Leandro Fresco & Rafael Anton Irisarri - vinyl press update & new EP

As many of you who've been following us know, there have been multiple unfortunate issues with the final vinyl pressing of Leandro Fresco & Rafael Anton Irisarri's, “La Equidistancia.”

Namely, the audio quality of the final pressing is poor, even though test-presses sounded fine and the artists approved it back in February. There are also multiple issues with the print quality and the color vinyl “marbled” swirl.

After going through two unsuccessful attempts at a final press, the manufacturer has made it abundantly clear they cannot create the final quality product we (and you) expect.

We will be starting from scratch with a new pressing plant, as we need to cut our losses, despite not being refunded in full by the current manufacturer.

Financially, we are at a substantial loss from this ordeal, which is a big blow for a small operation like ASIP (and of course, the artists themselves).  We also have to find an ecologically-friendly way to dispose of 1,000 copies of someone’s art (instead of shipping them all the buyers) which is extremely draining and hard to do.

Thus, to help soften the blow, Leandro and Rafael have created this companion three-track EP titled “La Espera”. It's a superb release in its own right and we're lucky Leandro & Rafael have prioritized their time and put their talent together once again.

Continuing the theme of La Equidistancia, Leandro & Rafael explore more of their deep, swirling and mysterious textures over this three-track EP. 'The Wait' is the sound of being barricaded in isolation, as the world moves around you.

La Espera, is now available on Bandcamp.

eBay auction of entire ASIP test press catalog...

Lastly, we've put up an entire catalog of test presses for auction over on eBay. This includes every ASIP release so far in test pressing format (black vinyl/white label) - 9 releases, including the sold-out Uncharted Places, Europe, 36 and many more. No one owns them all, these are from Ryan's (ASIP founder) personal collection, so be kind, and happy bidding! 

Thank you to everyone who has been on this rollercoaster journey with us, and continues to support and listen to our music. We have a standard which we want to keep to make everyone a proud ASIP vinyl owner.

We will keep you posted as the new press is underway. Anyone waiting to purchase the vinyl, it will be available in a few months once a successful repress is received.

Thank you for your understanding and patience as we get rolling with another press.

We'll get there!

Ryan, Leandro and Rafael.

ASC - Trans​-​Neptunian Objects

Despite his relentless, high quality output, I haven't done a good job featuring James Clements' music here on ASIP. Sure, he's contributed a great isolatedmix, given us a sneak peak into his Wantlist, and had tracks included in many of our year-end mixes, but I haven't previously singled-out any of his immense ambient full-lengths.

Thinking about why this may be (apart from the fact there's hundreds of releases I will never get around to writing about), I find James' ambient productions hard to write about. Hard to do justice, really. Ironically, describing why it's hard to write about probably does a pretty good job at, well, writing about it. 

ASC's ambient productions have a tell-tale depth and atmosphere to them. There's no doubt a significant amount of influence and inspiration comes from space themes, perhaps harking back to his original Deep Space ambient mix series. But just like the unknown detail amongst the void, James' music comes to life through the minutia, the subtle maneuvers amongst an often ominous density that I've only known the likes of Biosphere, Wolfgang Voigt, and Markus Guentner to perfect. 

ASC's latest release, his first ambient output on his own Auxiliary label after a string of amazing albums on Silent Season, once again highlights his amazing ear for detail. Trans-Neptunian Objects takes you to an unknown place, toying with sonic frequencies, depicting the drama you'd expect from shadows of rocky behemoths, and the overall feeling of insignificance. 

James is also excelling in soundtrack work, (take his Bottom Of The World OST) which probably means the vivid ideas of far-reached planets and asteroid belts that he conjures up here, either borrow from, or help inform the mindset needed for deeper visual storytelling. 

But without calling it a soundtrack, Trans-Neptunian Objects is as close as you'll come to the stories, adventure and the unknown far-side of the Galaxy.

Available on Bandcamp.

Air Texture Volume V

Started in 2011, James Healy has brought together some of ambient and experimental music's finest artists through his unique collaboration series, Air Texture. 

Loscil, Rafael Anton Irisarri, bvdub, Andrew Thomas and Steve Hauschildt are among the names to have graced the series so far, each selecting one CD as part of the two-CD ongoing series. Now for it's fifth edition, James has recruited two very well respected underground acts; from two different eras of electronic music. Spacetime Continuum, known for many pioneering early 90's releases, and Dekmantal's more recent techno duo, Juju & Jordash. 

Despite the years between the curators, Spacetime Continuum and Juju & Jordash have recently come together alongside Move D, to form the new analog supergroup The Mulholland Free Clinic, with some of the tracks on the compilation coming from friends and branches of this new formation. 

