these delicate sounds

As so often happens with these mixes, there was a specific event that gave birth to this collection of tunes.

On Mixcloud a listener asked if I could help identify a piece of music from a defunct website. The tune is looping electro/acoustic music of the type that came out of Japan 10 or more years ago.

I found the track and it's lovely. It's Walden Dos by .tape.(yes, there is a . before and after the word tape). I haven't listened to this type of music in a long time.  It's a mix of acoustic instruments with bleeps and blops, small melodies, cheap keyboards and lots of little noises. It's related to glitch music but more pretty. I eventually grew tired of it's preciousness and it's oh so twee sounds.

But when I heard this song by .tape. I immediately knew I needed to revisit some of these tunes and make a mix. It was great to immerse myself in these micro sounds for a couple weeks. I'm not sure if this style will be a part of my regular listening habits but in small(micro?) doses these tunes can be very soothing.

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    .tape. - walden dos(2005)
• 03:27    Marcus Fischer - Strand(2017)
• 08:55    The Boats - The Fell In The River(2017)
• 11:05    Music A.M. - Saturday(2005)
• 13:55    Aero - Float(2003)
• 14:45    Aus - apt(2007)
• 19:04    Carpet Musics - Air(2001)
• 21:50    Takahiro Kido - poco!(2008)
• 26:50    Fenton - Neon Giraffe(2005)
• 31:20    Lullatone - Puddies on the Plyground(2004)
• 34:16    Brael and Tokyo Bloodworm - Magic Wand(2008)
• 39:33    The Boats - Shlom, Sonia and Coner(2017)
• 40:20    Illuha - Guuzai(2011)
• 47:03    Montag - Motif(2005)
• 48:00    Marow - Eis(2011)
• 51:00    Planivaar - Adrift(2007)
• 60:00    end

Slow Motion Universe

Somewhere out there in the Multiverse, there is another universe just like ours except that everything runs much slower. With a DIY quantum tunneling device in my studio I've been able to bring over a few pieces of music from this other reality.

I'm sure many folks have heard the tracks "Justin Bieber slowed down 800%" or "Windows startup sound slowed down 2000%."  Those slowed down cuts(and Bieber) come from that alternate universe.

I've used tracks from that other cosmos in a few mixes and used them to remix tracks in many mixes over the years. A previous mix used all slowed down tracks.  You find that mix here...

http://lowlightmixes.blogspot.com/2012/11/s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d-beyond-recognition.html

This new mix is all stretched/slowed tunes as well. There are some pretty recognizable tracks in the mix. Or at least they were recognizable in our universe. Actually most are still familiar if not immediately recognizable.

According to my brother from another mother in the other universe, our sped up music doesn't work quite as well in their ambient mixes. Although if you play Hall & Oates "Kiss on My List" at 45rpm instead of 33rpm you get a nice little dance tune out it. Don't ask how I know that. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this mix from an alternate slow version of our universe.

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Aphex Twin - Lichen 300% slower mixed with 800% slower
• 07:30    Vangelis - Fading Away(Blade Runner) 800% slower
• 15:30    Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians Section 1 800% slower
• 25:18    Ryuichi Sakamoto - Revenant Main Theme 600% slower & edited
• 34:15    Johann Johannsson - Kangaru(Arrival) 800% slower
• 42:55    Brian Eno - An Ending(Ascent) reversed half speed mixed with 800% slower
• 49:00    Aphex Twin - Rhubarb 800% slower
• 60:00    end

Apollo Vermouth

When researching artists or labels that might be interested in doing a guest mix I came across a label that is based very close to me here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  I'd never really thought that there might be an ambient community here. 

I decided to do a search for "ambient" and "Milwaukee." And what do ya know, I got an interesting result right away. In an article about the essential Milwaukee albums of 2017 was a blurb about Apollo Vermouth and her album "Crashing into Nowhere." I immediately headed over to Bandcamp and was so excited to find that it's an excellent album.

https://apollovermouth.bandcamp.com/

Apollo Vermouth is Alisa Rodriguez, based right here in Milwaukee. So I asked her to do a mix and she was nice enough to curate some tunes.  Here's what she had to say about these tracks:

"This mix is a collection of ambient tracks that have hit me in a certain way. It’s hard for me to put into words of what they mean to me. I spend a lot of time by myself, always looking for something that makes me feel less lonely. Somehow, these tracks sort of saved my sanity. It’s funny how music can be like your best friend. They’ll never leave you in the dust."

That pretty much describes my relationship with ambient music too.  Go visit her page, buy some music and listen to this mix.

