isolatedmix 63 - Warmth

With previous releases on Etoka, Rohs! Records and MOSHItaka, Spain's Warmth has been a staple contributor to some of the many labels that keep the ambient genre a deep wealth of quality music. It's easy to push such labels aside unless you dive in and spend time absorbing the output- these labels provide a consistent source of exploration for ASIP and undoubtedly inspire many more.

After several releases, gaining love and attention from a wider ambient following, Warmth decided to release his best work to date on his own label, Archives - now another growing, well-respected home to ambient and dub-techno. The album, titled Essay, was the coming-of-age for Warmth, demonstrating his peaceful, atmospheric and lush approach to ambient music, and is already being heralded as one of the best ambient albums of the year. 

With such a defined style and admired respect for the ambient sound, Warmth's isolatedmix provides another platform for expression, taking us through some of his most admired pieces, showcasing some of the inspiration that shaped his productions, and an additional taste of his own work.

An introduction to the mix, in his own words:

"It all starts with a track called 'The Place', which I made especially for the mix. I started the project one afternoon; usually when I get some time to produce, but I woke up in the middle of the night. I could not sleep with the heat and I started working on the mix of the track. The last time I did that was years ago, but the truth is that it was quite inspiring to work on the project with the dawn light in the background, maybe that's why it ended up sounding a bit dramatic.

There is also a remix I did for a self-released track of Purl, titled 'Sagan', which should be released some time in the future. He is one of my favorite producers and I really wanted to get my hands on his music. At first I did something closer to the original track but I felt like that was not working and I ended up starting from scratch, using some of the ambient parts and adding some pads on my own to make an ambient version. 

You can also hear a track from the upcoming album by Purl on Archives 'Form Is Emptiness'. It is called 'Vissna' and is one of my favorites on the album, the track has a haunting and tense beauty. There are also some tracks from producers close to me that I really admire, as Logic Moon, Shuta Yasukochi, Tobias Hellkvist, Murkok or Robert Farrugia and pieces from artists who inspire me a lot, as Siavash Amini, Arovane & Hior Chronik and Hotel Neon".

Download.

Tracklist:

01. Warmth - The Place [Unreleased]
02. Purl - Sagan (Warmth Remix) [Unreleased]
03. Shuta Yasukochi - Tape Machine [Archives]
04. Murkok - Veda [Bandcamp]
05. Purl - Vissna [Upcoming]
06. Tobias Hellkvist - Vesterhavet 1 [Bandcamp]
07. Logic Moon - The Shape Of Room [Archives]
08. Hotel Neon - Remnants [Bandcamp]
09. Siavash Amini - Dusk [Futuresequence]
10. Arovane & Hior Chronik - Relief  [ASIP]
11. Robert Farrugia - Timbre [Archives]

isolatedmix 62 - Benoît Pioulard

A Kranky Records regular since 2006, Thomas Meluch has slowly but surely earned a swell of respect and admiration from the wider ambient community through his textured instrumental manipulations.

As well as his Benoît Pioulard pseudonym, Thomas has also produced alongside Rafael Anton Irisarri as Orcas, with two albums on Morr Music, and more recently, released my favorite album of his to date; Sonnet, which I was lucky to witness live on a hot Portland summer evening last year.  2016 however, sees a bitter-sweet production in his latest release, Radial; treating us listeners to some special unreleased productions, including his own take on an Aphex Twin classic, Stone In Focus.

Just like Aphex's ambient classics, such as Rhubarb, Thomas' interpretations and indeed his productions in general, reproduce this simplicity and swell of emotion.  Radial captures the very essence of Thomas's work, as a spectrum of degrading colors, gently shift in waves of warmth, static and blanketing drones.

Radial, comes under disappointing circumstances however, with Thomas recently breaking his wrist while hiking, hindering him from working and producing. Funds from the EP (currently name your price on Bandcamp) will go towards medical bills and lost hours of production. 

A track from the EP has the final word in Benoît's isolatedmix, appending a considered mixture of music that has helped keep him company since his injury:  "these are some of the records that I've found to be most healing over the past couple of weeks while mostly kind of cooped up at home with books, movies and cats." Healing indeed, as the mix drifts between soothing deepness in Warmth's recent ambient output; Markus Guentner's, Baryon; and Zane Trow's futuristic experimentations, alongside moments of uplifting light from Bibio, Chilly Gonzalez and Elvis Depressedly. 

