Liminal / Space: Long-form Droning

You know how when you see a certain director is involved with a film, like Christopher Nolan, you just know it'll be interesting. Or how music released on certain labels, such as 12k, will definitely be worth exploring. Well, that's how I feel when the tag "Curated by Paul Asbury Seaman" is attached to a mix.

Paul & I have collaborated on several mixes and all have been excellent. It's only Feb. 10th and already we've been treated to two of Paul's mixes. This one is a bit of a departure for him, using pieces that are, like the title says, long-form drones. For me droning ambient can be very hit & miss. This mix is definitely a hit.

Here's what Paul says about it:

“Most of us have contemplated the seemingly contradictory opposites that are a fundamental aspect of reality: good and evil, joy and pain, love and hate, our inner world and infinite space. But this ying/yang, male/female, fire/water dichotomy obscures the fact that much of life is lived in the in-between, in the places where light and dark overlap. Perhaps one reason so many people find calm and inspiration at the beach is its liminal quality—between the ocean and the land. In this mix I give you 71 minutes in that mysterious clarity between trance and tranquility.”

Thanks Paul!

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Alio Die - A Place Beyond(Sitar Meditations 2015)
• 10:46    Louigi Verona - droning198(droning198 2016)
• 26:55    Louigi Verona - droning276(droning276 2017)
• 46:28    Ascendent - Sylvan Rotation(Meridian EX 2018)
• 58:08    Steve Roach - Part Seven(Ultra Immersion Concert 2013)
• 71:32    end

Turning Hopeful

This is the perfect mix to close out 2018 and look forward to 2019. "Turning Hopeful" has a more hopeful, positive vibe than most of my mixes. Which is why it should be no surprise to find out that it was curated by the one and only Paul Asbury Seaman.

I like working together with Paul because he takes mixes in slightly different directions than I usually do. These collaborations bring a nice breath of fresh air to this 12 year old mix blog.

Here's what Paul says about this mix:

"This mix features melodic ambient tracks with a hopeful feeling, including some early New Age classics guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Also, brand new tracks from Byron Metcalf and Remote Vision, a solo project of Don Tyler (Ascendant). The theme was inspired by the title song from John Hiatt’s 1988 album, “Slow Turning.” Redemption means turning from one way of being to embrace another, a recurring process, fueled by hope."

Thanks Paul, in 2019 I hope we can all turn hopeful.

Cheers & Happy New Year!

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Scott August - New Horizons(Radiant Sky 2010)
• 06:09    Jan Garbarek - In Praise of Dreams(In Praise of Dreams 2004)
• 11:24    Ulrich Schnauss - Knuddelmaus(Far Away Trains Passing By 2001)
• 17:54    Kitaro - Caravansaray(India 1983)
• 22:08    Richard Burmer - The Turn Again(Bhakti Point 1987)
• 27:12    Mark Isham - On The Threshold Of Liberty(Vapor Drawings 1983)
• 34:20    Vic Hennegan - Aqua Donna(Aqua Vista 2008)
• 40:30    Erik Wøllo - Wind Journey 2(Wind Journey 2001)
• 45:25    Oystein Sevag - Miles Near(Link 1993)
• 47:00    Vangelis - Hymn(Themes 1989)
• 49:37    Detlef Keller - Last Step(Harmonic Steps 2005)
• 53:30    Remote Vision - The Glittercliff(Into Light 2018)
• 60:00    Byron Metcalf - A Naturally Occurring Heart(Inner Rhythm Meditations, Vol. II 2018)
• 68:37    end

Shimmering Land

I have collaborated with Paul Asbury Seaman and several mixes and I look forward each and every one. Paul's mixes tend to be more ethereal, spiritual than mine and that's why I enjoy them so much. they take me on journeys I would go on otherwise.

They way Paul and I work on these mixes is he sends me his well thought out tracklist in order. Then I just mix them together so they flow well. Essentially, Paul does all the heavy lifting.

