Moonchild (aka Nu-Moon) expresses some of this in the title, nicely depicted by this YT video:

Look how small we are. Look how grand this whole thing is. But contemplating this doesn’t make you feel small – perhaps only momentarily while you shift out of your familiar world and assume a more expansive outlook. Keep going and you will begin to feel cosmic. You will become an empty space full of wonder (or realize that this is what you were all along).

Back to little me. As I was already producing music at the time of the ‘atmospheric out-of-body-experience & bass’ described before, I naturally began to make my own attempts of creating these types of tracks. My musical journey started as a drummer so I was innately in love with intricate fast-paced breaks – and who on earth doesn’t love a massive sub? (Probably some, however difficult that is to fathom...). My own earliest adventures in the genre worthy of release eventually saw the light of day via this compilation released by Omni Music UK:

Chris ‘Eschaton’ Wright has been a big supporter of this side of my work, so I’m happy that this compilation remains in archives of his prolific label. And yes, Ziyal is named after a character in Star Trek: Deep Space 9 (not that you asked, but in case you would ever wonder about it!). She’s a beautiful though sadly short-lived character that bridges two opposing worlds with her childlike, open heart, and so I felt it fitting that she would be commemorated in my atmospheric drum & bass explorations. After creating a double album of epic proportions together with my brother-in-sound Bass’Flo (aka Sinius), the climax of Ziyal consolidated as the album No World But You released by another brother-in-sound and longtime supporter of my work – Kian Asamoah, operating Noisy Meditation:

A few solar cycles later, it was time for renewal. Letting two long time monikers go to rest (Alveol and Ziyal), I had no name for the new music that was coming through full-force, as the later on titled Illuvia (Exaltation) materialized during an all-night session. Somewhat lost in the dark at the time, I wasn’t very happy with it afterward and pretty much left it aside. The new music kept flowing and eventually the entire Illuvia debut album had arrived, along with this name that for me personally carried the meaning “path of illumination” or “path of light” (I have later found other meanings within it).

Years passed, and after a couple of fruitless attempts at getting this debut album pressed to vinyl, I finally decided to release it digitally on my own. At the very final stages of that process, I happened to uncover that initial version of the Illuvia track and decided to throw it on as the finale with the epithet (Exaltation). But this is turning into quite the novel, so let me conclude by taking a breath, and re-center in the present moment.

Why am I writing this? Ah yes, the mix and the new album. So, I wanted to compile a mix consisting mainly of tracks I listened to during those early years of discovering and exploring this style of music through buying CDs in local record shops. First off, there are so many gems that I couldn’t fit into this mix unless it would have been 8 hours long. It was emotionally painful to make some of these decisions – a testament to the love I feel for these pieces of sonic art that have accompanied me through life. The main inspiration behind the mix is the desire to share the experience of stepping back and taking in a grander view of life and existence, as is so emotionally articulated by Ellie Arroway in the intro (a fictional character in one of my all-time favorite movies).

And the ‘Iridescence of Clouds’ album… what is it about?

So many things. So many points connecting there (though I feel like maybe I didn’t quite manage to tie them together). Mainly, I think I’m still chasing those grand visions I had in my youth, and have had ever since… those feelings that are too vast to fit within any known definitions or boundaries, but still can only be expressed through a process of limitation. The decision to explore a certain stylistic direction is one such limitation, and it seems to be one that ignites my inspiration. It feels like there is more depth and new vistas to explore in those atmospheric worlds of big harmonic waves, deep subs and rapidly flowing beats. Sometimes I feel that my tools have gotten blunt over the years – that I’ve lost some quality of clarity that I long to recover. But I don't know that for sure. What I do know is that this album is a small part of something so much greater (endlessly greater if we continue zooming out)... and as with every other aspect of creation, it is important. It is possibly a step towards the unveiling of some even greater vision that couldn’t happen without it. Nothing we create will ever be a destination, something complete in and of itself. It will always and ever only be a step.

“ - Ludvig Cimbrelius.

Listen on Soundcloud, Mixcloud, or the ASIP Podcast.

astrangelyisolatedplace · isolatedmix 107 - Illuvia

Download

Tracklist:

01. Photek - Aura
02. Blu Mar Ten - Cumulus
03. The Architex - Escape
04. Photek - Rings Around Saturn
05. Seba & Lotek - So Long
06. Boymerang - The River (VIP)
07. J Majik - Repertoire
08. 154 - Apricot
09. Teebee & K - Cherokee
10. Flytronix - Vertical Plains
11. Photek - T'Raenon
12. Hidden Agenda - The Sun
13. Tunduska - Blush Response
14. Goldie - Sea of Tears
15. ASC - The Machinery of Night
16. Goldie - Letter of Fate
17. Alaska & Paradox - Etherous
18. Boymerang - Lazarus
19. Lamb - Just Is

The mix also contains parts of these tracks:

Jonny L - Tychonic Cycle
Alaska - Ultramundane
Hidden Agenda - Dispatches #2
Nu-Moon - Sea Town
Override - PAC 3
Nebula - Escapism
Artemis - Inner Worlds
Henrik B - Mirrors
Motive One - Loop Progression

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