low light mixes

Deep Sky Time - music for stargazing 2013

 

I know this is not the best time of year for sitting out side and stargazing.  At least not here in Wisconsin.  But I haven't done a stargazing mix in a long time so i thought I'd throw this out there.

The piece that got me started on this mix isn't an actual song.  It's NASA's Voyager spacecraft recording the sound of interstellar space.  Voyager's plasma wave instrument detected the vibrations of dense interstellar plasma, or ionized gas, from October to November 2012 and April to May 2013.  You can find the recording here... Voyager. 

I couldn't resist using that sound as a launch pad for this mix.  The rest is pretty straight forward ambient/space music.  For some strange reason I felt compelled to make this mix nearly 2 hours long.  If you want to lay outside for two hours & gaze at the night sky in the middle of December, better bring some scotch & an electric blanket. ;)

Enjoy.

 

 

 

T R A C K L I S T : 

• 00:00    NASA Voyager recording of interstellar space
• 00:40    Loscil - Second Narrows Specta Ciera Version
• 03:30    Ishq - Globular Cluster
• 07:30    Harmony & Decay - Hypnotic Sequence
• 12:40    Eluder - The Event Horizon
• 14:50    Marsen Jules - A Room Full of History
• 19:15    Marconi Union - Always Numb
• 23:40    Porzellan - Floating Reception
• 24:30    Sonmi451 - Omicron Ceti
• 29:30    Loscil - ss1.2 unit circle
• 32:50    Wouter Veldhuis - Blue Forest I
• 36:00    Variant - Thru the Cosmos(ison + spica)
• 43:33    Brian Eno - Surf Birds
• 46:10    Mark Rownd - Place of Grace
• 52:20    Kissy Suzuki - rubbish & Beauties part 1
• 56:30    Altus - Floating Free
• 1:00:40    Diatonis - Whiring Above Our Heads
• 1:04:15    A Produce - Inner Sanctum
• 1:12:00    Aglaia - Dust Across the Border
• 1:15:30    Christopher Short - Unknown Constellation #2
• 1:22:30    Fripp & Eno - Meissa
• 1:29:10    Ithaca Trio - Catching Monkeys
• 1:34:00    Steve Roach - Deep Sky Time
• 1:41:10    Sylken - Sleepless
• 1:50:10    Deepchord - Driftwood
• 1:51:10    Vidna Obmana - Night Blooming
• 1:57:49    end
  

Favorite ambient albums of all time

About a year ago I did a mix of my favorite ambient artists of all time.  I have been meaning to do a mix of my favorite ambient albums of all time ever since.  And now here it is.

I did not go back and look at my favorite artist list.  I sorted through my ambient collection and came up with my fav albums.  Then I compared the two lists and not surprisingly they are almost identical.  Basically I substituted Scott Solter for Alio Die when I made the fav album list.  At least I didn't repeat any tunes from one mix to the next.

Choosing a favorite album from some of these artists was difficult.  Steve Roach has some many recordings that it was tough to know where to start but I kept coming back to the one that gets the most play and that is "The Dream Circle."  I wonder how many other folks like this album as much as I do.  I'm not e really sure why I like it more than his other releases, it definitely sounds similar to a lot of his other output.  I guess over the years it's become like a comfy sweatshirt.

Stars of the Lid & Eno were both hard to choose a favorite as well.  With SOTL I ended up going with the album that I first discovered them with.  In choosing "On Land" from Eno I really could have just flipped a coin to choose between it and "Music for Airports," "Apollo" and "Music for Films."  

The one favorite that probably doesn't make a lot of lists is "One River" by Scott Solter.  Using mostly processed guitars this album ebbs & flows beautifully from one tracks to the next.  I was happy to see that it's available on Bandcamp, although it's one long track instead of separate tracks like the original.  You can find it HERE.  

Enjoy.

