ASIP - Reflection on 2025

As with all my previous ‘Reflection’ year-end mixes, I begin with a collection of albums, EPs, and compilations that resonated with me over the past year. From there, I curate tracks to build the mix - a process that’s as much about omission as inclusion. Inevitably, many of my favorite tracks and albums don’t make the final cut, simply because they don’t fit the flow of the mix or get lost along the way. There are plenty of albums I played on repeat that aren’t included here, but I enjoy this process much more than creating lists.

As I remind myself each year, this isn’t meant to be a definitive “best-of” list. Instead, it’s a snapshot of some of my favorite music from the year, distilled into one cohesive and listenable format. Compiling these mixes under self-imposed restrictions is my way of revisiting and celebrating the music I’ve loved critically, while sharing it with you in a way that’s both meaningful and accessible. For me, listening back to these mixes is like flipping through an audio photograph, capturing the essence of my year in music and invoking memories from special moments.

I encourage you to use this mix as a jumping-off point—dive into each artist, explore their albums in full, and check out the labels behind the music. You can find a Buy Music Club list linked below to help you dig deeper. If you’re curious about the broader scope of music I’ve supported this year, my Bandcamp collection is always up to date. And for the ASIP year-end label compilation, that’s coming very soon…

~

2025 was nearly the year of breaking point with my time and effort spent on the label. A new job, a third child, and… well that’s enough to do it I guess. So as the year-end drew closer, the idea of completing this mix became laughable in its scope and I thought it might be the first year in over a decade I haven’t completed one.

It’s helped that I haven’t done many mixes this year, so approaching it pulled on some much needed creativity, but even when looking back at what music I had supported on Bandcamp and the records on my shelves, it took me a long time to organize, make sure I had it downloaded, and even pull the trigger on items in my wishlist (my wishlist often revolves around vinyl I’ve picked up with no BC download code offered - gripe). Those who go through this obsessive process know how much time it can take up.

Looking back at the mix now it’s complete, I’ve managed to include around 80% of what was in high rotation for me this year (there’s always some that don’t make it into mix form) and the styles are on point as usual in reflecting my taste over the year. We’re starting with the deep ambient cuts, moving into more IDM and techno, and moving through a lot more energetic tracks towards the end - from Jungle to Trance…

One of the only live gigs I got to emerge from my family life to see was WNDFRM and Patricia Wolf in Seattle, so of course, Patricia’s newest installment on Balmat (who also had another epic year as a label) is included. Related to that event, organizer Raica (Chloe Harris) made a return with two albums this year I believe - both worthy of praise, but her piece for (another relentless outpost) Quiet Details was the stand out. A regular on these reflection mixes, MPU101 on Ilian Tape gets another nod- a BoC-vibe regular who always manages to tickle the right part of my ears. Alex Kassian had about three tracks or remixes in my original shortlist (including the lush remix of Spooky) so I had to do my best to not over-indulge - his remix of a classic Pianoman melody will bring back the Global Communication / Tangerine Dream vibes. Skee Mask is still releasing archive material that defies expectations. In one of the most welcome moves of the year, finding All Possible Worlds on Bandcamp made many people ecstatic, not least because of the full release of Irini’s odyssey, or the random track found on their profile. Light of Cacti got my Schnauss tastebuds tingling. Anushka Chkheidze has been on my radar for a long time now, so it was a treat to see her collabing with the much respected Robert Lippok across a very interesting record. OPN landed late in 2025, but arguably released one of his more welcomed albums by die-hard fans, hooking me right back into his unique worlds. Simon Littaeur came into my feed through his Instagram videos (normally something that doesn’t always result in a quality album) but his production lived up to the visual hype. The album by jp on emerging label Theory Therapy was full of big tracks, and I did my best to make sure one was included on here. Talking of big, Djrum’s latest didnt dissapoint, and he’ll continue to be classed as an innovator with output like this years. I nearly stopped at the Barker track, as it doesn’t get much bigger than that euphoric high, but something told me to bring it back down a little bit more, so into a slight trance we went with a superb debut by Alvar (Teo Bachs) and of course, the masters of hypnotizing techno, Voices from The Lake making a much needed return. The ending comes from vinyl selector Chee Shimizu, a unique piece of music that would bring the sun down on any horizon and one of two great tracks included in the mix from the ESP LA fundraiser.

astrangelyisolatedplace · ASIP - Reflection on 2025

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

Download

Tracklist (Artist - Title - Album - Label)

