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Ambient music mixes for a chaotic world
Episodes
Friday Jun 12, 2015
Friday Jun 12, 2015
I have a confession to make. Back in the 80s & early 90s I used to listen to a lot of New Age music. Stuff like Enya, Andreas Vollenweider, anything on Windham Hill, etc. Even though much of the general public thinks of ambient music as new age music, real ambient fans know the difference. It can be difficult to articulate that difference. I use a "I know it when I hear it" approach. I guess I'm still wary of the new age label so that's why I called the mix "Music for Meditation."
Even though I moved away from new age music long ago, I still have a soft spot for certain sounds that can be considered new age staples. Two of my favs are Tibetan singing bowls & the Fender Rhodes keyboard. Actually anything with a bell-like sonic signature usually gets me.
Last year I came across the re-release of an album called "Gymnosphere, Song of the Rose" by Jordan De La Sierra. It was recorded in 1977. It has been called a long lost new age masterpiece. I guess it is sort of new age-ish, although I think it has more in common with Brian Eno, Terry Riley & Steve Reich than Yanni or Steven Halpern. It's a fine album and it got me thinking about new age music and the parts that I still enjoy. Find out more here...
Once I decided to do this mix I knew for sure that Steven Halpern would make the final cut. I remember buying a cassette of his album "Spectrum Suite" from a shop in Madison, WI that had floatation tanks. I booked a half hour in one of the tanks and played that music while I floated around, literally & figuratively.
The Harold Budd track that follows Halpern, I have always thought sounded very new agey. But I have always loved it. I like that the mix has both old and new cuts in it. I think it does a good job giving off a meditation vibe without being too sickly sweet. Good for meditation or sleeping.
Enjoy
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Somni451 - Yellow
- 06:30 Jordan De La Sierra - Music for Gymnastics
- 12:30 Field Recording - Wind Chimes & Thunderstorm
- 14:20 Michael Stearns - As the Earth Kissed the Moon
- 18:25 Peter Davison - Glide V
- 23:50 Porya Hatami - After the Rain
- 31:40 eternell - Kalimba I
- 37:33 Halftribe - Shashlik
- 42:12 Steven Halpern - Keynote C Red
- 44:54 Harold Budd - Bismillahi 'Rrahmani' Rrahim
- 52:36 Jeff Pearce - Through Darkened Halls
- 56:14 33 bowls - Morning
- 58:51 Jim Cole - Light Shines In Your Heart
- 65:21 end
Sunday May 31, 2015
Sunday May 31, 2015
- 00:00 David Parsons - Himalaya(edit)
- 08:52 Michael Stearns Twin Flame
- 12:00 Lisa Gerrard & Patrick Cassidy - Elegy
- 18:17 Max Richter - Horizon Variations(edit)
- 21:38 Mychael Danna - Phoenix Anastasis
- 25:52 Aeoliah - Mahavira
- 32:28 Heavenly Music Corporation - Consciousness III(edit)
- 38:42 Carbon Based Lifeforms - Silent Running(carbonator remix)
- 44:15 Xerxes - Angelina
- 53:28 Cliff Martinez - Will She Come Back
- 58:15 Connect.Ohm - Snow Park
- 66:28 Max Richter - On the Nature of Daylight
Sunday May 03, 2015
Sunday May 03, 2015
Benoît Pioulard has two new albums out & they are both wonderful. It was after hearing "Sonnet" that I decided to make a mix that featured the same sort of dusty, slightly noisy ambient tunes.
You can find his album "Sonnet" on Amazon here...
And his latest, "Stanza" here...
https://pioulard.bandcamp.com/album/stanza
Stanza is a companion piece to Sonnet. I didn't even know about it until I went looking for links for this post. I'm so glad that I found it but I wish I'd found it sooner, then I could have worked a track from it into this mix.
Basically the mix is a collection of tunes that falls in line with the sound of those two Benoît Pioulard albums - kind of hazy and dusty.
Enjoy.
