low light mixes

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Ambient music mixes for a chaotic world

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Wednesday May 22, 2024

More Train Tracks by Paul Asbury Seaman

Wednesday May 22, 2024

I love getting a sequencer mix from Paul! I don't seek out Berlin school, sequencer based music very much anymore which is strange because I really enjoy it when I hear it. But I don't need to seek it out because I know the best sequencer music researcher - Paul Asbury Seaman. And he regularly provides me with my Berlin school fix.

Every track included in this mix is top notch sequencer bliss. I knew a few of the artists but most are new to me which is why I love these mixes. Paul turned me on to Gert Blokzijl earlier this year so it cool to a track from him in the mix. And also nice to see a couple of tracks from Frank Dorittke (F.D. Project). There will be a track featuring Frank's guitar in an upcoming guitar mix.

Here are Paul's thoughts on this mix:

"In the U.S., Memorial Day marks the traditional start of summer. So a good time for another train mix to stir your holiday dreams. This one favors rhythmic continuity over musical diversity, so while fast-paced, should still have a relaxing, even hypnotic effect. My guiding image was long-distance high-speed rail, with lots of time for drifting thoughts as you glide through the endless European lowlands, across the rice fields of Japan, or the open prairies of the US and Canada.

In that spirit, this extended-length mix gives the longer tracks (mostly in the second half) time to stretch out as they were intended.”

Thanks for the great tunes, Paul.

Here are the links to all the music used in this mix:

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 F.D.Project - Harmonie in Space (F.D.Project Live 2004 Electric Visions)
04:40 State Azure - Valkyrja (Valkyrja 2024)
18:00 Nuell Martin - Dreams of Motion (Assemblage - Dreams of Motion 2023)
24:37 Side Liner - We Stand Up Together (Missing Pieces Of A Puzzle Vol. 6 2024)
29:00 Gert Blokzijl - Wide Fields 1 ( Wide Fields 2020)
35:42. Robert Rich - Salamander Quay (Medicine Box 2001)
42:50 P'Faun - Sequencer improvisation (sp'roque 2018)
54:00 Ascendant - Unveiled Sky (Starfall 2024)
1:01:12 Transponder - Starlane (Starmaps, Vol. 1 2022)
1:08:52 John Christian - Fragrant (Jerechoes 2023)
1:22:25 La Mansarde Hermétique - Lo-Fi Ponyhof (THE ATTIC DIARIES- Episode 7 2024)
1:34:47 F.D.Project - ATMOS - Two Faces (ATMOS - Two Faces 2024)
1:48:26 end

Wednesday May 08, 2024

Top 20 Electronic Albums of All Time

Wednesday May 08, 2024

This was a tough list to compile. What criteria do I use? Influential albums? Ones I play the most? Critics favorites? Do I include ambient albums? Vocal albums? Oof, this was hard.

The list I came up with was sort of a bit of everything. All these albums are personal faves but I also couldn't help thinking about things from a historical standpoint. Also, I couldn't help but view them from a personal historical standpoint - such as albums that turned me on to a different style or sound(DJ Shadow, Underworld). Including a few vocal albums might be a bit controversial, I flip flopped on that several times but finally said screw it, it's my list and I can do whatever I want.

Of course there is also the question of what constitutes an "electronic" album? Some on this list are obviously electronic(Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk) while others are not quite as clear(Air, Postal Service). It would be easy to get pulled into that debate and end up like the "what is ambient music" debate. I decided that I would approach it the way Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart described his test for obscenity - "I know it when I see it." So I just went with whatever I felt worked.

A few other notes on this list - I like how the list spans five decades. I ended up with albums from every decade other than the 2020s. That just feels right. It also felt right to leave off strictly ambient albums. That genre can have it's own list.

I constructed the mix chronologically because it was easier that way and it's cool to listen to the tracks evolve over time.

