ASC // EVERYDAY JUNGLIST GUEST MIX VOL. 12

for the 12th installment of the guest mix series, edj is both proud and honoured to present auxiliary label boss and cornerstone of the autonomic movement, ASC. rising to worldwide prominence as part of the aforementioned autonomic crew, for which he delivered his acclaimed 'nothing is certain lp' last year, he is respected and revered by both fans and his peers for his uncompromising and boundary-less approach toward cutting edge electronic music. it is easy to forget though, given the attention surrounding this project, that his involvement in drum & bass stretches far back beyond this with releases on a range of highly respected imprints such as offshore, inperspective, looking good, warm communications and more as well as his own, now sadly defunct, covert operations label. simply put this is a producer who's very raison d'etre is to continually push the envelope and re-define people's perceptions of this music. as well as this exclusive hour long showcase of some of the most forward thinking music out there at the moment, edj also cobbled together a quick q&a with the man himself too. enjoy.


Edj: As there’s no tracklist provided, can you first give people a quick run down of what they can expect in this mix?

ASC: Lots of new stuff from myself, some new artists in there that I’ve just discovered, a nice remix I’ve just finished off, and just general all round good music.

Edj: You have really risen to prominence, not just within d&b, but with electronic music as a whole over the past couple of years as part of the autonomic crew. Did you have any idea when you first got involved with it that it prove to be so ground breaking? What’s your perception of it all as an ‘insider’, and how proud are you to have been a part of it?

ASC: I had no idea it would prove to be a real defining moment for drum & bass or electronic music in general. It’s been a bit of an overnight success story in many ways, as when I first wrote Porcelain I had no idea that this sound would snowball to this effect. Porcelain was what I call a ‘leftovers tune’, meaning that it was the sum of parts from other tracks I’d started and never finished. This approach led to the more stripped down sound. It’s funny in a way that my least dance floor orientated stuff has brought me the most success in drum & bass terms, but I’m also the most pleased and heartened by that, as I feel this is where my strengths as a musician are.

Edj: It feels as though that whole period is kind of winding down now though…what legacy do you think it has left behind? The open minded spirit of experimentation it fostered is still here, but how long do you think it will last?

ASC: I’m not sure about that to be honest. I don’t feel it’s winding down, as I know there will be more podcasts, just in a new format/name etc, and there’s still so much quality music being written, released and forthcoming. I think there were a lot of good tracks written in the early days of this movement that will be seen as classics in however many years, and probably already are to the people who’ve embraced this sound the most.

I also think there’s a lot of life left in the movement yet, as there’s so much to discover and explore at this 170 tempo. The one thing I can possibly see in the future is for this sound to break away from drum & bass a bit more. I think too many people are quick to either lump it in with the whole minimal sound (which it isn’t!), or just write it off in general, because they want their usual drum & bass fix of heavy breaks and aggressive bass lines. I see it as electronic music which happens to be at the same tempo as drum & bass.

Edj: Did you ever feel that the whole project became almost too big though, and perhaps overshadowed the music a little? So much music was kind of lumped together in that ‘minimal’/’autonomic’ bracket and it all became a little homogenous you know, and not really about individual tracks or artists? Any thoughts on that, or am I just talking rubbish?

ASC: No, I don’t think so. The problem, if any, was that the average listener and consumer tended to be a bit short-sighted in this respect and everything got branded under one name, until more recently. Like anything that blossoms into the ‘next big thing’ overnight, there’s always going to be an oversaturation in terms of people jumping on the bandwagon . I think the homogenous thing is probably something we’ve brought upon ourselves with no track lists for the podcasts and mixes etc. In one way I’d love to know what every tune is (even I don’t get given the track listing for the podcasts!), but in another way, it does create a mystery around the music and keep things fresher for a little bit longer.

Edj: What do you make of Instra:mentals apparent ‘retirement’ from d&b? Can you understand the reasoning behind it, and have you ever felt close to packing everything in yourself?

ASC: Fair play to them – I can only write what comes from the heart personally, and I know they are both very similar. I do think it’s a mistake to write off a whole tempo though.

Edj: You seem to have been busy lately with a new 12” out on Red Seal and work on new project ‘Symbol’ as well ? Can you give us a few details about your recent endeavours?

ASC: I did a bunch of tracks around the middle of last year that were focused more on the minimal drum & bass sound. Out of this batch, two 12”s were picked up by Samurai Red Seal. Me and Presha had been speaking for sometime about working together, so when these tracks came about, he jumped on them super quick and they got a lot of support from the big names in the scene.