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Benoit Pioulard - Shut-ins on Sunday See
- 03:03 Heezen - 3 hrs
- 07:24 36 - Neon Sunset
- 10:30 The Green Kingdom - untitled(remix by segue)
- 15:00 Assembler-Responder - Palmer Station
- 17:40 Taylor Deupree - thaw
- 25:05 Otto A Totland - Flomé
- 27:27 Janek Schaefer - Unfolding Honey
- 32:20 Porya Hatami - White Forest
- 34:30 Letna - deliblatska pescara
- 36:17 Maps And Diagrams - Tauragnas
- 38:10 Alva Noto - Exoshpere
- 40:20 Jon Hassel - Map of Dusk(stretched & remixed)
- 44:25 Caught In The Wake Forever - Sun Downing
- 46:00 Solo Andata - At Commissure
- 50:00 Benoit Pioulard - Reliquary(Benoit Pioulard remix)
- 54:54 Lissom - Hollow of Winter
- 58:28 Shortwave Music - stretched
- 60:39 end
Wednesday Apr 15, 2015
Wednesday Apr 15, 2015
Every mix has it's own unique starting point. And this mix definitely started in a unique place - my dishwasher.
One day my dishwasher was making some weird noises, it kind of sounded like an alien playing a didgeridoo was trapped inside. So I recorded a little bit of the sound and then processed it using Paul's Extreme Sound Stretch. And whaddya know - it actually sounds pretty good.
I've used Paul's Extreme Sound Stretch in mixes before and it's a fun little program for non-musicians like me.
I posted the stretched version on the Hypnos Recordings forum just for kicks. A couple folks asked to hear the original source as well. Then the next thing you know some of the artists who frequent the forum took that original dishwasher sound & used it as a source to come up with their own original takes.
I was pretty darn excited. These are artists that in some cases I've been listening to for years. And they were going to make music from my freakin' dishwasher. Pretty cool.
Here's the Hypnos forum dishwasher thread... HYPNOS
We ended up with five pieces created from the original dishwasher sounds. I also asked my son, who produces EDM music as AXX, to also make an ambient dishwasher tune, which he did and I gotta say I love his version. Throw my stretched version in there and we have 7 dishwasher tunes, enough for a whole mix. Pretty cool again.
I started the mix with the original sound and let it morph into the different versions. They all flow together very well.
Here are the links to each individual piece used in the mix in order of appearance...
https://soundcloud.com/low-light-mixes/dishwasher-original
https://soundcloud.com/forrest-fang/daves-dishwasher-zen-cycle-021815
https://soundcloud.com/low-light-mixes/dishwasher-drone-axx-rework
https://serenffordd.bandcamp.com/track/rin-se
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Dishwasher original sound
- 00:17 Dave Michuda - Dishwasher Stretch
- 01:00 Forrest Fang - Dave's Dishwasher(Zen Cycle)
- 02:42 AXX - Dishwasher Drone AXX Rework
- 05:15 Igneous Flame - Chthonic Cycles
- 09:25 Castleview - Cavewasher
- 11:20 The Circular Ruins - The Circular Ruins Over Dave's Dishwasher
- 15:00 Dave Michuda - Dishwasher Stretch part 2
- 16:55 Seren Ffordd - Rin-Se
- 20:43 end
Friday Apr 03, 2015
Friday Apr 03, 2015
I have been planning on doing a stargazing mix for a long time and then a new EP by 36 came out and I knew I had to get cracking on a new mix.
The new EP is called Sine Dust and it's excellent. All the tracks have a similar feel to them and that is by design. 36 artist, Dennis Huddleston, says "I wanted to make an EP that had a strictly defined sound and theme, which continued from beginning to end, using a limited array of instruments to tell the story." And it's a good story. The synths have a sort of retro feel without being kitschy or obvious. The touch here is just perfect. And the tracks work nicely for an astronomical theme.
The 6th track in the mix is from an excellent new compilation from Tessellate Recordings - Earthtones Vol. 3. Just like the other two comps, this is a great collection of tunes with a nice variety of sounds and textures.
