Monoparts
Soothsayers

“Music gives us a place to be lost. Washing away thought, place, time and identity. It’s in the falling into the river, the dream, that we find just who we could be”. Classically trained cellist, composer and storyteller Lihla (Lih-Qun Wong) presents her debut album, ‘Socha’ for A Strangely Isolated Place. Combining a vast instrumental skillset of piano, cello, electronics and spoken word, she crafts intensely immersive aural-hallucinatory worlds of intricately shifting landscapes. A deeply personal work, Socha explores the ‘diaspora of time and space, and why we all feel so displaced.' Piano chapters capture the meeting place between memory and longing, while explorational vocal and cello textures invoke and echo the ancient, the feminine, and the otherworldly. Lihla’s voice guides us, weaving through electronics and field recordings of the ‘real-world' to set the path for a poetic and deeply haunting journey through the internal psyche that is truly transportive and escapist. ‘Socha’ will be available on transparent smoke 12” and digital. Written and produced by Lih Qun WongMixed by Sebastian Lee PhilippMastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri @ Black Knoll StudioArtwork by LIHLA and Visions of Akira

Wanderwelle is the Amsterdam-based ambient duo of Phil van Dulm & Alexander Bartels who mint their Maalstrom label with Wat Gebeurde Er Met Sergeant Massuro?, a concept album based around Harry Mulisch's 1957 story of the same name (What Happened To Sergeant Massuro?). The story weaves anti-colonial concepts with the mythical and is sonically brought to life through electronics, field recordings, and acoustic instruments. The duo worked with the author's estate to ensure their musical interpretation reflected Mulisch's ideas with authenticity.

Following their 2021 debut album, ‘Brama’, One MillionEyes return with their highly anticipated second album,‘Iris’, set to captivate us once more through akaleidoscope of rich analog and instrumentalfragments.The inspiration behind the album was born from apowerful symbol—the iris of the eye. Controlling theinflow of light, the iris mirrors the duo's mission for thealbum, “letting light in, even in the darkest of times”.Representing an attempt to shed new insight on theirsometimes indescribable approach, Paolo and Lucianocompare the ambition (and consequent imperfections)throughout their music to that of the imperfect, yetunique array of color found within an iris, in the hope itcan completely entrance and mesmerize.With much of the album recorded live, ‘Iris’ marks arefined evolution in the One Million Eyes sound bornunder their Tempelhof guise many years ago. Infusingorganic sound elements such as voice fragments,acoustic guitar lines, and drum beats at the forefront oftheir compositions, their vast array of analogsynthesizers once again provide added depth andwarmth, resulting in majestic, hypnotic circular motifsthat Paolo and Luciano describe as "Mantras, rising andfalling in volume and intensity."Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri, and featuring artworkby Ventral Is Golden, ‘Iris’ will be available onNovember 10th, on turquoise vinyl, digital, and streaming.There will also be a limited run of multi-colored ‘Iris’ 12”available directly on the label’s Bandcamp.

The inspiration comes from The rhythms that unite us, the sounds that guide us on a meditative journey. The whole set maintains a development and exquisiteness in each note and section that flood you with a hypnotic and essential groove, offering an immersive and captivating experience as result.--This is an ode to unity!A long time ago in the Mongolian steppe, people from the Khori, the Kiyat and the Sunud decided to unite their forces with other tribes to fight against the oppression of Western forces. The tribal leaders celebrated their union under the stars of Altan Ovo sacred mountain. The Mongol Empire was born, the attackers were defeated and the steppe found peace for centuries.Don’t stay alone, go with your tribe and you’ll be able to move mountains!

