This is an autumnal mix which indulges the melancholy and contemplative mood which closes in around me around this time of year. Some people seem to react quite strongly to the emotional qualities of my music … this mix charts a path through some of the key inspirational moments which have shaped that emotion over the years. I hope you enjoy the journey…

1 – James Holden – Kearn
My favourite James Holden track … an emotional use of his signature reverb and delay tricks.

2 – Spectre – Overseas
Taken from “The Missing Two Weeks”, an album of sublime and soulful dub from Nick Manasseh.

3 – Tankerville – Entangled
One of those tracks you hear on an advert and then go to the ends of the earth to track down. These days Shazam takes the effort (and the fun) out of the hunt.

4 – Deadmau5 – I Hate Campers
Not known for his chillout, this snippet’s taken from Project 56, a zip of 56 sketches, stems, chip-tunes and other ideas which he offered up a few years ago as a freebie.

5 – Cinematic Orchestra – That Home
Piano, strings and a good vocal … what more do you need?

6 – Deadmau5 – Wish You Were There
Another clip from Project 56. Going through the tracks you realise just what a talented fellow he is.

7 – Vangelis – Ask The Mountains
There’s something about this track … there’s certainly a whiff of cheese there, but it never fails to put a smile on my face. Vocal is Stina Nordenstam, sublime.

8 – Michael Brook and Pieter Nooten – Finally I
A lesser-known release on the amazing and seminal 4AD label. 4AD was so utterly crucial to my musical development as a teenager … truly powerful music to accompany powerful and character-forming experiences. If I ever have a son he’ll be called Ivo (after Ivo Watts-Russell label guvna and This Mortal Coil founder).

9 – Lisa Gerrard and Pieter Bourke – The Unfolding
Lisa Gerrard of course needs no introduction. A bit obscure this one, but unquestionably epic.

10 – Roger Eno – Voices
Although less prolific or celebrated than his brother Brian, Roger’s music can be every bit as beautiful.

11 – Kevin Shields – Goodbye
Taken from the “Lost In Translation” soundtrack. Tender in comparison to the seminal shoegazing of his My Bloody Valentine years.

12 – Amorphous Androgynous – Mountain Goat
Classic from the 1993 album ‘Tales of Ephedrina’.

13 – Alex Stealthy – Once Ambient
The Russians seem to know about bass … I’m working with some guys from Moscow called Koan who have the same touch with enveloping low frequencies.

14 – port-royal – hva (failed revolutions)
port-royal have really nailed the nu gaze thing … For me they’ve got the blend just right. Powerful stuff.

15 – Tripswitch – Stereogram (Solar Fields remix)
Magnus has worked wonders remixing track 8 from my new album “Geometry”. It comes out in a couple of months as a digital single release on Section Records, along with mixes from Adham Shaikh, Luke Chable, Abakus, Aurtas and me – check out sectionrecords.com for more details.

16 – Ulrich Schnauss – Shine (Mint remix)
This is a great mix … Mint’s another one with an uncanny knack for nu gaze.

17 – Freedom Tygerstar – Snow Runner Sun
This track featured on Magnetic Blue, one of the earliest Interchill compilations. When I first heard this track it made my hair stand on end. Definitely one of the sparks that ignited my path to chillout production.

18 – Twisted Air feat. Caroline Thorp – Feels Like Forever
Aah, the morning after the night before … It’s a long time since I did the full party weekend thing, but this track takes me right back to those weekends where sleep didn’t seem necessary and my body didn’t complain so much.

Isolated mix on A Strangely Isolated Place (Oct 10)

For a veteran chillout producer to successfully navigate the transition to sought-after producer / remixer and DJ within the Progressive House scene, is not an easy ask. But Nick Brennan a.k.a. Tripswitch has done just that – and with distinction. It was his Tripswitch ‘Vagabond’ album (Iboga Records, 2016) that cemented his highly rated status as a key dance producer beyond doubt. The album rose to the top of the Beatport charts, hitting #1 in Electronica and holding at #2 in Progressive House for 3 months.

Since then, a flawless resumé of releases on Bedrock, Sudbeat, The Soundgarden, Movement, Balkan Connection, Flow Vinyl, Pure Progressive and many more creatively exciting labels, has seen Tripswitch’s progressive stock grow exponentially. Chart-topping collaborative studio projects with Nick Warren and Hernán Cattaneo, along with a huge bootleg remix of London Grammar’s ‘Rooting For You’, helped to propel him to the upper reaches of the production cosmos.

Tripswitch’s melodic, emotionally charged, proper progressive DJ sets at amazing events around the world have resulted him gaining a loyal and ever-growing global audience. In 2017 Nick launched his onedotsixtwo label, with its distinct forward-thinking proper progressive ethos. Impeccable curation and the remarkable smash single ‘Voight Kampff’ (courtesy of Tripswitch & Nick Warren) have already seen onedotsixtwo recognised as a ‘Vital Label’ by DJ Mag USA in 2019.

Never one to limit himself creatively, early 2020 saw Tripswitch release ‘Memento Mori’, his hugely anticipated first chillout album in 10 years.

Florina Speth, born 1983 in the mountains near Salzburg, started playing the cello and piano at the age of 6 and began studying music at the “University Mozarteum Salzburg” when she was just 11. She won several prices playing solo and string quartett ensembles, was part of orchestras like Bayerisches Landesjugend Orchester and Salzburger Junge Philarmonie all over Europe. Always keenly interested in contemporary music, she was part of performing ensembles in lots of world premieres.

In her PhD she investigated the role of sound in robotic rehabilitation. She has been working as Postdoctoral researcher on Music, Machines and the Human hand. She has been working as a futurist, writing books on the 22nd century and future of health. These days she holds a professorship in Digital Health in which she tackles the humane tech-potentials for the silver society.

She loves bridging experimental arts with science to get inspiring output. In current live performances she works with cello and synths.

contact: florina.spethATgmail.com

Isolated mix on A Strangely Isolated Place (Oct 10)

Tripswitch | Nick Brennan