Earthtones
Volume 3 by Tessellate Recordings
The Fripp tune is one of a bunch freebies that his DGM Live website has available. I highly recommend spending some time there and looking through all the oddities they have available for download.
The rest of the tunes I think work rather well as a soundtrack to laying on your back and staring up at the night sky. Whether it's looking for a meteor streaking through the atmosphere or gazing at a blood moon, this mix should transport you off planet.
Enjoy
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 36 - Beyond the Heliosphere
- 05:57 Monty Adkins - Entangled Symmetries
- 09:00 Fripp - Time Stands Still
- 14:30 Lorenzo Montana - Bloom
- 20:31 Robert Rich - Aetherfolds
- 23:40 Map 165 - Long Shore Drift
- 26:47 Alpha Wave Movement - Cryptic Signals
- 33:06 Spectra Ciera - Second Narrows
- 35:52 Jon Hopkins - cold out there
- 39:03 36 - Sun Riders Part II
- 43:42 Kalgan - Subway Evening
- 46:44 Lunar Testing Lab - Station East
- 50:36 Aglaia - Polar Cap Absorption
- 54:27 Steve Roach - The Delicate Forever
- 65:35 end
Sunday Mar 01, 2015
Sunday Mar 01, 2015
This mix was started because of one new tune - "Witch Season" from the new Infraction release by Offthesky and Pleq. I love that track and what better way to tell people about it than a new mix.
With that song as a starting point things fell into place very nicely. All the music in the mix is fairly recent. Most is from 2014 or 2015 with the exception of the cut from The New Honey Shade which is from 2011.
The mix as a whole is pretty straight forward ambient. Straight forward but awesome ambient. I love the tracks from dirk serries, tonepoet, The Circular Ruins, Janek Schaefer, Spheruleus...oh heck, I adore every cut in this mix.
All of the albums used in this mix are available on Bandcamp so I'll link to them here in order of appearance in the mix...
https://infraction.bandcamp.com/album/a-thousand-fields
https://tonefloatikon.bandcamp.com/album/streams-of-consciousness-152401
https://dekorder.bandcamp.com/album/unfolding-luxury-beyond-the-city-of-dreams
https://scissortail.bandcamp.com/album/ozark-dream
https://dataobscura.bandcamp.com/album/full-circle
https://coppicehalifax.bandcamp.com/album/lowlights
https://experimentsinsilence.bandcamp.com/
https://manwatchingthestars.bandcamp.com/album/dusk
https://tonepoet.bandcamp.com/album/headspace
https://spheruleus.bandcamp.com/album/chronota
Enjoy
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Offthesky and Pleq - Witch Season
- 04:57 dirk serries - cloud surface break
- 11:11 Janek Schaefer - Beyond
- 16:16 The New Honey Shade - Sun is Elixir
- 19:00 The Circular Ruins - Full Circle
- 27:30 Coppice Halifax - lowlights
- 34:05 Experiments in Silence - duskforms
- 38:50 Man Watching the Stars - Midday
- 49:40 tonepoet - Showers of Lilac
- 54:00 Spheruleus - The Railroad
- 1:01:27 Experiments in Silence - Nascent Light
- 1:06:53 end
Sunday Feb 15, 2015
Sunday Feb 15, 2015
Here's the latest in the Sunday Morning Music series. And as usual it follows a similar path to its predecessors - little bit of quiet vocals, little bit of jazz, little bit of classical, little bit of everything.
The first track in the mix is from DeYarmond Edison, which is Justin Vernon's first band from 2005. Vernon is the man behind Bon Iver. He's a fellow Wisconsonite that hit the big time with his For Emma album back in 2007. I discovered the DeYarmond Edison album while doing some Bon Iver research and found that it is an excellent album. Vernon is also a member of Volcano Choir, which has a cut in this mix as well. I have a Justin Vernon mix in the works. It will feature his music along with music from the many artists he has connections with.
