The Dutch duo of Robin Koek and Nick Lapien, known together as Artefakt, have long been shaping their own atmospheric corner of techno. Bridging the meticulousness of academic sound design with an ever-present emotive pulse, their work has resonated deeply across releases for labels such as Delsin, Semantica, Field Records, and their own De Stijl imprint.

They've always struck a balance between abstraction and function, a rare knack for making club-appropriate music that still rewards deeper, solitary listening. That tension surfaced memorably in tracks like "The Fifth Planet" or "Somatic Dreams," but perhaps most personally, in "Entering The City", a track that found its way into my Reflection on 2017 mix and still holds that special late-night gravity for me, many years on.

Their contribution to the isolatedmix series lands as an expansive meditation on contrast and communion. As the duo describe it:

"This recording came together for us imagining being in spaces of sonic isolation - conversing with each other and through this act of exchange, unfolding a dynamic landscape. This emerges as an auditory refuge where we become the waves. As we navigate this appearing structure, we re-anchor ourselves as listeners, embracing the ephemeral and reconciling with strangeness to find solace in deviation.

The mix also draws from a lifelong inspiration that runs as a thread through our own music - the contrasts between natural textures, organic decay and fractal blooming sounds set against the quantization, designed function and electric qualities of the built city and the futures they represent, captured in musical imagination. The mix invites listeners to dwell in this synthesis of spaces, discovering connection within isolation."

This is Artefakt working in longform and dictating progression, where subtle shifts feel tectonic and sequences unravel like a conversation across timezones. There's techno here, but blurred through the lens of wide-angle composition - a unique trance-like state that mimics their unique dance-floor rituals.

Download

Listen on Soundcloud, the ASIP Podcast or the 9128.live iOS and Android app.

Tracklist:
01. Arovane & Hior Chronik - A Day, November 2013
02. Multicast Dynamics - Field of Dreams
03. Jake Muir - Twilight Transmissions
04. 2030 - Key to the Universe
05. Neel - Alchemy
06. Stenny - Dew
07. 1991 - High-Tech Love-Life
08. Imaginary Softwoods - Globe IV
09. Emika Elena - Reflection (Multicast Dynamics Remix)
10. BFTT - Enin
11. queniv - Viba
12. Hiver - Inner Motion
13. Sven Weisemann - Cascading Lights
14. Imprea - In a Landscape
15. Purelink - Stadium Drive
16. The 7th Plain - Chords Are Dirty
17. Marianna Maruyama & Hessel Veldman - Softly, at first

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Artefakt Bandcamp | Soundcloud | Instagram