Inspired by time spent travelling to, and through Vietnam, “Trẻ em” captures a journey of introspection and contemplation; of excitement, contentment and considered observation.
Imbibed with a deep appreciation of the country’s sights and sounds, Kit’s affection for the people and places that unknowingly contributed is tangible in its warmth, richness and character. The breadth and depth of these tracks eases through a wealth of shared experiences, the weight of history and the often brutal reality of the world in which we live. Heart-breaking and heart-warming, perhaps the most wonderful thing about “Trẻ em” is its unerringly honest dichotomy.
An album that effortlessly transports and eases you into the heart of the experience, the tremulous “Girl Walking on the Beach Wearing a Skirt” takes you to an idyll of white sands and picturesque isolation - a place where the sun's kissing the horizon and the breeze whispers through the trees casting black silhouettes against a burning amber sky. It’s a track that evokes and transcends, sighing with the tide, truly content in its beauty and natural simplicity.
“Tunnels” is a dramatically different beast, its minimal heartbeat determined in its power. Alive with nervous tension, it’s an invitation to delve into the darkness, crawling towards the infinite, co-existing with the choke of claustrophobic fear and volatile gunfire as the walls close in on a space of dead air and defiance. But even trapped in a place as foreboding as this, fuelled only by adrenalin and a clamouring sense of freedom, there’s still a flicker of optimism in the unknown.
In album closer, “I Grew Up Here” you have the perfect bookend, a warm, swelling piece tinged with longing and sadness but one that flourishes into something warm and wide-eyed. It’s comforting in its reminiscence and warmed by the thought of being welcomed in a place you didn’t call home before but now, will always consider it to be.
Mach V – Send In The Drones
Send In The Drones. Send in the beauty. Send in the classic ambient. Send in a few upcoming releases whilst you’re at it. Send in Mach V.
If you want any of the above, look no further as our favourite curator of all things musically brilliant, Mach V has put together a sublime ambient mix. Over one year in the making, Mach V has been intending to produce a ‘drone’ mix for some time now, but just as I find when mixing, he had little influence on what made the cut when faced with such amazing music. The drone is in there, but it’s peppered with some beautiful moments that break the drone-only mould and keeps this mix interesting throughout.
Like a true gentlemen, Mach V has paid homage to his sources and included some kind words about ASIP and the brilliant Futuresequence in the write-up. He’s also included an exclusive we were lucky enough to receive from Umber and two upcoming tracks from the ASIP Places Series too. One from Ex Confusion and another from Mach V’s audio-visual maestros, Echaskech. More to come on those releases soon, but for now, go ahead and join the inspiration of Jean “Moebius” Giraud and drift away with the drones.
You can read the full post on Mach V’s blog here. Also included below is a brilliant video put together by Mach V and featuring ‘626’ by Echaskech, forthcoming on the ASIP Places Series.
Tracklist: (with links to the free downloadable ones)
00:00 Mark McGuire – Alma (reprise)
01:00 Echaskech – Tundra (from Future Sequence – SEQUENCE2)
05:27 Jonsi & Alex – Boy 1906
08:22 Future Sound of London – Max
11:06 Mara Carlyle – Pianni (From Accidental Records)
13:07 Maps & Diagrams – Domane (From Future Sequence – SEQUENCE2)
15:41 Mountains – Blue Lanterns On East Oxford
19:17 Panda Bear – Drone
22:39 Widesky – _____ is Also Movement (From Future Sequence – SEQUENCE2)
26:20 Ex Confusion – Before We Begin (Forthcoming release on the ASIP Places Series)
30:10 Digitonal – Polaris (From Leaves – Leaving 11)
32:54 Verülf – Iroko (From Verulf -Territorial)
35:00 Hammock – Longest Year
37:20 Vangelis – Love Theme
41:00 Umber – I Wasn’t Aiming For The Ocean (ASIP Exclusive)
46:50 The Bird and the Bee – Spark
50:30 Parks – Song for Autumn
59:15 Biosphere – Monju-2
1:02:55 Jon Hopkins – Journey
1:05:11 Another Fine Day – Spring Song
1:07:37 Echaskech – 626 (Forthcoming release on the ASIP Places Series)
Keith Kenniff – IDM Mix
Keith Kenniff, known for his blissful work as Helios and Goldmund, has gone all IDM with this dig into some of his favourites of the genre. Don’t be fooled into thinking you’re about to lose sight of the gentle tones and melodies often associated with Keith’s work. He quotes, that these are some of his most influential tracks from the genre and there’s a reason for that…
These tracks are beautiful at the core and wrapped in Helios’ awesomeness, but with the extra oscillating beat and bleep, accentuating an otherwise familiar feeling you get from Keith and somehow attaining the always debated ‘IDM’ label. Anyone who’s ever been into IDM or electronica will relate to the tracklist Keith’s put up here, with some of my favourites including; Casino Vs Japan, Brothomstates, Arovane and Hermann & Kleine.
