Sure Thing Podcast

I'm elated to welcome Hamburg's Space Drum Meditation to the series, whose gorgeous productions channel intricate, percussive techno while drawing cues from hazy, left-field psychedelia. Glowing at the edges, this thunderous and fiercely effective set from the duo occupies spirited territory and moves at steady pace, daring the sun to rise, compelling our bodies to flutter. @spacedrummeditation Artwork by Taylor Trostle.

Hyperreal sonic hallucinations and unsettled rhythmic pulsations from Vector Trancer, the talented producer and @mirrorzone affiliate who carries us across the threshold with this breathtaking hour of jagged, unbridled intensity. Stretching the observable world beyond its limits, a plasmic burn straight to the edge. More from Vector Trancer: @vectortrancer_aasudd Artwork by Taylor Trostle.

MIST004 - Archivist - Psion (w/ Claudio PRC Remixes) Release date: October 26, 2021 (12" & Digital) Buy: surethingrec.bandcamp.com/album/psion A1. Psion A2. Psion (Claudio PRC Remix) B1. Stone Eater B2. Stone Eater (Claudio PRC Remix) Sure Thing welcomes two new additions to the label with a long-distance collaboration between Seattle's Archivist and Berlin's Claudio PRC. Two original productions from Archivist recall dense, billowing fog and the gentle shimmer of waves, each re-imagined through Claudio PRC's exacting lens into novel forms that spiral with steady, monolithic intent. Brought together, an expansive double vision, an exploration of the compelling nature of movement and air each within the other. Written and produced by Archivist. Remixes by Claudio PRC. Mastered by Neel at Enisslab. Artwork by Sofia Hjortberg.

I'm thrilled to welcome Milo Bragg to the series, expert curator and founder of the Future Primitive label and Club Rooted mix series. We connected over a shared love of music occupying the space between genres and adjacent to the dance floor, and of tracing the paths these sounds have taken over the years. True to form, Milo's contribution is a lesson in atmospheric refinement, a spacious selection taking its cues from far corners and uncommon hours, at times paring to a single thread yet holding taut until its final note. It's a pleasure to share this one, elegant and elusive all at once. Thanks Milo! Tracklist forthcoming. More from Milo: @clubrooted @future-primitive-records Artwork by Taylor Trostle.

People who dedicate themselves fully to creating transcendent experiences for their audiences are a rarity, and Van Anh is no exception. Our friends acquainted with the Netherlands' thriving ambient & techno scene will undoubtedly be familiar with Van Anh and her ISOTOOP collective, who together have built events ranging from 12-hour overnight ambient excursions to 'Under the Desert Stars,' a one-off festival in the Moroccan desert. For those of us dreaming of her events from afar, the expert curator shares this dive through her record collection, and in it I hear that boundless creative spirit, the simmering anticipation, the drive to create memories that connect us for a lifetime. @vananh @isotoop Artwork by Taylor Trostle.

We're tumbling in and out of the haze again, swept up in an afterimage blur. Lying on the grass & breathing against the sky. I'm so happy to welcome Mallorca's @nueen (INDEX:Records, Good Morning Tapes) to the series, who channels the charged coastal air into a gorgeous sunset transmission I could stay and watch forever. Tracklist forthcoming. Artwork by Taylor Trostle.

A space to fall into again and again. A start that feels like an ending and an end that feels like a beginning. A wistful recollection of our motions, an invitation to share ourselves as we have before. A dawn letter written in a shade between sky and stars, echoing gently and begging to be whispered aloud. From Sweden's @martinou3000 (Sewer Sender, UntilMyHeartStops, AD 93, Appian, Cong Burn), a perfect cadence. Thank you! Artwork by Taylor Trostle.

I've been a huge fan of Bas Dobbelaer's concise but immaculate record of releases on AD 93, Appian, On Board Music, and his superb collaborations with Vand for Something Happening Somewhere, and I'm excited to welcome the Amsterdam-based artist to the podcast. The subtle rhythm and gentle beauty in Bas' music captures perfectly the spirit of what I'd like to hear when I'm back on the dance floor, yet accompanies a quiet moment just as well. Here Bas layers curtains of low morphing frequencies, cycling syncopation, and glacial tension, constantly skirting the edges of harmonic perception in a brilliant expansion of his own sonic palette. This particular mix has been a long time coming but it was certainly worth the wait, and has me looking forward to the days ahead. Thanks Bas! @bas-dobbelaer Artwork by Alyce Currier.

