We are delighted to begin the year with a mix from ASIP (Ryan Griffin), the founder of A Strangely Isolated Place - a label and mix series that has become a cornerstone for contemporary ambient music. Inviting him felt long overdue, and we couldn’t be happier to share this contribution from someone whose work continually inspires us. For this mix, Ryan delved into musical memories, crafting a journey filled with nostalgia and influences. As he beautifully puts it:

"Thank you, Mareen, for the invite to your series. This mix is full of nostalgia, some Balearic undertones, and classic approaches to ambient electronic music, without an agenda. It starts to speak to some major influences on me over the years. Growing up on 90's electronic music, influential summers in Europe, and the formative years of early 00's IDM and electronica. If Unrush is self-described as 'a serene space within the mind that is free from the encumbering stresses of daily life,' then this is music that always helps me get there."

Ryan’s contribution is a heartfelt journey through time, marked by the sounds that have shaped him and continue to inspire, perfectly embodying the unrushed ethos. Let yourself drift and enjoy... ❤️

ASIP on the web:
Website: https://www.astrangelyisolatedplace.com/
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/astrangelyisolatedplace
Bandcamp: https://astrangelyisolatedplace.bandcamp.com/
iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a-strangely-isolated-place/id409698179

UNRUSH on the web:
Bandcamp: www.unrush.bandcamp.com/
Hardwax: www.hardwax.com/label/unrush/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/_unrush_/?hl=de
Facebook: www.facebook.com/unrushme/

Cover artwork by Irakli Kiziria

Tracklist:
Ishq - And Awake (2011, Interchill Records)
Aspetuck - Hit Me With Your Pet Shark (Forthcoming, A Strangely Isolated Place)
Wilson Tanner - Further Than Your Headlights (2016, Growing Bin Records)
TSR - gtchi3 (2012, Record Union)
MPU101 - Sunset Memories (2024, Ilian Tape)
Dream Dolphin - L.E.A (Mirror Coordinate Mix) (2023, Music From Memory)
C-thru - Awake In A Dream (2023, Pacific Rhythm)
Norman Feller - Melting From The Inside (2003, Electrolux)
Gallo - That Moment (2023, Hell Yeah)
Spooky - Let Go (1993, Guerilla)
Neutron 900 - Empire (1994, Rising High)
Alvar - Our Peach Sky (Unreleased)
Mikkel Rev - Unknown (Unreleased)
Ebi - Kaze (1996, Space Teddy)
Jochem Paap - Dx-Snth (1999, Fax)

093 - Unrushed by ASIP

Writer @ Minimal Collective, Beatportal, The Guardian, Resident Advisor. 
Ambient podcast host on Hanoi Community Radio. 
https://twitter.com/rwlancas
https://www.instagram.com/rosslancas/

Dance like you're an animal that's living in an ecosystem and you will be living the truth. Move your body to the music__more technically, contract and relax the muscles in time with the beat and you'll be dancing. Ignore the nay-sayers that believe in nothing that can be proven whilst disbelieving that which science has proven (beyond a reasonable \ informed persons doubt). Feel the bones as you move to the vibration of the music. Understand that certain sounds, environments, social situations, will increase adrenaline that may increase the beat of your heart.  

Be wise, many are lost in the music. Educate, but, some won't learn how to listen. Nurture being humble especially when dealing with the arrogant. Humans specifically, are nothing special  (i.e., believing we are greater than nature is nothing but hubris, & that ignorance is causing environmental neglect) 

There is an objective reality that can be known (understood at some level or another). We do live and breath on a planet that's orbiting a star (the Sun) How would you infer that fact in some music? Song? (lyrics) or, for example, a sound that tried to represent the 'massiveness' of the planet that we live on? Or for example, if we could hear the sound of one hydrogen atom, what would it sound like? What is a cold or hot sound? a hard or soft sound? A high or low sound? A red or blue sound? We can detect \ see the differences in frequency in the electromagnetic spectrum between the colour red and blue. We can hear the difference in frequency (pitch) between a "C" & an "D" note. Music is somewhat subjective (mind). However, sound is objective. Vision is somewhat subjective. However, light is objective. 

I've been a passionate music listener for many years. Over thirty years ago whilst under the influence of cannabis (if you choose to, use, e.g., vape, cannabis sparingly. i.e., ask, is this helping my well-being?), I had such an 'out of the ordinary' experience whilst listening to music, that ever since that event, I’ve believed that music is the answer, the solution, to many of societies' woes. Thirty years later my understanding of the effect of music, and sound in general, on human behaviour, is more of a science than a mere faith (belief) For example, sound in general is “out there” (changes in air pressure). Sound is an objective, a physical, quality (objective reality). However, music is in our minds (but, it’s properties are now electro-chemical). Music is subjective in that music is what our brains perceive under certain circumstances (timing, pitch [AKA frequency], etc.) Whilst humans do show a preference for different genres of music, what we perceive as musical are sounds that have certain qualities, and the dominant musical quality is timing. Or to be more precise, a repeating quality that we can recognise, and typically, sense some pleasure in for it to be experienced as musical’. Why are we able to recognise the difference in pitch? An “A” note from a “C” note? Why are we able to recognise the the difference between green and red? The why is due to our evolved physiology. It was, it is, evolutionary beneficial to be able to recognise the colour of ripe fruit, for example. To recognise the difference between a friendly or angry sound (human or non human animal). Fundamentally, our ability to perceive and appreciate music is an evolutionary adaptation. Furthermore, humans are “wired” to be social animals. Music can bring us together. 