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Scott Solter - Cypress Road from One River
• 04:38    Stars of the Lid - Dust Breeding from Avec Laudenum
• 11:45    Maps & Diagrams - Honeycomb Archipelago from Get Lost
• 14:45    Brian Eno - Unfamiliar Wind(leeks hills) from On Land
• 19:25    Loscil - Lucy Dub from First Narrows
• 25:25    Sonmi451 - Orange from Spectrum
• 31:00    Steve Roach - The Dream Circle from The Dream Circle
• 40:45    Kyle Bobby Dunn - Empty Gazing from A Young Person's Guide to
• 46:35    Harold Budd & Brian Eno - Against the Sky from The Pearl
• 50:00    William Basinski - 1.2 from The Disintegration Loops
• 1:01:00    end

Sunday Morning Music vol. 7 - The Sun King

 found a cool clip on YouTube from the Beatles Abbey Road album.  It is the 16 minute medley that closes the album but it's only the vocals.  It's fascinating to listen to familiar vocals in a new way.  Here's a link to the YouTube clip... Abbey Road vocals.

The vocals for "The Sun King" caught my attention and I thought they'd make a nice start to a new Sunday morning mix.  I couldn't resist messing with the track a little bit so I slowed it down and mixed part of that slowed down track under the normal one  I like the way the sowed track fills the space between vocals.  Then I brought the slow track up full to finish off The Sun King.  It's really kind of amazing how beautiful the track still sounds even when slowed way down.

As I was adding tracks to the mix I stumbled upon the Sun Kil Moon song "Sunshine in Chicago" and it hit me that the mix should revolve around the sun.  So every song on the tracklist has "sun" in the title.

I love using a keyword to narrow a musical search because it always turns up cuts I had completely forgotten about.  In this case I was very excited to have dug up "Eternity's Sunrise" from the "Children of Men" score.  I'm pretty happy with how this "sunny" mix turned out.

Enjoy.

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    The Beatles - The Sun King(vocals only)
• 01:51    Lights Out Asia - Birds Sing Sun-Rising Hymns
• 04:55    Jon Hopkins - Sun Harmonics
• 12:10    Phosphorescent - Sun, Arise
• 15:05    Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross - Painted Sun in Abstract
• 18:00    Boards of Canada - Turquoise Hexagon Sun
• 23:00    Popol Vuh - Morning Sun
• 26:17    Alexi Murdoch - Towards the Sun
• 30:25    Ben Howard - Under the Same Sun
• 32:45    M. Ostermeier - Sunlight on My Desk
• 35:15    Underworld - capa meets the sun
• 37:00    Max Richter - Sunlight
• 42:28    Jon Hopkins - The Wider Sun
• 44:48    John Tavener - Eternity's Sunrise
• 47:10    Vir Unis - Infinite Sun
• 50:20    David Sylvian - Sunlight seen through towering trees
• 52:55    The Seven Fields Of Aphelion - Sunburst Chemicals
• 55:33    Sun Kil Moon - Sunshine in Chicago
• 57:55    The Beatles - The Sun King
• 1:00:20    end

A Glitch in Time

Sometime around 2001 I discovered the album Tides by Arovane.  I'm not sure if it qualifies as "post-digital" or "blip hop" or "micro" music but it was through that album that I began a brief love affair with the style of music known as "glitch."

I have always loved electronic & ambient music but at the end of the 1990s I had lost interest in berlin style electronics and mostly listened to straight ambient.  But with the emergence of glitch, and it's use of complicated beats, noise and samples, I found a new rhythmic electronic music to dive into.

The biggest purveyor of glitch music back then was the Mille Plateaux label.  With their Click & Cuts series they introduced me to a whole new range of sound in music.  There is definitely a lot of music from that time period that, while interesting, could become annoying as well.  I'm not a fan of loud and aggressive glitch.  I definitely am more in tune with the sort of stuff put out by 12k.

Over time I grew tired of much of the glitch scene and the never ending little pops & clicks & wee little sounds intruding on the music.  Although I still enjoy much of 12k music.

Recently I was organizing some of my collection & revisited some old glitch material.  I found that I am still very fond of some of it.  I started collecting tracks for this mix and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

So this mix is a little step back in time to the early 2000s.  A small glitch in the passing of time to when glitch ruled, for me anyway.

