isolatedmix 53 - Anders Ilar

Anders first appeared on ASIP in 2012 with isolatedmix 34 and now returns to the series with another superb journey, diving deep into the depth of winters past and the varied sounds that have influenced him from the season.

You may be forgiven for thinking Anders hasn't released any music since his last isolatedmix, but the newly relocated Ludvika resident has been busy with colabs the likes of Yard. As Anders describes "Since my last album Elva on Shitkatapult in 2012 I focused on completing the first album of Our Loving Sun. A project between me and Chris Jones aka Yard, and a few invited friends on vocals, bass and guitar. We started working on the album in January 2011, so it has been a long time to finalize it. A 4-track EP was released on vinyl in October 2013 on swiss label Mina Records with a remix by Ripperton, and the Album was finally released on Bandcamp in October 2014"

During this time he also collaborated with Mina Records founder Claudia Ayala aka Masaya on a track called Stars where he provided the vocals and some additional production, set to be released in May 2015. Next-up Anders is going exactly where we want him to and producing a new ambient album titled Inuti. 

“At the start of 2015 I started working on a new ambient album. It will be called Inuti (Swedish for inside, or within). It’s soundtrack sounding with lots of piano. I’ve invited a few guests to provide some additional instrumentation, such as saxophone and other woodwinds, and bass, guitar and vocals on one or two of the tracks. I’ve also been collecting field recordings this winter - it’s all coming together nicely. ”

— Anders Ilar

Anders' isolatedmix is a segue of ambient musical styles and the perfect precursor to his new project, spanning multiple acoustic approaches from the likes of OPN and Bibio, alongside older-hats such as Tangerine Dream The Legendary Pink Dots and Dead Can Dance.

"This mix was created in late 2014, for the darkest time of the year as a sort of soundtrack to the winter months. The music was selected with great care to create a perfect theme for the darker days and long nights of winter. Elements of Strings, Piano, Horns and woodwinds co-existing with digital and acoustic rhythms, and desolate synthesizers. Bringing the mind to a calm bliss. Music that has inspired me recently and in the past". - Anders Ilar.

Skip below for Anders' narration to this perfectly curated isolatedmix. 

Download.

Tracklist:

1. Erik Truffaz & Murcof - Human Being
2. The Legendary Pink Dots - Premonition 13
3. Dictaphone - Jarszewko
4. Oneohtrix Point Never - Ruined Lives
5. The Legendary Pink Dots - Ballerina On a Rice Paper Leaf
6. Bohren & der Club of Gore - Midnight Walker
7. Bibio - Kaini Industries
8. Dictaphone - A Bout The Souffle
9. Anders Ilar - The Inner Workings
10. The Legendary Pink Dots - Pendulum
11. Shrubbn! - Echo 5|2
12. Bear McCreary - Refugees Return
13. Dead Can Dance - Windfall
14. Tangerine Dream - Sequent C
15. Wunder - Strings Of Clouds
16. The Legendary Pink Dots - Two Steps Beyond

Words about some of the artists/tracks from Anders:

Erik Truffaz & Murcof - Human Being
I first heard of Murcof after reading the name in a review of my own album Everdom from 2003. This track is from his recent album Human Being with Eric Truffaz on Trumpet. Fantastic stuff as always from Murcof.

The Legendary Pink Dots - Premonition 13
Legendary Pink Dots started in 1980 and has been in my aural input for about 30 years now, and these guys keep churning out great experimental  music to this day. For many years I almost forgot about them, but the voice of Edward Ka-Spel haunts me to great affect. Much respect. Included in this mix is four tracks spanning four decades, proving that music is the only way to live. Sing while you may!

Dictaphone - Jarszewko
Dictaphone, another great example of a successful marriage of electronics and acoustics. 

Bohren & der Club of Gore - Midnight Walker
Bohren & der Club of Gore play jazz as slow and deep you can get. I simply love their music, relaxing and soothing. And it even inspired me to start a collaboration with a saxophonist. I found one (Benny Morrison) and we are currently working on some tracks for a new album. Hopefully it will be finished this year.

