todos - Komunizm

You know the drill. todos is back with another superbly mixed feature. Are superlatives necessary this time around? He's one of our favorite DJ's around and for good reason.

This time however, todos tweaks his usually eclectic, sampled approach with a more dubby, beat driven set. It's likely why this mix doesn't fall within his notorious Kilchurn Session series, but this set is every bit as considered and curated. 

The transition from Tin Man & Dozzy into Kalos is worth it alone..

Download over at bmbx

Tracklist:

01. Aes Dana & Miktek – ‘The Unexpected Hours’
02. Shaded Explorer – ‘Inner Treasures’
03. Rezo Glonti – ‘Pulse Added Two’
04. EskoStatic – ‘Sjonevad lake’
05. Tin Man & Donato Dozzy – ‘Test 3’
06. Kalos – ‘Appearance Of Freedom’
07. Max Acid – ‘A Purple Flower On The Moon (Iori’s On The Moon Dub)’
08. Lars Leonhard – ‘Hang In The Balance’
09. Kalos – ‘Daily March’
10. Stereociti – ‘Revision III’
11. Sophia Loizou – ‘The Voices Of Time’
12. ASC – ‘Ceres’

Tongues Of Light ‎– Channelled Messages At The End Of History

There's a certain threshold of ambient music that most people can tolerate. It's always interesting to see where this lies with friends when I play them something new, or recommend a new album. Often the dark drones are just too intense and it's "just noise"; sometimes the light and airy pads sound too "boring", or sometimes it's just a little bit "too weird" for them. "One for the chin-strokers" is a common phrase that comes to mind...

This one falls into the latter. 

From the elusive Tongues Of Light comes a unique vinyl release constructed of found sounds, from Youtube videos to be exact. I picked it up after Boomkat gave it praise and immediately held it up as one of those collectables you'll be lucky to stumble on in years to come. 

Channelled Messages At The End Of History comes from Demdike Stare and Andy Votel's label Pre-Cert Home Entertainment, but the comforting familiarity stops there. From the freaky cover-art, to the words surrounding the press, there's no doubt some serious consideration and introspective thought put into the findings and samples on the record. Split into two recordings; "Healing Side" and "Awakening Side", the record takes you through interesting sounds, interspersed with improvisation, and weaved together like a black-and-white history book of paganism and any other cult beliefs that fit a weird and mysterious stereotype.

With the drones, distorted church howls and religious callings, also comes Eno-esque moments, as the "Healing Side" finishes with a gentle ethereal experience under a calming female voice. The voices continue on the "Awakening Side", and despite not knowing what language you're listening to (likely on purpose), the new-age, medieval sounding chants are long enough to actively engage with, and short enough to evolve the storytelling throughout the chapters, and keep this thing sounding great. 

As best put on the Discogs page, the "Channelled glossolalic material from various multidimensional entities" are a dive into a very weird and wonderful world, but just as the KLF presented us with nothing but samples and weird noises on Chill Out, this record will no doubt have a similar juxtaposing cult appeal. At the very least, it will be seen as a modern (retro) dive into found sounds and sampling within ambient music. 

Elvis, an evangelist's sermon, an intense salesman, and a detailed news report of a fatal road accident featured in KLF's masterpiece. Fast forward 26 years, and Youtube has evidently inspired a new breed of found sounds, ranging from meditation videos, chanting, lullabies and gentle multi-lingual sound poetry. It's a weird and wonderful world out there.

Listen / available on Boomkat.

(Sound samples will be posted if/when they become available). 

ASIP - Journey Upwards

With our next release by Merrin Karras just weeks away, I've decided to celebrate the unique style of the album with a themed mix.

Merrin Karras' upcoming album, Apex combines Brendan's gilded production techniques with an armory of hardware (including the Moog Minitaur, Vermona Mono Lancet, Juno 106, Nord Rack 2, and the Korg Monotron) serving as both a modern ode to the synthesizer and a reverential nod to the early pioneers, a sound and style any ambient and electronic fan will appreciate. 

Along with influences that Brendan lists as having an impact on his upcoming album (Steve Moore, Oneohtrix Point Never, Abul Mogard) the mix features some of my favorite contemporary synthesizer pioneers such as Alessandro Cortini and Donnacha Costello. As the title may suggest, there's a subtle story at play here; beginning at ground-zero and ending in a galaxy far, far away.

This mix should give you a taster of what to expect when Merrin Karras' album, Apex, hits the shelves June 10th, featuring the title track, Apex along with a first listen of Isolation. Pre-order for vinyl and digital is now available.

Download.

