The Angling Loser, The Sight Below, Christian Kleine, Atomnation

The Angling Loser - Ocean Song

Forthcoming on ...txt, Lee Norris, Gordon Jones, Porya Hatami and Shintaro Aoki combine in this stunning track, taken from an upcoming album called Arena of Apprehension. An additional, more piano-centric track called Lady Of The Stream, is also available to preview.
...txt have previously responsible for Arovane's, dwell_tevvel_structure and look to be going from strength to strength.

port-royal - Heisenberg (The Sight Below remix)

There's an apparent port-royal remix album in the works titled You Ware Nowhere, and given it's at the hands of n5MD we can likely expect some quality output and some ASIP favorites to turn in a track. Proof in point, The Sight Below...

Christian Kleine - Coreal

You should know by now that we were big fans of City Centre Offices and its notorious electronica early 00's output. One of the artists involved in that movement was Christian Kleine, also known for being one half of the infamous duo Herrmann & Kleine (alongside label co-founder Thaddeus Herrmann). Christian returns with a new album titled, Coreal, self-released on Bandcamp, and it's a straight-up nostalgic trip back to the sound that helped define the infamous label. Beautiful, melodic, IDM/electronica - a certain style we haven't heard in quite some time. Available on Bandcamp.

Atomnation - 2015 Compilation

Applescal's label, Atomnation, had another great year on the release front, following a powerful 2014 including the release of Gidge (a firm favorite here at ASIP). And they're celebrating it by pulling together some sublime edits from their quality roster, including a new edit of Gidge's, You, a new track by Fran Seven and quite possibly one of the best house remixes I've heard in a while by Henry Salz. Unmissable and available on Bandcamp.

Dextro - In The Crossing

There's a unique style that exists in Dextro's music and it's one I've appreciated since I first heard his 2009 album, Winded. Ewan's combination of longing piano, euphoric drums and ambient textures is a rare recipe that straddles post-rock, downtempo, experimental and in many instances, ambient music. His upcoming album, In The Crossing, is his latest production capturing this enigmatic sound and we're lucky enough to hold an exclusive stream of the album prior to release.

Some of you may know Dextro from his inclusion on ASIP's Europe, in 2015, and it was everything I could have wished for to best depict his brilliant style I had followed for years. A swirling texture built to a crescendo of drums portraying the ascent of the Isle Of Barra. 

Dextro's upcoming album, In The Crossing, is another dive into a dramatic landscape. What starts as an unsettling and confident assault in Evacuate, soon transcends into a deeper journey. Perhaps the awakening was the rocking of the boat, the sinking of the ship, the crash on to shore, with a sudden realisation that survival is now your primary goal, amongst a barren and desolate land.

Dextro's gently rolling guitar follows the evacuation on Amor Fati, with crushing guitar drones caressing, then threatening and dancing in the background. Introducing the uptempo breaks and jagged synths of Break Off.  By now, the journey has picked up pace, and Ewan's experience with live performances dictating the flow of the recording, embracing a narrative and juxtaposing approaches to each track - Ewan's armory on full show just four tracks in, as Clearing, signals the melancholic piano we loved in his previous EP, Zero Circle.

One of my favourite tracks on the album, Clearing, is a crashing of energy, a realization of sorts and a chance to reflect before a more lively, brilliant, Silent. A swirling synth backed by a gentle chant, grows into a euphoric palette of glistening colors - a break in the sky. 

Sharp drums define a more downtempo-esque style in The Passage, with some lovely attention to detail in the guitars, as the track ascends into the powerful, climbing drones of Sum Poly; a slow post-rock style lullaby. Dextro saves his most epic treatment for last in Occupy, as heavy drones drown out an ominous string melody, immersing a tinkering beauty into a slowly sinking plateaux. 

Dextro has spent time narrating this album and developing the story, rather than trying to fit together individual pieces. Each track has an extremely distinct mood, a tangible feeling that's at times, extremely dark, or alternatively distinctly up-lifting. Either way, Dextro's strength with the album comes with his multitude of moods, told through his signature instruments and style. Brooding atmospheres, puncturing drums, melancholic pianos and just the right amount of electronic injection here-and-there, paint a beautiful, wet, windy landscape that screams adventure, drama and danger.

Embrace it with everything you've got.

In The Crossing will be pressed on limited 180g vinyl (200 copies) and 1000 Gatefold CD's through Bandcamp and available in all good record stores.

