Apex
by Merrin Karras
caldeez
caldeez
I love this album because I can completely leave this plane of existence and travel to another world when listening. I love my strange melancholic world made of synth sound and color. Thanks for creating this!
Favorite track: Isolation.
sonorescent
sonorescent
Love the album. Great sounds
Favorite track: Void.
Stop and Breathe Into The Wild
Stop and Breathe Into The Wild
A Mind Blowing album. Travelling without moving ! Thanks to John Beltran for his compilation on Delsin Records the past year, i've (re)found a great artist, and OF COURSE thanks to Merrin Karras/Chymera :)
Favorite track: The Veldt.
Brenden LaBonte
Brenden LaBonte
So happy I was able to pick this up on vinyl. Now I just need an assistant to change the side over so I don't have to stand up and interrupt the happy place it takes me to!
淳 浅井
band1t0r0s3
Eric Haupt
bomble
André Trilling
chamboulé
zpvlp
Chris Meyer
GhostOnAcid
gingerlyfans
euro3er
ljb
Thomas Meyer
mistymood
momo
chslbrtr
masonrswanson
NIKA
johnadair
YIØRG _YIØRCH
keigo_takachiho
d_o_ppelgaenger
GodIsNoLongerADj
36
mizsub
Dort Eva
adam_first
Riot Nrrrd™
EarFuel
nmillett
Tremulant
rexistopheles
chickenman666
Sean McDonough
D.Jardins
Phaejay
finldavi
cted
Michael Wehunt
Roland Bertram
Wiggleweaver
dallison
Christian Arnsperger
John Simms
stiffkrill
foamfixer
michael blum
Aaron Holm
Akasha Deva
The Itzamna Collective
The Courier
Jeff Budd
lozjn1
mitis_lumen
Satoshi Arimasa
strctr_k / v_obs
Lilith's Heir
Urs Walde
sharptooth
matterweave
|
Isolation
00:00
/
06:24
|
|||
-
Streaming + DownloadIncludes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.Purchasable with gift cardDownload available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.
$10 USD or more
-
Full Digital Discography
Get all 109 A Strangely Isolated Place releases available on Bandcamp and save 80%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Soothsayers, 2024 | Label Compilation (mixed by todos), Mirror, La Gran Corriente, Kontrapunkt, Trilogy Mix, Earth Prism, Sun & Smoke, and 101 more.
Purchasable with gift card$114.20 USD or more (80% OFF)
-
ASIPV004 + ASIPV005 Vinyl Package
Record/Vinyl + Digital AlbumLimited amount of Markus Guentner Theia (ASIPV004) vinyl remaining to purchase at a special price alongside Merrin Karras (ASIPV005). You will receive an immediate download of Merrin Karras with this purchase, and the download for Markus Guentner is available as card within the vinyl.
Includes unlimited streaming of Apex via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.Sold Out
-
-
CDr + artwork print, hand numbered, recycled jacket
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital AlbumCDr house in a recycled jacket, with ASIP stamp, including a print of the 4x4inch artwork inspiration. Hand numbered edition of 20. 1 per order.
Includes unlimited streaming of Apex via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.Sold Out
-
-
Limited Edition Green Double Vinyl
Record/Vinyl + Digital AlbumDouble "Balearic Sea Green" vinyl mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri. Matte gatefold sleeve designed by Nick Brzostowski. Includes HQ download.
Includes unlimited streaming of Apex via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.Sold Out
-
1. |
Catharsis
05:24
|
|
||
2. |
Elevate
07:29
|
|
||
3. |
Apex
05:12
|
|
||
4. |
Severance
07:16
|
|
||
5. |
The Veldt
07:04
|
|
||
6. |
|
|||
7. |
|
|||
8. |
Isolation
06:24
|
|
about
Producing and playing under Chymera for more than 15 years, Brendan Gregoriy’s distinctive take on house and techno has seen him play at iconic venues like Panorama Bar, Womb, Output, and Rex Club, and release music on respected labels including Ovum, NRK, Delsin and Cocoon.
2016 sees Brendan take on a new alias...
“I'd just finished a particularly grueling album and I just didn't enjoy the process.,” Gregoriy describes. "Around that time, I started listening to people like Steve Moore & Oneohtrix Point Never and it blew my mind. I tried making a few sketches and realised that I enjoyed it a lot more and this became a gateway into discovering ambient properly.”
Inspired by the sounds of artists like Klaus Schulze, Biosphere and Abul Mogard, and finding renewed focus in creating without external pressures or deadlines, Gregoriy’s ambient experimentation emerged, fully-formed, as Merrin Karras.
Written and recorded in two Berlin winters, it’s a record driven by a widescreen contrast between celestial beauty and engulfing black hole intent. Flawlessly produced, Vangelis panorama and vintage sci-fi exist in a space where drums and rhythmic elements have been willfully stripped out — and where the synths can truly breathe.
