Without question one of the best ambient record labels in the world is Whitelabrecs . I've known label owner, Harry Towell, for a long time, going back to his netlabel days with Audio Gourmet. It's been grand to follow along as Harry has grown musically and the label has become a juggernaut. That's why I am beyond excited to present a guest mix from Harry. The bonus is it's an all vinyl mix.
Here's a little blurb from Harry about his mix:
"My name’s Harry and I make music as Glåsbird. I’m from Lincolnshire in the UK and I also run a record label called Whitelabrecs. The label has been going since 2016 and specialises in limited edition runs of vinyl effect CDrs in classic vinyl sleeve formats, such as the gatefold LP and mini 45. Vinyl is a massive inspiration for this label and this all started in my earlier years in music, when I was a DJ. I’d collect a range of Deep House, Techno and Downtempo records and mix these at gigs, at a time when CD-Js and digital mixing was becoming the norm. I bought my Technics 1210s in 2004 as a second-hand purchase from another DJ. I’ve kept them all this time and they had deteriorated to the point where the tonearms would get stuck and so they had been gathering dust for a few years.
This year I got them repaired and serviced, replacing the cartridges and styli - now they’re in perfect working order! Since my former DJ years my music taste has changed considerably and this has been developed over the course of the last 15+ years, running the Audio Gourmet, Tessellate and Whitelabrecs labels which focus on quieter Ambient music. I’ll be doing more of these vinyl mixes from time to time and also have my first live DJ gig confirmed for September.
I recorded this vinyl mix one lunchtime after selecting and planning the first 10 tracks using the Camelot Harmonic Mixing method, which is a great way to create a natural-feeling melodic flow. It is a pretty reliable workflow but sometimes doesn’t translate – see the transition between tracks 2 and 3 as an example! I was enjoying this mix so much, that from tracks 11 onwards I switched to mixing on the fly, selecting tracks by ear.
I’d call this an Ambient mix overall but there’s a nice range of sub-styles in this selection, from drones and electronica, electro-acoustic and modern classical to folk and ethnic sounds."
Thanks, Harry, for creating this excellent set.
Cheers!
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