Arovane and Hior Chronik :: In-between (A Strangely Isolated Place)

A successful partnership and one that any self respecting ambient fan is thoroughly encouraged to seek out—be it via digital or vinyl. Needless to say, In-between has been on repeat around these parts and gets better with every listen. A very special release indeed.

A surprising thing happened the other day. A knock on my door revealed a spivvy salesman type asking if I had any old records to sell—a request that would seem unfathomable until recent years. We are all aware of the hype around wax with many decent limited runs disappearing in seconds only to resurface shortly afterwards on Discogs with an inflated price—a process neatly summed up by this comment on the last ASIP Europe release: “buying somethin’ brand new and just doubling the price, fuckin’ dogfarts.”

Such are the forces of supply and demand—in particular around products as beautifully produced as ASIP’s. In-between is the third vinyl installment from the label originating as a blog with a focus on ambient, electronic and neo-classical music. The blog continues to provide an excellent source for new and old musical finds including this from Loess, and an introduction, for me, to Hior Chronik.

Arovane and Chronik developed In-between across improvised studio sessions together as well as swapping projects online between Berlin (Arovane) and Athens (Chronik)—eventually combining acoustic instruments to polish the final work. And what a piece of work it is: Stellar ambience combining hints of IDM’s past melodic glories, demure coatings of angelic introspection and seas of “foggy atmosphere” (as Chronik also describes the view from Arovane’s studio in this in depth interview about the project).

There’s some seriously excellent tracks here: Opener, “A Day, November 2013,” shimmers invitingly whilst “Scale” floats serene acoustics across a gaseous terrain. “Past Creates the Future” feels like a cello (via Aaron Martin) accompanied soundtrack to a profound rebirth dream whilst “After Tomorrow” sits squarely on a par with Nils Frahm at his electronic ambient best. Not least must I also draw your attention to the arpeggiated beauty of “Wunderland” and the classic electronica melodies of “Maedra.” To top things off, “A Winters Tale” features a favorite sound for these ears, that fabulous subdued ‘Reece’ style bass—a kind of low pass filtered string sound underpinning things with a menacing yet alluring beauty as twisting shards of twinkling coruscation explode overhead.

It’s without doubt a successful partnership and one that any self respecting ambient fan is thoroughly encouraged to seek out—be it via digital or vinyl. Needless to say, In-between has been on repeat around these parts and gets better with every listen. A very special release indeed.

In-between is available on A Strangely Isolated Place.