Liner Notes: Comit's 'Remote Viewing' at Five Years (ASIPV017)

Liner notes are printed on thick card inside each of our vinyl releases.
See here for some background on the intention and format. I am publishing Liner Notes from existing and past releases here on Substack for all to enjoy.

Artist: Comit
Title: Remote Viewing
Format: Gatefold Orange 2LP + digital
Released: 2019

This is only my second entry into the Liner Notes series on Substack (I’m in no rush) and this is the first release that didn’t have any physical liner notes (they started around ASIPV020, I think). So it’s a bit of a reflection and trawling back through some emails on this one. With the release turning five years old today, the digital version is also Name Your Price on Bandcamp for the next 24 hours to celebrate this milestone.

Artwork:

Despite James’ brilliance in his music, he doesn't ever give me much to go on with artwork, which is both awesome and tough! He lets his music do most of the talking, and there I go, coming in with a request for something super nuanced and conceptual as always…

For this one, I remember wanting to depict something futuristic and colorful - much like the sound of IDM that James covers in this album. If you look closely at this artwork, you can probably tell what it is, but without giving too much away, it’s a photo of a famous street in Tokyo that I took (maybe the year before this all started), distorted and fractured to hell by Noah M / Keep Adding.

Story:

Before Remote Viewing, James released a small EP under the Comit alias on the now-defunct Short Trips label.

I covered this release in 2016 as one of my favorites, and then in 2017, James sent me an email saying he was working on an album’s worth of new material in a new style (without mentioning Comit), but either way, I was 100% in. Those who know how prolific James is across several styles will come to respect this sound from him. If there were a Venn diagram of James’ music, I think Comit would sit directly in the middle - with ambient on the left (as himself, ASC, Central Industries etc) and then Drum’n Bass on the right. Take the best of both those worlds and you get this magic.

James would go on to release another Comit record with ASIP ‘An Ocean Of Thoughts’ and I hope there are many more to come.

Insight:

Anybody who lived the melodic IDM style of the late 90s and early 00s will know exactly where James’ inspiration comes from. Some called it “Schnauss-esque” (Boomkat, if I remember rightly) and without a doubt the City Centre Offices vibe can be heard in the music, as directly referenced from James, along with many others. But to me, it’s not just a copy cat of that era - it takes that approach, gives you the nostalgia, but propels the sound into completely new, more breaks-forward, territory.

Comit was born out of my love for the music that was classed as 'IDM' during the mid-late 90's. I didn't start releasing music until 1999, and at that time I was heavily into drum & bass, so my production focus was 100% on that. An appreciation of labels such as Morr, City Centre Offices, Merck, Hobby Industries, (to name but a few) was the impetus behind the Deep Space Mix series I started in the early 2000's. I had experimented with producing music that would fit this genre briefly, under my ASC and Intex Systems guises, but it had never become something I'd totally devote an alias too, until I decided to start the Comit project. The core of the Comit sound is broken/glitchy breakbeats and emotive chord progressions with analog synthesizers. Overall, it creates a distinct sound that feels very separate to the music I produce as ASC. - James

Press:

This was one of our first records mastered and cut by Andreas Lupo Lubich, as he was heavily involved in shaping the early IDM era in sound, so naturally he would be at home with this record. With Lupo behind the cut, test presses were approved on the first round back in 2017.

We cut it at 45rpm to maximize the quality of the record (faster rotation = more vinyl surface to read for the needle = better quality). There was a moment when people received the record and would send Instagram videos etc playing the record at the wrong speed. I still see some today. But the best thing is, it works well at 33.3 rpm too. Give it a try.

Markus Guentner / Kontrapunkt (ASIPV050)

Even though we are well over fifty vinyl releases now (thanks to my bad vinyl catalog nomenclature), it’s still a celebratory moment to reach the ASIPV050 milestone. And of course, it had to be with Markus.

Markus has been with the label since our first digital release series - The Places Series, with his Talking Clouds EP. I still remember clearly emailing Markus to see if he was interested in my rather humble proposal, and like the true gentleman he has been ever since, he graciously accepted and turned out an amazing set of music.

Since then, Markus has gone on to release three 2LPs through the accidental triptych of Theia, Empire and Extropy, as well as two digital releases; Gradient Spirits, and a single track for Charity - Overtone (David’s Song). He has become the label’s most prolific partner, and has been a pleasure to work with since day one. So it is my absolute honor to introduce his new album which features eight similarly brilliant producers, in Kontrapunkt.

Markus Guentner returns to his longstanding label, A Strangely Isolated Place, following the triptych of Theia, Empire, and Extropy, presenting eight inspiring collaborations on Kontrapunkt.