Italian sound artist Marco Shuttle debuts on Astral Industries with AI-39. Alluring and evocative, ‘Sonidos y Modulaciones de la Selva’ is a journey deep into the Amazon rainforest, seeking to capture its power and vastness, but also a rumination on the problem of its impending destruction.In this album Shuttle sees the continuation and further ripening of an ongoing creative process, utilising both audio and visual documentations as source material. On this occasion most of the field recordings were taken in the Tupana Arü Ü nature reserve in the Amazonas region of Columbia, between Leticia and Puerto Nariño.For the compositional process Shuttle employs a distinctly minimalist approach, achieving highly rich and articulate soundscapes with relatively little. Painting with an almost impressionistic stroke, the depth of imagery is underpinned by a strong experimental leaning and a sophisticated musical language.Within its wild freeform, the seamless interplay between nature and the machines sees them merge into a mysterious dance - a liquifying sequence of scenes that shimmer with flora, fauna and the unmistakable aliveness of the jungle. A procession of sputtering and cavernous pulsations, sprawling biologies and hidden mysteries, the jungle as an entity, a spirit, begins to emerge. With all its peculiarities and strangeness, it reveals a world of seeming chaos, yet underneath it all a thread of something innately conscious.Although it could be considered a form of sound diary, the scope spans much further than a standalone creative work. Within its intoxicating montage of shifting forms, ‘Sonidos y Modulaciones de la Selva’ stands as a sonic ethnography, and a contemplation on time, space, and our evolving relationship with nature.Ongoing large-scale logging, agriculture and infrastructure projects are leading to significant deforestation in the Amazon, and continues to threaten biodiversity, the global environment and the livelihoods of indigenous communities. Part of the proceedings from this release will be donated to Amazon Watch (amazonwatch.org), a nonprofit organisation that works to protect the rainforest and advance the rights of indigenous peoples in the Amazon Basin.“Special thanks goes to Marco Cruz from Amazon Jungle Trips and to Aberlardo and Manuel (who is also the narrator of the story at the end of Part 2), the indigenous guides who took me deep into the forest and made me experience its overwhelmingly powerful beauty. This record is dedicated to Colombia and all the fantastic people I met in this wonderful country” - Marco Shuttle

Markus Guentner returns to his longstanding label, A Strangely Isolated Place following the triptych of ‘Theia’, ‘Empire’, and ‘Extropy’, presenting eight inspiring collaborations on ‘Kontrapunkt’.Collaborations are nothing new to Markus, but it’s hard to see beyond his strong singular presence as a pioneer of long-form ambient and drone. Collabs have punctuated his albums in various places over the years, and he is no stranger to working as a duo amongst other projects, with such a strong conceptual thread throughout his prior ASIP releases, Kontrapunkt represents a literal pivot and counterpoint in his production approach. Instead of music encapsulating a strong conceptual narrative, Kontrapunkt sees Markus create a dialogue between himself and a collection of inspiring production partners. Kontrapunkt opens with ‘Vanish’, a widescreen cinematic odyssey created in collaboration with fellow German and Affin label-head Joachim Spieth, forming the perfect opener with its modest subtleties. Australian-born Karen Vogt, renowned for her voice layering and looping, brings a beautiful, and natural addition to ‘All Light Will Remain’. Sonae, who appeared on ASIP’s early digital releases, demonstrates her evolution into experimental flourishes with ‘Farbe Der Nacht’, adding pulsating techno tendencies and a menacing, metallic approach to Markus’ foundations. Multi-instrumentalist Pepo Galán harmonizes beautifully with Markus on ‘Ancestral Images’, adding complex nuances to a slowly evolving euphoric piece. A master of synthesis, Arovane delivers a powerful display of supercharged electronics and coils of energy on ‘Utopian Fragments’. Benoît Pioulard's renowned expertise with guitars and tape distortion become a perfect counter to the electronics of Markus, blending styles seamlessly on ‘Father Of Waters’. ‘An unstoppable force meets an immovable object’ on ‘While Hunting Nightmares And Dreaming For Peace’, as Abul Mogard adds powerful restraint in a meeting of two drone titans. The album concludes with ‘Presence’, where Hollie  Kenniff’s uplifting vocals provide a shimmering finish, perfectly bookending an album of perfected counterpoints and evolutions on the Markus Guentner sound.Kontrapunkt will be available on Gatefold Black/Grey/Blue marble 2LP, digital and streaming on August 30th 2024. Mastered by Gio at Artefacts Mastering, Berlin, and featuring artwork by Noah M / Keep Adding.