STM 301 - Asher Levitas

Asher Levitas is a producer from London known for being one half of Old Apparatus duo as well as for his solo endeavors. He also toured with Paper Dollhouse and produced their last album "The Sky Looks Different Here" released on Moondome and featured on LTO's "Déjà Rêvé" on Denovali. Asher's first solo release "Lit Harness" came in 2016 on the legendary Planet Mu imprint. It fused sharp synth washes and rhythmic depths with hazy and bright soundscapes floating skywards with their intense energy. This ambient part is even more eloquent in Asher's further solo releases. In the two-part Beyond The Valley series (the second one being a collaboration with Samuel Ricketts) he reaches the heights of blissful warmth, channels the shards of powerful drone laced with peaceful melancholy and dreamy harmonies. His brilliant new LP "Final Quiet" continues these patterns with its in-depth wanderings between the Earth and the skies and emotionally charged atmospheres.

Secret Thirteen mix 301 is an engaging trip across various textures, drones and pulsations. It maintains the coherence and pace similar to Asher's own releases and, in a way, complements his most recent record. Starting from cello arches by Caterina Barbieri, it further travels across organic soundscapes by O Yuki Conjugate and Benjamin Lew, Japanese minimalism of Satoshi Ashikawa, cinematic piano drops by Roedelius, etc. I really recommend listening to the mix during long walks and to allow these sounds to interact with your surroundings, color them with new tones and shades.

This mix is a collection of 'inspiration and further listening' for my new album Final Quiet. The album was originally conceived as a tape for my sister to fall asleep to, with music entering her dreams and her dreams eventually creeping back into the music. The record, however, developed into its existing form months later as a collaborative effort, with multi-instrumentalist Knut Jonas Sellevold (King Knut, Daniel O'Sullivan, UV) pushing the record from its restful beginnings into something far more urgent and disquieting. The mix reflects the acoustic, vocal and electronic elements on the record, as well the process of creating the record itself; Asher started the mix and Knut interjects with his own selections throughout.