This is a prime example of when labelling by genre doesn’t matter. IDM it may be, quality music’s what it is.
Tracklist:
0:00 – 7:00 – Rod – All My Love
7:00 – 12:36 – Arovane – Deauville
12:36 – 16:44 – Plaid – Ralome
16:46 – 17:07 – Chris Clark – emw
17:07 – 21:17 – Cim – Shift
21:17 – 25:12 – Christian Kleine – Guitar Interrupt
25:12 – 26:40 – Pub – Gota Fria
26:40 – 30:38 – Secede – Outran
30:38 – 36:46 – Casino Vs Japan – Late For School
36:46 – 38:57 – Hermann and Kleine – My Friend Sam
38:57 – 41:06 – Loess – Alluvium
41:06 – 46:43 – Brothomstates – End of an Era
isolatedmix 26 - Loscil: Waterborne
I often struggle to put together introductions for isolatedmix contributors. Not only have most of the artists been featured on the site many times before, but you’ll often find that talent easily precedes reputation and words just don’t do them justice in many instances. But, seeing as i’ve wished for Loscil‘s contribution to the isolatedmix series since day one, i’ll give it a go…
An experienced sound director and a regular contributor to the legendary Kranky record label since 2001, Scott Morgan is without a shadow of a doubt, a master of ambient soundscapes. His 2010 album Endless Falls, was top of everyone’s end of year lists and succeeded at not only improving on his previous Kranky work, but doing it in style, with the title track epitomising the modern classical / ambient divide and wrenching the hearts of fans from both sides.
Since then, Loscil’s made a beautiful contribution to Glacial Movements – also home to bvdub’s infamous release, ‘The Art of Dying Alone’. ‘Coast/Range/Arc’ reflected Loscil’s awesome ability to communicate the cold, the epic, the warm and the engrossing with some of his most atmospheric work to date. 2012 will hopefully see Scott’s sixth contribution to Kranky.
For his isolatedmix, Scott has once again chosen to reflect upon deep textures and thought-inducing moments with a mix themed around water. As you can imagine with such a dimensional topic, the sounds included and the inspiration is varied. The tales behind each track are told by masters of their trade and the journey is expertly compiled by yet another: Loscil.
Mix introduction by Scott Morgan (Loscil):
“Whether conscious or not, water has long been an influential factor in my work. There is something intangible, powerful, emotional, alluring and frightening about water. With this mix, I thought I would explore if and how water has influenced other artists who I respect and admire. A quick peruse of my music collection lead to the discovery of quite a few pieces that are somehow connected to water. Be it rivers, streams, oceans or rainfall, it seems water is often an inspirational subject for many composers and this doesn’t surprise me.