The process of album creation benefited from new freedoms that Gregoriy bestowed upon himself. “I decided to set myself a few ground rules for the music: no drums or percussive elements and no samples. They helped me to focus but, in a sense, it's not such a drastic shift. I've always made melodies the focus point of all my tracks and it was quite liberating to make music where I didn't have to worry about the best way to arrange it for the dancefloor.”
The results are remarkable. Combining his gilded production with an armory of hardware (including the Moog Minitaur, Vermona Mono Lancet, Juno 106, Nord Rack 2, and the Korg Monotron) Apex serves as both a modern ode to the synthesizer and a reverential nod to the early pioneers. Freed from the focus of the club, it allowed Gregoriy to craft a narrative; each track following a similar arc as the tension builds before dissolving. From the spectral ebb and flow of title track to the Blade-running intent of “Elevate"; the unsettling darkness of “Severance" to the star-lit swirl of “Liberant", these beat-less constructs bloom and exhale with an uninhibited cinematic purpose.
“I wanted to make something that I could listen to when I travel, something I could enjoy just for what it was,” he concludes. "I only realized when I was about 80% done that I had the makings of an album, and one I actually liked through and through. I didn't want to take any tracks out, or make other ones to add to it. I’m really proud of the album because it's something that I still listen to and enjoy. Hopefully other people will feel the same.”
2016 sees Brendan take on a new alias...
“I'd just finished a particularly grueling album and I just didn't enjoy the process.,” Gregoriy describes. "Around that time, I started listening to people like Steve Moore & Oneohtrix Point Never and it blew my mind. I tried making a few sketches and realised that I enjoyed it a lot more and this became a gateway into discovering ambient properly.”
Inspired by the sounds of artists like Klaus Schulze, Biosphere and Abul Mogard, and finding renewed focus in creating without external pressures or deadlines, Gregoriy’s ambient experimentation emerged, fully-formed, as Merrin Karras.
Written and recorded in two Berlin winters, it’s a record driven by a widescreen contrast between celestial beauty and engulfing black hole intent. Flawlessly produced, Vangelis panorama and vintage sci-fi exist in a space where drums and rhythmic elements have been willfully stripped out — and where the synths can truly breathe.
The process of album creation benefited from new freedoms that Gregoriy bestowed upon himself. “I decided to set myself a few ground rules for the music: no drums or percussive elements and no samples. They helped me to focus but, in a sense, it's not such a drastic shift. I've always made melodies the focus point of all my tracks and it was quite liberating to make music where I didn't have to worry about the best way to arrange it for the dancefloor.”
The results are remarkable. Combining his gilded production with an armory of hardware (including the Moog Minitaur, Vermona Mono Lancet, Juno 106, Nord Rack 2, and the Korg Monotron) Apex serves as both a modern ode to the synthesizer and a reverential nod to the early pioneers. Freed from the focus of the club, it allowed Gregoriy to craft a narrative; each track following a similar arc as the tension builds before dissolving. From the spectral ebb and flow of title track to the Blade-running intent of “Elevate"; the unsettling darkness of “Severance" to the star-lit swirl of “Liberant", these beat-less constructs bloom and exhale with an uninhibited cinematic purpose.
“I wanted to make something that I could listen to when I travel, something I could enjoy just for what it was,” he concludes. "I only realized when I was about 80% done that I had the makings of an album, and one I actually liked through and through. I didn't want to take any tracks out, or make other ones to add to it. I’m really proud of the album because it's something that I still listen to and enjoy. Hopefully other people will feel the same.”
credits
released July 29, 2016
Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri @ Black Knoll Studio www.blackknollstudio.com
Artwork by Nick Brzostowski www.glassupandstoski.com
Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri @ Black Knoll Studio www.blackknollstudio.com
Artwork by Nick Brzostowski www.glassupandstoski.com
license
all rights reserved
tags
about
A Strangely Isolated Place
N/A mbient
Visit our sub-label @ 9128live.bandcamp.com
UK/EU/ROW shipping:
asip.me/scadets
discography
-
Feb 2025 -
Dec 2024 -
Nov 2024 -
Oct 2024
contact / help
A Strangely Isolated Place recommends:
-
Session One
by Jo Johnson & Hilary RobinsonRafael Anton Irisarri and Benoit Pioulard's Gailes project provide a gorgeous and detailed long-form piece. ASIP's new sublabel features live recordings from the 9128.live platform in various formats.
go to album -
Jo Johnson & Hilary Robinson debut on our sub-label, 9128.live where we will feature live recordings from the 9128.live platform in various formats.
go to album
If you like Apex, you may also like:
-
-
-
Fragile, breathtaking music from French American artist Lyli J, lit up by softly glowing synths and gentle vocal melodies.
go to album -
Dresden artist Søjus1 explores the shadowy end of electronic music, in songs rich in ambiance and texture.
go to album
