Posts in Music

Total 12 is ready to go in 2 weeks, for anyone that has been following the Total series from Kompakt you’ll know that its always the compilation to check out no matter what style of music is trending, here’s a sneak peek of the intro track from Kolombo, its a must have for M83 or even those MFA fans, follow Kompakt on facebook to get more info on release plus other news from this legendary label.

I feel like Little Dragon might be inching towards Top 40 quickly and the first half of this song is pop radio ready but what really makes me appreciate them still is the synth sounds that aren’t typical in the second half, big changes for a band but the path feels right, good luck guys.

Gold Zebra, with a name like that I had to check them out because another color/animal band really makes anyones eyebrows rise these days….and i’m surprised how much I love them, They have the appeal of The xx but with more resonances.

I have a feeling this Neon Indian album will be in my top 5 favorite albums of the year but i’m not into this first single but you should still download it for free here.

It’s an all beat post! these 4 musicians i’ve loved and have all been suggested to me atleast once this week(it’s only Wednesday) so I put them all together in a more focused sounding playlist.

Machinedrum put together a very cohesive album for Planet Mu, it came at a great time and the style is back to what I feel like Travis has loved since I first met him years ago, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Ann Arbor hometown hero / Flying Lotus‘ beat partner comes with a raw collection of beats/ideas, whats attractive about it is that its not trying to ever be flashy or be something that its not. I picked Pressure from the album because I LOVE the synth line at 0:31.

Sun Glitters has 10 releases on bandcamp, now thats a musician thats really taking advantage of the tools out there for musicians that don’t have a home. If you ever wanted Flying Lotus to do a simple cover of Slowdive then this track is for you. Support his music here.

Warp just released a small peek into the Rustie album thats coming in October, sounds like he’s settled down a bit which gets me excited.

Art above by: Joe Nigel Coleman

18 Carat Affair debuts his enchanting 80’s late night/old VHS sounding R+B album called Vintage Romance, beautifully executed and unique, grab it here.

I can’t believe I never actually shared this, here’s singles from Caribou‘s Daphni project, gorgeous worldly edits to get lost into.

Stellar OM Source is a mind expander, I hate hearing her music stop.

I’ve probably posted most of these at some point or another in the past separately but now you have them all in one place. Keep Shelly In Athens have been one of my favorite remixers in the past year or so, always epic in this lo-fi way, catchy synths and the effects are always added on in a tasteful way, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Also, look at all the free downloading!

P.S. to Keep Shelly In Athens(if you read this): email me jakub at iso50 dot com i’d like you to remix Tycho.

Cover art by: ? [any info would be appreciated, would love to give credit]

So many great Kickstarters have been popping up and this one seems very close to the ISO50 family, below is info on Kim Høltermand & Tim Navis Outliers project:

This October, with the help of the Kickstarter community, a small group of filmmakers, photographers and musicians are setting out on a journey to explore the remote countryside of Iceland and document our experiences with the landscape, residents and traditions we encounter. The end result, a beautifully packaged box set of the film and companion soundtrack, will be released to backers of the project as a physical artifact of the unique and awe-inspiring experience. We can’t wait to share the results with you.

The project — anchored by internationally renowned photographers Tim Navis + Kim Høltermand and aided by film collective Scenic and composer Deru — will be unique in its improvisational spirit. The group will create a series of short films at various locations throughout the island, inspired by moments of discovery and chance occurrence. Tim’s sun-drenched SoCal landscapes and Kim’s cold, architectural abstractions provide the perfect visual foundation, and fans of their work can imagine how exciting a collaboration between the two will be.

We’ll be sharing our trip in inventive ways with supporters, providing a real-time window into an experience that the community helped to make reality. Upon our return, Scenic will edit a series of short films, featuring an original score by Deru and a full-length soundtrack featuring contributions from select musicians and contemporary composers. Tim + Kim will create an archival photo book and release a limited run of exclusive prints for the Kickstarter community.

Your donation will help provide travel and accommodations while our small crew films and photographs the trip, and will allow us to produce truly stunning physical artifacts that showcase the beauty and wonder of Iceland. We hope you’ll join us on our journey, and we thank you for your support.