Bear McCreary - Refugees Return
Bear McCreary has made some of the most excellent scores to date. TV-shows like The Walking Dead and Battlestar Galactica are blessed with his music.

Dead Can Dance - Windfall
Dead Can Dance are one of my all-time favourite bands and inspirations. Beyond words and beyond worlds! 'Within the Realm of a Dying Sun' is possibly the most beautiful music ever created. 

Tangerine Dream - Sequent C
Tangerine Dream (RIP Edgar Froese) are one of my earliest electronic heroes. This track from 1974 album Phaedra had to be slowed down severely to harmonize within the mix.
 

Anders Ilar | Web | Soundcloud | Facebook | 

ASIP - Cathedrals

This mix was inspired by my recent trip to Kauai, and the dramatic Napali Coastline.  As you leave the lush-green tropics by air, you descend into the Waimea Canyon, before hitting the coastline and witnessing these angular cliffs that rise 4000ft above the Pacific Ocean.

Flying over these monumental land-forms, was a truly unforgettable experience.

The mix features old and new music, and includes a sneak-preview of a track from the next ASIP release by Arovane and Hior Chronik (listen to two tracks from the album in our interview with Arovane and Hior here)

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Tracklist:

01. Horizontal Excursions - Into The Mariana Trench (Horizontal Excursions)
02. Arovane & Hior Chronik - A Winterday (Forthcoming / A Strangely Isolated Place)
03. Seraphim Rytm - Nastir Sina (Silent Season)
04. Peter Van Hoesen - Heliotrope (Mindgames)
05. Scuba - Drift (Hotflush)
06. Sebastian Mullaert & Eitan Reiter - Ash Layla (Mule Musiq)
07. Holger Zilske - A Preciso Acreditar (John Tejada Remix) (Acid Test)
08. Luigi Tozzi - Jormungandr (Hypnus)
09. Donato Dozzy - Fazah (Dozzy Records)
10. HTRK - Give It Up (Ghostly)
11. Donato Dozzy - Vaporware 07 (Spectrum Spools)
12. Aphex Twin - 101 Rainbows (Ambient mix) (Rephlex)
13. Donnacha Costello - Dry Retch (Mille Plateaux)

Passing by: Sonae, Levi Patel, Leandro Fresco

Sonae – Far Away Is Right Around The Corner

Sonae’s hard-work and dedication have never been in doubt alongside her brimming talent. The Cologne-based producer’s Places Series EP was just a taster of what to expect for when an inevitable full-length came to fruition.

Far Away Is Right Around The Corner is Sonae’s debut on Monika Enterprise and a natural extension to her Places Series Cologne EP. I’ve enjoyed the unexpectedness and variety of Sonae’s productions (and even her mixes) to date, and her album finally depicts the many courses, battles and emotions she considers when taking to the studio.

A pounding beginning echo-ing with static is followed by the title piece; a shining ambient drone juxtaposed with a piercing synth. Wanderingis another play on Sonae’s explorations of her city no doubt, with eery radio samples, static and decay. The piano has long been Sonae’s weapon of choice and her differing approaches show between the heavy drones in Song Of Hate And Anger and  the uplifting keys in Hot Summerday. My favourite track I Know A Fish, is Sonae’s most balanced piece to date and a defining piece for the album.

Within each track lies hidden meanings, a hidden emotion and a confusion of sorts, that only becomes apparent as a whole. Skip through the tracks and you’d miss it. Listen as a whole and you’ll be engrossed until the end – a story with highs, lows, twist and turns. Available on LP / digital download.

Listen and download Sonae’s Places Series release Cologne here.

Levi Patel – Of Sleep and Time

After his big step with Forms on Dado Records, Levi Patel has returned with a mini EP, which he recognises as a different approach to his earlier material. But let me make this clear – this is probably only a different approach to a musical genius like him… sure it focuses more on the piano, and is definitely less Soundtrack, but to us mere mortals, the pure emotion and melancholy still remain. You’d be quick to draw comparisons with Nils Frahm’s early days, but it’s Olafur Arnalds and Otto A.Totland who’ll be witnessing a similar young prodigy tread in the same, gentle footsteps. Available on Bandcamp.