Spacetime Continuum (aka Jonah Sharp) is in charge of the first CD. Counting a massive 14+ albums under his belt and boasting collaborations with the likes of Tetsu Inoue and Bill Laswell, Jonah has put forth a series of tracks that capture the very essence of the 1990's. Productions from himself and other classic artists such as I:Cube, Terre Thaemlitz (as Tragic Selector) and Claude Young, round out a long-lost, and early sounding techno vibe. For those that loved the Composure Ambient Techno for Japan compilation, you can't miss this awesome selection from Spacetime Continuum. 

Dekmantel's own Juju & Jordash head up CD2. The duo get their chance to dive into a deep, dark mysterious and more leftfield world that flows nicely after reminiscing the 90's more electronic sound on CD1. More experimental tracks from Max D and Magic Mountain High, sit alongside some beautiful discoveries such as Anto (Hunee), rounded by the infamous Donato Dozzy and re-invigorated ambient maestro Gigi Masin. 

Every track on the compilation is exclusive to the release, which makes it one hell of a production by James Healy, and a must-have collection of forward-thinking electronic music.

Watch the exclusive new video for the release below. And if you're in the mood for more 90's feels like CD1, check out James Healy's mix for Silent Records. 

Available on Bandcamp.

isolatedmix 70 - DF Tram & Rich-Ears : Solar Flare

Summer has hit, which means I often find myself looking to the balearic side of ambient and chill-out music as the sun glows and the evenings extend. I spent many years on the island of Ibiza, and still hold the island and its associated sound close. Depending on which face of the island you choose of course, you can have two very different experiences, but the one we're talking about here is the magical, spiritual side, often found in the mountains, in hidden chill-out bars on the north-side, and amongst the locals who stay year-round.

No better duo can bring this sound to life than our good friends DF Tram and Rich-Ears. This isn't their first appearance as a duo on the isolatedmix series, with their "Earth Apogee" mix in 2012 bringing their eclectic and sonic appreciations together for the first time. However, this one is a little more special, as it's the first time they've put a set together in the same room,  live, hosted on the island of Ibiza.

Two-hours of meandering downtempo, chill, ambient and balearic inspiration to soundtrack any slow, beautiful summer evening. 

"Our first mix in the same room together. The mix came together magically and organically. Maybe the Ibizan air? Or the audio interference of a Solar Flare? The intro is an ode to old radio programs of yesteryear.... hope you enjoy our journey" - DF Tram & Rich Ears.

Download

Rich Ears Soundcloud | Twitter | Facebook
DF Tram Soundcloud | Twitter | Facebook

Insights into music/vinyl, listening and buying behavior - ASIP reader survey

Thank you to everyone who completed our reader survey recently. We put it out there to help us get feedback, in order to help us improve the site, label and iPhone app whilst also taking a moment to hear from you. It was also fun to get some general insight into music listening and buying behavior along the way. Here's some selected results we discovered, that we thought you might enjoy.

Over 160 people answered the survey, so while not representative of everyone in the world, it provides a good overview of everyone here reading and listening to ASIP.

Thanks again to everyone who took the time. If you found this useful or interesting, let us know in the comments below and we'll look to do another soon to see how things might have changed in a year or so!

“Despite our love for it here at ASIP, vinyl isn’t your your primary way to listen… but hey, we think listening to vinyl is always a special, cherished (and often rare) moment…”

---

“Bandcamp rules (!) when your wallet comes out, and rightly so (out of all these platforms, it undoubtedly gives more back to the artists and labels)”

---

“It’s pretty great to see you’re still a bunch of crate diggers at heart...”

---

“A good chunk of you are keeping a steady 2-5 per month cadence when it comes to buying vinyl (maybe we need to release more!?)”

---

“I had a hunch this would be the case... That’s a whole lot of vinyl patiently awaiting the next spin, gathering dust!”

---

“Digital is evidently the convenience, and vinyl is all about the experience.”

---

“Very happy to see some big collections! (Let’s do this again next year and see if we’ve managed to boost that number!)”

---

“Album art is an important factor when buying vinyl records (thankfully, given how much time we put into ours!)”

---

“The majority of you still see the digital equivalent a valuable inclusion with any vinyl purchase. (All you other labels better be listening!)”

---

“But colored vinyl or special edition isn’t always so hot…”

---

“I blame the USPS postage costs for this one, but you’re happy to buy elsewhere other than direct from ASIP….”

---

“We are however hitting the sweet-spot when it comes to the pricing of a double LP”

---

“And lastly, if (a big if) we were to repress a specific sold-out ASIP vinyl release, it looks like our very first, Uncharted Places is top of the want list. ”