Pre-order Merrin Karras / Apex (ASIPV005)

Pre-order is now available for our upcoming release by Merrin Karras, available on limited edition "Balearic Sea' green double vinyl, and digital. 

Please note, for UK/EU customers, there will be plenty of copies available on release date (June 10th) at Juno.co.uk and other fine retailers. So to save on shipping, you can hold out until then - this pre-order is best for US customers (or those desperate to not miss out!)

You can stream the ever-so-epic synth build of Void below.

Full release information can be found here.

Markus Guentner - Theia (Now available)

There was chaos and violence, a collision of dark matter and heat. 
In the maelstrom, a legacy was created and a new moon born. 
She left something here forever.
But amongst infinite black depths,
Theia rages on. 

Depicting the legendary impact of the planet Theia, Pop Ambient pioneer Markus Guentner returns to vinyl, with a highly anticipated full-length LP.  

The evolution of a historic astrological moment is brought to life through a dramatic, evolving soundscape that only Markus could capture. Drones build upon swathes of light, cut by an ever-present sense of fear. The distant shine of stars puncture a pitch-black canvas, as a force gathers momentum and intensifies. Theia's tortuous movement slowly builds in-front of you, and the inevitable moment of impact creeps closer and louder. The destruction is desolate, dramatic and beautiful all at once.

Markus has become synonymous with this unique style of ambient music over the years, stretching between intensely layered, looping rhythms, and subtle rolling dub-techno. His early releases onKompakt set the tone for the respected Pop Ambient sound, 
through genre defining tracks such as Express Yourself. Markus went on to release albums with Sending Orbs, Ware, Affin and most recently Moodgadget, as well as a Places Series EP for A Strangely Isolated Place (Talking Clouds) and remixes for the label's debut LP, Uncharted Places.

This is Markus' first dedicated vinyl release since 2006, and with it comes the care and attention to detail deserved of such a return. Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri at Black Knoll Studio, RAI also lends his hand to one track, manipulating an entire soundscape with nothing but his signature guitar.

Pressed on opaque vinyl allowing the artwork to mimic the shine of the moon, ASIP creative talent Nick Brzostowski has turned the artist's vision into a piece of art, with his meticulous custom design.

Theia is available as double opaque vinyl (with free high-quality download) housed in a matte gatefold sleeve, and as a digital download through Bandcamp. 

Buy on Bandcamp (digital and vinyl - US Shipping)

Buy on Juno (vinyl - UK/EU Shipping)

Buy on n5MD (vinyl - US Shipping)

Video: Markus Guentner - Theia (teaser)

There was chaos and violence, a collision of dark matter and heat. 
In the maelstrom, a legacy was created and a new moon born. 
She left something here forever.
But amongst infinite black depths,
Theia rages on.

Markus Guentner's new album, Theia is getting closer by the day, with an expected launch date around early November. This rather beautiful video to help tease the release was put together by Jan Goldfuss http://jangoldfuss.de/.

Stay tuned for more on the ASIPV004 release and watch the full video below featuring a snippet from the first track off the album, titled Magnetar.  (Make sure you watch in HD with your headphones turned up).

Arovane & Hior Chronik - In-between (ASIPV003) now available

I'm extremely proud to announce the label's very first artist album is now available, featuring one of my musical heroes, Arovane, and one of the most promising artists to recently emerge, Hior Chronik. In-between, is available on double, pure-white vinyl, housed in a matt-laminated gatefold sleeve (+ download card), and as a digital album through Bandcamp. 

Our very-own Nick Brzstowski was once again at the helm for the ethereal artwork, taking inspiration from photos the artists provided, and Rafael Anton Irisarri added the magic touch to the masters.

There will be a limited amount of vinyl available directly on Bandcamp, but Juno Records will have the majority of stock, with several other stockists coming soon. See the releases page for more information and the latest stockists globally.

Buy vinyl: Juno
Buy digital: Bandcamp

In 2004, Arovane said “Goodbye Forever” with a heartfelt departure on Lilies - his final album on the renowned City Centre Offices label and his most defining piece to date. In 2013, Arovane made a surprising  return with his notorious IDM style for the n5MD label, but we were left asking when, or if, Uwe would ever return to his  ethereal and orchestral productions.

In-between sees Arovane team-up with Greece’s Hior Chronik, known for various productions with Singapore’s Kitchen Label (home to Haruka Nakamura and Aspidistrafly). Hior's debut album, Taking The Veil, released earlier this year on Kitchen, played host to some of the best instrumental partnerships we could've wished for, including Field Rotation and Halo.

Alongside Uwe, Hior brings a modern-classical, delicate prowess to Arovane’s detailed, electronic, analog power - a beautiful and ethereal combination. 

Pianos, field-recordings and strings amongst modular synthesizers create a shimmering canvas of ambient music, touching the heart, and transporting you to the musical equilibrium that exists between these two good friends. Crafted in Berlin, through multiple improvised studio sessions, In-between started as an experiment and finished as a harmonious journey between places and producers alike.

Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri
Artwork by Nick Brzostwoski
Cat: ASIPV003/ASIPV003-DLD

Tracklist:
01. A Day, November 2013
02. Wunderland
03. After Tomorrow
04. Pendel
05. Past Creates The Future (Feat. Aaron Martin on Cello)
06. Plennt Road
07. Scale
08. Maedra
09. A Winter day
10. Relief
11. Velvve

ASIPV002 – Europe Vinyl Case

Kevin Bryce has once again been hard at work putting together something very special for our vinyl release, Europe. Similar to his custom CD cases for Uncharted Places, the electronica artist turned his skills to the woodwork studio to surpass all expectations and create a unique piece of art to accompany our second vinyl release.

Made with Walnut, finished with Natural Tung Oil and featuring Bubinga, Coca Bola and Koa wood inlay segments, each one is unique and has taken months to hand-craft.

“I (Kevin) used a Zenbot CNC machine to do the engraving and inlay cutting, and then finished the case by hand and gave it several coats of Tung oil. Tung oil is a natural oil from the nut of the Tung tree. It is an environmentally friendly wood finish and it is my favourite as it brings a warm lustre to woods like this one, – Walnut. It usually comes in two ways, one with mineral spirits to speed the drying process, and one completely natural. These cases were completed with 100% natural Tung oil, meaning it took an extra few days to dry, but the upside is, it should be safe to eat off of should you choose to do so!”

The design was conceived by my friend Nick Brzostowski and represents the ten tracks included on Europe. My brief to him was to represent the ten tracks in a very simple, striking way that would integrate with Kevin’s woodwork. Nick ended up with this beautiful geometric approach, pin-pointing the areas the tracks were inspired by, and connecting the design back to the four corners of the globe, alongside my home, Portland, Oregon. We ended up with a truly global effort; from Kevin in the Fraser Valley of Vancouver, to Nick in London, myself in Portland and all of the artists featured on the release across Europe.

There will be just five of these special edition Europe vinyl cases available, going on sale on Sunday February 1st 2015 at 11am PST, 7pm GMT via the ASIP Bandcamp Page. They will be priced at $200 plus postage (postage is unfortunately expensive to anywhere outside of the USA). The price still doesn’t do the many hours that went into this product justice, but I want to make sure that Kevin can at least recoup his material costs and continue his trade ready for our next release. A big thank-you to Kevin Bryce for his relentless perfectionism and dedication on this project.

More details on the vinyl and digital release of ASIPV002 Europe, available here.