Summertime is not complete unless there is a soothing soundtrack to accompany the warm nights and long road trips. For the 32nd FIBER podcast we have asked Al Blayney to provide us with a mix to go with the flush of summer. As he just returned from a three week honeymoon, you can expect a mix radiating with love.
Upon his return, Al directly dove into his east London basement record room and recorded this mix, while enjoying a couple of beers and playing his vinyls through his Adam A7 Monitors & Martion Bullfrogs. "As with all my mixes I try to record something that won't decay with time or with repeat listening. The flow of the mix is hugely important. I try to set a certain mood and atmosphere from the start. For my online mixes I like to blend records for longer periods of time making use of my lovely monitors & speakers to guide me".
Al Blayney is known as the main guy behind the Appian Sounds label. "Appian came about while I was involved as part owner with another label, but didn't quite have enough say in the A&R. My tastes have many influences and I really wanted freedom to explore them further as I saw fit".
Early influences on Al's path are The Prodigy, Depeche Mode, INXS, The Orb, Underworld & LFO. In the 90's he started to go out to clubs in Ireland. "I listened to a lot of Techno – Jeff Mills, DJ Bone, Claude Young, Cajmere, Kevin Saunderson. D1 Records run by Eamonn Doyle was one of the cornerstones of my Techno education. I was always drawn to the deeper sounds too through Fish Go Deep, Kerri Chandler, Masters at Work & Blaze. I had and have a strong connection to minimal through Perlon, Baby Ford, Dan Bell, Plastikman & Ricardo Villalobos. The KLF shaped my interest in Ambient and Experimental & Chill-Out. One other important influence is my annual trip to Freerotation (if i'm lucky enough to get a ticket!) – the artists at FreeRo blow my mind and educate me. These days all the Appian artists inspire me and I feel privileged to be able to help release their music on wax".
For this podcast Al provided us with a fresh image taken during his honeymoon on Polynesia. The depicted tropical fruit is just like the label. "Appian will continue to grow organically with little press, hype & promotion.. the people who will dig it, will find it".