As much as I like that first track, the highlight of this mix for me is the Kate Bush tune, Snowflake, from her wonderful album, 50 Words for Snow. She sings the song from the point of view of a snowflake, I only used about half of the song in the mix.
A couple of others favorite tunes in this mix are Ladder in Place from rf, very bright and happy. I have always loved the Underworld cut, To Heal and used it as part of the title for this installment of the Sunday series. And finally, the Daryll Hall tune at the end from his offbeat collaboration with Robert Fripp is another fav.
Other mixes on the horizon include a space rock mix, ambient dub, breathing, time dilation, Americana, sea music and the previously mentioned Justin Vernon Family Tree mix.
Enjoy
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 DeYarmond Edison - Time to Know
- 05:56 Pink Floyd - Things Left Unsaid
- 08:27 Underworld - To Heal
- 10:15 Black Elk - III_IV
- 15:05 Kate Bush - Snowflake
- 19:55 Gem Club - Red Arrow(john)
- 22:40 rf - Ladder in PLace
- 26:15 Kjell Anderson - Broadway Valetine
- 28:57 Volcano Choir - Husks and Shells
- 32:00 Penguin Cafe Orchestra - Air
- 35:50 Piers Faccini & Vincet Segall - A Half of Me
- 40:00 Dublin Guitar Quartet - Mishima V
- 43:28 Moon Ate the Dark - She Swimming
- 46:30 Labradford - P
- 55:25 Daryl Hall - Without Tears
- 58:17 end
Sunday Feb 01, 2015
Sunday Feb 01, 2015
A couple of posts ago I mentioned a favorite new ambient blog - Ambient Landscape. I visit quite often, usually finding new music, interesting links and good mixes.
I reached out to Gene, who runs the blog and asked if he would do a guest mix for Low Light and I'm happy to say that he agreed. The result is this Robert Fripp themed mix - "fripp_2015."
I love listening to well done mixes where I'm not entirely familiar with all the tunes. That way everything just blends seamlessly, one track into another, I can't tell where one begins and another ends. Being a long time Fripp fan, any mix that features his music immediately gets my attention and this one does that and more. This is a great collections of tunes whether you're a Fripp fan or not.
Check out the Ambient Landscape Mixcloud page as well.
Enjoy
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Marcus Fischer - Nearly There
- 04:43 1605_Munro - Oscila34 (feat. Robert Fripp)
- 12:33 Microvolt - Dissipate
- 16:12 Theo Travis & Robert Fripp - Improvisation.1
- 19:51 Illuha - Relative Hyperbolas of Amplified and Decaying Waveforms
- 28:25 Marcus Fischer - Monocoastal (Part 2)
- 34:23 Metropole Orkest & Robert Fripp - Pie Jesu
- 43:37 Johan Troch - The Enlightened
- 47:05 Peter Davidson - Grand Theft Saucer 1960
- 50:29 Robert Fripp - My Mother's Birthday
- 53:40 Frore - A Name On The Wind
- 61:25 Robert Fripp - Affirmation_Imac
- 67:18 Robert Fripp - Let The Power Fall/1987
- 78:27 Memnon Sa - Titans Sleep
- 83:08 A Produce - The Golden Needle
- 89:36 end
Saturday Jan 03, 2015
Saturday Jan 03, 2015
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| http://instagram.com/jnsilva |
This mix started with two discoveries. First I found a great ambient blog called Ambient Landscape. I have found lots of music through the site, most notably the fantastic album by Dylan Howe, New Designs on Bowie's Berlin, which made it on to my year end lists.
The second discovery that inspired this mix was a series from Aural Films called Fog Music. I believe they up to 25 releases which you find here...FOG MUSIC. There's some nice stuff in there & I liked to whole concept of "Fog Music," not too far off the "sea" mixes I've done before.
So that's where this started. From there I looked for other foggy tunes. I'm not a big fan of dark, dissonant ambient that might typically get used for fog music. I think the collection here works pretty well.
