For about fifteen years now, I’ve closely followed the journey of Ed Isar. His work influenced me way back in the early 2010s when he was writing articles on Get The Curse, by far the best French electronic music blog at the time, and a true lighthouse for an entire generation of music geeks. Not only do I owe some of my most crucial musical discoveries to this website (such as Donato Dozzy…), but it also played a pivotal role in shaping the foundation of our own previous collective, Trace A Line.
Ed hasn’t slowed down since then, as he continues to embark on various musical projects to this day. With his labels Remember 430 and Tursiops, he explores the vast spectrum of electronic music with a particular focus on downtempo and psychedelic trance edits. He also previously co-headed Musique Pour La Danse, which was launched in 2015 as a sub-label of the legendary Swiss imprint Mental Groove. Its purpose is to reissue forgotten gems from around the world, without any restrictions on period or genre. Among their catalogue spanning about forty releases, you can find classic albums by rEAGENZ, Coil or The Detroit Escalator Co., as well as more obscure yet equally important treasures from Osamu Sato, Cron, or more recently A3000.
In addition to his work as label manager, Ed also hosts his monthly radio shows Moins Vite Plus Loin and So Get Up on Rinse France, where he welcomes guests like Jonah Sharp (Spacetime Continuum), I:Cube, or Carl H. Far from confining himself to house and techno, Ed also presents an audacious programme of ambient, EBM, dub and experimental, bridging the gaps between various electronic music styles, periods and scenes.
Highly active in the Parisian underground scene, Ed frequently performs as a DJ in clubs such as La Rotonde or La Station, where he also curates his own nights. His sets flow seamlessly across the spectrum of electronic music, always with the goal of connecting the dots between disparate eras and scenes yet linked by a certain common thread. His mix for our series reflects a more introspective facet of his sonic palette, where each track slowly unfolds to create a dreamy ensemble reminiscent of those 5am meditations in the chill-out room.