isolatedmix 104 - Optic Echo

 

I feel a sense of nostalgia for this isolatedmix, for several reasons:

Firstly, Mike Jedlicka (Optic Echo) and I go back for some time now after initially meeting in Portland (Oregon) amongst the amazing ambient scene at the time. We would often find ourselves at the same shows in what is a small city, and both of us would make the trip up to Seattle for Rafael Anton Irisarri’s Substrata Festival (with one such memory being a field recording trip where I must’ve been the only one not knowing what the hell I was doing at the time).

Second, the artwork chosen by Mike for the captures the heart of Oregon, a place I still admire and go back to often. The shot of the Colombia River Gorge is synonymous with the good feelings of summer hikes amongst nature’s finest and ending the day at a brewery.

And lastly, the mix. Not only is Mike an avid-vinyl enthusiast, spinning vinyl-only for his Optic Echo Presents radio show mixes and applauded end of year lists, but his isolatedmix continues this theme with what I can only describe as some essential ASIP-loved vinyl. Many of the artists featured in the mix evoke memories of early ASIP blog days; such as Night Sequels, 36, Eluvium, and of course Wanderwelle all contributing isolatedmixes in the past at the very least - the tracklist strikes at the heart of the ASIP ethos.

Enough of my sentimental musings. To go into a bit more detail with Mike and his mix, I sent over a few questions:

Hi Mike, let’s start with how some people here may know you - making some great year-end mixes and hosting them with our friends at Headphone Commute - how do you go about choosing your favorite vinyl of the year?

Hi Ryan, we miss you here in Portland!

I have been trying to be mindful of new artists and non-mainstream records that I have enjoyed / been intrigued by over the year. I start by compiling a list of possible albums, usually 50+ records. It's helpful that I can look over my OEP playlists to see if I missed anything. In December I whittle it down a bit, pull all the records, and sort them into genres. I start experimenting with them, mapping out the mix around mid Dec. I'm usually receiving records till late December that I want to give a good listen, so I usually don't record the mix till the very end of the year or on NYD. I am thankful for Mike of Headphone Commute for giving me the opportunity every year!

Like me you now have a little one running (crawling?) about the house. How has having a child impacted your music life? Are you still buying as many records!?

It has been a monumental change in my life when he joined our family, and mostly positive. I had to restructure my priorities, as I haven't written my own music in a couple years. But I've kept up with my weekly 2-hour radio show on XRAY. I also attended way less live shows (pre-COVID-19) after he was born.

I had to slim down on buying physical records (my wife may disagree) by maybe 20%, which I really needed to do and probably should do more. I don't have nearly as much money to throw around.

As I mentioned above, I still miss the Portland ambient scene from a few years back. How has it changed over recent years?

I feel that I have not had my finger on the PDX ambient music pulse for the past 2-5 years as I used to, so I'd be better at telling my story. I was deep in it back when I threw the Aleatoric monthly starting ~2007. That merged into different monthlies with Coco Madrid and side shows with Tim Westcott (wndfrm) at Leaven and different churches around town. I've learned through experience to choose different venues (art studios, churches, community spots, outdoor events, etc.) instead of bars for ambient gigs, as people would listen more instead of talking while drinking.

My last show that I curated was Marcus Fischer, Simon Scott (of Slowdive), and Rafael Anton Irisarri. Tim had a contact that could get large venue speakers for a decent price, and we got a great deal for a nice Meyer system with a HUGE sub. That led to getting shut down by the police ... for an ambient gig. Perfect way to throw in the towel.

After that I chose to pull back and just do support work for different ambient events, and I'm pretty good at working the door. I really dropped off the map by ... I want to say 2017.

I know Beacon Sound was a staple Portland record store, and is unfortunately shutting down, but I’ve seen quite a few new shops pop-up since I left, do you still dig locally? What’s your go to now?

I loved BeaconSound so much, its closing was terrible news but understandable in this time. They had (in my opinion) the best selection in town and Andrew is a wonderful human. His store was the last show I attended, a few weeks before COVID hit the US. I have been taking the quarantine seriously, which means I get most of my vinyl currently from Bandcamp.