1 - HARZ - 0647 - (polychromatic) [Empty Space]
2 - Roméo Poirier - Picobello - (Off the Record) [Faitiche]
3 - Florian TM Zeisig - Earth Loop - (A New Life) [Stroom]
4 - Patricia Wolf - I'll Take Care of You - (Hrafnamynd) [Balmat]
5 - Saapato - Active Decay (feat. Patricia Wolf) - (Decomposition: Fox on a Highway) [Constellation Tatsu]
6 - Pianeti Sintetici - Part One - (Space Opera) [Astral Industries]
7 - Heavenchord, Infinity Dots - Entering Landscapes - (Landscapes Of The Soul) [Secret Domain]
8 - placa - cityzen - (in trance it) [Non-transparent]
9 - Area 3 - Grass Turns To Sponge - (View) [Khotin Industries]
10 - Cahl Sel - Leaf - (Traces) [Reflective Records]
11 - Raica - Not There Though, Dive - (The Absence of Being) [Quiet Details]
12 - MPU101 - 3100beta2 - (MPU106) [Ilian Tape]
13 - Jo Johnson - Variance Remnants 3 (field recording) - (Variance - Remnants (Alterations)) [Self]
14 - Pentagrams Of Discordia - < - (Triskaidekaphobia Extd.) [Self]
15 - Alex Kassian - Lost in Hanoi - (ESP Institute XV) [ESP]
16 - all possible worlds - untitled - [all possible worlds]
17 - Skee Mask - 32Crescent - (E) [Self]
18 - Rod Modell - Snowstorm in Naubinway - (Northern Michigan Snowstorms) [Silentes]
19 - Strategy - Earthling - (A Cooler World) [Constellation Tatsu]
20 - µ-Ziq - Peppermint Aero - (Manzana) [Balmat]
21 - Lord Of The Isles - Opalescent - (Signals Aligned) [Self]
22 - Plant43 - Skyway Shadow - (Luminous Machines) [Self]
23 - Xenia Reaper - Drift__ - (Nept Polarisation) [Delsin]
24 - Lord Of The Isles - United Wire - (Signals Aligned) [Self]
25 - Martinou - The Last Hour - (The Glow That Lingers) [FauxPas]
26 - Coatshek - Eternal Lovers - (Sound Bath) [Dark Entries]
27 - Light of Cacti - Washed Away In Pink Skies On Brighton Shores - (Neverland is a State of Mind) [Tonights Dream]
28 - Pianoman - Pasion (Alex Kassian's Mandarine Dream Mix) - (Pasion) [Planet Strange Love]
29 - Anushka Chkheidze + Robert Lippok - Uncontrollable Thoughts - (Uncontrollable Thoughts) [Morr Music]
30 - Oneohtrix Point Never - Measuring Ruins - (Tranquilizer) [Warp]
31 - Simon Littauer - Phicet - (Modular) [Katharsis]
32 - arcologies - asleep and dreaming - (PARTICLE SHIFT) [Rabbithole Club]
33 - E.L Heath and Karen Vogt - This Is Spirit - (This Is Spirit) [Plenty Wenlock]
34 - Aural Imbalance - Thermal Isolation - (Edge Of Space) [Auxiliary]
35 - jp - planes - (we're here all the time) [Theory Therapy]
36 - Vivian Koch - September (Gold) - (Colors of September) [Self]
37 - Courtney Bailey - Under The Water - (In Dream) [Music From Memory]
38 - Djrum - Waxcap - (Under Tangled Silence) [Houndstooth]
39 - Roméo Poirier - 12 - Steve A. - (Off the Record) [Faitiche]
40 - Barker - Reframing - (Stochastic Drift) [Smalltown Supersound]
41 - Alvar - Meg og sola - (The Mist LP) [Peak Experience]
42 - irini - The Higher (Lost In Dreams) [all possible worlds]
43 - Voices From The Lake - Aquateo (II) [Spazio Disponibile]
44 - Chee Shimizu - Zeze (ESP Institute XV) [ESP]

Buy Music Club

ASIP - Reflection on 2021

As with all past ‘Reflection’ year-end mixes, I start with a collection of albums I have enjoyed over the year. Through the process of compiling a mix that flows well, songs are whittled down and selected from this collection. This means many of my favorite tracks and albums are often omitted in the process, due to the need for them to fit in a mix that comes together as organically as possible. As I say every year, this isn’t a definitive ‘best-of’ list, but a selection of just some of my favorite music from the year in one easily listenable format. It’s the most enjoyable way for me to boil down the music I’ve loved from the year using these self-imposed restrictions, for you to then enjoy and discover more. I encourage you to use the mix to jump off and explore each artist, listen to the album in full and see what else is on the label (and check the Buy Music Club list). Of course, releases or aliases a part of our own label/s are not considered (head over here for our label-specific 2021 showcase).