Download.

1. Ant'lrd : Aplomb : Split
2. Andrew Chalk : Untitled : The River That Flows Into the Sands
3. Colin Stetson : This Bed of Shattered Bone : New History Warfare Vol. 3
4. Elvis Depressedly : Weird Honey : Holo Pleasures
5. Future 3 : Trmbns : With and Without
6. Warmth : Odessa : Essay
7. Memory Drawings : Sunstruck : Music for Another Loss
8. Markus Guentner : Baryon : Theia 
9. Saint Hildegard : Ave Generosa : A feather on the breath of God
10. E and I : A Perhaps Song : An Inch of Air
11. Chilly Gonzalez : Rideaux Lunaires : Solo Piano II
12. Zane Trow : Arcade : For Those Who Hear Actual Voices
13. Bibio : Wren Tails : A Mineral Love
14. Kyle Bobby Dunn : Duck-Faced Fantasy : Kyle Bobby Dunn and The Infinite Sadness
15. Benoît Pioulard : Madrigal : Radial

Benoît Pioulard | Web | Bandcamp | Soundcloud | Facebook

isolatedmix 61 - Christian Kleine

Classical trumpet. New wave. Post-punk. House. Hip-hop. Detroit techno...

It seems right to introduce Christian Kleine by describing his early influences, especially if you are familiar with his work. He could quickly become pigeonholed as an early pioneer of IDM and electronica, with legendary releases on Morr Music and City Centre Offices, but whilst this assumption is true for many of us, to this day he prides himself on his openness to musical styles and its many potential influences on his productions.

Christian's most notorious efforts can be heard alongside DJ Thaddeus Herrmann, as Herrmann & Kleine, or as a producer on Arovane's infamous Tides, but Kleine's detailed electronic productions have always remained true to his beliefs and signature sound. Listening back to his first album, Beyond Repair (2001), or his most recent release Coreal (2016), the ambient textures still hold strong amongst the mix of instruments, crunchy beats, glistening melodies and the odd Japanese train announcements. James Holden dropping Leaving you Behind in his Balance mix  (arguably one of the best mixes of all time) proved the timelessness of the sounds to come from Christian and Herrmann. Fifteen years of Kleine so far and we're still left wanting more of the same.

"I try not to exclude any kind of music from being heard in my life. Even at an early age I had a special interest in everything that's different from the ordinary. So at some point, when I was around 16 or so, I found no contradiction playing Detroit techno records in addition to (for e.g) Dead Kennedys, at juvenile punk parties. Some people had a different opinion and tried to stop me, but eventually some began to see some similarities in vibe and sound.  

I try to keep this sort of practice as a general principle in my life; to soak up what’s beyond or before, or what the connecting elements and attitudes in music are. As punk/post-punk, 90s hip-hop, drum&bass and later electronica were big inspirations for me, so was music which is just what it is - music not trying to be classified in any way. This kind of music can often be found from artists who are driven not by fame or money, but by passion and interest in melodies and sound itself - that’s where the most intimate and inspiring forms of music have their home and it’s a pleasure to dive into it. Just drift and let go…" - Christian Kleine.

Christian's ethos is both eclectic and unapologetic when embracing music and it just goes to show how superb both your productions, and your mixes can be when approached with such openness. Isolatedmix 61 is a detailed dive into a multitude of granular styles, with early classical and library influences, soundtracks and more recent ambient and electronica; all forming smaller parts of a bigger picture that Christian sets out to paint. 

Christian Kleine's latest album Coreal is now available on Bandcamp, or if you're more interested in his approach to production, jump into his Ableton software project Max For Cats. 

Download

01. Kagel - Nah & Fern (Montaigne - 1995)
02. Morton Feldmann – Two Hands/Intermission (Another Timbre - 2014)
03. Walt Rockman – Dangerous Deep Sea (Sonoton - 1980)
04. Tone Language – Winter's Thrill (Korm Plastics - 2000)
05. The Focus Group – Leaving Through (Ghost Box - 2007)
06. Christian Kleine – Endless Nights
07. Bola – Aguilla (Skam - 1998)
08. Gene Moore - Carnival of Souls OST (Citadel - 2006)
09. Dorine Muraille – 07 (FatCat - 2003)
10. Takagi Masakatsu – Flows (Karaoke Kalk - 2002)
11. V.A. Heroin – New Years Eve (Staalplaat - 2001)
12. Zbigniew Karkowski + Kaspar T Toeplitz – Le Depeupleur (Recordings Of Sleaze Art - 2000)
13. Raymond Scott – Sleepy Time (Basta - 1999)
14. Kawabata Makoto – I Miss You (Ochre - 2002)
15. Ooze Bap – Track 05
16. Jacob Druckman - Crystalline 