Other record stores I enjoy in town (assuming they are still open due to the pandemic) are Exiled, Little Axe, and Clinton Street. I really miss record diving :(

Your isolatedmix sticks to your theme of vinyl only - what was the thinking behind the mix?

I did not have a theme per se, but I leaned more on the tempo / structured side of things, longer mixes, a few more classics, and less experimental music than my normal Optic Echo Presents mixes. I hold your isolatedmix series in high regard, so I took my time to get you something that I was happy with, while not playing it safe.

You've written some extensive mix notes detailing your transitions too - do you always do this? Why do you feel it’s important to highlight the technical aspect of a mix?

The notes were for you personally since I thought you might be interested, although I don't mind you sharing publicly. I preplan all of my OEP sets in this way, which takes way more time but will consistently give me the quality of mixes that I desire. It also makes it easier to live mix my FM broadcast (we are currently pre-recording shows due to COVID-19) or record at home, so the transitions come out to my expectations. I have an excel database that I've updated since my college downtempo DJ days 20 years ago of every (tempo driven) record that I own, so I am able to search for a specific BPM when I'm coming up with ideas to beat matching records.

Listen on Soundcloud, Mixcloud, or the ASIP Podcast.

astrangelyisolatedplace · isolatedmix 104 - Optic Echo

Download

Tracklist:

01. The Orb- Orbvs Terrarvm  c1.1
02. Pinkcourtesyphone- Sentimental Something  b1
03. W Tang- Instrumentals  b1
04. Night Sequels- Children of the Night Make Music  c2
05. 36- Dream Tempest  b
06. Lucy Gooch- Rushing  a2
07. Eluvium- Life Through Bombardment vol2  f1.2
08. William S Burroughs- Break Through in Grey Room  b4
09. Wanderwelle- A State of Decrepitude  a3
10. Future Sound of London- Lifeforms  b3
11. Clickits- Moteer 001  b4
12. Orla Wren- Butterfly Wings Make  a4
13. Ceeys & Constant Presence- Thesis 17  a1
14. Hildur Gudnadóttir- Chernobyl  a1
15. Four Tet- Sixteen Oceans  a4
16. Tom Scott- Hilldrop  b1
17. Dakota Suite (Hauschka remix)- The Night Just Keeps Coming In  a4

Optic Echo’s Mix notes:
The Orb- Orbvs Terrarvm c 1.1

Pinkcourtesyphone- Sentimental Something b1 na // -low, start w/ O, O out bef beat

W Tang- Instrumentals b1 90 // in ½ through P, start v low vol slow up but keep lower, play slow w/ WT EQs (keep low)

Night Sequels- Children of the Night… c2 90 // -mid, mix (+1.9) in WT end 20-25s, WT – mids end 7s

36- Dream Tempest b2 90 // mix in NS end 45s, keep mix lower vol

Lucy Gooch- Rushing a2 63 // @45, in on beat 5-10s bef 36 end lull, in at lower vol, don’t play last ½ 36 end lull

Eluvium- LTB vol 2 f1.2 na // -mid, f1.2=mid static 45-60s bef 2nd ½ pads, in LG end 1/3rd–¼th, mids in slow LG end 10s

William S Burroughs- Break Through in…b4 na // in r after LG out (3TT 3-7s bef LG out), keep at lower vol

Wanderwelle- A State of Decrepitude a3 na // -mid, in E 1/3rd through, take out E mids 1/3rd through W (keep out till W end 20-30s)

FSOL- Lifeforms b3 na-120 // in E at end lull, start 20s b2 end at lower vol

Clickits- Moteer 001 b4 120 // @45, -mid, mix (+1) 4 beats in F end beat only part (end 40s), mids in F beat out, F -mids ½ end 15s + lower vol

Orla Wren- Butterfly Wings Make a4 60 // mix (+0.5) in C end 30s

Ceeys & Constant Presence- Thesis 17 a1 100 // in at OW beat out (end 15s)

Hildur Gudnadóttir- Chernobyl a1 100 // mix (+0.5) in CCP ½ through, play w/ eqs, H fluctuates a bit

Four Tet- Sixteen Oceans a4 98 // -mid, mix (+2) v low vol 10s through CCP end 60s lull, FT mids & vol in at beat only 2nd part

Tom Scott- Hilldrop b1 na // in FT end 30-40s

Dakota Suite- The Night Just… a4 na// in 1/3rd-½ through TS

Optic Echo | Mixcloud | Twitter | Radio/Podcast

 

Subscribe to 9128.live for exclusive archived sets

 

The existing internet radio royalty process leaves a lot to be desired for smaller artists, and many struggle to ever see a dime when their music is played in such instances.

