Our next deep dive for the Portals series sees a revisit to a genre of music that heavily influenced ASIP growing up. Yes, cheese-and-chords in their full glory; classic Trance music. Love it or hate it, I embrace classic Trance music for its brilliance of the time, and the impact it had on me (and indeed electronic music) growing up. I’ve mentioned before how the chill-out side of Trance music was one of the many avenues to open me up to more electronic ambient music. But this isn’t the...

  It's hard to dedicate good amounts of time to listening to physical records, so when I had a few hours this weekend, I decided to play some of my most recent records that have been piling up on my "un-filed" shelf (everyone has one of those, right? just-in, unorganized, unplayed, etc?!)I hit the record button without any destination in mind and ported it into 9128.live (as I often do in these ad-hoc instances) and set forth with no agenda. It starts a little unsure in style, as I try to...

  We’ve fallen a little behind the monthly schedule with isolated mixes recently, but that’s mainly because the artists lined up have been working hard on some very special journeys for us all. Getting back into the swing of things now, our latest mix comes from an artist who I got to know through a small online group that obsesses over Trance music, and ultimately helped us bring to life our recent Rapture Network 9128.live takeover, helping organize and provide the brilliant logo/identity...

  So many of the sets that have been a part of 9128.live these past few years have been outstanding, and some artists have even been able to make a couple of appearances across multiple takeovers. One of those artists who ticks both these boxes is Suna.Based in Seoul, Suna made her first appearance in our world for the Astral Industries 9128.live takeover over a year ago, and was then invited back by Joachim Spieth for the Affin takeover earlier this year. Her set for this takeover was...

  There aren’t many ambient labels that have been going for 20+ years, but you can count Ian Boddy’s DiN as one of the greats. An amazing musician and synthesist himself, Ian has curated one of the finest ambient synthesizer-focused labels around, with many of the genre’s greats gracing the catalog over the years. Scanner, Tetsu Inoue, Robert Rich, Nigel Mullaney, Bluetech, and Markus Reuter featuring with stunning full-lengths, and within the label’s Tone Science compilation series, the...

  April 18th witnessed another big takeover on 9128.live with En Pausa festival. Alex Albrecht, Ario, Chris SSG, Federico Duránd, Gigi FM, Karim, Klara Vedis and Patricia Wolf, plus a live performance by Jo Johnson & Hilary Robinson was the order of the day. Now all of the DJ sets can be heard once again online, including my own.My mix leaned into the notion of “En Pausa” and “Conexion” with a patient and slowly unraveling mix that focused a lot on ASMR, featuring lots of small vocal...

  An invite to contribute to the brilliant Atmoteka mix series had been extended to me a while back, but I have never put together a solely DnB focused mix so wasn’t going to rush into such an effort. But after becoming inspired by the likes of our Illuvia release, Ludvig’s isolatedmix, Spyros’ Portal’s feature, not to mention a whole host of amazing DnB influenced releases making a resurgence this year and filling my shelves, it seemed like the time had come…Here’s my accompanying text to...

  It’s no secret I’m a Trance music fan. We could debate forever, what, when or why Trance was good, but for me, it was one of my many gateways into ambient music growing up. Be it via Pete Namlook, proggy mix CDs, or 90’s pioneers such as B12 and Global Communication, where many began to blur the divide; there’s an unwritten relationship between the two genres which is hard to actually pin down. Maybe one day I will do due diligence and try and trace this connection a bit closer, but until...

  Back when I used to post a lot more mixes here on ASIP, Andy Green and his Verdant Recordings alias was featured quite a few times on the site. It’s a reminder of the magical small worlds we operated in as we stumbled across similar Soundcloud profiles or even personal websites with nothing but MP3 links and text docs with tracklists. It seems like a minefield nowadays to hunt down something special - so much choice - in both good and bad ways. So seeing Andy contribute to the isolatedmix...

  After we announced Illuvia’s, ‘Iridescence of Clouds’ on the label earlier this year, the nostalgia and admiration for atmospheric Drum and Bass within both myself (and I’m sure many of you) it seemed, was quick to rear its head once again. There were two things I wanted to make sure would happen around the same time of the Illuvia release. First, was inviting Ludvig (Illuvia) to record an isolatedmix with some of his many inspirations behind the record (listen here), and second, to create...

  Our relationship with Quiet Places began last year and their debut album as a trio is slowly but surely becoming a favorite for anyone who likes to dive into intriguing new worlds and wide-screen ambient rabbit holes., or watch epic hour-long expanses. The three chaps behind the Quiet Places alias: Charlie May, Dennis White and Dave Gardner are all respectable producers in their own right, and with Charlie already providing us with a marathon isolatedmix, it was only a matter of time before...

  astrangelyisolatedplace · Interview: The making of Gadi Sassoon's 'Multiverse', with Andy GillhamListen to a track-by-track behind the scenes with Gadi Sassoon as he and interviewer, Andy Gillham (VLSI / Echaskech) discuss the making of Gadi's new album 'Multiverse'; the supercomputer process; and some of the wild inspirations behind each track. Also below, some shots taken throughout the making of the album as mentioned by Gadi in the interview. Buy/listen to Multiverse on digital and 2LP...