Tracklist:
01. ASIP - Ground
02. Abul Mogard - Bound Universe (Circular Forms)
03. Steve Moore - Aldebran Exchange (Light Echoes)
04. Merrin Karras - Apex (Forthcoming on ASIP)
05. Alessandro Cortini - Retta (Forse 3)
06. Oneohtrix Point Never - Months (Rifts)
07. Donnacha Costello - Ten Ton (Love From Dust)
08. Merrin Karras - Isolation (Forthcoming on ASIP)
09. Majeure - Solar Maximum 2 (Solar Maximum)
10. Stellardrone - The Belt of Orion (Invent The Universe)
11. Steve Moore - Light Echoes II (Light Echoes)

Rising Sun - The Lamentations Of Rising Sun

This album's been on repeat for me the past few weeks. Berlin producer Rising Sun, who seemingly has a healthy back catalog, released his second full length in March on the respected Fauxpas Music label (home of Desolate and Brambles) titled, The Lamentations Of Rising Sun. 

It's hard to pin this one down and that's what makes it so good. It's 90's inspired for sure, with rave synth-lines and vocals, reminiscent of early jungle music in You Loose. Early Moby style "Go" tracks like Parade Version F, Amen Break rips in Brighter Day, Kaito style melodic ambient synths in D.E.T.R.O.I.T, Desolate/Sven Weisemann influenced slow jams like Hold The Line, and Frankie Knuckle / Robert Owens straight-up string-house influences in In My Mind. 

"More crossover than one specific style. The music itself is the sketchy attempt to detain moments that haven’t been planned, so it’s a statement that I can foresee in any way, even though the open up of a track is always the same, almost like a ritual. The character is to capture and convert the music of rising sun".

Something in here for any dance music fan that experienced the euphoria of early 90's music, with an additional new Berlin twist.

Available on Bandcamp. 

OKADA - Floating Away From The World

Released earlier this month, Gregory Pappas dropped his second album for the n5MD label titled, Love Telepathic and follows it up with this exclusive mix for ASIP. 

Following in the footsteps of his previous release, Impermanence, Love Telepathic is a dream-like trip through punching beats, ethereal vocals and layers of warmth, sitting somewhere between ASC, Kiyoko and bvdub. Taking the extended track approach (10+ minutes each), OKADA builds each piece with meticulous patience - the kind that makes time disappear and the world melt around you.

Angelic vocals set against conspicuous organic beats, tick over like the lull of a metronome, 
inviting you closer to its misty depths. A soundtrack for sinking to the bottom of a glistening ocean, or floating to the blue skies above. 

Gregory's influences are clear amongst his mix, presenting us with a range of styles from the beautiful vocals of Julianna Barwick, to the awe-struck complexities of Ametsub, and the euphoric ambience of Bersarin Quartett.

Download.

"Music of artists that intoxicate and evoke a pure emotional response from me and influence my OKADA compositions. Most of these artists I've been listening to a long time. In fact, one of the artists on this mix, World's End Girlfriend, is the reason why my music is in long-form, which I first started to do on the album Anathema under the name ZXYZXY" - OKADA.

1. Julianna Barwick - One Half
An artist with strong vocal composition skills. Someone I'd like to borrow for my own compositions, to be honest.

2. 2 8 1 4 - 真実の恋
Two-artist effort that have pierced the veil of vaporwave; hurling it far into the daydream atmosphere.

3. Ametsub - Faint Dazzlings
Japanese electronic music at its finest. Yes, there is a sound unique all to Japan and its electronic music scene. I'd say this is a great example.

4. Bersarin Quartett - Bedingungslos
No one does it like BM. The guy is eons away from everyone when it comes to pure beauty in music. Any of his songs could fit here.

5. Ex Confusion - Speak Softly in My Dreams
One of my favorite n5MD artists. Any of his songs could fit here as well.

6. Ólafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm - a1
Need no introduction here. Just a fantastic collaboration.

7. OKADA - Reconciliation
While I probably should have picked something off my new record, it just wasn't the type of mix I wanted to make. One of my personal favorites, and I plan to bring this style of composition back in the future.

8. MONO & World's End Girlfriend - Part 5
Two of my top 5 artists in collaboration right here, and they create a piece that is equal parts from both groups. The whole album is fantastic.

9. A Winged Victory for the Sullen - Requiem for the Static King Part 1
A short, yet elegant piece from these two fantastic composers.

10. Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto - Moon
I adore all of RS's work, but his work with AN is always incredible. Perfect music to make me want to curl up in my bed on a rainy day.

11. envy - Fading Vision
A band I so badly wanted to sneak in this mix. Not easy since they are a screamo/post-hardcore band, but they're definitely in my top 5 as well and I had to have them here. This song is a great example of their breadth as musicians. Top tier group that exemplifies how to evoke an emotional response. I highly recommend them out.

Additional recommendation:

Eric Whitacre - Lux Nova
I couldn't fit this track on this mix, because of time and how it stuck out of place, but he definitely needs to be mentioned. His choral works prove that choral music is not dead. He is amazing.

~

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