anyone following mnml ssgs on twitter would have probably noticed that i've been a bit obsessed with last week's RA podcast from ASC. for me, it really is a perfect mix - fresh, interesting, balanced and holds up well to repeat listens. if you let this one slip you by, rectify this mistake and download it ASAP. i know the autonomic sound has been blowing up, but ASC's poddie is one of the first things from that crew that i have fully connected with. perhaps that is because the d&b influences are more submerged and restrained in the ASC RA mix. not sure... but what really hit me is how atmospheric and emotive the mix was. powerful stuff. having done a bit more homework now, i can see at least where some of this comes from: old school ambient. after being blown away by the RA mix, i went searching for more, and discovered on ASC's official.fm page some mixes from a deep space ambient series he has done. i've now managed to listen to about 10 of the 17, and they are pretty much all killer. 'deep space' pretty much says it... tripping, 90s ambient. if you like dozzy's 2 part ambient ssg mx39, you are sure to love these.
my advice would be to do what i did: start with deep space mixes #15, #16 and #17. if you like them (and i'm guessing you will), head over to here beatplexity and grab the first 14 in the series. thanks to astrangelyisolatedplace for pointing to me this archive. glad to have the full set now because these are just so good!
i've had a pretty bullshit stressful week, and ASC's sublime and soothing beats have definitely made handling everything a bit easier. these come strongly recommended.
nice one...
ReplyDeleteLet me just say that I've been following this blog for some time and it made my day to see the Autonomic sound get mentioned here- I've been waiting for that to happen.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure which "transmissions" (as it were) you've heard; and while I do agree with you that the dnb influence in ASC's RA podcast has been abstracted almost out of existence, I'd also assert that this mix certainly isn't the only moment in which that's the case. This mix was quite reminiscent in my book of dBridge+Instra:mental's Fabriclive mix- moreso than most of the other recent studio mixes I've heard from ASC, in fact, which did tend on the whole to be more dnb-ish than the rest. Additionally it inspired me to revisit some of the older Autonomic podcasts (of which I was a fiendish follower), Layer.02 and Layer.07 in particular; not to mention all the output from these guys (Instra:mental most notably) which is not even remotely dnb...
interesting on genre and expectation: when I listened to ASC's RA 'cast as d&b, I didn't like it at all. When I listened to it as a synthscape mix, with cyberpunk overtones, I loved it.
ReplyDeleteHaving listened to it a fair bit now, I'm actually not entirely convinced by ASC's RA mix (save for the fact that lots of the tunes are, individually, excellent). In terms of the general flow/harmonics, it's not a patch on his March mix, or, say, Autonomic Layer 8, or Fabriclive 50 for that matter (which, as Lara notes, it's quite similar to). But obviously it's great to see this sound exposed to fresh ears, and it seems people are receptive.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Deep Space mixes, yeah, they're nice.
Colony, I think you're missing the point of this mix. It's miles better than the March mix. The two mixes aren't even in the same ballpark.
ReplyDeleteThe March mix is similar to the Autonomic mixes and the Fabriclive50, but IMHO not as good. (No offense!) Good but not special because I didn't hear anything different.
But I feel the RA mix is amazing. Yes it's plumbing the sound of similar artists and labels, but it does so in a unique way. The mix sounds like dance music executed in slow motion, and the way the mix builds and builds, while still staying essentially in downbeat territory, is amazing.
This mix is about the ambient side of the show, which I've never heard done for an entire mix from anyone in the Autonomic camp.
Also the layering of tracks is subtle, creating new tracks out tracks I've heard before, such as No Future. And when the Riya track finally comes in, it's an explosion of emotion that had been gradually building for 40 minutes. The section leading up to that MASSIVE drop, where it sounds like three tracks are playing simultaneously, is pure class.
To me the ASC RA mix is a masterclass in the art of ableton mixing. It might not be that broad in the areas it covers, but its precision and artistry makes it far more than the sum of its part.
One of the best mixes I've heard this year. Big respect to ASC!
Haha. You know what, I acually take it back. Just had another listen and it sounded very fucking good! Must have been feeling a bit controversial when I posted last - that, or on some kind of "I'm NOT a shameless ASC fanboy" tip (which I am). Anyway, it's a great mix, up there with the best of what's come of the Autonomic continuum.
ReplyDeleteThere's going to be a hell of a lot of good stuff coming from that camp this year, too...
:-) :-) :-)