I remember a conversation I had in university with a friend who was studying oceanography and fluid dynamics. I had recently learned about the use of Fast Fourier Transforms (FFT’s) in audio analysis. My layman understanding of this was that FFT’s allow for efficient analysis and resynthesis of audio data so that computers can better handle the vast amounts of sample data typically needed to represent and process digital audio. Long story short, my friend (who had a much better understanding of the application of FFT’s than I) revealed to me that they use the same process and similar math for analyzing tidal data. What struck me about this was that if you look closely at things like sound waves or tidal patterns, etc., there are universal similarities – that almost everything can be boiled down to vibrations, oscillations, frequencies, etc. Of course, there is much more to our relationship with water than just that. We depend on it for life as does all life on this planet. We also play in it, float on it and sometimes it destroys our homes or we drown in it. Growing up on the west coast, many of my memories both fond and otherwise, somehow involve water, whether it be in the foreground or simply in the background. It seems I’m not alone”.
Tracklist & notes by Loscil:
01. Pan*American – Lights On Water (Quiet City)
Impressionistic. We’ve all been there, physically and mentally.
02. Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto – by this river (summvs)
“Here we are stuck by this river, You and I underneath a sky That’s ever falling down, down down, Ever falling down.”
03. Marcus Fischer – Wind And Wake (Monocoastal)
Cascadian consciousness.
04. Carter Burwell – Water Dream (Fur An Imaginary Portrait Of Diane Arbus)
Water scenes.
05. Tom Recchion – Ship At Sea (Chaotica)
Floating and undulating tape loop virtuosity.
06. Ethernet – Seaside (144 Pulsations of Light)
We’re there but not there.
07. Grouper – Down To The Ocean (Cover The Windows And The Walls)
A pleasantly mirky siren song.
08. Chihei Hatakeyama – Starlight Reflecting On The Surface Of The River (Minima Moralia)
Shimmering and evocative.
09. Wes Willenbring – While My Lungs Fill With Water (Somewhere Someone Else)
There is a frightful but liberating feeling in letting go.
10. Clouwbeck – The Water’s Burden (From Which The River Rises)
You can feel the undulating weight of the water’s mass – a gentle but powerful current.
11. Brian Eno & Harold Budd – A Stream With Bright Fish (The Pearl)
It’s a world we can see into but cannot live inside. We are spectators.
12. Gavin Bryars – Titanic Hymn (Autumn) All Strings (The Sinking Of The Titanic)
A slow descent. One of the most haunting impressions of the sinking Titanic.
Loscil | Web
isolatedmix 25 – Applescal: A Telegram To The North
I’m a lover of all things techno and sometimes when it comes to mixes, the guys that spend all their time making the heavy-hitters know a thing or two when it comes to taking it down a level. Applescal is renowned for his tech-tinged beauties that have graced the likes of Traumover the years and not only am I a big fan of the label, Applescal’s productions and remixes are also never far from a regular spin at ASIP HQ.
For those with an eagle eye, you would have noticed I managed to sneak in one of Applescal’s tracks into my latest ‘Traumbient’ mix; ‘Welcome To The Woods’ – a melodic bit of madness which formed the peak of a second tribute to the German label. You may have also caught heed of ‘El Diablo’, Applescal’s latest production released on RTFKT – a music community he lovingly maintains with a few others (you may remember the ASIP Mutecast?) Pascal’s also a bit of a talent when it comes to remixes; Max Cooper, Eelke Kleijn, Morris Cowan and Nick Warren to name just a few on the receiving end lately.
It’s safe to say the youngster has got some diverse skills. For isolatedmix 25, not only do we get a peak into the drive behind the dutchman, but Applescal mixes some brand new inspiration with the old, and when I say brand new, I mean brand spanking new. Add Télépopmusik’s greatest track to that remix list, and you have the icing on the isolated, debuted here in Applescal’s mix for astrangelyisolatedplace.
I caught up with Pascal to ask him a few quick-fire questions and you can also scroll down to see Pascal’s track notes. Follow Applescal on Soundcloud for his latest and greatest or see Applescal.net for more info.
Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind the mix?
I found the inspiration on Soundcloud. There are so many talented and unknown artists out there making really good music. It’s amazing. I love to discover new tunes there and that’s what inspired me to make this mix.