I understand that music can change cultures, and that cultures do need to change (will change radically, one way or another)__especially in regards to taking far more care of the environment, and one another. In one sense, apathy or neglect  for the environment, for nature, is simply due to a lack of awareness (consciousness). Time waits for no person. The environment won’t wait for us to recognise, to learn, that we need to sustain it (to sustain ourselves) Therefore, the solution is to raise awareness about the environment. For example, to provide excess to the form of education so that people develop the comprehension, the understanding about what clouds are (water vapour) and how clouds form. That understanding, in of itself, is a step towards understanding that we live in an ecosystem (that’s a good place to start)

Many of the people I’ve met, including family members that I’ve known since I was a child, don’t understand that they’re animals living in an ecosystem. In fact, out of all the myriads of animals that exist on planet Earth, only a percentage of humans understand themselves enough to understand that they're animals. Whilst studies using mirrors suggest that our closet "cousins" chimpanzees have a sense of self, it would be guess work, in other words I doubt it very much, to think that chimps know that they're chimps. The term chimpanzee, is a human construct. We know that chimps are our closest living relatives because we can study anatomy and genetics, etc. We know that humans and chimpanzees share a common ancestor that lived millions of years ago because of fossil records and genetics. That common ancestors lineage diverged into what later evolved to be today's chimpanzees and humans. Although, during that time, millions of years, many human looking animals, AKA the hominid “family”, went extinct. Why did, for example, Neanderthals go extinct? The answer is, we don't know! (there are a few scientific ideas, but no conclusive evidence to why. E.g., the Neanderthals didn’t leave any written records)

The lack of awareness of objective reality that some humans express as ignorance & or arrogance, or rather can’t express as intelligence, is because of a lack of a type of intelligence, and false beliefs, misinformation in general, that has and is preventing people from accommodating fact based information. Rhetorically, how can people care about that which they don't understand? Fortunately, developing a general scientific literacy increases a persons general level of intelligence. But, there is the rub, a sort of 'catch 22'. You can only become aware just how much a general scientific literacy will increase your general understanding, once you've reached a point in which you have developed a certain level of scientific literacy. In simple terms, you have to develop the intelligence to have the intelligence to comprehend that you are an animal living on a planet (in an ecosystem). That is profound. You live on a Planet that’s orbiting a star! (wow!) The only way to develop that type of informed intelligence is by learning the science. The chemistry, the biology, the ecology, for example. 

That does not mean you need to have a science degree, for example. A general scientific literacy is a general understanding of the fundamental sciences such as chemistry and physics. That awareness can be developed via the many ways that there are to learn, to be informed, of science. People learn in different ways. I for one, enjoy listening to a science podcast whilst out walking. Or for example, reading up on how clouds form, then going outside and using that knowledge to appreciate clouds (to perceive clouds or the “sun” for what they are. e.g., water vapour & a giant gaseous object)

Sure, generally, science isn't as "simple" as learning your “A,B,C’s” (not that that is "simple") because science studies objective and subjective reality. However, like learning anything, even learning how to ride a bicycle, eventually, it becomes like 'second nature'. Humans are nature, Humans are animals. Humans do have an effect on the environment & one another (psychology). And, humans need the environment in order to sustain their societies. Polluting nature is the sign of ignorance. The cause is often a combination of greed & ignorance. 

Basically, any ideas, any ideology, any faith, that infers, that believes, that perceives that humans are NOT part of the planets natural systems, the Earths ecosystem, is not only wrong, it's harmful. However, in some ways humans are a special species. More specifically, as well as our human 'type' of intelligence, we're also highly social animals. We can cooperate to 'save the planet', (the best of our nature), or we can compete, which often brings out the worst in us, and degrade the planet's natural systems (including climate change)

If people don't take that first step towards becoming scientifically literate, they will never know what it is that they're missing out on (a more informed perception of reality). So, and this goes out to a general audience, do yourself & your society a favour and begin the journey of learning about objective reality. A good place to start because it’s a fundamental science, is by reading or listening to a book about chemistry, because, just about everything is chemicals (e.g., molecules that consist of the fundamental elements such as carbon and hydrogen) 

Furthermore, even understanding only the basics of neuroscience for example, will mean that music producers can make even better “brain” music (brains are electro-chemical in nature), 

To quote "We believe in the power of music to promote the cultural change needed to create a better future"  https://www.musicdeclares.net/gb/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1000555179&ref=xav_ig_profile_web

U N R U S H is an experiment in sound, a crystalline vision of eternal pause. Through our record label, podcasts, interviews, and event series we focus on presenting a diverse array of alluring ambient music. With each guest contribution we search for a serene space within the mind that is free from the encumbering stresses of daily life. Our events will act as a platform for distinguished artists and take place in stunning cultural surroundings both in the city and in nature, taking a step away from the pounding hedonism of the club to showcase the other side of electronic music.

- no podcast inquieries or demos please -