ASIP Wantlist #1

Introducing a new feature series for the diggers out there; the ASIP Wantlist. We'll be asking friends and artists for the five records that sit at the top of their wish list, the records they make a beeline for every time they step into a record store, the covers they've never ran their finger across, the pieces of wax that long for a space on their shelf. 

Finding these elusive records has been made increasingly easier over the years with the likes of Discogs and eBay, but if you ask any record collector, nothing beats finding a piece of vinyl without the means of the internet; wrongly filed, turned backwards, hanging on to an original, busted sleeve, and inappropriately priced. The moment that goes through all of our heads; "is this it? Is it the original? Is it in OK condition? Yes! Why is it it filed in the Jazz section?? OK, how much is it..."

Some submissions in the series will undoubtedly be easily found on the internet, maybe at an extortionate black-market price, but this isn't just about highlighting the rarest LP's with only one acetate ever pressed. Instead, it's a personal love affair with a cherished format. It's a chance for the people who appreciate the physical product, to talk about the pieces they've wanted for some time, and the copies they long to find in a dusty old store - the earned find, not the one-click buy. Nothing beats it. 

I'll kick things off.

Doing this was harder than I thought given how many sought-after records have been re-pressed recently, but I found this to be a proof point in why this feature could be interesting. It wont be a list to show-off peoples collections; "hey why don't you tell me about all those great records you have?" No. It will probably end up being a weird anomaly of records that unearth a bit of nostalgia and personality surrounding said person. I toyed with including some wants from my techno list, my trance list even, but ultimately settled on an ambient theme to begin proceedings. 

And as a reference for all the true crate diggers, I've been collecting for about fifteen years now, which is not that much compared to many people, so expect a relatively modern list, all things considered. Future Wantlist features will undoubtedly dig even deeper...

1. Gas - Gas. 1996. Mille Plateaux [Discogs]

I'm yet to find a Gas vinyl in a record store  and I don't own any Gas on vinyl. It kills me. And given the quality across his four albums between '96 and '00, any of them could be on this list.  

The grandfather of ambient techno (you could say) Wolfgang Voigt, released his defining self-titled LP on the just-as-legendary Mille Plateaux label in 1996 and has seen nothing but praise and imitators (in the good sense) ever since. His sound undoubtedly went on to influence his curations for Pop Ambient  (this is where it started) and likely spawned a generation of washed-out, blissful techno music that straddled between ambient and dance-floor techno. 

Wolfgang is a big influence to many of the artists I listen to today and is responsible for Kompakt's infamous contribution to the ambient world, making his LP's top of my Wantlist by a long way. 

2. Slowdive - 5 EP. 1993. Creation Records. (12") [Discogs]

Perhaps an obvious choice, but I don't own many Slowdive records. I'm not sure if it's down to them generally being hard to come across; if I haven't had the urge to dig them out; or if deep down I can't even begin collecting Slowdive records properly until this one is in my collection (I'm an all-or-nothing type of person). 

In Mind is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever created and Rachel's soft, angelic voice sounds even better on a warm, crackly piece of vinyl. I also want this to accompany my treasured Reload remixes of In Mind 12". Which leads me nicely on to...

3. Chapterhouse Retranslated By Global Communication ‎– Pentamerous Metamorphosis. 1993. Dedicated. (2xLP)  [Discogs] 

Another shoegaze related want, with Chapterhouse receiving the remix treatment from Global Communication at the very beginning of their infamous ambient era. Tom Middleton and Mark Pritchard set the bar high in 1993 with this unexpected remix album, yet managed to better it even further with the release of their genre defining 76:14 album a year later. Whilst I'm lucky enough to own an original copy of 76:14, it's this remix album I'm on the hunt for now. Each track, taking the core of a Chapterhouse melody, feeling or vocal and capturing the very essence of Global Communication each and every time. 

4. Brian Eno With Daniel Lanois & Roger Eno ‎– Apollo - Atmospheres & Soundtracks. 1983. Editions EG. (2xLP) [Discogs]

This is an example of an LP that is commonly available online, but one I long to come across in a record store, in pristine condition, sat there patiently waiting for me. It's a classic ambient album, inspired by America's conquest of new frontiers, and contains one of my favorite tracks of all time, An Anding (Ascent). It's the the blueprint for the likes of the KLF's Chillout album (combining elements of Country music for example), undoubtedly some of the Aphex ambient sound, and plenty of Pop Ambient musicians who went on to use subtle guitar loops as textures. It's heralded as one of the best-ever ambient albums for many reasons. Not to mention the track, Deep Blue Day, used in that infamous Trainspotting toilet scene. A must have in any collection, and surprisingly, one still missing from mine...