Enjoy.

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Arovane - Tides (2000)
• 04:45    Carpet Musics - Phone Lines (2001)
• 08:24    Clickits - No Clickedy (2003)
• 11:35    Xela - Impulsive Behavior (2002)
• 15:30    offthesky - Down the Stream (2005)
• 20:50    Shuttle358 - I'm Not Afraid (2003)
• 25:05    Twerk - From Brown to Green (2003)
• 29:55    Jan Jelinek - Facelift (2003)
• 34:55    Bexar Bexar - Kt (2002)
• 38:30    Christopher Willits - The Seaweed Machine (2003)
• 40:45    Christian Kleine - Several (2002)
• 47:15    Arovane - Ambelio (1999)
• 52:20    Shuttle358 - Calty (2000)
• 57:11    end

Infinite ambient

I usually keep different folders of music for different types of mixes.  I have a "sea" folder.  And one called "dub & stuff."  Another is "piano."  And of course several "Sunday morning" folders as well.

The folder for this mix was called "just plain old good ambient."  And that's a pretty darn good description of this mix.  There's no special theme or concept other than the fact that these cuts are all excellent ambient tunes.

The mix has a classic sound, classic feel.  However, only one track is old - that's the Aphex Twin song.  I love how the cuts flow together, making it a perfect mix for sleeping if you use these mixes like I do.  I can also see listening to this while sitting on the front steps watching the sun set(unfortunately now instead of my nice farm across the street I have a subdivision of McMansions)

Five or six of the tracks in this mix came from Bandcamp, which I love for buying music & discovering new things via collections.  I really have to control myself when I'm on that site or I'd be spending all sorts of money.  My collection there is not really that large, partly because I really don't buy as much ambient music as I used to.  If you're interested, here's a link to my Bandcamp collection... Dave's Collection

Enjoy the mix!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00    Marsen Jules Trio - Œillet Parfait

04:34    Harold Budd - Jane 8

09:20    Caught in the Wake Forever - Chopin's 2 Nocturnes op. 48 no. 2 in F sharp minor

11:22    Taylor Deupree - Shutter

16:45    Aphex Twin - stone in focus

23:00    Dakota Suite - Things We Lost Along the Way (Loscil remix)

27:20    Maps & Diagrams - Utgores

29:15    Infinite Coil - Transmit 2

32:40    Unrecognizable Now - Two Rooms - One

39:50    Wouter Veldhuis - Side-effects of diversity

44:00    33 Bowls - Morning

46:00    Slow Dancing Society - After Twilight Takes Us

50:40    Ten and Tracer - By Twirling the Strong History

56:35    Cyber Zen Sound Engine - Mottomo Kodokuna Basho

1:00:00    end

a leaf on the wind - field recordings & ambience 2013

The title pretty much says it all - this mix is a field recording mix.  I think I've done 3 field mixes in the past but haven't done one in a long time.  So I thought it was time for another sonic exploration. The track that got me thinking about doing a new field mix was "El Divisader" by Chris Watson from the excellent "El Tren Fantasma" album.  Really a phenomenal track. The mix starts with some church bells that I slowed down & messed with, the we get the Chris Watson track and from there the mix uses a variety of artists a field recordings to make an interesting(I hope) journey through various sonic landscapes. I'm not going publish a formal tracklist because there is just too much stuff going on to keep track of. There are lots of other sounds and recordings mixed through out this collage.  Some are mine, some are just random things I found.  I hope it all flows well together. This is a list of the artists, and approximate times, that have tracks appearing for more a few seconds: 03:35  Chris Watson - el divisadero 10:30  Forrest Fang -  home in exile 15:00  Vangelis - Nocturnal Rain 18:00  David Chapman - an east wind through bomb ballistics and lab 2 21:00  Collin Thomas - blackjack afternoon 31:30  Moniek Darge - solstice sample 35:00  Rapoon - Melancholic Songs of the Desert 38:30  Chris Dooks - For Wolfgang Voight 40:00  Field Rotation - watermusic 45:20  Simon Scott - sealevel.6 50:00  Chris Dooks - Sola 53:45  Linda Aubry Bullock - near There are lots of other sounds and recordings mixed through out this collage.  Some are mine, some are just random things I found.  I hope it all flows well together. Enjoy.