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Tangerine Dream - Stratosfear (Stratosfear 1976)
07:42 Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene part 1 (Oxygene 1976)
13:33 Kraftwerk - The Robots (Man Machine 1978)
22:12 Synergy - Phobos & Diemos Go to Mars (Cords 1978)
29:03 Roedelius - Wenn der Südwind weht (Wenn der Südwind weht 1981)
32:57 Tangerine Dream - Hyperborea (Hyperborea 1983)
37:09 Manuel Göttsching - E2-E4 (E2-E4 1984)
45:25 Aphex Twin - Actium (Selected Ambient Works 85 - 92 1992)
52:37 Vangelis - Blade Runner Blues (Blade Runner 1994)
57:18 Underworld - Air Towel (Second Toughest In The Infants 1996)
1:04:43 DJ Shadow - Midnight in a Perfect World (Entroducing 1996)
1:09:34 Air - Le femme d’argent (Moon Safari 1998)
1:16:07 Boards of Canada - Roygbiv (Music Has The Right To Children 1998)
1:18:30 Plastikman - Consume (Consumed 1998)
1:23:00 Saul Stokes - Greys (Outfolding 2000)
1:27:00 Jan Jelinek - Drift (Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records 2001)
1:32:00 Yagya - Snowflake 3 (Rhythm of Snow 2002)
1:37:57 Postal Service - Brand New Colony (Give Up 2003)
1:42:06 Loscil - First Narrows (First Narrows 2004)
1:50:54 Jon Hopkins - Sun Harmonics (Immunity 2013)
2:00:00 end

Wednesday Mar 06, 2024

Electronic Music of 1973

Wednesday Mar 06, 2024

At last we return to the "Electronic Music of (insert year)" series. That's obviously not the actual title of the series but since I don't have a title that will do for this post. I really enjoyed putting together mixes for for 1970, '71, and '72 but then I got distracted and lazy, and I almost forgot about the series.

Now we're back to 1973 to continue our journey through the electronic music of the decade. I went down a Tangerine Dream rabbit hole recently and discovered their album Atem, which I had somehow missed. But I was happy to have found it because it fit in nicely with this '73 collection.

I'm already thinking about 1974 so hopefully there won't be so much time between mixes.

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Between - Syn (And The Waters Opened)
05:45 Fripp & Eno - The Heavenly Music Corporation (No Pussyfooting)
16:22 Cosmic Jokers - Galactic Joke (Cosmic Jokers)
23:00 Kraftwerk - Ananas Symphonie (Ralf & Florian)
28:25 Tangerine Dream - Circulation of Events (Atem)
33:45 Vangelis - La Mer Recommencée (Apocalypse Des Animaux)
39:09 Klaus Schulze - Symphära (Cyborg)
45:58 Jean Michel Jarre - Les granges brûlées (Les granges brûlées)
48:48 Bob Callaghan - Noi Due Nel Mondo E Nell'Anima (Instrumental Moog Synthesizer
51:27 Neu! - Neuschnee (Neu! 2)
55:25 Kraftwerk - Tanzmusik (Ralf & Florian)
61:47 end

Wednesday Jul 26, 2023

Electronic Music 1972

Wednesday Jul 26, 2023

The trip through the electronic music of the 70s continues with a stop in 1972. As with '70 & '71, this is a mix with some tracks that are very electronic, like the Wendy Carlos tunes, and others that are more electronic adjacent, like the Cluster or Pick Floyd tracks. But I think it gives a good sense of where things stood at the time.

I purposely stayed away from cheesy electronic versions of classical music like "The Electronic Spirit Of Erik Satie" or "The Unusual Classical Synthesizer." I'm just not a fan of that type of electronic music. I understand it's place in bringing synths to mass attention, I just don't like those recordings.

Enjoy 1972, I have a feeling 1973 will sound fairly similar. But things will start to change in '74 & '75.

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 A.R. & Machines - Wie Ich Mir So Ich Dir (AR3)
02:12 Cluster - Im Suden (Cluster II)
08:10 Galactic Explorers - Lunarscape (Epitaph For Venus)
14:22 Terry Riley - Persian Surgery Dervishes
18:40 Klaus Schulze - Last Not Least (La Vie Electronique, Vol. 2)
25:15 Kraftwerk - Klingklang (Kraftwerk 2)
34:00 Wendy Carlos - Country Life (Clockwork Orange)
38:40 Tangerine Dream - Zeit (Zeit)
43:20 Pink Floyd - Absolutely Curtains (Obscured by Clouds)
45:55 Neu! - Im Glück (Nue!)
49:35 Wendy Carlos - Fall (Sonic Seasonings)
60:00 end

Wednesday Jun 14, 2023

Electronic Music 1971

Wednesday Jun 14, 2023

The Electronic Music of the 1970s series continues with a trip back to 1971. This year was a bit easier to curate than '70 because we have a few more good uses of electronic instruments featured prominently.

For me, the best electronic album of 1971 is "Zero Time" by Tonto's Expanding Head Band. It's very synthetic sounding without being too cheezy. I enjoyed discovering new music for this mix like "The Andromeda Strain" soundtrack and a Tangerine Dream soundtrack for an unreleased movie. I hope you too discover something new in this journey back to 1971.

