aaahhhhh so nice, lovely mix and this track is heavenly - would love to learn what it is

Long time pal and driving force behind Invisible City it's Gary Abugan (@invisible-city) from Canada serving up the 29th mix in the series. Interview (excerpt) down below.

www.musicfrommemory.com

MFM: Hey Gary. How's life in Toronto today? Did you manage to do some more gardening? :)

IC: We have a really nice garden in front of the shop and also at home in my backyard, both get some nice sun and shade and are where I spend all my time. So yes, gardening everyday ;)

MFM: (Before the pandemic hit) You've seen quite a few bits of the world by now while touring. How would you describe Toronto as a city if you had to promote it to the readers who haven't been there yet? 

IC: It’s summer here now in Toronto and we’re in the middle of a heatwave. We’re lucky to have an island with nice beaches as a nearby getaway via ferry. Toronto is a very large sprawling city compared to most European cities. Our multiculturalism definitely sets us apart. We have heaps of reggae and island music here along with lots of record shops, and the variety of food here can’t really be beat. I miss giving guided Invisible City tours of the city to any traveling DJs passing through.

MFM: Would you say it's a good place for an artist to be, whether being a young upcoming talent or professional and all in between?  

IC: Sure you can make it here if you’re skilled/talented and not overbearing, the problem is that there isn’t that many music venues to play. Between the crazy expensive visa you need to play the USA and the costs of flights to Europe, we are kind of isolated musically. Rent is crazy expensive here and most artists have another job, but I’m not sure if Toronto makes it specifically harder or easier compared to other cities. 

MFM: People may know you as the driving force behind Invisible City, the record store and label. How much time do you spend with the one compared to the other? 

IC: I would say pre-Covid more focus was on the shop and getting that to a sustainable level and stocking the store. We didn’t even have a sign for years until recently. During Covid, when the shop was closed for about a year and a half, a lot of focus was on development and signing artists paying advances and getting back into production. I learned alot about Music Publishing too… Laura helps me a lot with organizing everything, label and shop, I would be lost without her.

MFM: Looking back on running a record store and label for over 10 years now, what would you say are some key changes that took place over time?

Back then there were not that many reissue labels and it wasn’t as competitive or extensive, now everyone has a reissue label. I only wanted to put out records that I was strongly connected to or somehow found on a whim. If someone showed me a record, I would ask them if they were planning on reissuing it, now people just go ahead. It’s crazy how many reissues there are so it’s challenging now as a label to dig even deeper. The record shop also was really niche and specialized in the past and now there’s just more in each genre. It’s still pretty curated, but I am finding that I didn’t know a lot of good common records, so we like having “high end cheapos”. I like that most people can just come off the street and buy records now, although we still have some niche stuff too. It feels overall more balanced and varied and for the people.

MFM: The label seems to run at a nice and slow pace. Is it on purpose to not have a heavy and steady output? 

IC: I like to only do a couple records a year, it’s only me and Laura who do it all and it takes me ages to figure out artwork, I’m very picky. The shop, DJing, and occasionally throwing parties also takes up a lot of our time. We always have a lot on the go. I also like to focus on one or two artists at a time, but also it costs a lot of money to make a record! Now things are totally slowed down and our plant says I can’t get pressings out till next March!

MFM Mix 029: Invisible City

Found this mix a couple of years ago on a minidisc and included it as "Frozen Food" in the "Joy Of Cooking " series that was aired on deepfrequency.com.
It's from 98 or 99 and the sound is rather contemporary and mellow. Downbeat, Trip Hop and Future Jazz. No obscure flea market finds but names like Four Tet, Lemon Jelly and Karma.... and some of those timeless PORK releases too.

The Joy Of Cooking #9 - Frozen Food

Back from rumoured retirement with more than 188 minutes of seasonally-appropriate selections, recorded live at Brilliant Corners on 16/10/2021.

What's Good? w/ Customs

026 - @danza

Taking the reign this time around is Stockholms very own Danza, revered collector in his own right and label boss of Dubbla Budskap and previously Fri Form. 

For the series, Danza took us a carefully crafted journey through anything and everything touching on German Film Soundtracks, lofi Synth Pop and off kilter House jams.

Continuous Movement 026 - Danza

https://www.nts.live/shows/bill-spencer/episodes/bill-spencer-26th-june-2022

A Month of Sundays w/ Bill Spencer 260622

@mlle_elle

https://undertheapricottree.net/mademoiselle-linda/

Apricot 36: Mademoiselle Linda

Delighted to host @melodyastruth influence mix on Oddity Radio.

@jonnynash : It is a selection of music I've been enjoying over the last year, with a loose focus on "guitar music".

Turn on, tune in and don't drop out!

For regular updates please follow : www.instagram.com/oddityradio.fm/

Jonny Nash - Oddity Influence Mix

@curiousaboutmusic

Curious Music crosses boarders with this Coastal Guide through unpredictable landscapes. 

I had the pleasure of meeting the Pembrokeshire native at this year's @westivalrecords and am fortunate to present his guide through uneven paths of Synth, AOR, Folk & More!

Coastal Cruising - Curious Music (#10)

https://www.nts.live/shows/doing-time/episodes/doing-time-18th-september-2022

NTS – Doing Time (Again) w/ Asger Behncke

@sankywashere

https://undertheapricottree.net/sanky/

Apricot 45: Sanky

We are back with uploading mixes after a little break. And this time we brought back Filip "Danza" with a touching mix consisting of private indie tunes, aor, funny jingles, gentle electronic drums and possibly some Prefab Sprout? Dig in to find out!

@danza for ids

Nitty Gritty Store Hours - Danza

NO DEMOS PLEASE! 
growing bin records is a micro-label and online record store. With lots of love and affection we bring you music that is special to our ears. Well actually we're a one man business, but "we" sounds a bit more professional, or maybe even royal. Forget about that. We're small and not a bit royal and we'll stay small and loyal. Cheers!  If I should not react to your demo I probably didn't feel it, and I'm too shy to tell you.  Sorry but life is short and I don't release stuff that i feel 100%. Keep on keeping on! 
I am actually not releasing much at all at the moment as I am focussing on selling the thousands of used records in my studio (that has to move later in the year) so do me a favour and come over to the bin aka www.growingbinrecords.com and help me get rid of the gold ...(no not my own collection!)

The Joy Of Cooking #9 - Frozen Food

growing bin records

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