5. Alessandro Cortini - Forse 1. 2013. Important. (2xLP) [Discogs]

This last one took me a while to think about. There's hundreds of older records I'm on the hunt for (which I'll no doubt have to cover in later features), but I wanted to provide variety across the five, so I looked to more recent 'misses' which are now on my hit-list.

Alessandro Cortini (of Nine Inch Nails fame) has released three Forse albums and I unfortunately jumped on the bandwagon just a little too late, picking up the third (purple) last year.  I now need to track down the previous two, because not only do I have an obsession with completing sets (for example, I'm still on the hunt for a few remaining Donnacha Costello Color Series 12"s and a couple more Pop Ambient LP's to complete those collections) but Alessandro's albums are similarly worthwhile collectors items. Beautifully presented, color vinyls, quality packaging and above all, include some powerful, stunning music by Alessandro and his synth-obsessed world.

I think Alessandro's albums will undoubtedly become some of the most sought after records for ambient/ drone/ experimental fans in years to come. If you see Forse 1 or 2 in the store, you know where to send them...

~

Wantlist #2 coming soon, featuring five selects from friend, Jamie Mccue of Silent Season.

Mr Frankie - Sunday Morning Session (ASIP tribute mix)

Mr Frankie has been kind enough to put together an ASIP tribute mix, featuring tracks from The Places Series alongside more recent releases such as Europe and Arovane & Hior Chronik.

You can pick up any of these releases, most of them for free, over on the releases page.

Download.

Tracklist:

01. 36 - Heather Spa
02. Yeter - Dart 3
03. Benjamin Dauer - Eight And Forty
04. Textural Being - Vantage Points
05. Enh - Roke
06. Ex Confusion - Before We Begin
07. Levi Patel - Dissociation (Extended)
08. Norge - 165 Minutes With You
09. Halo - The Inner Realm
10. Kit - Girl Walking On The Beach Wearing A Skirt
11. Mig Dfoe - Mares
12. Nobuto Suda - Nobody Levee
13. Dalot - Home
14. Arovane & Hior Chronik - A Day, November 2013
15. Yagya - The North Shore

Optic Echo Presents – Best Vinyl of 2015

Mike Jedlicka's Optic Echo radio show consistently serves up some of the best ambient, experimental and modern classical vinyl-only selections. In this special edition, Mike has curated some of his favorite vinyl of the year specially prepared for Headphone Commute.

As you would expect from a weekly show trying to summarize a years worth of wax purchases, it was no doubt an arduous task narrowing it downvand the result is a lovely journey through the many styles Mike covers on his show.

Mike's included some of my favorite vinyl of the year too, namely Night Sequels, 36, wndfrm, Benoit Poulard and Inventions, all sitting proudly in my best of 2015 lists. And a big thanks to Mike for also selecting Arovane & Hior Chronik's release.

Check out the Optic Echo Mixcloud page for all of the previous shows and Headphone Commute for full details and all download options.

Download.

Tracklist:
Mountains – Parallel Two – You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever
Kreng – Bargaining- The Summoner
Night Sequels – Siamese Summer – Children of the Night Make Music
Jon Hopkins – I Remember (Nils Frahm Dub Interrupt Remix) – I Remember 10”
Four Tet – Morning Side – Morning / Evening
Max Richter – Space 11 (Invisible Pages Over)- From Sleep
Shuttle358 – Can You Prove I Was Born?
Andrew Weathers – We Will Never See A Cloud Again – Fuck Everybody, You Can do Anything
VA (Marcus Fischer) – Field Works: Progue’s Run
Rival Consoles – Ghosting – Howl
Pye Corner Audio – Quasar II – Stars Shine Like Eyes 10”
Benoit Poulard – Whose Palms Create – Sonnet
36 – Sky Fire – Pulse Dive
wndfrm – Monopole – Formal Variant EP
Christina Vantzou – Stereoscope – No. 3
T.Raumschmiere – 007 – T.Raumschmiere
Inventions – Wolfkids – Maze of Woods
Nils Frahm – Our Own Roof – Music For The Motion Picture Victoria
Arovane & Hior Chronik – Scale – In-between [BUY]
Valet – Transformation – Nature
Anduin – Last Days of Montrose House 10”
Helm – I Exist In A Fog – Olympic Mess
Kamran Sadeghi – The Right Direction is Left
Lawrence English – Antarctica – Viento
Olafur Arnalds & Nils Frahm – Three – Loon
Celer – Distant Misgivings – Jima