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Moog - Moog demonstration record
00:36 Tonto's Expanding Head Band - Tama (Zero Time)
05:48 Beaver & Krause - Nine Moons In Alaska (Gandharva)
07:30 Tangerine Dream - Sunrise In The Third System (Alpha Centauri)
11:07 Achim Reichel - Einleitung(Invitation) (Echo)
16:00 Deuter - Babylon (D)
19:49 Pat Prilly - Aerolithe Alpha (Moog Sensations)
21:15 Harold Budd - Pastoral Symphony (The Oak Of The Golden Dreams)
22:00 Popol Vuh - Aguirre (In the Gardens of the Pharao | Aguirre)
27:00 Ash Ra Tempel - Traummaschine (Ash Ra Tempel)
33:18 Pat Prilly - Coeur Synthetique (Moog Sensations)
34:12 Tonto's Expanding Head Band - Cybernaut (Zero Time)
38:30 Doug McKechnie - Moving (San Francisco Moog: 1968-72 Vol. 2)
41:10 Jean Michel Jarre - La Cage (La Cage)
44:25 Morton Subotnick - Sidewinder (Sidewinder)
46:15 Gil Mellé - Andromeda (The Andromeda Strain)
47:47 Tangerine Dream - Vampira VI (Vampira)
50:53 W. Merrick Farran & E. Vetter - Sea of Storms (KPM Electronic Music)
52:42 Tonto's Expanding Head Band - Aurora (Zero Time)
59:10 end

Wednesday May 03, 2023

Remember Tomorrow V2

Wednesday May 03, 2023

This is a repost of an old mix from 2009. The is a retro synth mix with a sort of old space program vibe. I realized that I'd never posted it to Mixcloud so I thought I would haul it out of space dock and update it with a few more cuts added to the end. It's great to hear tracks from Freescha, Lunar Testing Lab, Bochum Welt and others for the first time in a long time.

Enjoy this trip backward and forward in time.

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Countdown from "Lunar Adventure in 1985"
00:13 Belbury Poly - Adventures in a Miniature Landscape
02:00 The Units - Cowboy
06:05 Harmonic 33 - Departure Lounge
10:30 Lunar Testing Lab - Lunar Radio control
11:30 EU - New Osc's
13:00 Boards of Canada - Wildlife Analysis
13:50 Freescha - The Sun is Still
16:00 Lunar Testing Lab - Orbiting Lunar Observatory
16:40 TRS-80 - moon Patrol
22:30 David Bowie - V2 Schneider
25:10 Bochum Welt - interlude
28:25 Lunar Testing Lab - Phantom Cosmonaut
30:50 Signaldrift - Children of the 70's
32:20 Harmonic 33 - Planet 54
35:50 Frank Comstock - Music from Outer Space(when you wish upon a star)
37:50 Boards of Canada - Nova Scotia Robots
38:50 Bernard Szajner - A Kind of Freedom
41:30 Talvihorros - A Rural Place
43:35 David Bowie - Weeping Wall
46:20 Michael Garrison - Escape (Music From The 21st Century 1986)
48:42 Iguana Moonlight - V (WIld Palms 2017)
53:06 Stratis - By Water (Soul Jazz Records presents Space, Energy & Light 2017)
58:27 Chris Carter - Moon Two (Chemistry Lessons Volume 1 2018)
60:47 end

Wednesday Apr 12, 2023

A Decade of Electronic Music - 1970

Wednesday Apr 12, 2023

The Plan - make a mix for every year of the 70s, featuring electronic music from each year. Easy peasy! Well, not exactly. The early years are a bit tough. Electronic music wasn't really a genre yet. There are definitely electronic albums. But enough to fill an hour-long mix? Maybe...sort of.

So let me start by saying that some folks may disagree with my choices as I tried to fill out the tracklist. There may be some creative finagling in the mixes for the early years. But really, who cares? This is just a fun way to dive deep into the rise of electronic music.

In the early sets you'll hear plenty of krautrock or kosmische music. Bands like Popol Vuh, Amon Duul II, Can, and Ash Ra Temple fit that category and make appearances in the first two mixes. Again, some folks may balk at the inclusion of the artists but without them, the '70 & '71 mixes would not have happened. Even Tangerine Dream in these years is barely "electronic."

I discovered an artist named Doug McKechnie who experimented with one of the few Moog synths around at that time. I don't believe he ever released any music back then but there are recordings from many of his live shows. The albums were released in 2020 & 2023, so technically this shouldn't count in a mix of music released in 1970, but as I said, it was hard to fill out the mix. The tracks were recorded from 1968 - 72 so I grabbed one that didn't have a specific date on it and decided that it would count as being from 1970.