Another crazy year in the books (or is this the new normal?). Looking back, it’s been a tough year personally and one that in theory should have left me with more time to listen and absorb music but somehow did the opposite. This mix, as it does every year, serves as a great way for me to dedicate time listening to albums again, and I’m realizing this has become a yearly sort of musical therapy for me. The fact that people actually listen and await the mix, is a lovely bonus.

It’s been interesting to see the pendulum of music move across various online listening platforms during strict lockdowns this past year, and what seemed like an onslaught of output as artists buckled down inside. At one point, I am sure we were all left feeling truly spoiled with music choices and online events, despite not being able to attend physical events until the past few months. I know from my own experience, that many artists have albums in the locker and the labels are now struggling to keep up with the present vinyl production bottle-neck.

On the ASIP label front, we finally managed to launch our 9128.live sister label, producing physical and digital editions from notable live performances, with many more planned for 2022. Despite ACL recently commenting that ASIP seemingly “so far has seemed immune to the vinyl shortage”, we have been massively impacted and have only been able to keep somewhat of a cadence this year because we had so much in the pipeline. Next year, we may see bigger gaps between releases and different formats as we look to work with new plants and basically turn our production flow on its head. Numerous times this year I have questioned whether to continue with our current approach, and I am sure many other labels have felt the same.

On the listening front, and upon reflection, I have definitely been drawn to the more electronic-driven side of ambient music this year. Slightly darker and edgier perhaps for obvious reasons, with less instrumental, gentle, or orchestral sounds in my library overall it seems. The Reflection mix, as it does every year, ends up moving through several different stages and captures many of the different styles of music that have been on high rotation.

This year’s mix, begins with some more tranquil pieces (Hopkins, KMRU, Arian Shafiee), then takes a dive into the deep, dynamic elements (ASC, Inhmost, Sciama, AES DANA, Ulla, Bana Haffar), to then slowly emerge into melody just before the hour with Christina Chatfield. Things become more storied, as pieces are overlapped and looped, presenting the powerful drones of Christina Giannone, and more fluid, energetic beat-driven pieces from Ground Tactics, Whylie, nthng and Skee Mask - most of which made me crave the (out of bounds) dance floor. Beats then become crunched, textured and irregular, with the likes of new discoveries in, Hoavi, Vivan Koch, and Amandra X Matthies. The mix then begins to draw in, as more melodic moments take over from some (old but new) music from Niko Tzoukmanis and CiM, before the final chapter draws in with more organic and spiritual elements from Saphileaum, Alex Albrecht, ending on a positive curtain closer from Wau Wau Collectif. Ending the mix on something more optimistic seems to be a requirement after the journey of this past year.

Thank you to everyone listening and supporting what we do, and I hope you can find a new artist or album to support on Bandcamp with this mix - all this year’s inclusions are below in the Buy Music Club list. For a more extensive list of what I have supported and listened to this year, head over to my Bandcamp collection.

Listen on Soundcloud, Mixcloud, or the ASIP Podcast.

Download

astrangelyisolatedplace · ASIP - Reflection on 2021

Tracklist:

