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Ambient music mixes for a chaotic world
Episodes
Saturday Apr 30, 2016
Saturday Apr 30, 2016
As with so many mixes this one started because of a great tune. In this mix that great tune is Existence in the Unfurling by Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith from her spectacular new album Ears. The track is a wonderful mixture of analog electronics, fluttering woodwinds and ethereal vocals. It's my favorite song of the year so far and I just had to share it in a mix.
The other tracks are a combination of electronic tunes & some post-rock. All the music is new with the exception of the 3rd track.
Enjoy
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - Existence in the Unfurling
- 11:05 Mogwai - Ether
- 15:40 The Maple Mountain Sunburst Triolian Orchestra - Age of Steam
- 18:40 36 - FIVe Eyes
- 21:40 Explosions in the Sky - The Wilderness
- 25:44 Prins Thomas - A2
- 32:20 Shaded Explorer - When I Decided to Live
- 40:54 Underworld - Santiago Cuatro
- 44:15 Brian Eno - The Ship
- 52:25 Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - Rare Things Grow
- 55:24 end
Sunday Apr 24, 2016
Sunday Apr 24, 2016
I had not planned on doing another piano mix so soon after the last one in November 2015. Then Piano Day happened. On March 28th of this year a group founded by Nils Frahm celebrated the piano and everything around it. This was the second year for the event.
In addition to music released for Piano Day and live events, the Piano Day website, pianoday.org, has this awesome random note generator. I highly recommend playing around with it. You can record your noodlings and play it back on the site. It works great with a tablet where you can hit several notes simultaneously.
The website piano player is what got me started on this mix. I made an audio recording of my random notes and then messed with it by mixing it with a backwards version and a slowed down version and adding a bit of reverb. The result is very listenable. Not an exact composition per se with now structure but it works pretty well as an ambient piano track.
That's a long winded way of saying that is where this mix started. Next I stumbled across an amazing recording on SoundCloud here... https://soundcloud.com/hey-exit/every-recording-of-gymnopedie-1
Brendan Landis, recording as Hey Exit, took every recording he could find of Satie's Gymnopedie #1 and played them all at the same time, layered on top of each other, timestretched to the length of the longest recording. The 60 plus recordings combine to create an ethereal, phasing shifting version the famous Gymnopedie #1. I knew immediately that I had to include this in any piano mix.
A couple of quick notes on other tracks...
The mix starts of with Fleeting Smile by Roger Eno. A cut that owes a lot to Satie's Gymnopedies but is still beautiful on it's own. It had been years since I listened to this track and after hearing it again I immediately added to a playlist I have called The Most Beautiful Recordings Ever.
There is another sort of random notes type of piece in the mix and it's from Akria Rabelais. The tracks full name is "Every Tone Is the Prism as Words, Any Unexpected Corners Must Be Slipped Away." It's a 42 minute piece with LOTS of dead air in between notes. I decided to remix it a bit by layering it to eliminate much of the silence. I know this goes totally against the original intent of the track but I was just experimenting with the randomness of rearranging the notes and ended up liking how it sounded.
I hope you enjoy these piano moments. Maybe next year I'll have a piano mix ready on Piano Day. In the meantime go visit the site... pianoday.org
Enjoy
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Roger Eno - Fleeting Smile
- 02:24 Hey Exit - every recording of gymnopedie 1
- 06:50 Hey Exit - every rec of gymnoedie 1 slowly
- 08:23 pianoday.org + Low Light - Piano Day web player remix
- 15:15 Steve Roach & Robert Logan - Moments Notice
- 20:30 Akira Rabelais - every tone is the prism(layered remix)
- 28:30 Harold Budd - Templar
- 37:30 Roedelius - Roedelius plays piano part 11
- 40:05 Nils Frahm - Mi
- 43:54 Unknown - random pno
- 47:27 Mark Lyken & Emma Dove - fishing for rigs pt. 1
- 49:05 Howard Skempton - piano piece 1969
- 50:30 Roedelius - Roedelius plays piano part 1
- 52:33 Chris Walla - Introductions
- 60:14 Hey Exit - every recording of gymnopedie 1 slowly
- 62:20 end
Sunday Mar 06, 2016
Sunday Mar 06, 2016
I believe I have professed my love for ambient guitar in previous posts here. So a mix like this is no surprise. Just as many of the artists collected in this mix are no surprise. Dirk Serries, Scott Solter, David Tagg, Windy & Carl, Kyle Bobby Dunn, Fripp & Eno - these are all artists that have appeared in many of my mixes over the years.
The music here is fairly straightforward - ambient tunes where the guitar is the most prominent instrument. Some of the cuts are beautiful, others a bit darker, but all will easily transport the listener to a favorite meditative place.