Collaborations are nothing new to Markus, but it’s hard to see beyond his strong singular presence as a pioneer of long-form ambient and drone. Collabs have punctuated his albums in various places over the years, and he is no stranger to working as a duo amongst other projects, with such a strong conceptual thread throughout his prior ASIP releases, Kontrapunkt represents a literal pivot and counterpoint in his production approach. Instead of music encapsulating a strong conceptual narrative, Kontrapunkt sees Markus create a dialogue between himself and a collection of inspiring production partners. 

Kontrapunkt opens with ‘Vanish’, a widescreen cinematic odyssey created in collaboration with fellow German and Affin label-head Joachim Spieth, forming the perfect opener with its modest subtleties. Australian-born Karen Vogt, renowned for her voice layering and looping, brings a beautiful, and natural addition to ‘All Light Will Remain’. 

Sonae, who appeared on ASIP’s early digital releases, demonstrates her evolution into experimental flourishes with ‘Farbe Der Nacht’, adding pulsating techno tendencies and a menacing, metallic approach to Markus’ foundations. Multi-instrumentalist Pepo Galán harmonizes beautifully with Markus on ‘Ancestral Images’, adding complex nuances to a slowly evolving euphoric piece. 

A master of synthesis, Arovane delivers a powerful display of supercharged electronics and coils of energy on ‘Utopian Fragments’. Benoît Pioulard's renowned expertise with guitars and tape distortion become a perfect counter to the electronics of Markus, blending styles seamlessly on ‘Father Of Waters’. 

‘An unstoppable force meets an immovable object’ on ‘While Hunting Nightmares And Dreaming For Peace’, as Abul Mogard adds powerful restraint in a meeting of two drone titans. The album concludes with ‘Presence’, where Hollie Kenniff’s uplifting vocals provide a shimmering finish, perfectly bookending an album of perfected counterpoints and evolutions on the Markus Guentner sound.

Kontrapunkt will be available on Gatefold Black/Grey/Blue marble 2LP, digital and streaming on August 30th 2024. Mastered by Gio at Artefacts Mastering, Berlin, and featuring artwork by Noah M / Keep Adding.

isolatedmix 127 - David Douglas & Applescal

Two familiar names step up for our next isolated mix, with a highly conceptual approach that matches their new (and similarly conceptual) collaborative album, ‘Démarrage’.

I’m unsure where I would start if I were to create an album based on a love of cycling. Weirdly enough, it wouldn’t be the first electronic album to do so (See Kraftwerk’s, Tour De France, of course), but it’s obviously a big enough inspiration to spur electronic producers David Douglas and Applescal. After listening to t‘Démarrage’, it makes total sense, in more ways than one. The energy, euphoria, drive - even the pop of color and variation in approach - an effervescent continual movement throughout its 10 tracks.

Applescal contributed an isolatedmix some twelve (!) years ago now, and it remains one of our most popular in the series. Combining multiple styles across an addictive hour of listening, the session proved Pascal is a master at developing a conceptual narrative in mix form, and now evidently in album form. David Douglas, who has made numerous appearances on Pascal’s Atmonation label, with one highlight for me being 2014’s, Moon Observation’s, is similarly a man of conceptual understanding and many undercurrents, spending time scoring music for films and commercials, while also releasing under a new alias HATY HATY, which combines electronic and indie music tendencies.

I imagined a hybrid of styles to appear on their mix submission, and I wasn’t disappointed. But for it to also match the concept of their new album, takes it up a notch. The mix, goes as slow as Chihei, with the euphoric highs of The Paradise, sudden bursts of pace in Eversines, the anguish in Bersarin Quartett, and the comforting (I can see the finish line-vibes) of Ulrich Schnauss, in an unexpecting manner that’s on par with the unexpectedness of Fourtet’s not-so-secret secret side project.

“Just like our album "Démarrage," which is essentially a long mix of interconnected tracks, we aimed to tell a broad story with this mix. We love to approach music as a continuous mix, as you can set a certain different vibe and have tracks complement each other. Our mix for ASIP begins gently, like a warm bath, with the calming sounds of Chihei Hatakeyama's "Calm Sea." Later on, we bring up the pace with the remix from Roman Flugel. We end with a return to tranquility and introspection with work from Bersarin Quartett and Skúli Sverrisson. Just like on our new album, we added a bunch of samples of cyclists to capture the emotion of the race” - David & Pascal

astrangelyisolatedplace · isolatedmix 127 - David Dougls & Applescal

Listen on Soundcloud the ASIP Podcast or the 9128.live iOS and Android app

Download MP3

Tracklist:

01. Chihei Hatakeyama - Calm Sea
02. Tomaga - Intimate Immensity
03. Kyle Hall, Kero - 19FT
04. Unit Moebius - Dolfinarium
05. Tambo’s House - Jhe Gu Jye
06. Dusky - Metropolis
07. C.A.R - Idle eyes. (Roman Fluegel Remix) Applescal body Edit
08. The Paradise - In Love With You (Alan Braxe Remix)
09. Fasme - Sweet Flux
10. David Douglas & Applescal - Galibier
11. David Douglas & Applescal - Galibier (Gruppetto)
12. ⣎⡇ꉺლ༽இ•̛)ྀ◞ ༎ຶ ༽ৣৢ؞ৢ؞ؖ ꉺლ - ʅ͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡(ƟӨ)ʃ͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡ ꐑ(ཀ ඊູ ఠీੂ೧ູ࿃ूੂ✧✧✧✧✧✧ළඕั࿃ूੂ࿃ूੂ
13. Eversines - Vlaag
14. Eversines - Vlaag (Beatless Version)
15. Ulrich Schnauss - A Letter from Home
16. Bersarin Quartett - Verflossen ist das Gold der Tage
17. Skúli Sverrisson - Instants

Applescal | Bandcamp
David Douglas | Website

ASIP - Deep Breakfast Mix 267

The Deep Breakfast mix series has slowly (quite quickly compared to my isolatedmix efforts!) become one of the greatest ambient-leaning mix series around, pulling in some of the finest curators and artists to grace our small world. From well-known artists and DJs to passionate music collectors, it seems Francesco, the curator, is intent on hosting a series truly meant for every corner of the ambient spectrum.

The name of the mix series gives you an idea of what to expect, and for my submission, I battled hard with what style to attempt in order to live up to the many great mixes that have been featured before. Breakfast to me - deep or not - can often be light and uplifting - chill or even dubtechno on some mornings. But similarly, a deep breakfast may also mean the edges of light at 4 or 5am… and this is more the route I went with this mix. Look out for some of the many upcoming ASIP tracks featured in this one!

Big thanks to Francesco for the invite, and I hope you all enjoy the mix.

Deep Breakfast Series · Deep Breakfast 267 ~ ASIP

Listen on Soundcloud or the ASIP Podcast

Download MP3

Tracklist:
01. swanasa - AHO (A Strangely Isolated Place, Forthcoming)
02. Hiemal - Pays D'en Haut I (Self)
03. Thomas Koner - Nuut (Night) (Force Inc)
04. Markus Guentner & Abul Mogard - While Hunting Nightmares And Dreaming For Peace (A Strangely Isolated Place, Forthcoming)
05. Ayaavaaki & Purl - Einstein-Rosen Bridge (Passage II) (LILA)
06. LF58 - Utopia (Northern Electronics)
07. Avsluta - It's Always Lonely Being Free (Self)
08. Pete Namlook & Bill Laswell - Angel Tech (Subharmonic)
09. STBL - Carousel Of Light (Self)
10. Mikkel Rev - Lauryl (A Strangely Isolated Place, Forthcoming)
11. James Murray - Grace (Home Normal)
12. Robert Rich - Summer Thunder (Self)
13. OKRAA - Canto Luminoso a la Luna (A Strangely Isolated Place, Forthcoming)

Illuvia / Earth Prism (ASIPV049)

Ludvig Cimbrelius returns with his third full-length album on ASIP under his illustrious ambient jungle/drum’n bass alias, Illuvia. Shifting focus from the stratospheric highs of 2021’s Iridescence Of Clouds, Ludvig now reflects on the meaning and spectrums of life on Earth.

According to my lifelong research, Earth appears to be a modulation of light. It is said that what the eyes receive are rays emitted by a star, whose flow of photons is invisible to the human eye until they are reflected and modulated by matter.

Matter — the patterned dance of charged particles appearing out of nothing. Simultaneously, it is observable that light converts into matter. And matter converts into light.

Logic tells me that they are one, appearing as two. And, as a consequence of their division and subsequent interaction, the spectrum of a world appears.

Being a manifestation of something as ethereal and ephemeral as light modulated by the dance of charged particles, the world feels surprisingly solid.

Less like a prism and more like a prison. That is what the surface tells us. 

Those who seek freedom look deeper.
–Ludvig Cimbrelius (Illuvia)

Earth Prism will be available on A Strangely Isolated Place on transparent vinyl, gatefold 2LP + digital formats from June 20th 2024. Mastered by Hollis Nolan, Lacquer cut by Andreas LUPO Lubich, featuring artwork by Noah M / Keep Adding. Please join us on June 12th for a Bandcamp album listening session.

Full details and links to buy via the release page

* Please note a slightly new approach where we are working to extend our preorder times, to capture more accurate numbers to press, and give writers and distro a better chance to do their thing. So please pay attention to the extended shipping timings on this release!