Anonymous Various Artists - Covert

Martin Boulton, the man behind the label, Touched, is doing the music world a favor in every sense of the word. Not only is he dedicating his label and any profits to a good cause, but he's also enlisting help from some of the best electronic musicians in the world along the way.

Past Touched compilations have featured everyone from Arovane, Autechre, Ulrich Schnauss, 808 State, Bibio, Christ, Loscil, FSOL, U-ziq, Hecq and Orbital to name just a few recognizable faces. So you'd be forgiven for getting extremely annoyed at the latest Touch release as this time, contributors have been kept a purposeful secret...

What does that leave us with? Well, it's an IDM/electronica affair. A sincerely great one, at that. The compilation is quickly becoming a guessing game amongst the die-hard and various names from IDM/electronica eras of great are being thrown out for consideration. Christ, Aphex, Boards of Canada, Mike Paradinas, Plaid, Autechre ... you name them, there's a sound, synth, analog glitch or ghostly drum pattern in here that will make you dig through your late 90's, early 00's CD's to try match the signature sounds.

It's hard to pick a favorite from such a solid bunch. The breaks of Streetscape sent me rocking. Charm, sent me back to the hey-days of the many big-beat Orbital parties I went to. Doloxan, Northwest Territories and Even If I Lose Everything made me revisit BoC's 'Tomorrow's Harvest' once again for a dark, nostalgic trip. 

Whether it's imitators of the real-thing, names shouldn't matter at this point. It's some of the best electronica you'll be hearing for a while. 

CD+ Digital available on Bandcamp.

Neel, Donato Dozzy, Just Music, Dewtone

Neel - Live at Free Rotation '15

From one of our favorite producers comes a rare live set recording, featuring tracks from WNDFRM, Global Communication and a host of other warm, driving atmospheric techno artists. My experience seeing VFTL a few years back was still one of my most memorable gigs of all time and Neel is still evidently pushing the magic far and wide. Available to download on Soundcloud.

Phonatic - Dozzy Dives under 120

You can't really have Neel, without Dozzy, so here's a tribute mix by Phantic that captures some of Dozzy's more subdued (<120bpm) ambient productions as himself, in remix mode and as half of Voices From The Lake. Available to download on Soundcloud.

Ambient Zone 2: Just Music Café Vol 5

Just Music have been around for over ten years now and are solely responsible for introducing the world to Jon Hopkins, and ASIP friends and favorites, Echaskech. Just Music's newest compilation shouldn't simply be glanced over as your average chill-out compilation simply because of the rather cliché title. Melancholic ambience from Digitonal, an individual piano piece from Jon Hopkins, driving atmospheres from Xspance, and that infamous ethereal-Schnauss sound from Echaskech grace this compilation, curated by the mighty Chris Coco. This is the type of music that I used to write about when I first started this site, and it makes me happy to know it's still going strong today. Available on Bandcamp.

Dewtone - Reflections

Dewtone have been relatively quiet recently, but that hasn't stopped Dustin and his collective from piecing together some of their finest work over these two Reflection compilations. Remastered and edited for re-release, the compilations capture the very essence of the label with tracks from some of their most notorious releases of recent years including Purl, Deflektion, Martin Nonstatic, Alveol, Sven Laux and ASIP's Halo. Available on Bandcamp.

isolatedmix 58 - Joachim Spieth

In 2001, the very first Pop Ambient compilation was released by Kompakt.

Track one; You Don't Fool Me. It was a sound that had me hooked from the very start, amongst a series that still reigns supreme today.

Joachim Spieth had the pleasure of kicking off the legendary series but is yet to return, unlike many other Pop Ambient artists gracing more recent compilations. Instead, Joachim focused on producing techno, going on to release across Kompakt and in 2008 establishing his very own label, Affin.

The label has grown to become one of the most respected outputs for minimal, techno, and indeed ambient music, playing host to two Markus Guentner releases; Counting Stars (2008) and Crystal Castle (2009) as well as fellow Pop Ambient contributor Gustavo Lamas, and many more cultivated artists from the mind of Joachim.

With such an esteemed background and deep interest in ambient music I invited Joachim to contribute to the isolatedmix series without any expectations of the sound he would put forward. As you'll hear, Joachim's gone back to his early ambient days, with a well-balanced respect for techno throughout. The dubby presence of Echospace Detroit plays an integral part and he's even been so kind to include one of Markus Guentner's ASIP tracks. 

It's also the shortest track list we've ever played host-to in the series, but with names such as Brock Van Wey and Echospace gracing the list, you can be sure this thing has enough depth to keep you submersed for years. 