We think we have a new way of giving back to the artists, labels and even curators who are a part of our radio station, 9128.live and some of the many takeovers we have hosted.

We have partnered with Currents.fm, which is a ‘Patreon’-style subscriber platform, specific to the music community. By subscribing to our new Currents.fm page, you get to access previously aired sets from 9128.live. Until now, we had left the republishing of sets up to the artist after a takeover (like the recent anecumene festival), and that’s still an option - however, going forward artists will now have the option to include their set as an exclusive to the 9128.live subscribers, and get paid for it.

We will pay the artists a one-time fee to host a set; re-up, for subscribers only for a limited amount of time. By becoming a subscriber, you get access to these sets - either to stream again or in some instances (where the artist gives permission) the ability to download.

Each month, we will pick a set from the 9128.live takeover archives and publish to subscribers. We may also pay some of the partner labels as part of the platform, or we may invest it into a future takeover. We have a few ideas on how this can become creative and helpful to everyone.

We have just paid for our first re-up - $100 for James Bernard’s latest live set as part of anecumene festival. A beautiful six-string Bass and Acid set, featuring his wife Cynthia on vocals.

This is more $ than many artists will make in years with Spotify or radio royalties, and James still owns the rights to the music and can do with it as he pleases in the future.

We also hope to reach a point with subscriptions where we can reinvest back into the platform too — more bandwidth, or improvements to the service - but first, the music.

Lastly, as above, we aim to be transparent on what is being paid to artists so you can see where your $ subscription is going and who it is benefiting.

You can subscribe here on Currents.fm for as little as $2.50 per month. And there’s more info on our vision over on the 9128.live website.

Thank you, and a big thanks to James and the artists we already have lined up to help get this off the ground!

 

ASIP - Cabin In The Woods

 

Just finished up a lovely session with the Modern Therapy crew who hosted a massive 24+hr Halloween takeover on Twitch also featuring Mr C, Bunny from Rabbit in the Moon, Jon Charnis, Tara Brooks + more. I prepared a 2hr trip into the woods - dark, weird, trippy and storied to bring in Sunday morning, scare the beats off, and raise the… living.

It features a few upcoming ASIP releases too for good measure. Halloween may be over but everyone likes a trip to the dark side every now and then.

Download

astrangelyisolatedplace · ASIP - Cabin In The Woods

Tracklist (Buy Music Club list here + embedded below):

1. Patricia Wolf - Sauvie Island Wilderness Area (pitched)
2. Secret Pyramid - Ceremony I
3. Tomas Jirku - A Warm Place
4. (Forthcoming on ASIP)
5. Higher Intelligence Agency + Biosphere - Meltwater
6. (Excerpt) (Forthcoming on ASIP)
7. FRKTL - Sól tér sortna, sígr fold í mar (pitched)
8. Faith Coloccia - Voice II Imprint
9. ASC - Cycle 9 (Subroutine)
10. (Forthcoming on ASIP)
11. Berangere Maxim - Free Verse
12. Quiet Places - Track 7
13. Max Würden - 00.00.00.00
14. Seth Cooke - In The Air Tonight (Snared 1000 Cuts remix)
15. Aphex Twin - Matchsticks
16. Berangere Maxim - Wax Melody
17. Gadi Sassoon - Black Hole Fanfare (Forthcoming on ASIP)
18. Wanderwelle - The Becoming (+ Sample)
19. Mount Shrine - Foggy Deck
20. qebrµs - ฌฎ๒๓๔ญ°°°°
21. William Basinski - O, My Daughter, O, My Sorrow.
22. DJ Healer - Hopes and Fears
23. (House on Haunted Hill Post Credit Scene)
24. Vernal Equinox - Autumn Sunset

 

isolatedmix 103 - GiGi FM : Inner Mycelia Voyage (Full Hunter's Moon Ritual)

 

For our 9128.live guest takeovers that some of you may have experienced this past year, we invite other great labels to curate a lineup that is completely on their own terms. What I enjoy the most about this, is that I get to listen to new artists and DJ’s through it, many for the first time (in real time) and it becomes a discovery tool for me just as much as it does to all the listeners.