000.00. Jon Hopkins - Tayos Caves, Ecuador I (Domino)
006.20. KMRU & Echium - Unending (Self-released)
009.10. Bolivian Fireships - Quiet Room, Locked Door (Hream)
012.50. Arian Shafiee - Wembley (Constellation Tatsu)
018.00. Ab uno - Adonai (Mahorka)
019.30. ASC & Inhmost - Sunrise on Titan (Auxiliary)
026.10. Sciama - Periphery (Auxiliary)
029.00. AES DANA - Foreword (Ultimae)
031.40. Ulla - Shelter (Motion Ward)
033.30. Bana Haffar - Totally Alive and Totally Invisible (Self-released)
039.50. Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement - Flying Fish Ambience (Hospital)
043.20. Nadia Struiwigh - Organic (Nous’klaer)
047.15. Op Zee - Muziekkamer (Stroom.tv)
050.00. Christina Chatfield - Concatenate II (Mysteries of the Deep)
057.10. Nigel Mullaney - The Well Of Sleeping (Behind The Sky Music)
059.00. Avsluta - Meditation 16 [Notes on Iridescence] (e2-e8)
1.00.30 Marine Eyes - On this Fresh Morning (Stereoscenic)
1.03.30. Christina Giannone - Realms II (Past Inside The Present)
1.09.00. Milieu - Terpentine Xylophone (Milieu Music)
1.10.05. Ground Tactics - New Earth (Self-released)
1.16.10. Whylie - JGL24-04 (Lith Dolina)
1.19.40. nthng - Energy Reloading (Lobster Sleep Sequence)
1.25.58. Skee Mask - LFO (Ilian Tape)
1.29.15. Ocoeur - Breaking The Circle (n5MD)
1.32.57. Hoavi - Tessera (Peak Oil)
1.36.17. Vivian Koch - Closed (AD93)
1.39.20. Amandra X Matthies - Cornemuse (Nous’klaer)
1.43.30. Warrington-Runcorn Newtown Development Plan - Part of the Union (CIS)
1.47.35. Akira Sileas - Cliff Cooling (Rusted Tone)
1.52.10. Niko Tzoukmanis - Raindrops (Libreville)
1.57.15. Uf0 - Yeh Premoh (Self-released)
1.59.50. CiM - Metric (Delsin)
2.02.10. Sofie Birch & Johan Carøe - Portal of (Stroom.tv)
2.03.10. Saphileaum - Savar (Good Morning Tapes)
2.07.50. Alex Albrecht - Forest from the Trees, w. Sean La’Brooy (Analogue Attic)
2.12.00. Wau Wau Collectif - Yaral Sal Doom (Sahel Sounds)

isolatedmix 113 - Sunju Hargun

We’ve fallen a little behind the monthly schedule with isolated mixes recently, but that’s mainly because the artists lined up have been working hard on some very special journeys for us all. Getting back into the swing of things now, our latest mix comes from an artist who I got to know through a small online group that obsesses over Trance music, and ultimately helped us bring to life our recent Rapture Network 9128.live takeover, helping organize and provide the brilliant logo/identity for the festival and t-shirts.

When he and I are not obsessing over all types of ambient and psychedelic trance music, Sunju Hargun has been busy launching his new label, Siamese Twins Records, which since 2020 has not only been an outlet for some of his own work, but also served as an introduction to many pan-Asian artists through compilations such as Kāthā, and Vinyan, presenting a spectrum of “Eastern psychedelia”. The compilations represent a great starting point for many new artists stemming from a local scene, and one that I am excited about digging deeper into through both Sunju and his new label curation.

“A hypnotic sound bath in which tribally-rooted ambient morphs into one entity. Drones, live instruments and esoteric textures are transformed into a contemporary Kāthā interpretation.”

Coincidentally, during my trip to Hidden Sounds record store in London, I had picked up a remix EP from Sunju’s label, that delved into the slightly trancier side of his tastes (and label). It was a fleeting visit where the shop owner Alex loaded me up with so many nice bits, that I had hardly stopped to look at the artists and labels in my bag and was purely grabbing stuff on sound - always an exciting tactic for exploring new records when you get them home and realize you ended up supporting someone you enjoy based on music alone.

It’s with great pleasure to have Sunju behind the decks for this isolatedmix and a get peek into his own influences that undoubtedly shape his own productions, mixes and label output…

Hi Sunju, can you give us an intro to your musical upbringing?

I’m of Indian descent, born and raised in Thailand with some roots from Japan. I find love and happiness in connecting with people through music. I co-run the Siamese Twins records record label focusing on psychedelic sounds from the East. I’m also a part of the Karma Klique collective organizing parties in nature across Thailand with proceeds going to local social causes.

I was surrounded by lots of music when I was young. Lots of people whose music is sought after in the local Thai jazz/blues wave were my father’s friends, and some of that music was connected to psychedelic rock as well. Around that time was also another side of music which was an integral part of my life, came from my mother’s passion for Indian art and traditional Hindu soundtracks from the early 60’s to 70’s.

We are both deep Trance fans at heart - but how did you get into the ambient side of music?

At the time I was living in Shanghai, my friends would host intimate house sessions every other weekend to experience ‘trip’ gatherings with the music we felt connected to and grow our little prog-trance family by inviting other ravers we met along the way. Most of us were music nerds of the group that had to contribute to certain hours of the night to share our playlists, and I was mostly in charge of sunrise. Although I was not familiar with the term Ambient back then, instead referred to it as Reprise/Chillout'. Having the pleasure to breathe through the early 2000’s Prog era, I was heavily inspired by compilations from Global Underground, Renaissance & Producers like Satoshi Tommie, Spooky, Starkid, Leama, and Rabbit in the moon are just a few to mention that were a gateway to falling deeply in love with it.