The Symbol series is something new for 2011 on Auxiliary. Each release will be limited to 250 copies on coloured vinyl. There’s no track list either, so the music just speaks for itself. I’ve always admired the techno aesthetic of doing that, so it’s something I wanted to bring to this project. The idea is to get deep music with no genre restrictions, so as the series progresses, expect more quality deep leftfield audio experiments. The first one should be on test press very soon, so providing there’s no hold ups with it, look out for Symbol #1 on orange vinyl in the next month on Auxiliary. I’m working on the follow up with Bvdub (Brock Van Wey) at the moment, which is shaping up to be another great release.

Edj: Your LP ‘Nothing Is Certain’ was one of the highlights of last year in terms of releases – any plans for a follow up any time soon? If you embarked on another LP would you want it to be a ‘follow up’ or continuation from NIC, or would you want to do something completely different?

ASC: I’m not sure if it will happen anytime soon to be honest, as I have a lot of other projects that I need to focus my attention on, such as the second Mindspan LP and the two ambient LP’s I’ve recently finished that I need to find a home for. I don’t really want to flood the market with FOUR albums this year! Three is bad enough haha! Having said that, I’m not one to turn down an opportunity, so if it happens, it happens. As far as the theme for the LP goes, I’m still undecided on what I would want to do. As with Nothing Is Certain, I’ll probably just need to sit down with a goal in mind and see what comes out of the monitors and go from there.

Edj: The eagle eyed might have already spotted the innocuous post on your blog mentioning it but for those that haven’t, can you tell us a bit about the remix of ‘Heartshaped’ by Blocks and Escher you have done? How did it come about and is it/when is it going to see a release?

ASC: Blocks & Escher are starting their own label called Narratives very soon, and they asked me to be involved in the capacity of a remix. Phil (Blocks) knew I was a fan of their original and asked me if I wanted to do it. You can hear it in the mix, along with Broken by Blocks & Escher, which I believe will be the flip.

Edj: Hows Auxiliary going, and how is it running a label again after taking break when you shut down Covert Operations? Can you give us a rundown of what you’ve got lined up on the label over the coming months?

ASC: Auxiliary is doing well so far and there’s a lot to be excited about for me. It’s great to run my own imprint again, as I like having creative control over things and coming up with ideas for new projects such as the Symbol series. Next up is Symbol #1 by myself, after that there’s a Commix remix of Metronomic for AUX003, which will be backed with Dark Star by myself. There’s a whole heap of other plans after that for the main label and the Symbol series, but I don’t want to give too much info away just yet.

Edj: As an arsenal fan Ive got to pick your brains about the football quickly – race for the title looks like a 2-way one now...Think your red devils can go the distance?

Who knows this season?! It’s been one of the most bizarre seasons so far, but also very entertaining. I’d love to see us go out in front on our own on 19 titles to Liverpool’s 18. That’d make me very happy. I’m happy our unbeaten record has gone, as that was a burden in itself, but we’ve been playing so crap away from home that it was bound to happen sooner or later. I’m glad it happened at Wolves, as I’m from there originally, and I do still follow them, even though my Grandad raised me as a United fan. As for the rest of the season, if we don’t win it, I would much rather see Arsenal win it other than those other two blue teams with no history and billionaire owners.

Edj: Any final thoughts?

ASC: Keep up to date with all things ASC & Auxiliary over at my blog (link at the bottom of the post). Thanks.

as alluded to earlier, and in the interview, to keep things a little bit mysterious there was no tracklist provided for this mix. rest assured however that it is 65 minutes of the finest electronic music imaginable, just make sure to listen intently...

tracklisting now available below...

ASC - Everyday Junglist Guest Mix Volume 12 by everyday junglist



tracklisting:
[00:00-02:38] 01 - ASC & Consequence - The Gateway
[02:38-03:45] 02 - ASC - Moonscape
[03:45-07:32] 03 - ASC - Debris
[07:32-10:55] 04 - ASC - Glass Walls
[10:55-12:25] 05 - ASC - Symbol #1.3
[12:25-15:48] 06 - ASC - Symbol #1.2
[15:48-19:34] 07 - ASC - Skyport
[19:34-27:51] 08 - ASC - Symbol #1.1
[27:51-30:52] 09 - Synkro - Synthetic
[30:52-35:00] 10 - Blocks & Escher - Hearthshaped (ASC Remix)
[35:00-39:31] 11 - ASC & bvdub - Symbol #2.1
[39:31-43:29] 12 - DFRNT - The Big Freeze
[43:29-48:21] 13 - ASC - Automaton
[48:21-51:44] 14 - Blocks & Escher - Broken
[51:44-55:08] 15 - Fade - Midnight Express
[55:08-59:39] 16 - ASC - Block Level
[59:39-61:46] 17 - ASC - Untitled Ambient 1
[61:46-66.20] 18 - Archer - Sunrise

http://www.theasc.blogspot.com