About the Soundtrack
*** Download the first single here, FREE ***

Deru is curating a full-length soundtrack compilation of tracks contributed specifically for the film. Artists include:

• Shigeto
• Loscil
• Goldmund
• Asura
• Tycho
• Joby Talbot
• Ryuichi Sakamoto
• More to be announced

We have an exclusive gift for the ISO50 readers courtesy of André Obin, Teen Daze, and 18 Carat Affair. Download this synth drenched collection of remixes of André Obin’s new single Lemondrop for free. With both the 18 Carat Affair and Teen Daze albums coming out I thought i’d be a perfect time to ask them to remix this song that André gave us to give away on the site, let me know what you guys think and also visit their sites if you have time.

DOWNLOAD THE ZIP HERE FOR FREE

M83 drops the first single with an epic intro for his upcoming album Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. I would have shared the cover art but its far from being anything ISO50. I find the single catchy especially with the sax solo, makes me feel like have the gained the skills to be able to leap from one skyscraper roof to another but I don’t recommend anyone doing that. Download the single here for free.

C-Beams comes to us from a small Hamburg label called Smallville, who in my mind are the front runners of keeping the early sounds of spaced out minimalist detroit techno alive and well.

Matthewdavid takes on an important role in the beat scene, tied in with labels like Brainfeeder, he becomes a key piece in keeping a mostly beat focused label very interesting by offering up hazy lo-fi sounds.

Alright let me explain, James Ferraro isn’t a normal sound for the ISO50 blog BUT holy shit! its like my VCR is broken, the sound damage is soo authentic its beautiful. The synth line is amazing and the sequence changes are perfected by completely just cutting tape and taping the next part together in the toughest way possible, amazed.

When I started working at Ghostly International in the early 2000’s I quickly feel in love with all the promo albums that came from the label Traum. Everything was lush and sugary and catchy ambients atmosphere became a must. I felt like I had really connected with musicians that were making the music that I wanted to get out of my head. I realized they were making the soundtrack to what I loved to imagine about at the time which was pod homes, heavily carpeted sculptures that you can sit on, snowy cliff minimal homes, etc.

Thank you A Strangely Isolated Place for making this mix.

01. Iquinn – Fall [TRAUMCD08]
02. Broker/Dealer – Stormy [TRAUMCD07]
03. Miss Dinky – Nora [TRAUMV11]
04. Fantasias Animadas – Mike’s Road [TRAUMCD01]
05. Waki – Baikamo [TRAUMCD06]
06. Kubikov & Milutenko – Structure [TRAUM13]
07. Process – Room [TRAUMCD13]
08. Kubikov & Milutenko – Special Communication [TRAUM13]
09. Gustavo Lamas – Dulces [TRAUMCD02]
10. Leandro Fresco – Recordable [TRAUMCD01]
11. Yuxtapose – Sciex Elan [TRAUMCD01]
12. Oxtongue – Elba Life [TRAUMCD07]
13. Darmush – Rarpa [TRAUMCD11]
14. Max Cooper – Sea Of Sound (Ambient rework) [TRAUMV131]

Image by: Norik

18 Carat Affair’s Bitter Turns To Sugar is a short serenade that made me question who might be the most unique lo-fi musician these days, he has this authentic sincere haunting touch, grab this track for free.

I had to hold myself back from posting more than just one song from John Maus’ We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves album, soo many great songs on this album, loving the melody on this one, pick it up if you can.

I will keep posting Hype Williams on ISO50 until he hits 50k fans on facebook which I hope is never but if it helps him out then I hope it does happen. Part of me hears a Kraftwerk sample, its very short, whatever its reused perfectly.

Ducktails has a new EP Killin’ The Vibe, here’s the new single that features Panda Bear.

What a trip this remix is from Shlohmo of Burial, its soo delicate and dark, its like he tippy toed around being completely careful of the original like a art handler at Christie’s.

Max Tundra and Mux Mool give us another reason to play out two of the most crowd pleasing hits from the 20th Century.

Caribou goes minimalist on his Radiohead remix, sound like he’s been listening to some Raster-Noton.