MIST003 - Atoloi - Inflorescenze Release date: March 23, 2021 (12" Vinyl / Digital) Buy: https://surethingrec.bandcamp.com/album/inflorescenze 1. Fioritura 2. Felce 3. Umida Superficie 4. Forma e Cammino 5. Sulle Sensazioni 6. Chiusura 7. Soffusa (Diurna) 8. Richiamo (Notturna) 9. Il Da Farsi (Tracks 7-9: Digital Side) Sure Thing’s third release, Inflorescenze, comes from Milano-based artist Atoloi. He’s offered the label a meditative work that reflects upon the tension that arises from polarity: nature and the city-bound sphere of clubbing, weight and levity, the internal world of the artist and his external environment. Inflorescenze moves like a living, breathing organism, or like one undifferentiated process: a circuit with no end and no beginning. The sequence of the tracks—and the arrangements themselves—suggest a logical flow: mood and texture gradually intensify through a process of natural unfolding and flourishing. The ambient “Fioritura”—a space-setting arrangement replete with buzzing drone and

Naarm/Melbourne’s Lily Dalton caught my ear with an impressive series of mixes for @city-bleus and @chomleychomley among others, and I’m so glad to welcome her as she prepares to launch her upcoming label @irregularforms. Lily’s mix is infectious and brilliantly paced, all while highlighting a solid dose of Australian music, and it’s clear she’ll soon enough be bringing entire crowds to their knees. This one sounds like a rush to the front, a shared inhale, a collective dream of dancing beneath a florescent sky. @lilydalton

Next on the podcast is this full-field wonder from Naarm/Melbourne's Citizen Maze, member of the beloved Analogue Attic family and curator of the Mirror Tapes series. This set is a boundless horizon, a mix overflowing with so much pure, radiant feeling that you'll swear it was twice as long. Its density is staggering, yet moments of gentle and poetic bliss coalesce like visions in the fog. As melody burns into afterimage and heartbeat becomes rhythm, our senses give in completely. Enjoy this one, and thanks Citizen Maze! @citizenmaze @mirrortapes Artwork by Alyce Currier.

A new season begins with a warm welcome to Joachim Spieth, founder of the Affin label. A true veteran of the scene, Joachim's first release dates back 1999 via Kompakt, and his own label narrates an impressive and storied history from 2007 onward. Recent years have seen quite the community grow around Affin's beloved output of ambient and techno, including recent stellar works from Einox and Toki Fuko, and last month's beautiful "Ousia" LP from Joachim himself. This mix is blanketed by a calm, snow-bound serenity yet its nature is far from laid-back. As ethereal as it is energetic, this mix drives forth the clarity of Joachim's vision — a brisk inhale of the coming storm, an idyllic wind lifting us into the gale. Thanks Joachim! @joachim-spieth @Affin Artwork by Danielle Kaidanow.

One last mix to end the year. When Svreca sent me this set, he could not have known what it would mean to me. I have spent so much time looking back lately, reliving old discussions and re-imagining moments passed, often lamenting how much was lost along the way. In just under three hours this mix communicates the flow of years. An archived recording from a special memory, it reminds me that the passage of time is beautiful even in what it fades away. Listening to it, I become lost completely, as though I am everywhere at once. Thank you to everyone who listened this year, who sent warm messages and left comments, who supported us and kept us feeling connected. Thank you to the artists who continue to give their time and trust to the podcast and label, and keep us moving forward. Finally, thank you Svreca for this gift and for being an inspiration from the very beginning. We're all here listening. Let's dive in. @semantica-records Artwork by Clara Cortes.

Many of you will need no introduction to the music of Primal Code, the Italian duo who have conjured up a storm of stunning releases on labels such as Hypnus, The Gods Planet, and Konstrukt in relatively short order. We first connected over their gorgeous, then-unreleased track "Morgana," and since then it's been a pleasure watching them develop their natural and introspective sound, each release as polished and inspiring as the last. I'm so happy to welcome them to the podcast and what they've sent is pure delight, an emerald evocation of sun-pierced woods and the clearing of the morning mist. Enjoy! @primalcodemusic Photography by Angelina Nikolayeva.