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Gas - Narkopop 1 
• 04:20    Belong - Late Night 
• 07:35    Steve Roach - Left Perfectly Alone 
• 09:30    Grouper - She Loves Me That Way 
• 17:34    Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - Appearances 
• 20:22    Harold Budd and Brian Eno - Among Fields of Crystal 
• 23:27    Wretched Excess - Suburban Decay 
• 26:35    Benoit Pioulard - IV
• 30:15    M. Sage - Gulls Over Landfill Caldera 
• 42:52    Jeffrey Cantu-Ledesma - Blue Nudes 
• 50:05    Boards of Canada - Macquarie Ridge
• 54:42    end

Snowblind

I wanted to get a snow themed mix in before winter starts to wane. So here it is.  

 Most of the tracks have the word snow in the title.  Anytime I can use a tune from Yagya's "Rhythm of Snow" I'll gladly take it.

 Looking forward to a new guest mix in the coming weeks and a mix featuring delicate micro-sounds from 10 years ago.

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Blamstrain - Tundra V
• 06:00    Parks - Snowblind
• 09:20    Yagya - Snowflake 10
• 12:50    Panoptique Electrical - Falling Snow
• 15:12    Locust - Snowblind
• 17:02    Halo - Winter Lullaby I
• 18:05    Andrew Lahiff - Snow
• 21:00    The Green Kingdom - Sleep, Snow
• 25:23    Taylor Deupree & Marcus Fischer - Snow Slowed
• 28:35    Endless Melancholy - A Song for Watching Snowfalls
• 31:44    Ocean in a Bottle - Bordering the Snow
• 34:05    Akira Kosemura - Snowy Sky
• 35:37    From the Mouth of the Sun - Snow Burial(while blue skies gather)
• 38:35    Fuzzy Lights - Snowstorm in a Snow Globe
• 41:10    Stormloop - Snowdrift
• 52:10    Autistici - Hidden in Snow
• 54:20    Motionfield - The Sound of Snow
• 56:15    Chihei Hatakeyama - Heavy Snow III
• 61:37    end

Rusted Tone Recordings Guest Mix

I have decided to reach out to a few folks in the ambient community about doing some guest mixes.  Basically I'm just lazy and want content without much work.  

Actually I thought it would be nice to come at these mixes from some new perspectives. And at the same time promote some artists and labels both here and on Mixcloud.

This first guest mix is exactly what I was looking for. It is a bit darker than I normally produce and that's why it's great to bring a new mindset to these mixes, it opens new doors and explores new sounds. There are definitely some awesome sounds in this mix.

This music comes to us from James Armstrong, the man behind Rusted Tone Recordings.  Check out their first sampler release here...

https://rustedtonerecordings.bandcamp.com/releases

Here's what James has to say about the mix...

"This mix was created to showcase the unreleased work of artists scheduled for solo releases on Rusted Tone Recordings throughout 2018 and into 2019. Ranging from the guitar-based melancholy of Wil Bolton, Spheruleus, and Darren Harper, to the abstract ambient manipulations of James Osland, Kepier Widow, and Red On Maroon, the mix promotes the diversity and creative dedication of the musicians on the RTR Roster. 

A majority of the tracks included were contributed by the artists themselves for the label’s initial sampler (see link below), with the exceptions of James Osland (White Label Recs. - forthcoming), BCOM (slef-release), and Red On Maroon (Quietest Records - The Tape Works #1). All tracks written and recorded by the respective artist, mastered by James Edward Armstrong."

Thanks!

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    James Osland - Just Fell Me Dear Human
• 04:58    Wil Bolton - Nerine 
• 08:42    Spheruleus - Dimly Lit 
• 13:04    Building Castles Out Of Matchsticks - Shifting Insomnia And The Dream Incubator 
• 17:04    SALTINGS - Sotto Voice
• 21:18    Net - Hidden Pheasant 
• 24:08    Darren Harper - A Thousand Tiny Heartbreaks
• 29:30    Ghost Station - Cadence
• 36:20    Kepier Widow - Congestion
• 41:26    Gallery Six & Oblivia - Like A Winter Lake
• 44:54    Red On Maroon - #2
• 54:59    The Green Kingdom – Luminous

Frontiers of Space

I recently stumbled upon an album by The National Pool called "Relaxation Tape for Solo Space Travel."  

https://infraction.bandcamp.com/album/relaxation-tape-for-solo-space-travel

First of all, what a great title!  And second, what fantastic cover art!

When I heard the song "Simpler Times" I knew that I had to buy the album and I knew that I had to make a mix with an retro, analog, space sound.  So I set about collecting tunes that sound like they could have come from an old space science filmstrip.  Some of the music is from current artists like Boards of Canada, Air, The Belbury Circle, Panabrite, Cafe Kaput, Moon Wiring Club, Schengen and Lunar Testing Lab.  But mixed in there is also old electronic music from Eric Vann, Paul Hart, Alan Hawkshaw and Frank Comstock. Much of the old music has a sort of cheesy, retro vibe that I love in a mix like this.