Listen and download Levi’s Places Series release, Dissociation, here.

Leandro Fresco – El Reino Invisible

Leandro’s latest, El Reino Invisible, is the first in a new Pop Ambient album series, which follows the acclaimed compilation series – a move that was to many of us inevitable given the quality of output so far. Kompakt have always ‘released’ ambient albums, but only now have they decided to position them under the successful Pop Ambient guise.

Expect nothing unexpected from Leandro and everything you’ve come to love from the Pop Ambient mainstay – his beautiful, warm synth-sound wrapped in subtle melodies is a perfect start to the series. As Leandro quotes, “I do not associate this album with feelings of sadness, but with hope, light and the summer heat, full of cyan and orange colors”, much like a summer trip to Buenos Aires accompanied by the man himself. El Reino Invisible is the equivalent of putting your music on auto-play when watching a superb sunset – a warm, slowly evolving and colourful attack on the senses. Just as the first track translates, we’re hoping it’s A Golden Age for Pop ambient after this signature release.

Available to preview/listen and pre-order on Kompakt.

Rob Dowell - All Of The Sudden

Rob Dowell has featured on here a few times with his mixes. Also known as the collective Warm Art, the name becomes self-explanatory where style is brought into question. Every DJ knows the warm-up is the hardest set to nail, but Rob has proved on numerous occasions he takes it in his stride.

Whilst this particular set is themed as a reminder of how quickly things can change, it still represents a tantalising start to a long night ahead with some our favourite artists.

Tracklist:

Lusine ICL - Scheming (Hecq Remix)
No Accident In Paradise - Taniec
Koan - Circes Touch (Krusseldorf Remix)
Gidge - Fauna Pt 1
Scuba - Before (After)
Koan - Underwater Moonlight (Blue Mix)
Solar Fields - Air Song (Remastered Remix)
Mono Electric Orchestra - Low Ball
Mooryc - Open It
John Hopkins - Open Eye Signal (Asleep Version)
Dawn Golden - Discoloration
Downliners Sekt - Hors Phase
Tripswitch - Deer Park
Koan - Adore (Non Fiction Mix)
Midnight Pulse - Mirror Lake

Below, you'll find Rob's mixes from the archive, previously featured on ASIP .

Rob Dowell - Holding Patterns

“Experiments in pitch bending, best heard on a cold and cloudy day” – a perfectly short and sweet intro for Rob Dowell’s latest mix. Robs last featured mix, ‘Figment Fragments’ was massively popular and ‘Holding Patterns’ reinforces Rob’s ability to craft mind-bending sets with amazing attention to detail alongside creative mixing techniques. This mix goes up a notch in the creative department and as the intro mentions, pitch bending plays a major part. Moderat may have been slowed, but think of it as an extended intro to the brilliant ‘Taeuschnungs Blume’…

Download.

Tracklist:
01. Hecq – Dis
02. Chillout – Cold
03. Kettel – Halt Them
04. Hecq – Never Leave
05. Solar Fields – When The Worlds Collide
06. Naono – Healing Process
07. The Field – Then It’s White
08. Marina And The Diamonds – Obsessions (Ooooo Remix)
09. Alexandre Navarro – My Life In Exctasy
10. Lykke Li – I Follow Rivers (The Lost Sessions Vol. 1)
11. Naono – Aether Talk
12. Worm Is Green – Synthia (Exos Laidback Mix)
13. Appaloosa – Patchwork (Bostro Pesopeo Remix)
14. M83 – Fountains
15. Moderat – Rusty Nails
16. Hammock – Cruel Sparks
17. Dominik Eulberg – Taeuschnungs Blume
18. Secede – Memory Table Pt. 2

Rob Dowell - Figment Fragments

Rob’s set is said to be inspired by several of the isolatedmix’s which have been featured on ASIP over the past few months, evident by the inclusion of Solar Fields, the Winterlight remix of Bitcrush (featured in isolatedmix14) and of course, Tripswitch‘s ‘Strange Parallel’s’. But don’t let the familiarity put you off; Rob keeps a really nice solid run to this set, with big atmospheric downtempo tracks all tidily blended together and some recognisable favourites including the classic, Gorecki by Lamb and that brilliant track by Rocket Empire. Rob also has quite a few more downtempo mixes to keep you busy, should this leave you craving for more.