Download

Tracklist:

01. Model 500 - Starlight (Intrusion Extended Dub) Echospace Detroit
02. Claudio PRC - From The Nebular Stars to The Mosses on The Granite Rocks - 06 Plantae - The Gods Planet
03. Markus Guentner - Limb - A Strangely Isolated Place
04. Brock Van Wey - Forever A Stranger - Echospace Detroit
05. Intrusion - Static Waves - Echospace Detroit

Tracknotes from Joachim:

Model 500 - Starlight (Intrusion Extended Dub) 
It’s an all-time favorite of mine. The original version touched me so much when I got into electronic music.. and years after I fell on this extended dub .... amazing... could be 20 min longer ...

Claudio PRC - From The Nebular Stars to The Mosses on The Granite Rocks - 06 Plantae
This is part of an installation at Botanischer Garten in Berlin. I was there when it happened. It was an amazing atmosphere... You can find the whole album as a free download on The Gods Planets Bandcamp shop...

Markus Guentner - Limb [available here]
Markus is a master of layering sounds... since our early Kompakt days I love his music.

Brock Van Wey - Forever A Stranger
...like voices of love...

Intrusion - Static Waves
Intrusion, another tune that should never end....

~

Joachim Spieth | Web | Affin

Martin Nonstatic - Granite

Sometimes, you get to see one of your favorite artists continue to strive for beautiful music and sometimes, they land exactly where you hope they would. This is one of those instances.

Martin Nonstatic has featured on our good friends Silent Season and Dewtone with several EP's before this, his coming-of-age album, and undoubtedly his finest piece to date. There's no greater platforms than the aforementioned labels for this type of organic music and Martin has never failed to lull us into his warm tones on each occasion. After several EP's, we were all wishing for a full-length album one day.

Granite, has landed, and on Ultimae Records no less. A favorite label of mine for years, playing host to the likes of Solar Fields and Carbon Based Lifeforms, it's a fitting home for Martin, but one that raised an eyebrow in terms of how Martin's music may present itself on such an esteemed, atmospheric label, often home to the more trance-like or psychedelic sound.

It's a natural progression to say the least. Martin's gracious warmth and appreciation for slow-burning melodies have evolved to reach new atmospheres - more space, more angst, and more definition in his sound. A unique balance of dub-techno, ambient, psy-trance and electronica - a sound that Ultimae have continued to push forward since early 00's, And in Martin Nonstatic, they've found the best of the bunch.

Available on Bandcamp.

We have a very special Martin Nonstatic isolatedmix dropping in December...

Sraunus, Kaito, Desolate, Mikaël Delta and Hior Chronik

Sraunus - Novellas

Sraunus sneeked an old EP up on Bandcamp this week. Originally released on Blikmuzik in 2014, it's of the atmospheric, deep, dubbiness we've come to expect from Lithuania's finest.  The first three tracks echo drift and bounce in traditional form, but the fourth track, Grey, presents us with something a little more light-hearted, capping off a superb little release. Available on Bandcamp.

Kaito - Snow Flow/Light Stones

Hiroshi Watanabe and his project, Kaito last adorned our ears with his album on Kompakt - a beat-less take on Less Time Until The End. This new two-track EP signals a potential return for Hiroshi, with the first track, a secret gem he's been playing at live shows, finally setting sail, and a second brand-new production constructed during his recent live shows.

Both feature soaring strings we witnessed on his Kompakt output, but they now come with an almost post-rock, cinematic feel. Big sounds, even bigger crescendos and altogether, a completely unique take on techno music only an innovative producer like Kaito could muster. Available on Bandcamp.

Desolate - Withering Beauty EP

I'm a big Desolate fan, he's one of the very few artists I'll take a chance on and purchase a vinyl without having to listen first. And that's exactly what happened with his Withering Beauty EP whilst i was recently perusing Amoeba Records.

When I got home to give the record a spin, I was surprised. It was like the darkness had lifted from Sven's previous releases - a much lighter, lounge-esque feel to this record, reminding me of early Kruder & Dorfmeister or Thievery Corporation stuff, especially Hazy Memories... Sven Weisemann can do no wrong. Vinyl available on Bandcamp.

Mikaël Delta and Hior Chronik - The First Ray

Hot off his ASIP release with Arovane, Hior Chronik returns with another collaborative
project, this time with fellow Greek artist Mikaël Delta.

Mikaël has a long list of productions under his belt and is well known for his work in Greece, particularly for his soundtrack compositions. You can only imagine where these two netted out, and you'll be just as pleased with the output. Hior's treatment of the finer details, delicate piano and melancholic atmospheres, are accentuated by an entrancing storyline, fit for a movie backdropped against the burning mountain skies. 

Hior is quickly becoming a sought-after producer for this type of detailed, granular, soundtrack style. His presentation and multitude of emotions that carry throughout his productions, are palpable and quite simply, unmissable, especially on this release with Mikaël. Available on Bandcamp.