Did you have to leave any favourite tracks out?
Yes, a lot… Tracks by Essay, Chrome Sparks, Tree!, Julien Mier, Aether, Jacob 2-2 and many more.
The sound in the mix is a bit of a change from your productions – when and where do you listen to this type of music?
At home when i’m checking my e-mails or when i’m in the studio. I prefer to listen it when i’m alone.
Have you considered making more downtempo style music?
Not really. I make what i like.. I never know what the result is when i start a new project. Just following my thoughts and feelings and that ends up as a song.
The mix contains an exclusive new Télépopmusik remix from you, can you tell us how this remix came about?
Well, I was working on the mix and I thought it might be cool to mix new music up with some old music. I was listening to Télépopmusik’s ‘smile’ and thought, wow, this track is really cool to edit for the mix. So, before I realised, I worked on a bootleg remix and finished the track in two days.
And the inspiration behind the mix title?
I think the north is really nice. Beautiful nature and nice people. I was going on vacation to Sweden as well when the mix was done, but nothing really special.
What can we expect from Applescal in the future?
I’m working on a lot of new music and planning to share most of it on my Soundcloud. I’m working on a new album which hope to finish this year! Pretty exciting.
Tracklist:
01. Of Oceans – In Love Not Limbo
02. Fourtet – Locked
03. Pien Feith – I have done nothing (Applescal remix)
04. Aebeloe – Elliot
05. ◯laf Stuut – Love
06. Tonik – Snapshot Two
07. Moonbeam – Motus (Applescal remix)
08. Pional – Alabama Dice
09. John Talabot – Families (feat. Glasser)
10. Tortilla Pass – When The Sun Is Here
11. Jonas K.P. – Day
12. Yasume – Slowly, Clearly and Calmly
13. Sigur Ros – Untitled #2 (Sekuoia remix)
14. Floex – Blow up
15. Télépopmusik – Smile (Applescal’s Tribute Mix)
Tracknotes:
01. Of Oceans – In Love Not Limbo: I found this track in a mixtape from Sun glitters (makes pretty cool tunes and mixtapes, you should check them out.)
02. Fourtet – Locked: Great track. I love his style.
03. Pien Feith – I have done nothing (Applescal remix): A remix i did for Pien Feith. She has an amazing voice and hope to work more with her in the future.
04. Aebeloe – Elliot: Pretty cool track by Natal Zaks, a producer from Denmark. He has a cool label called Farver which is part of Origami Sound.
05. ◯laf Stuut – Love This is one of my favorite tracks of 2011. This young guy is from the netherlands as well.
06. Tonik – Snapshot Two: Pretty awesome song by Icelandic Anton Kaldal Ágústsson. I met him on a gig in the netherlands. The vocals are by Johann Kristinsson and he does an exciting solo project as well.
07. Moonbeam – Motus (Applescal remix): I pitched the melody on this remix a bit to make it deep. The original mix by moonbeam is pretty different and i think it’s one of the best remixes i’ve done.
08. Pional – Alabama Dice: I only used the intro of the track. it’s in the same key as my moonbeam remix and i thought it was a good interlude to the next track.
09. John Talabot – Families (feat. Glasser): Great melodie, great vibe. John talabot is very popular at the moment and he deserves it i think. i’m looking forward to his album.
10. Tortilla Pass – When The Sun Is Here: This is a beatmaker. If you’re on soundcloud, he shares a lot of tracks.
11. Jonas K.P. – Day: This track is released on a cool label titled Fødselsdagsbarnets Rec.
12. Yasume – Slowly, Clearly and Calmly: This is an old song.
13. Sigur Ros – Untitled #2 (Sekuoia remix): Is from denmark as well..
14. Floex – Blow up: This is one of my favourite songs of the set. think i’ve listened this song about a 100 times.
15. Télépopmusik – Smile (Applescal’s Tribute Mix): My tribute to Télépopmusik.