Enjoy
- 00:00 Tonepoet - Headspace
- 07:00 Chas Smith - False Clarity
- 10:50 A Lily - Hunter and Sky
- 13:45 David Tollefson - Pattern of Islands
- 16:45 Jasper Tx - Embers
- 21:10 Fripp and Eno - Heavenly Music Corp(half speed)
- 26:20 Dirk Serries - The Lament Broke
- 36:40 Kyle Bobby Dunn - The Hungover
- 46:25 Robin Guthrie - Misty
- 49:45 Matt Borghi - The Elysian Plain
- 54:27 Sleep Robot - Prayer Wheel
- 1:00:37 Windy and Carl - Ode to a Dog
- 1:04:50 Gareth Hardwick - Five Points
- 1:14:14 David Tagg - Wolf Suite III
- 1:17:55 Hakobune - A Distant Loss
- 1:24:10 Shaula - Sea of Trees
- 1:27:27 Manual - Always Alone
- 1:33:36 Brian Siskind - Graham Bell
- 1:38:00 Koda - Moment on the South Shore
- 1:42:10 Scott Solter - The Palace Wedding
- 1:46:10 Dirk Serries - Radiant Down
- 1:54:36 end
Sunday Jan 10, 2016
Sunday Jan 10, 2016
I've done many "sea" mixes over the years and I keep coming back to them because ambient music perfectly captures the impression of an undulating a sea or ocean.
Enjoy
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Rafael Anton Irisarri - Displacement
- 03:52 Loscil - Angel of List
- 10:00 Kane Ikin - Slow Waves
- 13:30 Budd & Eno - An Echo of Night
- 15:20 Diatonis - Moving in Silence
- 19:54 Wave Temples - Under the Crystal Waters
- 20:25 Wave Temples - Thru the narrow strait...
- 21:45 Benoit Pioulard - Stanza II, IX
- 26:36 Spheruleus - Clouds Swarm
- 30:37 Purl - Havets Sång
- 36:50 pjusk & sleep orchestra - Daithn
- 41:12 Intrusion - Under the Ocean
- 44:50 Porya Hatami - Farewell
- 52:25 Pan & Me - The Sea Is So Quiet
- 59:00 Stefan Paulus - Salt Sea Island
- 63:24 end
Saturday Dec 19, 2015
Saturday Dec 19, 2015
These year end lists are always difficult. But at least the top 3 spots this year were easy selections -
Alva Noto - Xerrox, Vol. 3
Max Richter - Sleep
Chris Walla - Tape Loops
- 00:00 Alva Noto - Isola from Xerrox, Vol. 3
- 07:20 Max Richter - Return 2 from Sleep
- 12:35 Chris Walla - Kanta's Theme from Tape Loops
- 17:05 Benoit Pioulard - Shut-ins on Sunday from Sonnet
- 19:20 36 - Sunriders part 2 from Sine Dust
- 23:40 Olan Mill - Live at the Millenium Barn from Cavade Morlem
- 29:00 Mikael Delta & Hior Chronik - How to Define Existence from The First Ray
- 33:00 Bersarin Quartett - Bedingungslos from III
- 36:06 Contact - Brian Eno: Discreet Music
- 44:22 Marconi Union - Aftermath from Departures
- 48:40 Spheruleus - The Railroad from Chronota
- 55:05 Goldmund - Turncoat from Sometimes
- 57:57 Nils Frahm - Merry from Solo
- 61:45 Adam Bryanbaum Wiltzie - The endless battle of the maudlin ballade part 2 from Travels in Constants Vo. 24
- 64:40 Horizon Fire - Earthlight from Earthlight
- 67:26 end
Saturday Nov 14, 2015
Saturday Nov 14, 2015
A slowly developing amalgamation of mixed-genre madness, fusing ambient, experimental & jazz soundscapes into a mixture of quiet deconstruction.
"Slow Decay" is a collaborative mix from Low Light Mixes & Ambient Landscape. We've each done mixes for each other but we thought it would be cool make a mix in which we both contributed alternating sections.
Gene(ambient landscape) came up with the title and I started things off with a couple of cuts. I sent it to Gene, he added a few more, sent it back to me, I added more tracks and so on and so on. Until we had a fascinating 1 hour & 16 minute journey.
I love how things turned out. The combination of ecm-style jazz and ambient and experimental music worked perfectly.
