Salvatore Mercatante

2025 Label Compilation - Mixed by todos

 

2025 is probably our first year without a proper ambient release, with this year’s annual compilation reflecting how diverse our catalog has grown.

KILN and Monoparts presented music this year that pushed expectations, with KILN’s music pretty much in a world of its own anyway, and Monoparts bringing a vocal-heavy trip-hop record to the lineup - two records that would stand on their own on any label, irrespective of genre classifications.

Christian Kleine’s second Lost World volume spoke to our true IDM roots of past, and Mikkel Rev’s Journey Beyond, to the future perhaps, with a subtle wink to Trance music running through our blood.

A new signing in WNDFRM presented a landscape of micro-rhythmic IDM, as did returning artist Salvatore Mercatante, through a live set that traversed a spectrum of bass-heavy atmospheres.

Tying this all together in one mix has become todos’ annual challenge, and he would be the first to admit this one was his most challenging yet. While I would never force this concept on him, if it didn’t work, todos has the permission to edit, layer, chop and re-work where he needs to, just like a live set. In turn, his magic becomes a completely new way to absorb the releases from our past year, and an enjoyable way to spot moments you missed.

Available on Bandcamp

Thank you to everyone who has supported the label and the artists included here this year.

todos - Continuous mix tracklist

01. Mikkel Rev - ‘Fragile’ (edit) / WNDFRM - ‘WVLT 021’ (edit) / Monoparts - ‘Abandoned Woods’ (edit) / KILN - ‘Moon Ratchet’ (edit)
02. KILN - ‘Ptarmigan’
03. KILN - ‘Moon Ratchet’ / Christian Kleine - ‘Beyond Repair’ (edit)
04. Mikkel Rev - ‘Transmit’ (edit) / KILN - ‘Solarsystem Breathing’
05. Christian Kleine - ‘Slow’ / KILN - ’Cadmium Lounge’ (edit)
06. Salvatore Mercatante - Extract from ‘Live at Public Records’
07. Mikkel Rev - ‘LM8182’
08. Monoparts - ‘Abandoned Woods’
09. WNDFRM - ‘WVLT 021’ / Salvatore Mercatante - Extract from ‘Live at Public Records’ (edit)
10. Christian Kleine - ‘Closer’
11. Monoparts - ‘Abandoned Woods’ (ASC Remix)



 

Salvatore Mercatante Live at Public Records (ASIP044)

 
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Last December, we were fortunate to host one of our largest label nights to date at Public Records, New York, one of the most renowned venues in the world for sound system quality. One year later, we present to you one of the recordings from the evening, by Brooklyn’s own Salvatore Mercatante.

Live at Public Records captures Salvatore Mercatante at his most unguarded and instinctual, set free from the polish of post-production, delivered to a room of people who gave themselves over to the quiet pull of tension, decay, and harmonic dissonance on one of the best sound systems in the world.

Performed as part of a curated label night inside Public Records’ intimate Sound Room, Salvatore’s set was equal parts sculpture and erosion. Working with a minimalist setup that belied the richness of the result, Salvatore traced an arc through fractured rhythms, bent tones, and fogged-out signal paths, drawing on his 2024 album ‘Ø’ and a trove of unreleased and WIP material.

Following a DJ-set by Aspetuck and preceding a live set by OKRAA as part of the label’s biggest showcase to date, Salvatore’s set was the perfect middle-ground, with signature low-end blooms and crisp drum patterns, reconstituted in real time and massaged by the custom four-point sound system.

Live at Public Records was recorded on December 6th, 2024 in Brooklyn NY, mastered by Antony Ryan at RedRedPaw Mastering. Artwork and video taken from photography by Daniel Salemi.

Available as name your price on Bandcamp

Join us for the listening party at 2pm PST Friday

Photos by Daniel Salemi

Photos by Daniel Salemi

Photos by Daniel Salemi

 

2024 Label Compilation (mixed by todos)

 

Handing over a year’s worth of releases to todos and watching the magic unfold is always an exhilarating experience. His ability to craft a narrative from such a rich and varied palette is unparalleled, offering fresh insights into the music and the year behind us. A true specialist in narrative witchcraft, todos continues to redefine DJ mixes with such a limited palette to build from. This year’s selection posed an increasingly complex challenge, with its mix of tempos and styles, but it’s a testament to the incredible work of the ASIP artists in 2024, all tied together under the meticulous eye of our trusted selector.

