isolatedmix 116 - Chris SSG: Fuzzy edges and a scarlet core
Our first isolatedmix of the new year arrives intently for this moment in time, as Chris SSG captures a tapestry of ambient across an extended ~2hrs, to welcome in the new year. As the MNML SSGS co-founder, Chris SSG is likely no stranger to those who have been in the online periphery (or legacy should I say) of ambient and techno forums over the past 15+ years. Coincidentally the MNML SSGS blog came to an end, ten years ago which makes this mix strangely appropriate to be featured here now on (what I think might be one of the last holdouts in the world of blogging!) I found many brilliant mixes through its associated mix series (Donato Dozzy, cio d'or, Peter Van Hoesen, and the very first one in the series remaining on high rotation, from bvdub) to name just a few. But without dwelling on the past too much, (or how much I miss the days of passionate music bloggers linking up the best mixes of the decade on MP3 links) this background is imperative to the Chris SSG story. As a curator, Chris’ mixes come from a highly considered approach that stems from years of experience DJing and exposing the best talent and musicians. With a passion for the art of the mix, and many overlaps between us in taste and journey so far, Chris asked to go back and forth for our usual introduction/Q&A, and I thoroughly enjoyed the process as a result. Continue below for our ponderings on the art of ambient mixes in general, online events, and some background info from Chris on what he is up to, and the mix he prepared especially, to bring in the new year. ~ASIP: You decided to prepare an isolatedmix for us at a very specific time and moment, can you elaborate on this decision? Chris SSG: 2021 was a strange year in terms of my relationship with music. It was the least I’ve played since I started to DJ. This was obviously connected to pandemic-related disruptions, but I also have used that time to think about the meaning and purpose of DJing and parties. And, for me at least, I do feel that meaning matters, there are deeper ideas and values connected to what we are doing, and some practices contribute to these more than others. I am still working through all of this, but in the context of recording podcasts, connecting them to certain moments or ideas is a way of making them more than ‘just another mix’. With that in mind, I have been wanting to contribute to the ASIP series for a long time and doing it to mark the new year really appealed to me. While I haven’t been playing, I have been continuing to look for new music, so this mix became an opportunity for me to compile and put some of it together.I know you mark the end of years with label mixes, and this time you had Todos prepare the label mix for you. Can you talk a bit about why do these end-of-year label mixes, and the significance of asking Todos to do it?ASIP: ASIP began as a blog with mixes being a big focus (the isolatedmix series for example) so the ‘art of the mix’ has always been a passion of mine; in creating, curating and hosting them. I started putting the end of year label compilations together 3 years ago as the label hit a good cadence and could warrant a ‘sampler’ so to speak, to help introduce people to the varied releases, but I don’t really see much value in just rehashing some chosen tracks, given many ASIP followers probably already own the tracks as full albums. So I wanted to present another angle to these compilations that could offer something new. Completing a mix with predefined tracks/albums is tough, but I believe in many ways liberating. As you mentioned above, a concept can help make it “more than just a mix”. I often like to enforce my own rules or concepts to help me become even more focused and creative in approach (eg the Portals mixes). I listen to so much music that it can become overwhelming to create mixes with a blank canvas as a starting point. I discovered todos at the very beginning of the ASIP days and his Kilchurn mixes became some