Christian Kleine Web | Bandcamp | Soundcloud | Max For Cats

isolatedmix 60 - Porya Hatami

Porya Hatami first featured on ASIP at the beginning of 2014 as we geared up to his release on Tench, titled Shallow. The interview gave a short and sweet introduction to the Iranian producer and his respected field recording and live sampling production approach. 

Shallow, went on to receive the remix treatment on Dewtone, with many of our favorite artists contributing to a stunning release, including: Loscil, Arovane, Halo, Bjorn Rohde, Purl and The Green Kingdom. Porya also combined forces with Arovane and his analogue, granular style on the brilliant Resonance last year - a finely tuned craft of subtle electronics, as well as a partnership with Darren McClure in a similar vein, on In-Between Spaces.  

These partnerships have allowed Porya's subtle ambient manipulations to combine forces with similar artists to great effect so far, and 2016 sees him continue this trend as part of The Angling Loser, a collective alongside Lee Norris, Gordon Jones and Shintaro Aoki.

With all this pretense, it goes without saying that Porya was an obvious choice for the recent ASIP Arovane & Hior Chronik remix EP, where he adorned the powerful cello and deep drones of Past Creates The Future; creating an enriching, deeper and more minimal take on the original. He possesses an acute and powerful skill to manipulate the most delicate of sounds, drawing on single elements and expanding tones, rhythms and emotion. 

For his isolatedmix, Porya gives us a unique insight into some of his favorite tracks that have influenced his approach over the years. The minimal glitch of Raster Noton and Mille Plateaux, transcend into the ambient beauty of Purl, Markus Guentner and Gas before the warm energy of Gramm and Jan Jelinek's subtle beats complete the proceedings. 

Download.

Tracklist:

01. Shuttle358 - Frame  (Frame) [12k]
02. Modul - Kkun I  (Isol) [Raster Noton]
03. SND - 00039 d.6  (Stdio) [Mille Plateaux]
04. Robert Lippok - Open (Open Close Open) [Raster Noton]
05. Farben - Bayreuth (Textstar) [Klang Electronik]
06. Porya Hatami - White Forest (Purl remix)  (Shallow Remixes) [Dewtone]
07. Markus Guentner - Der Wustenplanet  (1981) [Kompakt]
08. Porya Hatami - After the rain (The Green Kingdom Remix)  (Shallow Remixes) [Dewtone]
09. Gas - Königsforst 04  (Königsforst) [Mille Plateaux]
10. Gramm - Type Eins (Personal Rock) [Source Records]
11. Jan Jelinek - Tendency (Loop Finding Jazz records) [~scape]

Porya Hatami Web/Bandcamp |  Soundcloud | Twitter

isolatedmix 59 - Martin Nonstatic: Inside

It's been an amazing 2015 for Martin Nonstatic, with his crowning moment arriving in the form of a stunning release on Ultimae Records. As I wrote last month, and as many have no doubt since heard, it's one of the best ambient electronica albums released this year, so I feel extremely lucky to round out this year's isolatedmix series with a very special effort by Martin.

After a busy few years producing the likes of Granite and rearranging his set up, studio, workflow and recording ­sample libraries, Martin decided to take himself back Inside again. Accompanied by "hundreds of hours of ASIP's beautiful mixes" (his words not mine!) Martin came up with the idea to curate several pieces of his material and create a live mix, dedicated to one of his favorite places.

Inside invites you closer behind the scenes of Martin's studio, through dusty crackled samples, dub chords, layered atmospheres, drones and sonic ideas salvaged from previous live sessions and recordings, found throughout his hardware and recording libraries. 

To make the mix even more special, we've had three parts of the mix mastered by NikosF and prepared for download over on Bandcamp. There's a minimal price for the release on Bandcamp for the people seeking extra quality, but the actual mix is as always, free to download below. 

Thanks to Martin and NikosF for the stunning effort and making our last mix of the year extra special. We hope you enjoy it.

Download.

Buy high quality on Bandcamp.

Martin Nonstatic | Web | Facebook | Soundcloud