The more I listen to this set the more I like it. The unexpected tracks and artists made for a fun journey. I hope you all enjoy it too.

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Kraftwerk - Ruckzuck (Kraftwerk)
05:10 Oskar Sala - In Leichtem Marsch-Rhythmus (Electronic Virtuosity)
06:45 Suzanne Ciani - Tenth Voice: Sound of a Lighted Window (Voices of Packaged Souls)
07:40 Tangerine Dream - Genesis (Electronic Meditation)
12:20 Popol Vuh - Affenstunde(excerpt 1) (Affenstunde)
16:15 Doug McKechnie - Berkeley Art Museum (San Francisco Moog: 1968-72)
23:42 Popol Vuh - Affenstunde(excerpt 2) (Affenstunde)
30:00 Philip Glass - Music with Changing Parts (Music with Changing Parts)
37:15 Mart Garson - Kevin & Paige (Didn't You Hear?)
42:05 Amon Düül II - Yeti Talks To Yogi(Improvisation) (Yeti)
50:10 King Crimson - The Devils Triangle (In The Wake of Poseidon)
54:40 Tangerine Dream - Cold Smoke (Electronic Meditation)
57:15 Suzanne Ciani - Twelth Voice: Sound of Love Turning (Voices of Packaged Souls)
58:23 Sylvette Allart - Berceuse du faon (Pour Ondes Martenot)
61:39 end

Wednesday Mar 15, 2023

Replicant Memories

Wednesday Mar 15, 2023

Blade Runner is obviously one of the great sci-fi films of all time, with one of the best soundtracks of all time. As a testament to the staying power of Vangelis' work, we still have a artists today that mimic the sound of the Blade Runner score.

The recording that got me started on this mix is brand new from Crows Labyrinth called "Neon Scenes I: Granular Dreams". It's a longform generative ambient drone track with a lead synth that has a great Blade Runner vibe. You can find it here... https://crowslabyrinth.bandcamp.com/album/neon-scenes-i-granular-dreams

As soon as I heard that track I knew I had to create another Blade Runner mix. This is my fourth one. Here are the links to the others:

https://www.mixcloud.com/lowlight/alternative-blade-runner-2049-soundtrack/

https://www.mixcloud.com/lowlight/blade-runner-is-now/

https://www.mixcloud.com/lowlight/blade-runner-pop-soundtrack/

One thing that sets this mix apart from the others is that many of the tunes are very purposely trying to replicate the sound of the original soundtrack. Some cuts even use rain, voices and effects to mimic the feel. I added a bit of BR sound fx on a couple of tracks to reinforce the vibe. Most of the time though it's that lead synth sound that transports me right back to 1982.

Some folks may have a problem with current artists so blatantly aping a style and sound(some more than others here). But I don't care, I just love the overall sound and feel of these tracks.

Here links to the music used in this mix:

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Crows Labyrinth - Neon Scenes I: Granular Dreams(Single Version) (2023)

03:40 State Azure - Nova Sonus (2022)

10:00 Andy Hagerty - Cadalach(Analogue Fantasy Mix) (Cadalach EP 2021)

14:50 The Rosen Corporation - A Good Joe (Pale Fire 2018)

22:12 Owl - Distant Transmission (Infinite Horizon 2021)

25:52 Boards of Canada - Collapse (Tomorrow's Harvest 2013)

28:00 Druid & Jok - Skyline Envelope (Terminals 2023)

31:54 Passengers - Ito Okashi (Original Soundtracks 1 1995)

34:50 State Azure - Folding Space (2020)

42:50 Monolog & Subheim - Colorful Flight (ConVIction 2017)

45:35 Graintable - UnIVersal Ash (UnIVersal Ash 2019)

50:24 Pye Corner Audio - Saturation Point (Let's Emerge! 2022)

53:53 The Rosen Corporation - Passing Thoughts (Neon Lovers 2020)

58:27 Alva Noto - A Forest (A Forest 2020)

61:48 The Rosen Corporation - The Warmth of Death (Pale Fire 2018)

66:20 end

Wednesday Mar 08, 2023

Strange Dream - The Curious World of the Ondes Martenot

Wednesday Mar 08, 2023

Maurice Martenot with his invention

Last year in my Halloween mix I included a track that used an instrument called the Ondes Martenot. I new a little bit about it - that it was an old instrument played with a ring on a wire. But that was all I really knew. Then a listener pointed me in the direction of a piece for the Ondes Martenot written in 1937. Yikes, 1937?! I had no idea that "Oraison" by Olivier Messiaen was one of the first electronic pieces of music ever written. Of course this lead me down a Ondes Martenot rabbit hole and this mix is the result.