Grab some Tang and kick back for this journey to the moon and beyond.

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Alan Hawkshaw - Probe 2
• 01:06    Vector Lovers - Long Wave
• 01:40    Boards of Canada - Wildlife Analysis
• 02:01    The National Pool - Simpler Times
• 08:42    Solvent - wig $1.00
• 11:07    Eric Vann - Space Face
• 11:55    Frank Comstock - Stairway to the Stars
• 14:25    Panabrite - Departing
• 17:28    The Belbury Circle - Light Industry
• 21:42    Lunar Testing Lab - The Cosmic Unknown
• 23:36    Café Kaput - Maranyl Is Chosen
• 26:05    Paul Hart - Superfine
• 26:41    Schengen - Me n'U
• 27:22    Moon Wiring Club - Between  Two Worlds
• 28:40    Alan Hawkshaw - Terrestrial Fanfare
• 30:52    Air - Cosmic Trip
• 34:51    Lunar Testing Lab - Lunar Radio Control(with Russian Conet voice added)
• 36:25    Alan Hawkshaw - Saturn Rings
• 40:15    Boards of Canada - Come to Dust
• 43:36    Café Kaput - Ergonomo
• 49:05    Orgasmo Sonore - Space Team
• 50:52    Eric Vann - Astroport
• 53:00    The National Pool - Through the Breach
• 60:01    end

A Mystical Ambience

image by Siobhan Allen

I am starting the year off right with another fantastic mix from my friend Paul Asbury Seaman.  You may remember his previous collections posted here - The Memory of Trains, Floating Through Moonlight, and Icelight.

This mix does a wonderful job of creating a mystical vibe, like the title says, but without being too new agey.  I love the nice long track from Louigi Verona in the middle of the mix.  Here's what Paul has to say about it...

“From the beginning, ambient-electronic music has been almost synonymous with “space music” as well as inward journeys. Whether through post-tribal rhythms or the meditative drones of long-form compositions, this is music designed to facilitate an altered consciousness, or maybe something much less talked about: a sense of reverence. Featuring three of the genre’s “tribal elders,” as well as some more recent masters, this is a mix for gentle meanderings into a space of grounded bliss."

I hope you enjoy Paul's excellent collection of Mystical Ambience."

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    John Serrie - Valley of the Nacoochee(Spirit Keepers 1998)
• 05:55    Max Corbacho - Transparent Phenomena(Source of Presnt 2017)
• 09:10    Robert Rich & Markus Reuter - Twining Branches Make A Path(Lift a Feather to the Flood 2017)
• 18:08    Hollan Holmes - That Ephemeral Spark(Prayer to the Energy 2017)
• 24:45    Craig Padilla & Zero Ohms - When the Earth is Far Away(When the Earth is Far Away 2012)
• 29:10    Louigi Verona - Ocean of Seashells(Ocean of Seashells 2017)
• 50:00    Steve Roach - Within the Mystic(Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces 2003)
• 64:53    end

Best Ambient of 2017

It's that time of the year again - end of the year Best Of list time!  It's always a difficult task to pick albums for one of these lists.  But it's also fun because I get to sort through a bunch of music and it's definitely cool to have a look at other lists and discover a ton of things I missed.

There is no way these lists are close to being definitive.  A lot of ambient releases can tend to blur from one into the next and the difference between making the list and not making it can boil down to what mood I was in when I first heard the album.  There's so much excellent music being released on a weekly basis it's impossible to keep up so this list and mix is just a bunch of stuff that I liked this past year.

Here are a few other good year in review lists:

http://www.astrangelyisolatedplace.com/blog/2017/12/5/asip-reflection-on-2017

https://irregularcrates.com/2017/12/12/end-of-2017-a-list-and-mix-by-harry-towell/

http://ambientmusicguide.com/best-of-year/best-albums-of-2017/

https://www.popmatters.com/best-ambient-instrumental-albums-2017-2513144740.html?page=2

My best of list is more of a best instrumental music list than just straight ambient.  The mix is mostly ambient but the list contains jazz, instrumental & ambient.  According to my Spotify data I played a lot of 36 last year so it's appropriate that he's got two albums in the top ten. I guess I'm too lazy to write up comments about all the music except to say that there's a lot of good stuff there. So take some time and hunt down these releases, you won't be disappointed. 