Don't forget to check out Ambient Landscape here...
https://ambientlandscape.wordpress.com/
https://www.mixcloud.com/gab_labs/
Enjoy
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Signal Structure (w/treatments) - Positive Centre
- 03:12 Upon Contact Reworked - Jorge Haro (Bruno Sanfilippo)
- 07:10 The Squealing of Rats & the Squeaking of Boards - Marielle V Jakobsons (w/treatments)
- 08:45 Parallel Realities (excerpt) - Jack DeJohnette, Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock
- 11:40 Dis Loops 1.1 - William Basinski - performed by The Wordless Music Orchestra
- 21:40 Upon the Break Arch - Benoit Pioulard
- 26:20 Structural Functions Of Prezens (excerpt) - David Torn, Tim Berne, Craig Taborn, Tom Rainey
- 30:25 Sluimer (excerpt) - FANTOOM (René Aquarius, Otto Kokke, Dirk Serries, Martina Verhoeven)
- 34:50 Passage D.E. - Jon Hassell
- 39:10 Solphaer - Alva Noto
- 44:05 Porch Swings - Cinchel
- 45:55 Arder De No Sentir Calor - Mauro Beltran
- 50:27 Night Peculiarities – Johan Troch
- 53:19 Tunis at Dawn - Anouar Brahem
- 59:44 Rosemarie - Trio3: Oliver Lake, Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille w/ Vijay Iyer
- 66:04 Setting Out - Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
- 67:50 The Wind in High Places: Above Sunset Pass - John Luther Adams
- 70:45 Tipping Point - Andy Sheppard Quartet
- 76:15 end
Sunday Oct 04, 2015
Sunday Oct 04, 2015
I use ambient mixes for sleeping almost every night. A long time ago a friend once mentioned that the best ambient tunes for sleeping are the ones that mimic the rhythm of breathing. Over the years I've found that to be very true.
So this mix, like the other 'breathing' mixes before it, is a collection of tunes that ebb and flow, quietly mirroring your sleepy breathing patterns.
Enjoy
- 00:00 The Dead Texan - The 6 Million Dollar Sandwich
- 02:55 Abstract Aprils - Breathing Sculptures
- 08:50 Le Chat Blanc Orchestra - She Left This Morning
- 15:38 Olan Mill - Spare Smoke Template
- 18:20 Alva Noto - Spiegel
- 21:15 James Johnson - Minimum(excerpt)
- 29:40 Offthesky - Snow Filled Summer
- 31:45 Steve Roach - The Delicate Forever
- 38:30 Billow Observatory - kronstadt
- 42:42 ASC - Hall of the Gods
- 46:50 Experiments in Silance - A Ghost of Stars
- 52:10 Marsen Jules - Lazy Sunday Funerals 7
- 57:05 Manual - Last Light
- 63:36 end
Friday Aug 21, 2015
Friday Aug 21, 2015
The pic above is of the hammock in my backyard. My kids got it for me for Father's Day and I love it. I can't figure out why I didn't have one before. On many nights this summer I grab my kindle and a beer and lay contentedly under our big birch tree.
Of course as a true music
obsessive I have speakers out on the deck that I control remotely. So
whenever I head out to the hammock to read or just space out, I cue up
some ambient, classical or jazz and just drift away.
That's where I got the idea
for this mix. I needed a new collection to keep me company while I sway
in the cool evening air. For some reason when I think of "porch music"
or evening music, I think of ambient guitar. So most of this mix is
guitar based, some more ambient than others. A lot of it is fairly new
and all of it works well with bug spray and a beer. I couldn't resist ending the mix with a tune from...Hammock.
Enjoy
- 00:00 Nathan Amundson - More Horses
- 05:18 Jakob Bro - Lyskaster
- 09:00 CFCF - A Various Language(from the same hill)
- 12:25 Daniel Lanois - Space Love
- 14:00 David Tagg - Comanche
- 20:20 Josh Mason - Petals Too Tired To
- 23:00 Dirk Serries - Disorientation Flow
- 31:15 Christopher Willits - Now
- 35:35 Tonepoet - Headspace
- 41:50 Brian Eno - From the Same Hill
- 44:24 Matt Borghi - Homage to Dave Liebman
- 47:54 Alessio Ballerini - Night in Day
- 51:21 Tone Color - City of Three Rivers
- 56:45 Hammock - Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow
Wednesday Aug 12, 2015
Wednesday Aug 12, 2015
The title of this one pretty much says it all.
So download the mix, grab some bourbon, a blanket and head outside to witness the 2015 version of the Perseid meteor shower.
Enjoy
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Moesko - Stargazer
- 03:55 Marconi Union - Still
- 07:35 36 - Sky Fire
- 11:11 Alio Die - nuvole di palissandro
- 12:25 Alva Noto - Solphaer
- 17:55 Julio Di Benedetto - Original Light
- 26:26 Robert Davies - Nightshade
- 35:20 Klowknfe - Gamma
- 42:30 Horizon Fire - Earthlight
- 44:55 Moesko - Cloudgazer
- 47:55 Donnacha Costello - You Are Not Here
- 51:05 Marconi Union - Fading
- 57:15 end
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