  It’s not often that we get ASIP artists to contribute with isolatedmixes, but Ludvig’s journey with his Illuvia alias revives a love for the Drum and Bass genre in all of us electronic music fans, triggering the emotion, highs, and nostalgia that so often comes hand-in-hand with the atmospheric side of DnB. Ludvig’s upcoming LP as Illuvia (Iridescence Of Clouds) sits at the apex of both ambient and Drum and Bass - somehow quenching the thirst of both sides whilst inciting something new and...

  Ever since Lennard van der Last’s defining album on the infamous Sending Orbs in 2005 - Tryshasla; output as Secede has been rare. You’re probably (like me) very happy to see Lennard is still active. Our last treat within the interesting and vivid worlds that Secede creates was alongside Kettel, in 2012, with another brilliant outing on Sending Orbs, and enough to keep his cult fanbase ticking over with a glimmer of hope that an album may arrive say… every five, six, or even seven years....

   As with all past ‘Reflection’ year-end mixes, I start with a collection of albums I have enjoyed over the year. Through the process of compiling a mix that flows well, songs are whittled down and selected from this collection. This means many of my favorite tracks and albums are often omitted in the process, due to the need for them to fit in a mix that comes together as organically as possible. As I say every year, this isn’t a definitive ‘best-of’ list, but a selection of some of my...

  After a string of powerful albums with the Denovali label, Eugenio Caria is quickly becoming synonymous with the more epic and intense side of ambient music. Often introducing beats or IDM influences, amongst classical elements and big swells of atmospheric textures, with albums normally built upon strong, vivid concepts, SaffronKeira’s music draws you in for the full, immersive, storytelling experience. Eugenio’s 2019 album ‘Automatism’, sat with many of my faves of the year, and with the...

  **Continually updated post with the latest mix in the series**Kilchurn Session XVII debuted on our 9128.live radio platform last week and immediately garnered todos more deserved admirers for his crafted mixes. Episode 17 is an expansive and euphoric addition to the series, with clear ups-and-downs to hold the listeners attention amongst some lovely more melodic retrospective moments. As always, todos paints a spectrum of electronic music with his mixes, intertwining almost all elements in...

  I feel a sense of nostalgia for this isolatedmix, for several reasons: Firstly, Mike Jedlicka (Optic Echo) and I go back for some time now after initially meeting in Portland (Oregon) amongst the amazing ambient scene at the time. We would often find ourselves at the same shows in what is a small city, and both of us would make the trip up to Seattle for Rafael Anton Irisarri’s Substrata Festival (with one such memory being a field recording trip where I must’ve been the only one not...

  Just finished up a lovely session with the Modern Therapy crew who hosted a massive 24+hr Halloween takeover on Twitch also featuring Mr C, Bunny from Rabbit in the Moon, Jon Charnis, Tara Brooks + more. I prepared a 2hr trip into the woods - dark, weird, trippy and storied to bring in Sunday morning, scare the beats off, and raise the… living. It features a few upcoming ASIP releases too for good measure. Halloween may be over but everyone likes a trip to the dark side every now and...

  For our 9128.live guest takeovers that some of you may have experienced this past year, we invite other great labels to curate a lineup that is completely on their own terms. What I enjoy the most about this, is that I get to listen to new artists and DJ’s through it, many for the first time (in real time) and it becomes a discovery tool for me just as much as it does to all the listeners. One of those artists who really jumped out (and was new to me at the time) was GiGi FM. An NTS radio...

  If you’re following our label output, you would have noticed a debut album by Quiet Places released last month. Alongside Dennis White and Dave Gardner, the UK-based production trio is yet another milestone in the esteemed Charlie May’s career - one that has brought us some of the most revered and innovative music of the past thirty(!) or so years, through the likes of the duo, Spooky, as Sasha’s engineer and producer, or more recently on stage with Sasha, Dave and Dennis as part of the...

  We go from one of our musical heroes in isolatedmix 100 (Tom Middleton) to an exciting, new discovery with Dutch label collective, De Lichting. I came across the label on Bandcamp late last year after they had just released the third of their compilation series; 'Één', ‘Twee’ and ‘Drie’. It must’ve been the pastel color thumbnails that drew me in (!) as I had no prior knowledge of the label or the artists involved. But I was quickly moved to purchase all albums on vinyl and stump up the...

  The Portland based, Optic Echo Presents show has been a great supporter of ambient music throughout the years and as the man at the controls, Mike has continually helped showcase unknown, local, and of course, some of the best ambient music you can find on vinyl. One example here.This guest mix for OE Presents was originally broadcast on Mike's show on Xray FM this week, and I had a clear concept in mind for the mix as soon as I was invited. While the OE Presents guest mixes can choose any...

  Since the first isolatedmix by Ulrich Schnauss in 2009, we’ve been lucky enough to explore many of the artists, DJ’s, producers and inspirations behind this site’s inception. It started as a way for me to dig into what makes some of my musical heroes tick and to this day is a way for me to unearth some insights behind my favorite musicians, both new and old. Isolatedmixes over the years have been themed; full showcases; focused on a specific concept, or simply tracks from the heart. They’ve...

  I like to think I’ve been productive during the lockdown, but it’s easy to look back and see that time has truly flown by and you didn’t get half the things you want to do, done. I did however manage to make a couple of mixes. One of them, a guest mix, should see the light of day in the next month or so and then this one, titled Dream The Daydream.The concept I had in mind for this mix was loose at the beginning. I wanted to create something that was happy, uplifting and melodic, as opposed...