BEST INSTRUMENTAL ALBUMS 2017:

1. 36 - Tomorrow’s Explorers

2. Delia Derbyshire Appreciation Society - Delia Derbyshire Appreciation Society

3. Colin Stetson - All This I Do For Glory

4. Bing and Ruth - No Home of the Mind

5. Joseph Shabason - Aytche

6. Ruven Nunez - Altar of Sunlight

7. Benoit Pioulard - Lingnin Poise and Slow Spark, Soft Spoke

8. Chuck Johnson - Balsams

9. 36 - Black Soma

10. Bibio - Phantom Brickworks

11. Dungen - Haxan(versions by Prins Thomas)

12. Vijay Iyer Sextet - Far From Over

13. Penguin Cafe - The Imperfect Sea

14. Arovane & Hior Chronic - Into My Own

15. Christopher Willits - The Art of Listening

16. Vermont - II

17. High Plains - Cinderland

18. Roedelius and Arnold Kaspar - Einfluss

19. Tonepoet - N/E/W/S

20. Halftribe - Daydreams in Low Fidelity

21. Taylor Dupree - Somi

22. Kamasi Washington - Harmony of Difference

23. Loess - Pocosin

24. Hior Chronic - Our of the Dust

25. Tale of Use - Endless

26. Saltland - A Common Truth

27. Quatuor Ebene - Eternal Stories

28. Aware - The Book of Wind

29. Grails - Chalace Hymnal

30. The Prairie Lines - Eyes Down Slowdown

If you have a list of your own feel free to leave it in the comments. Or if you just have a favorite or two that you want to recommend please let us know in the comments.

Here's to a, musically, great 2017 & a better 2018.  Cheers!

Alternative Blade Runner 2049 Soundtrack

Being a science fiction & electronic music geek, it's no surprise that I'm a big fan of the soundtrack for the original Blade Runner film.  When I heard that they'd tabbed Johann Johannsson to do the score for the 2049 film I was very excited.  But then he was pulled from the project & replaced with Hans Zimmer.  While I've actually liked a few of Zimmer's recent scores, I wasn't overly impressed with his music for 2049.  It wasn't that I disliked it.  I think I was just disappointed that it wasn't Johannsson.

My son, however, liked the soundtrack much more than I did.  So much in fact that he went home after seeing the film, created his own track in the 2049 style and sent it to me the next day.  I was impressed with the track and immediately made plans for a Blade Runner mix.

The music here is a collection of tunes that sounds like it fit perfectly in Blade Runner 2049.  In searching for music I was happy to have rediscovered Xerrox, Vol. 2 by Alva Noto, such a great album.  I was also excited to find music and artists I'd not heard before like Ital Tek, Floating Machine & Island People.

Here's a link to my son's track which appears in the mix as track #3 - "Blade Running" by just a human.

https://soundcloud.com/axxmusic/blade-running-master/s-recEt 

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Alva Noto - Xerrox Moonphaser 2
• 05:00    Ital Tek - Jenova
• 10:10    just a human - Blade Running(unreleased)
• 12:18    36 - Black Future
• 16:05    Ryuichi Sakamoto - life, life
• 20:00    Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross - The Same Dream
• 23:51    Floating Machine - Nowhere
• 30:40    Island People - vogelsang
• 35:25    Andreas Tilliander - Syncussion Discussion
• 40:10    Boards of Canada - Transmisiones Ferox
• 41:35    Arovane & Hior Chronik - Into My Own
• 45:35    Ryuichi Sakamoto - Fullmoon
• 47:30    Island People - from the sky
• 54:35    Alva Noto - Xerrox Moonphaser 1
• 61:40    end

beneath the dust

This mix was inspired by a couple of new releases from Benoit Pioulard.  Both recordings are hazy, dusty, blurry ambient beauty. 

Benoit Pioulard on Bandcamp

The rest of this mix all fits in with that dusty, softly granular feel.  It's dreamy and hazy without being too annoyingly noisey.

Cheers! 

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Huerco S. - A Sea of Love
• 06:44    Spheruleus - Blue Cast
• 09:09    Benoit Pioulard - Never, just as you wanted
• 14:00    Taylor Duepree - Thaw
• 21:40    Hannu Karjalainen - Love is a Black Lion
• 25:20    Pleq - Good Night(green kingdom remix)
• 29:42    Floor Overhead - A Solution for Self Improvement
• 33:50    Steve Pacheco - I Remember You
• 39:30    Warmth - Dust(Chris Weeks remix)
• 43:15    Wil Samson - Lua
• 46:20    Porya Hatami - Sea
• 52:00    Spheruleus - How Dwellings Shadowed
• 54:35    Sonmi451 - Sarca
• 59:50    Federico Durand - Música para Manuel 5
• 61:48    end