Your new label Siamese Twins Records has made an excellent start, can you tell us a bit about the approach?

Thank you so much, very happy to receive great support and words from you about it.

It has been very community-driven as it's built upon mutual connections and friendships we made over the last five years running events with Karma Klique. We would invite artists from across the Asian region that gained our interest and with a similar ethos. There is a lot of mainstream electronic music here, but luckily there are also a lot of amazing artists, event organizers, record stores and labels that stubbornly do their own thing with a pure love for the art. While connecting with them often music they were working on was shared which we felt deserved a good home. This is also how we connected with Yoshi Nori who runs our sister label 禁JIN from Taipei and is one of the four co-founders of the Siamese Twins label.

The idea from the start was to embrace Asian identity and focus on the more psychedelic sound spectrum which can be both slow as fast. We release ambient, curated as long trips, compilations, but are also releasing trippy dancefloor orientated material ideally to be played at sunrise during a forest rave. We like to mix it up, stay weird. We care a lot about the total process from start to finish with lots of love and attention to detail. We approach it multi-dimensional and a way to have a dialogue with other expressions of Asian culture which shows in Taychin Dunnvatanachit’s artwork approach.

We hope to keep on building on these fundamentals. It’s very much our own thing and approach.

What is the ambient music scene like in Thailand? How do you try and stay connected locally?

Yes, Bangkok is a special city that I'm happy to call home.

The ambient movement is still quite young, but in the past year alone there might have been a spark of interest towards it being more appreciated by locals mainly because of spending plenty of time at home during the lockdown period. There is also a wave of music makers and collectives popping out at the moment who are heavily promoting it - A wonderful shift, with the hope that it earns a feature in festivals and gatherings on the horizon. The community of quality electronic music in Bangkok is tightly connected through record stores like More Rice and Zudrangma that promote a wide variety of world and electronic music. With the addition of a brand new local online-based radio called “BCR” that has managed to bring artists and friends to share music together during this time when clubs aren’t allowed to open.

You're a great visual artist too, is your music and art symbiotic in approach?

I would like to think there is an underlying secret connection towards some form of visual identity with my approach to music. In the past, I experienced moments of having these images built from dreams that became starting points to an idea of creating a track. Does not happen often, but when it does - I welcome it!

The mix feels very uplifting, especially near the end. What role does ambient music play in your life at the moment?

Ambient music helped me to understand sound layering in a whole different perspective. Over the past two years, I've especially embraced more experimentation in the studio and introduced sounds from various cultures rooted in Asia. This helped a lot to push creative boundaries. When possible I try to spend time learning more about sound’s behavior as well and how daily noise from our surroundings can impact us. Keeping my eyes & ears wide open to observe the smallest details.

Where was the mix prepared and what is the idea behind it?

The mix was recorded at home at approximately 10:30 am on a rainy morning. The concept behind the mix was to include tracks that are influencing me at the moment. I'm finding myself drawn towards music from Japanese producers more and more these days and wanted to share some of those discoveries alongside other favourite labels and promos from friends. The mix itself carries a story that feels fluid with a lot of focus on space, texture, and a hint of nostalgic memories. I hope the listeners will enjoy it and feel the same way.

~

Listen on Soundcloud, Mixcloud, or the ASIP Podcast.

astrangelyisolatedplace · isolatedmix 113 - Sunju Hargan

Download.

Tracklist:

01. Adi - Haz
02. Androne - Signs of life
03. Yagya – Old Dreams And Memories
04. Yumi Iwaki - Sleepy Fog
05. Pataphysical - Moonlit Picnic
06. Vivian Koch - Who
07. Lemna - Moments In Eternal Recurrence
08. Celestial Trax - New Masters of Psychedelic Ambience
09. Avsluta - Meditation 16
10. BLNDR - Callopsis
11. Vivian Koch - Closed (Yosemite Version)
12. JakoJako - Ochros
13. Only Thingz - Eyes Wide Open
14. Kosei Fukuda - Sky Clair (Uchi Remix)
15. Underworld - Dark & Long (Most 'Ospitable)
16. Talvin Singh - Butterfly

~

Sunju Hargun | Soundcloud | Bandcamp | Instagram | Bandcamp (Siamese Twins)