Enjoy
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 foghorns & stuff
- 01:00 Todd Peck - Into the Mist
- 03:30 Optical Frameworks - Surrounded Fog
- 06:20 Maps & Diagrams - Fog Signalling
- 07:55 echospace - Vector Vapor
- 09:00 36 - Mist
- 11:30 Chihei Hatakeyama - A House in the Fog
- 13:10 Loscil - Vapor
- 17:06 Brian Eno - Events in Dense Fog
- 20:45 Laocoon - Mist
- 26:20 Wolfgang Gsell - February Fog
- 32:00 Shaded Explorer - Sea Mist
- 37:10 Sam Rosenthal and vidnaObmana - Dark Mist, Rain
- 40:30 Thomas Koner - Vasabron, Stockholm
- 44:10 James Johnson - House of Mist
- 47:50 ASC - Behind the Veil
- 53:50 Jeff Greinke - Over Water
- 1:01:12 end
Tuesday Dec 02, 2014
Tuesday Dec 02, 2014
I am very excited about this mix. It comes from Josh Furey, the man the excellent indie label Nocturne Records.
The mix consists of ambient and slower vintage 8-bit video game music. It starts off with a cut from Disasterpeace from the album FEZ. I had just recently bought the album and was thinking about doing an 8-bit type of mix myself when Josh sent me his Cartridge mix. Wow, am I glad I didn't bother with my mix because Josh's blend of 8-bit music and video game sounds and tunes is perfect.
Thanks to Josh for his work on this fantastic mix. Check out is excellent latest album PETALS.
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 • Disasterpeace - Beacon [FEZ]
- 02:34 • Pixel - Balcony [Cave Story]
- 04:03 • Martin Galway - Green Beret [Green Beret]
- 06:08 • Magyari András, Brian Coburn, Spencer Nilsen - Medusa Bay [Ecco The Dolphin]
- 08:03 • Brain Wash - Stage Four [Pulseman]
- 10:04 • Motoi Sakuraba - Map [Arcus Odyssey]
- 11:29 • Koji Kondo - Forest Temple [Ledgend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time]
- 11:29 • Rob Hubbard & Ben Daglish - Auf Wiedersehen Monty [Auf Wiedersehen Monty]
- 15:48 • Tim Follin - Ghouls n Ghosts [Ghouls n Ghosts]
- 16:39 • David Wise, Eveline Ascher & Robin Beanland - Aquatic Ambience [Donkey Kong Country]
- 19:57 • Kenji Yamamoto & Minako Hamano - Lower Brinstar [Super Metroid]
- 22:56 • David M. Hanlon - Druid II Enlightenment [Druid II Enlightenment]
- 25:47 • Michael Land - Goodsoup Family Crypt [Curse Of Monkey Island]
- 27:28 • David Wise, Eveline Ascher & Robin Beanland - Misty Menace [Donkey Kong Country]
- 29:43 • Hiroki Kikuta - Innocent Sea [Seiken Densetsu 3]
- 30:56 • Martin Galway - Wizball [Wizball]
- 34:29 • Wally Beben - Darkside [Darkside]
- 37:09 • Disasterpeace - Spirit [FEZ]
- 38:58 • Kev Bruce - Stage Atlantis Ruins [Porky Pigs Haunted Holliday]
- 41:14 • Kazunaka Yamane - Doppelganger [Double Dragon II]
- 42:58 • Junko Tamiya - Ichirou's Death [Sweet Home]
- 44:32 • Neil Brennan - Way of the Exploding Fist [Way of the Exploding Fist]
- 45:13 • Masami Ueda - The Second Floor [Resident Evil II]
- 48:04 • Masaki Hashimoto - Title Screen [Kabuki Quantum Fighter]
- 49:56 • Naoki Kadaka - Mothership Defeated (Game Clear) [Fester's Quest]
- 50:24 • Masaki Hashimoto - Opening [Kabuki Quantum Fighter]
- 50:56 • Mitsuhiko Takano - File Select Screen [Ledgend of Zelda: Minish Cap]