So here is our latest collab - Shimmering Land. Paul had this to say about it:

"Meg Bowles is one of the few (prominent) female artists working in the ambient/electronic genre. She has only released five albums, including Evensong earlier this year, seven years after her last one, so there’s cause for celebration. All her albums are top-notch ethereal/soothing journeys similar to the tracks by other artists featured here. This mix includes a beautiful piece by Deborah Martin from her recent compilation."

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Meg Bowles - Into the Gloaming (The Shimmering Land 2013)
• 08:25    Sherry Finzer & Tom Moore - Infinite Space (Whispers From Silence 2016)
• 14:30    Alio Die - Radiance Revealed (Time Zone Portal 2017)
• 22:25    Ishq - Scielienta (Lyght 2018)
• 27:30    Jeff Greinke - High Flyers of the Night Sky (Before Sunrise 2018)
• 35:50    Meg Bowles - The Forgotten Valley (From the Dark Earth 1999)
• 42:55    Zero Ohms - Glimpsing the Eternal (Process of Being 2014)
• 55:00    Deborah Martin - Blue Lake (Selections 2018)
• 61:10    bvdub - Rainless [R]ivers (A Different Definition of Love 2018)
• 72:07    end

Galaxy Express

Welcome to another great collaboration with my cosmic friend, Paul Asbury Seaman. The term "collaboration" gives me too much credit because Paul does the heavy lifting of finding the tunes and deciding on a sequence. I just mix them together.

This is another mix with a train-like propulsive feel but this one also has more space travel vibe. I like this mix more and more with each listen.  Here's what Paul has to say about it:

Like with Dave, my mixes often build on a single track (or title) I like, in this case a piece of artwork by Jon Lomberg, going back several decades, that was used to illustrate one of the chapters of Carl Sagan’s first book, THE COSMIC CONNECTION: “The Night Freight to the Stars.” 

This is an interstellar tribal/trance mix, with the emphasis not on nostalgia but a forward-looking magical realism. The ASC piece reflects an adrenaline-infused take-off (after Jon Serrie sets the space-travel motif and Adam Fielding sets the train motif). But then things settle down for the long haul between stars…

Harold & Durango Budd

A few months ago when I reached out to a few folks to create guest mixes, one of the first people I contacted was Matt Borghi. I've been listening to Matt's music for a long time and with him running the Ambient Soundbath Podcast it would be a perfect fit.

I absolutely adore the mix he has come up with as Harold Budd is one of my all-time favs as well.

I'll let Matt tell you about the mix:

I was very pleased when Dave invited me to submit a guest mix to the Low Light Mixes. Dave's mixes are as diverse as they are interesting and they're always chill with good vibes. I spent quite a bit of time thinking about what I might contribute that could hang with so many great mixes. I have a certain thing I do with the Ambient Soundbath Podcast, but the Low Light Mixes are more all-encompassing. 

After a couple months of deliberation, I decided that I would feature the work of my favorite composer, Harold Budd and newcomer, Durango Budd. Harold Budd's fantastic catalog of work very much informs the work of Durango Budd (https://durangobudd.bandcamp.com), and both of these artists have the piano at the center of most of their creative pursuits. Harold Budd has a well-publicized and longstanding love/hate relationship with the piano, yet he manages to coax such beautiful music out of a wood box filled with felt-tipped hammers and strings. Durango Budd, similarly, takes the same instrument and through experimentation and synthesis manages to coax out equally beautiful, distressed tones that evoke melancholic nostalgia (as Mike Carss, the artist known as Altus, put it - https://www.altusmusic.ca/).

In any case, many thanks to Dave for letting me do this mix and I hope that folks enjoy what I've put together. 

Thank you and enjoy.

-Matt Borghi

www.ambientsoundbath.com

www.mattborghi.com

Thanks Matt! I recommend both his music and his podcast - check them out.