One of those artists who really jumped out (and was new to me at the time) was GiGi FM. An NTS radio regular DJ and event curator, GiGi was playing as part of the 9128.live Midgar Records takeover at the time. Her set was transcendent, flawless in execution and above all, completely original from anything we had during the multi-hour listening session (available here to listen back); taking us from deep mystical ambient, to tribal and spiritual rhythms all the way through to hypnotic techno. It had those special moments that make you turn to a friend in a club or a field and smile, knowing the journey is taking a new twist; that you’re all in this together on the same level; and it’s only just getting started. Of course, we were just sat at home listening in that example and not dancing under the stars, unfortunately, so I made a point to ask GiGi for an isolatedmix so that we could hear another side and take her storytelling with us whenever and wherever in the future here on ASIP.

GiGi was lovely enough to oblige, and even took the time to match the moment with the Full Moon (today, Thursday October 1st) for an extra special dimension, taking us once again, on another very special, spiritual journey under the stars.

Here’s what GiGi had to say about the mix:

~
Inner Mycelia Voyage is a ritual for the full Hunter's moon coming on October 1st.

Since the beginning of time humankind has always taken communal rituals in dancing as the best attempt to tune into the underlying essence of the universe, which was born out of sound and constant intense vibrating atoms.

Mycelia or mycelium literally means “more than one". Mycelium is one of the oldest living organisms and has helped shape lifeforms on earth. It is the guardian of the earth, the underground internet network of mother nature, making sure nutrients are redistributed to all.

The Full Hunter's Moon in Aries is the first of two Full Moons for the month with a Blue Moon at the month’s end. Having two Full Moons in the same month indicates a theme of clearing and purging.

The shadows are coming to the surface to be birthed into a new light.

Channeling the ancestral earth forces and holding the light of hope is key.

We must remember the wisdom of the numerology code of 2020 offered to us, like mycelia ~ Infinite potential when we work together - GiGi FM.
~

astrangelyisolatedplace · isolatedmix 103 - GiGi FM ~ Inner Mycelia Voyage (Full Hunters Moon Ritual)

Listen on Soundcloud, Mixcloud, or the ASIP Podcast.

Download

Tracklist

01. GiGi Fm ~ Live Intro Full Hunters Moon Ritual
02. Susumu Yokota ~ Spectrum of Love
03. Azu Tiwaline ft Cinna Peyghamy ~ Violet Curves
04. Unknown Artist ~ Forgotten Constellation
05. Black Merlin ~ Totek and Tim
06. Dino Sabatini ~ Prophecy
07. Trevor Morris ~ Vikings Attack Paris Ntogns Bootleg Version
08. Cassegrain ~ Hexagon Fifteen
09. Eduardo De La Calle ~ Forthcoming
10. VC-118A ~ Forthcoming
11. Donato Dozzy, Lerosa ~ Neon Snake
12. The Martinez Brothers ~ Ibadan Tool
13. T5UMUT5UMU ~ Artificial Blossoms
14. Wata Igarashi ~ Spirits In The Rain
15. Unknown Artist ~ I Become Overwhelmed

Mix artwork photo by Giacomo Marinsalta

GiGi FM Soundcloud | Instagram | Facebook

 

Mix - Jenus - The Reverse End

 

It has been a long time since I’ve featured an unrelated to ASIP mix on the blog. That’s not to say I haven’t been listening, but rather, other than the usual podcasts and mix series I stick to which keep me well and truly fed, I haven’t been drawn away by the kind of passion that used to come from a “blog” -type mix. Mixes that are rare, put together with so much passion and have a personal story behind them are rare to come across nowadays. It’s likely the demise of “blogs” as a whole that contributed to this - but I digress - I stumbled across Jenus’ work this week after someone I follow on twitter shared it.

A G E M O W O R O S · JENUS - THE REVERSE END - ∞ agemoworos mix tape II

The Reverse End is not just a mix for mix sake, but as put - “basically something I recorded for myself to listen to on my headphones in private”. The tracklist reads like a true fans obsession over the ambient and electronica genre, featuring artists of new and old, more obscure and more familiar, all put together seamlessly.

