Isolated Systems cover

Isolated Systems

ASC

Released

James Clements, aka ASC, makes a wide range of music, everything from film scores to ambient releases to banging techno singles. In late 2020 and early 2021, he created a brilliant trilogy — two EPs and this LP — of deliberately retro, late ’90s drum ’n’ bass. It’s simultaneously a perfect evocation of music from 20+ years earlier (RIYL Photek, Witchman, Source Direct) and brand-new music that captures and reproduces the dark energy of that era. The beats on tracks like “Hostile Intent,” “Process Of Elimination,” and “Lost To The Void” are chopped into intricate collages, as the atmospheric synths chirp and hum like half-heard transmissions from deep space.

Phil Freeman

Suggestions
Raw Materials and Residuals cover

Raw Materials and Residuals

Famoudou Don Moye, Julius Hemphill, Abdul Wadud
Urban Bushmen cover

Urban Bushmen

Art Ensemble of Chicago
La Nuit cover

La Nuit

Proton Burst
Real Gone cover

Real Gone

Tom Waits
In for a Penny, In for a Pound cover

In for a Penny, In for a Pound

Henry Threadgill Zooid
Lebroba cover

Lebroba

Bill Frisell, Wadada Leo Smith, Andrew Cyrille