Rivers Flow

Cedar Creeek in Cedarburg, WI.

This mix ended up in a different place than when it started.  I have folder in my prospective mix bin called "just plain old good ambient."  It had a few tracks in it & I sat down with it intending to make a mix with that "theme" in mind. But then when I got to tracks #5, the Jasper, TX track, I started to hear something else happening.  It was the title of track #5, "Rivers Flow," that gave me the idea of where this mix really wanted to go. I listened to the cut already laid down and sure enough they did fit with a river theme.  After deciding on the new direction I sought out a few more tracks and.. TA DA!  A new mix with a flowing river theme. The mix contains some low light regulars like Eno and Maps & Diagrams.  The Kiln track I've been hanging on to for a long time, waiting for the right spot & I think this is it.  The first cut is from Lowercase Noises, an artist I discovered on Bandcamp.  Check him out here...Lowercase Noises. Next up, a Sci Fi mix for Josh at Nocturne Records. T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Lowercase Noises - Ambient songs 01
• 05:15    Kiln - Drala
• 07:15    Michael Brook - Mimosa
• 12:40    Filed Rotation - Repetition of History
• 17:00    Jasper, TX - Rivers Flow
• 21:45    Xela - The Only Rose
• 24:10    Gagarin - An Tarbet
• 28:50    Maps & Diagrams - Searching Faraway Places
• 30:50    Brian Eno - Unfamiliar Wind
• 35:10    Benoit Pioulard - If I could possibly tell the difference
• I wouldn't care anyway
• 39:40    The Green Kingdom - Kalimba Sketch
• 43:05    Noto & Sakamoto - By This River (phantom)
• 46:00    Aglaia - On the Banks of a River
• 49:33    Martin Herterich - Silent Fields 2
• 55:15    Brian Eno - Riverside
• 58:37    end

Ambient by Non-Ambient Artists

Ambient music will never be a popular genre.  We all know the kind of looks we get from people when they hear some of our ambient tunes.  But over time ambient sensibilities have crept into a lot of modern music.  And artists that normally don't do ambient music have dipped their toes into a droning sea. So that's where this mix takes us, to tunes that are fairly to very ambient, by non-ambient artists.  Many of the artists on this tracklist aren't exactly big surprises, Sylvian, Bowie, Gabriel & Boards of Canada have done many ambient-like tracks over the years.  But they are not known primarily as ambient artists.  I didn't include the Genesis tune that inspired this mix, mainly because it was the featured track in an earlier mix.  But I did manage to sneak in another Genesis tune from the same album. Thanks to everyone for all the great suggestions.  I think 6 made it into the final mix.  I am saving some of the recommendations for the next Sunday morning mix.  Thanks! T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Andrew Bird - Belles
• 02:20    U2 - 4th of July
• 04:00    David Sylvian - Answered Prayers
• 06:39    S. Cary - Rothko Fields
• 07:44    Peter Gabriel - Slow Marimbas
• 10:30    Mercury Rev - Pickup if you're there
• 12:00    Radiohead - Treefingers
• 15:17    Boards of Canada - Over the Horizon Radar
• 16:05    Boards of Canada - Heard from Telegraph Lines
• 17:00    Nine Inch Nails - A Warm Place
• 19:33    David Bowie - Art Decade
• 22:45    Genesis - Ravine
• 24:15    Andrew Bird - Yawny at the Apocalypse
• 27:00    Trespassers William - Just Like This(disinterested remix)
• 31:45    Peter Gabriel - The Nest That Sailed The Sky
• 36:08    Richard Hawley - Last Orders
• 40:55    Unkle - The Piano Echoes
• 45:30    David Bowie - The Mysteries
• 51:50    Peter Gabriel - Powerhouse at the Foot of the Mountain
• 52:50    Laurie Anderson - Walking and Falling
• 54:20    John Martyn - Small Hours(instrumental version)
• 1:04:10    end