Along with it being a highly respectable mix, of course, what struck me was getting halfway through the mix and tracklist, noticing some ASIP tracks included, followed further down the page by a lovely write-up by Jenus. Thank you.

Mix available on Soundcloud with a lovely write-up + download options available here.

Tracklist:

Isolating – Mortification (4GN3S)
Rapoon – Raising Es (V.O.D./Zoharum)
How To Disappear Completely – Mute Verses (self-released)
DJ Paradise – Ssumo (bblisss)
Croation Amor & Varg – Shadows Show Violet (Posh Isolation)
Charlie Campagna – Earth Day Isolation (Touch)
Shirley Collins – Crowlink (Domino)
The Sight Below – Shimmer (Ghostly International)
Rafael Anton Irisarri – Vanishing Points (Dais Records)
Mønic – Field Work (Osiris Music UK/Downwards)
Cosmic Ground – Soil 2 (self-released)
Wanderwelle – Death At The Helm (A Strangely Isolated Place)
Thomas Köner – Cogitation (Decay) (Mille Plateaux)
Field Rotation – Valse Fatale (Denovali Records)
Folder – Plasma (Experiences Ltd.)
Hotel Neon & Blurstem – Language Of Loss (self-released)
KMRU – Haal (self-released)
Mønic – H-NET 4 (Osiris Music UK)
KMRU – Canthenta (Dagoretti)
Gastón Arévalo – Et Soudain La Vallée (A Strangely Isolated Place)
Joachim Spieth – Ultradian (Affin)
Shasta Cults – Prologue (Important Records)
Pub – Summer (Vertical Form)
ELEH – Still, Not Waiting (Touch)
Telefon Tel Aviv – mouth, agape (Ghostly International)
Simon Scott – The Borderlands (Touch)
Midori Hirano – Belong (Sonic Pieces)
Ferial Confine – Eight Bright Cycles (Broken Flag/Siren Records)
Regis – Another Kind Of Love (Downwards)
Geneva Skeen – Dream State (Recurring) (Crystalline Morphologies)
Warmth – Breathe (Archives)
Othon – Meditation 1: Voice Of A Vast Inner Space (Conscious Expansion)
First Tone – Reaction 1 (Spectrum Spools)
B12 – Go With The Hiss (B12/Warp Records)
Rothko – Burns In Film (Trace Recordings)
Being – Hurts (Play/Pause Remix) (Trace Recordings/self-released)
Michael Begg – Down Below (Omnempathy)
Ryo Murakami – Untitled 2 (Depth Of Decay)
Daniel Lopatin – Mohegan Suite (Warp Records)
Gang Gang Dance – ( infirma terrae ) (4AD)
Black Light District/COIL – Cold Dream Of An Earth Star (Eskaton/Dais Records)
Drew Mulholland – A Spectre Of Coils (self-released)
France Jobin – 25-45 (Schwebung)
Moss Covered Technology – Departure Process (Polar Seas Recordings)
Pascal Savy – Lost In A Mesh Of Time
Cosmic Ground – Compact/Space (Studio Fleisch/Deep Distance)
Teleplasmiste – To Kiss Earth Goodbye (House Of Mythology)
Stephan Mathieu – Stasis 5 (Ripley’s Dream) (Schwebung)
Fovea Hex – Light (Steve Wilson Remix) (Headphone Dust/Die Stadt)
Index – Flux (Longform Editions)
Autumn Of Communion – Autumn Of Communion (Fax +49-69/450464)
Global Communication – 14:31 (Dedicated)
Rrose – Organ Study No. 4 (Low-Low) (Eaux)
Monos – The Black Sea (Die Stadt)
Slowdive – Moussaka Chaos (Creation Records)
Rival Consoles – Sudden Awareness Of Now (Erased Tapes Records)
Cindytalk – Circumspekt (Remodel)
Plant43 – Wren & Elder (Plant43 Recordings
Alva Noto – Xerrox Sans Retour (Noton)
Nature And Organisation – To You (2020 Version) (Durtro/self-released)
Jon Brooks – Fonn (Clay Pipe Music)