The year began with new label signing Salvatore Mercatante, and his pin-point drum patterns and room-filled IDM. This was followed by an about-turn in style with a new label signing, Lihla, presenting her hypnotizing blend of spoken word and atmospheric multi-instrument talent. Lapsed Pacifist (who happens to be a good friend of todos' in the UK - another full circle moment for the label) presented his debut album, featuring 'rolling waves of lavender synths', which Pop Matters recently listed as one of its best ambient albums of 2024. Keeping things unexpected, we then presented another new artist, Theef, who released a selection of timeless deep techno cuts from a DJ mix he posted online in 2018. It was then a chance for one of ASIPs most cherished sounds to return, as Illuvia continued his monumental exploration into the deep expanse of ethereal ambient drum'n bass. By now, we were approaching the much-celebrated half-century catalog number, and who better than long-time label artist, Markus Guentner to bring it over the line, alongside eight other fantastic talents. Colombian producer OKRAA, evolved his living-and-breathing psychedelic electronics, introducing more breaks and electro to his palette, in a truly unexpected second album. And closing out the year, Hungarian artist swanasa, presented a taster of her sonic capabilities in a short EP, that shone a light on multiple approaches we hope to explore from her very soon.

Thank you for all of your support, comments, and encouragement this year. Here's to those who explore the unique, the nostalgic and the new, and those who forge their own way forward.

Download on Bandcamp

Join us on Friday 20th December, 12pm PST for the full mix premiere and Bandcamp listening party.

todos Continuous DJ mix tracklist:

1. swanasa - Swan Song (edit)
2. Lihla - Resonance
3. Markus Guentner - Father Of Waters
4. Lapsed Pacifist - Tragic
5. Markus Guentner & Arovane - Utopian Fragments (edit) / Illuvia - A New Tomorrow (edit) / swanasa - AHO / Lihla - Becoming Human (edit)
6. OKRAA - La Gran Corriente
7. Salvatore Mercatante - Love Of Lies
8. Illuvia - Tectonic Shift
9. Markus Guentner & Abul Mogard - While Hunting Nightmares And Dreaming For Peace
10. Theef - Strange Nights
11. Salvatore Mercatante - How Many Hands
12. OKRAA - Para Desaprender (edit)
13. Theef - Odd Entity
14. Lapsed Pacifist - Almost Remembered

Download MP3

 

A Strangely Isolated Place Label Showcase at Public Records - Photos from the night

We had an amazing night at Public Records, New York last Friday, as we held our first label showcase in a very long time. With OKRAA in town from the UK, and local artists Salvatore Mercatante and Aspetuck, it made sense for us to put some firepower behind this moment and bring them together for a special evening (and then also spend the weekend record shopping!).

Aspetuck opened the evening with his sublime meld of ambient-forward beats, debuting new material, including tracks from his upcoming ASIP album in 2025.

Salvatore Mercatante followed, and put the epic Devon Ojas 4-point surround system to the test through his chest-rumbling electronics and sharp hi-hats, taking music from his recent release ‘Ø’, plus plenty of unreleased material.

OKRAA closed the evening with a mixture of his amorphous ambient and big swells of drones, interspersed by his more electronic breaks and electro from his new album ‘La Gran Corriente’. By the end, the room was jacking, and Juan was pulling at our hearts as the closing track from his 1994 release, ‘Ola De Luz’, rounded out the evening in fine fashion.

A big thank you to everyone who came, said hello, and purchased some records. Visuals on the night were created by Salvatore for his own set, and Dead Society for OKRAA’s, with photography by Daniel Salemi.

See you at the next one.

ASIP Label Showcase @ Public Records, New York: OKRAA + Salvatore Mercantante + Aspetuck

A Strangely Isolated Place presents an evening of room-filled atmospherics, taking over the Public Records Sound Room.

Colombian-born, OKRAA, presents his intense analog walls of sound and complex IDM, as heard throughout his new album on A Strangely Isolated Place, ‘La Gran Corriente’, as well as his previous outings, ‘1994’ and his more beat-driven alias ‘Laudrup’.

Debuting on the label earlier this year, New York-based artist Salvatore Mercatante is quickly defining a sharp and soaring IDM style, with complex drum patterns and clinical progressions, that cry out for a big system, and now finally unleashed in his hometown.

With a release set to arrive on the label next year, local producer, and Hudson NY native, Aspetuck will be opening the evening with a DJ set, highlighting his unique ear for a blend of electronic styles, and a taste of what’s to come on the label in 2025.

Tickets via Dice

RSVP to the event on Resident Advisor.