dubscapes & dreamscapes

I love the end of the year because of all the lists that get posted all over the place.  I love discovering releases that I knew nothing about.  The folks over at Headphone Commute have started their mammoth collection of 15 best of lists here. Over at A Closer Listen they have lists for best field recordings, modern composition, experimental, post rock, overall, etc. and guest lists. Secret Thirteen has a ton of guest lists where I found a bunch of stuff I'd never heard of. There is a nice eclectic list over at Textura that is worth checking out. While cruising these list I came across some excellent electronic music.  Some of techno, some idm, some dub.  I found enough ambient/dub stuff to make me want to do a new dubby & dreamy mix.  So that's what this new mix is, a collection slow beats with a dubby feel with some ambient synth washes to keep things dreamy. T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Ezekiel Honig & Morgan Packard - Balm
• 02:15    Submersion - Erosion II
• 04:00    Ezekiel Honig & Morgan Packard - Hibernate
• 06:55    Silent Harbour - Descending Radius Curve
• 09:00    Kabana - Reflex
• 13:55    Ghosting Season - Through Your Teeth
• 18:00    DJAx - Machines
• 21:00    Deepchord - Rippling
• 22:00    Arc of Doves - Arabesque
• 24:45    1991 - High-Tech Slow-Life
• 28:00    Andy Stott - Luxury Problems
• 30:30    Deepchord - Theme from Silent World
• 36:40    Alteria Percepsyne - Circumvent
• 39:10    sonmi451 - Vladivostok
• 44:00    Coppice Halifax - Dusk II (axs silent night breathing)
• 49:50    Voice from the Lake - Hgs
• 53:55    Lee Gamble - 3,4 synthetics
• 54:25    Willits & Sakamoto - I Don’t Want To Understand
• 1:00:33    end

Headphone Commute ...and darkness came

The awesome folks over at Headphone Commute asked me to do a special mix for them and of course I could not refuse. The mix is special because it is helping promote a fantastic new compilation they have put together.  It's called "...and darkness came" and you can find out about it here... Headphone Commute ...and darkness came. The compilation features 80 tracks(yes, 80 tracks!) from great artists in ambient, modern classical and experimental music.  Artists like Max Richter, Clint Mansell, offthesky, Julien Neto, Ólafur Arnalds, Dakota Suite, Christopher Willits, Loscil, Lawrence English, Maps And Diagrams, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Nils Frahm, Talvihorros, Bersarin Quartett, Antonymes, Simon Scott, Dustin O’Halloran, Machinefabriek, :papercutz, and many, many, more. 100% of the proceeds are donated to two charitable organizations, Doctors Without Borders and The Humane Society, to help all those affected by Hurricane Sandy. Please head over to Headphone Commute and think about picking up this excellent compilation. T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Yuki Murata - Prologue
• 04:34    James Murray - Still Waters Rise
• 08:55    Monolyth & Cobalt + Évo Lüthi - Dust Off
• 13:25    riverrun - Maallinen Kuu
• 16:00    Antonymes - Elegy IV
• 20:05    Julien Neto - Los Cien Enamorados
• 23:15    M.Cadoo - a.m.
• 26:45    Jóhann Jóhannsson - Melodia (iv) (Live at Ancienne Belgique)
• 28:15    Brambles - Reflected Consciousness
• 30:45    Tomoyoshi Date, Corey Fuller, Marcus Fischer and Simon Scott - Quartet(intro)
• 33:20    Simon Scott - For Betty
• 35:15    offthesky - Still Breathing
• 38:50    Dakota Suite - Now I Am Lost
• 44:20    Christoph Berg - Silence
• 46:56    Erik K Skodvin - Amber & Glass
• 49:05    Honig + Templeton - Reginald Cousins
• 52:10    Takahiro Kido - Sweet Silince
• 55:45    Minus Pilots - Illuminating The Dark Fields
• 58:30    Dustin O'Halloran - Fragile #2
• 1:01:15    end