It's my pleasure to welcome Yan to the podcast, co-founder of Harmony Rec. and beloved resident of Prague's Ankali. We finally crossed paths in Japan last fall, playing together in Shibuya in what became one of my favorite memories of the year before heading off to the one-and-only Labyrinth. Having just celebrated their sixth anniversary and with six label releases now under their belt, the Harmony Rec. crew have a lot to celebrate. You can hear it in this mix, I think, buoyant and addictive in its dedication to the never-ending dance floor. Yan takes us right into the zone and keeps us there. @yanmmxiv @harmony-rec Photography by Alyce Currier.

A flash of diamond dust from France's Realitycheck, an uncanny producer whose productions will be rattling subs everywhere when the dance floors re-open. This one is a blinding and triumphant set of nimble, stance-switching rhythms, crystalline and murky all at once and landing blows at every turn. @realitycheck-4

A tender mosaic captured in soft focus, courtesy of The Something Something's Will Oirson. Recorded during the final act of ISOTOOP's "The Mind-Altering Experiment," an exploratory event which traced the course of an entire summer's evening, Will's morning call is a testament to shared experience, a confirmation of combined existence. Each selection is given room to breathe, space to occupy, and time to endure. It's impossible not to yearn for more. Thanks to @willoirson and @isotoop for letting us share this moment. Photography by Alyce Currier.

MIST002 - PRG/M - Lenta Ginestra Release date: Sept 10 2020 (12" Vinyl / Digital) A1. Giardini e Palagi A2. Ignea Bocca A3. Flutto Rovente B1. Lenta Ginestra (Acronym Remix) B2. Marchesa Deserta B3. Lenta Ginestra Sure Thing’s second release sees Italian producer PRG/M join the label’s roster, following an acclaimed EP for Midgar Records and his ongoing work as a member of r²π. Departing from the soft edges of MIST001, the six-track EP contains multitudes, with looping arrangements that showcase PRG/M’s technical depth and breadth of vision. From the hypnotic, tightly percussive “Giardini e Palagi” to the intense, psychedelic “Flutto Rovente,” the EP captures a range of moods and textures and offers an exemplary example of precise, immersive techno. The title, Lenta Ginestra, takes its name from a flowering species that grows slowly upon the slopes of Mount Vesuvius, the active volcano known for Pompeii’s destruction. The title is poetic and apt; throughout the EP there’s a sense of restrained patience ami

Hoedus delivers a constellation of modern techno for the mix series' return to rhythm. In the spirit of the Anekoic co-founder's own productions, rippling energies and subsurface spirals are mapped with pinpoint precision, tunneling us forward and accelerating us into the ire of gravity's pull. @hoedus @anekoicrecords Photography by Angelina Nikolayeva.

Jake Muir is a multi-disciplinary artist, now residing in Berlin by way of Seattle and Los Angeles, whose uncanny ability to manipulate sound has given form to two stunning full-length works in "Lady's Mantle" (via @sferic-records) and "Muara" (via @further-records as Monadh). This mix from Jake is pure enchantment, a carefully assembled palette of entropic textures and vaporous, unclassifiable forms touching upon the limits of perception. A collapse into a marine haze, an afterimage of a season abandoned. @jake-muir Tracklist: Liminal - Before and After Gastón Arévalo - Dive -3 Strategy - Blindspotting OL - Rep Air I. M. C. - S / F + Gustavo Lamas - Descubiertos Tom Opdahl - Naut-O-Pilot + Bellows - Untitled 5 Klara Lewis - Shine CYGNI - untitled #2 + Sturm - Untitled 3 Vinyl Countdown - Soul Desert Ahnnu - Sugar In The Dark Turning Torso - Manifold Caveman LSD - Untitled 4 + zK - positive disintegration Graham Dunning - Crude Oil Gastón Arévalo - Marea Conoco - Kemikoski Toshimaru Nakamura - NIMB 53 AshTr