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

⦁ 00:00 – 06:00 - The Child with a Lion – Harold Budd – The White Arcades

⦁ 06:00 – 09:30 - Piano Drone 4 – Durango Budd – Drones for Prepared and Synthesized Piano

⦁ 09:30 – 12:30 - A Child in a Sylvan Field – Harold Budd – By the Dawn’s Early Light

⦁ 12:30 – 31:00 - Bismillahi’ Rrahman Rrahim – Harold Budd – The Pavilion of Dreams

⦁ 31:00 – 33:00 - Piano Drone 5 – Durango Budd – Drones for Prepared and Synthesized Piano

⦁ 33:00 – 39:00 - The Room of Ancillary Dreams – Harold Budd – The Room

⦁ 39:00 – 46:30 - Piano Synthesis Drone 3 – Durango Budd – Drones for Prepared and Synthesized Piano

⦁ 46:30 – 59:00 - Agua – Harold Budd - Agua

⦁ 59:00 – 61:30 - Piano Drone 1 – Durango Budd – Drones for Prepared and Synthesized Piano

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

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

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

Floating Through Moonlight

My musical friend, Paul Asbury Seaman, has given us another gift in this beautiful collection.  Paul picked out the tunes and the order & I stitched them together to form the mix.  It was a joy to assemble.

Here's what Paul had to say about the mix:

"This is another bedtime, dreaming, unwinding, floating-away-on-an-interior-journey mix. The starting inspiration came from Michael DeMaria’s piece, “Moonlight” from his 2004 album The River.  I was so struck by how precisely the music evoked the image of moonlight on water. I have always been drawn to rivers and from the early days of ambient/electronic music more than forty years ago, with the likes of Kitaro and Tangerine Dream, I have described this genre as “journey music”—Silk Road journeys, interstellar journeys and journeys down a moonlit river."

Thanks to Paul for another Stellar collection of tunes.

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Byron Metcalf - As Clouds Dance(Inner Rhythm Meditations
• 07:40    Erik Wollo - Sepia(Blue Radiance)
• 10:45    Meg Bowles - Between, Shadows and Prayers(From the Dark Earth)
• 14:20    Michel Banabila - Sana's(Float)
• 18:55    Michel Banabila - Fragments of Memory(Float)
• 25:40    Michael DeMaria - Moonlight(The River)
• 35:20    Michael DeMaria - Moonlit Sea(In the Flow)
• 37:35    Erik Wollo - Revealed in Time(Ble Radiance)
• 41:30    Darshan Ambient - Tears to Rain(Songs From The Deep Field)
• 43:45    Meg Bowles - Undulant Sea(The Shimmering Land)
• 48:15    Erik Wollo - Blue Radiance(Blue Radiance)
• 52:13    end

The Color of Space guest mix by Mike G of Ambient Music Guide

I've done a lot of mixes over the last ten years.  Obviously I try to have a theme or mood for each mix.  It can get difficult come up with new motifs.  That's why I love the idea that Mike G of Ambient Music Guide had last year.  We decided to trade guest mixes and he suggested we each send each other a few mix titles and that we select one and build the mix off of that title.  It really gets me thinking differently and can help get me out of a rut when looking for mix inspiration.

This mix is the second guest mix from Mike.  I love getting these mixes because so often there are artists or genres I normally don't use but that I love listening to.  This mix exemplifies that perfectly.  I don't listen to as much "space" music as I used to and as I lost myself in this mix I realized that I really need to revisit this style of ambient more often.  I am looking forward to using this as a stargazing soundtrack when I vacation in northern Wisconsin later this summer.

This is what Mike had to say about The Color of Space...

"Space is a theme with multiple meanings and is woven throughout much 

modern ambient and downtempo instrumental music. My mix The Color Space 

is a soundtrack of the cosmos.  All the music has a cosmic feel, whether 

it be one of inner space, outer space or the indefinable regions between."

Thanks Mike!

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00 Michael Stearns - Encounter
• 03:16 Michael Stearns - Scared Site theme(extended)
• 06:23 Oliver Lieb - Dimension X(edit)
• 14:30 Upper Astral - Massage One(edit)
• 24:20 Healer - Speaking With A Def Man(edit)
• 31:50 Stellardrone - Eternity
• 37:45 Alpha Wave Movement - Travel Into The Nexus
• 42:30 Jonn Serrie - The Far River
• 51:35 Boris Lelong - Oxygen
• 63:07 Jon Jenkins - Ebb(extended)
• 67:32 Solar Quest - Trisine(edit)
• 72:08 Michael Stearns - Star Dreams
•