Download.

Tracklist:
Solar Fields – Reborn
Liquid Stranger – Mutants
Bitcrush – Every Sunday (Winterlight Remix)
Krusselfdorf – Verticulate
Sami Halinen – Tripper
Koan – Matariki
Rocket Empire Feat. Minna Fedora – Burr Dub
Tj Kong & Nuno Dos Santos Feat. Jemeni – Once Upon A Rhyme (Jozif Remix)
Le Vinyl – Buscando A Ari Victor
Skeptical – Idimmer
Alexkid – I Think (Dorfmeister And Alexkid Remix)
Lamb – Gorecki (Instrumental And Original Mixes)
Tripswitch – Strange Parallels
The Free Association – Shanghai

http://warmartmusic.com
http://soundcloud.com/robdowell

Porya Hatami – Shallow (Remixed)

Iran’s Porya Hatami has returned nearly one year after his much beloved album on Tench, Shallow, with a remix EP. Packed full of greatness, the EP enlists the help of many favourites that have adorned both ASIP in the past, and the label behind this new venture,Dewtone.

To start, Fen is a 21 minute track in its original form, so no easy task for any remixer when trying to distill into their own sound. Loscilreplicates the evolution of the track from the fuzzy beginning into a repetitive gentle tinkering; unwinding and dancing into glares of light.

Segue takes a similar approach but adds his signature layered dub to the track. This addition brings a new dynamic to Fen and by the end, a completely new track has emerged bar a few small complimentary samples, yet the warm fuzzy feeling still remains.

Compliments to the curator, Sven Laux takes the track up a further notch and enticing you into the compilation further, with more distinct beats and subtle pauses, teasing before the next rolling bass-line. Sven’s remix shines with a beautiful break around 4 minutes-in, where Porya’s airy pads are brought forward as very delicate strings.

Halo and The Green Kingdom take on After The Rain. With Pasquale, a veteran at rainy landscapes (check Europe), this track becomes a no-brainer and Porya’s synthesized drops are transformed into a picturesque moment which sees Halo adorn the track with a dream-like piano melody and distant background noise. Rain falling on a porch as you sit pondering the meanderings happening outside.

The Green Kingdom, akin to Segue, adds warmth and a Yagya-esque approach to After The Rain. Out of submerged bass-lines and a shimmering gloss, grows a beautiful dub-techno piece.

Their’s a similarity to the tracks on the original recording of the EP – the beautiful washes of ambient light and the tiny tinkering of bells remain true across the productions. Instead of starting from scratch on remixes or manipulating a melody, the EP has allowed for each remixer to take these fundamental elements and paint them in their own style – and this couldn’t be more true for the last track, White Forest.

From Purl’s bubbling beats and nikosf’s more upfront head-nodding dub-techno approach, to Arovane’s stripped-back, crackling analog piece that makes a heart-monitor-sound enticing and warm; this is a platform for each artist to shine in their own style and truly define what it means to remix a track.

Lastly, Bjorn Rohde, who’s know for a few differing production styles, takes an interesting approach to his remix; accentuating the many samples, sounds and emotion found in the original; clearing the clouds on a blustery day and shedding the light across the White Forest,just as a photographer gently kneels in the grass to capture the disappearing sun – signalled by the drone of a piano.

Available via Dewtone.com.

Read more on the release of Shallow and an interview with Porya from last year, here.

Tracklist:

1. Fen (By Loscil) 06:50
2. Fen (By Segue) 06:30
3. Fen (by Sven Laux) 09:05
4. After The Rain (by Halo) 05:30
5. After The Rain (by The Green Kingdom) 06:00
6. White Forest (by Purl) 08:30
7. White Forest (by nikosf.) 07:10
8. White Forest (by Arovane) 04:00
9. White Forest (by Bjorn Rohde) 12:55