Electric Campfires (4)

(oystered 56)

1. Leandro Fresco & Rafael Anton Irisarri "Entre La Niebla" La Equidistancia (A Strangely Isolated Place)
2. Golden Retriever "Sunsight" Rotations (Thrill Jockey)
3. GAS "Narkopop 7" Narkopop (Kompakt)
4. Janek Schaefer "Falls From Favour" Glitter In My Tears (Room40)
5. Byron Westbrook "Ritual Geometry / Sympathetic Bodies" Body Consonance (Hands In The Dark)
6. Leyland 'The Caretaker' Kirby "Consolation/ I Still Feel As Though I Am Me [b. neptune mix]" We, So Tired Of All The Darkness In Our Lives/ Everywhere At The End Of Time (History Always Favours The Winners)
7. Stephan Mathieu "Gisèle" RADIANCE X: Her Dark Gaze Drowned In Light (Schwebung)
8. Monster Rally "Vaqueros De La Isla" Flowering Jungle (Gold Robot)
9. Jon Porras "Still Life" Tokonoma (Geographic North)
10. The Fun Years "A Decade of Weakness Pt II" Heroes Of The Second Story Walk-Up (Spring Break)
11. Island People "Vogelsang" Island People (Raster-Media)
12. Alexis Georgopoulos & Jefre Cantu-Ledesma "Lost Summer" Fragments Of A Season (Emotional Response)
13. Taylor Deupree "Aoka" Somi (12k)
14. Auburn Lull "Mora=Mirage" Hypha (Azure Vista)
15. Olli Aarni "Hehkuva Tuuli" Nielu (Florabelle)

Saving the best for last—maybe. The set opens with what was the inspiration and motivation behind all six year-end surveys—a collaboration between Leandro Fresco, from Argentina, known for his spacious pop-ambient style and Rafael Anton Irisarri, whose sound, more often than not, is altogether more suffocating—the impetus being, to create better versions of Kompakt’s own yearly Pop Ambient dispatches, which, I’d like to think, the three Electric Campfires from this year, does fairly well. And, to feature only one song per release/ artist combination, showcasing just how much great music is being released—the three Electric Campfires alone cover 47 songs from 45 different releases and 44 artist combinations.

From lesser knowns to ambient veterans, the mix concludes with a strong one-two (three-four) punch. First, a nostalgic and unlikely take from Alexis Georgopoulos and Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, recalling some underrepresented sounds--still--from the mid-‘80s, followed by a Taylor Deupree trifecta—first, a track from his Somi album, then two mastering jobs, the first, a vulnerable, deliberate and devastatingly charming track from Auburn Lull (song of the year?); the second, a lengthy nod out from Fennoscandia’s Olli Aarni, appropriately pure and classic.