The Ondes Martenot was invented in 1928 by the French inventor Maurice Martenot. It sounds very much like a Theremin with it's wavering tones produced by oscillators. The Ondes Martenot can be played with a metal ring worn on the right index finger. Sliding the ring along a wire produces "theremin-like" tones. The music definitely can have a spooky, other-worldly sound. But it can also be quite expressive in the right hands.

Current players of the Ondes Martenot include Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead. He uses it on "Kid A" and it appears in Radiohead songs including "The Natinal Anthem", "How to Disappear Completely" and "Where I End and You Begin".

The other artist that is most well known for her use of the unusual instrument is Christine Ott, both in her solo work and with the band Snowdrops. The mix uses four of her tracks and two from Snowdrops. All of her work is excellent and worth checking out.

https://christineott.bandcamp.com/

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Olivier Messiaen - Oraison (1937)

02:50 Tomas Bloch - Mare Teno(Michel Redolfi) (Music for Odnes Martenot 2004)

07:31 Christine Ott - Burning (Chimères (pour Ondes Martenot) 2020)

13:44 Snowdrops - Ultraviolet (Volutes 2020)

20:00 Sylvette Allart - Elegie(Darius Milhaud ) (Magie Des Ondes Martenot 1970)

22:46 Tindersticks - Percy's Theme (Minute Bodies: The Intimate World of F. Percy Smith 2017)

24:40 Peter Kohlmetz Moller - Song for AJ

26:08 Christine Ott - Comma (Chimères (pour ondes Martenot) 2020)

31:42 Thomas Bloch - Sweet Suite 1 (Music for Odnes Martenot 2004)

36:00 Snowdrops - Firebirds (Missing Island 2022)

41:18 Jeanne Loriod & S. Laurent & P. Duclos - Ondes Spatiales (Ondes Martenot)

42:40 Christine Ott - Sexy Moon (Only Silence Remains 2016)

47:25 Christine Ott - Tempête / the Tabu (Tabu 2016)

53:30 Sylvette Allart - Nana(Falla) (Magie Des Ondes Martenot 1970)

55:22 Olivier Messiaen - Oraison (1937)

57:22 end

Wednesday Feb 15, 2023

Artificial Harmonies - A Hymn to the Vocoder

Wednesday Feb 15, 2023

This mix started with the track "Light & Grace" by Schneider TM. When I heard it I was reminded about how much I like the sound of a vocoder. I also realized that I never did a follow-up to the the vocoder mix I did all the way back in 2010 - http://lowlightmixes.blogspot.com/2010/10/vox-electronix.html

So here is a new collection of vocoder tunes. I'm not sure how many of these tracks actually use a vocoder and how many are other vocal effects but I don't care. I'm just going for a sound and vibe. Many of these tracks are new to me as I discovered them in my search for vocoder songs. I am particularly taken with "Last Man Standing" by Cities of Foam. And of course the Eno track from his album of last year is fantastic.

Enjoy the robo-tunes!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Boards of Canada - Telepath (Tomorrow's Harvest 2013)
01:26 Schneider TM - Light & Grace (The 8 Of Space 2021)
05:18 Paul McCartney - Be What You See(Link) (Tug of War 1982)
05:43 Dimmes - I Am Still (2018)
07:53 Cylob - Are We Not Men Who Live & Die (IDMEMO - A Future of Nostalgia 2020)
09:20 Holly Herndon - Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt (PROTO 2019)
12:06 Cities Of Foam - Last Man Standing (A Great Day For The Race 2005)
16:20 Vanishing Twin - Light Vessel (Ookii Gekkou 2021)
19:52 Röyksopp - Daddy's Groove (Late Night Tales 2013)
22:50 Peter Baumann - Biking Up The Strand (Transharmonic Nights 1979)
25:12 Plone - Plock (Plock 1998)
29:02 Tex La Homa - Vapour Trails (Some Lost Bliss 2006)
34:50 Boards of Canada - 1969 (Tomorrow's Harvest 2013)
38:40 Crys Cole & Oren Ambarchi - Burrata (Hotel Record 2017)
44:47 Brian Eno - Making Gardens Out of Silence (FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE 2022)
52:25 Brian Eno & J. Peter Schwalm - Rising Dust (Drawn From Life 2001)
59:53 end