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

Hengki Koentjoro is a photographer from Indonesia, where most of these shots were taken. You can see more of his jaw-dropping work on his flickr. Any idea what kind of camera was used for these?

via Snowce

Not a whole lot of info on this one as the page is in Japanese, but Wakui Works has some nice shots from 1960’s Japan featuring Eames / Herman Miller furniture in it’s natural habitat. Whenever I see shots like these I imagine the lucky people who found all this discarded in an alley somewhere around 1994.

Wakui Works via Brian From Concentrate

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.

Some great illustrations by Sachin Teng. Really digging the color palettes and mix of geometric/organic shapes.

I don’t think I’ve slept in days. Today our company launched our first app: Nosh. Above is the promo video I made a few days ago which will give you a quick little intro. I plan to write a few process posts on this whole thing: one on the video (which was an EPIC 24 hour production), at least one on the app development, the branding…there was an insane amount of work that went into all this that I’m really excited to share. For now though I am beyond exhausted and am going to go sleep in my chair.

Check it out and let me know what you think! You can read the Techcrunch article here. I’ll write more details later

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.

Scott’s trip to Graz for the recent Springfestival inspired me to take a walk through my hometown of San Mateo to see what visual inspiration I could find. One thing that’s always fascinated me is the beautiful mural decorating the front of the local Bank of America.

Consisting of 5 panels, 25′ high and approximately 90′ across, the mural was designed by Louis Macouillard and set by Alphonso Pardinas in glass tile. The panels tell the story of A. P. Giannini, the founder of the Bank of Italy (what would later become the Bank of America) who moved the bank’s records and cash to San Mateo after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

These pictures don’t really do it justice, so for the two of you who happen to pass through San Mateo it’s worth checking out. Anyone else have any cool hometown design gems to share?

I am in awe over the detail in Ricky Allman’s work, makes me want to go pick up some oils and canvas.

I’m a fan of Aaron Ruell’s vision, he fakes retro in a very plastic & clean way. Some of his best work with Napoleon Dynamite I think we’ve overlooked since we’ve seen it soo many times in ads but after looking at them closely again i’m amazed at how well the color schemes are put together.

Aaron Ruell Photography