low light mixes

Mystical Ambience 2: Tactile Ground by Paul Asbury Seaman

Cover art created by and courtesy of Robert Rich, https://robertrich.com/graphic-art/.

 

As regular visitors to this blog have probably figured out, I don't really plan things out here. Sometimes it's a mix a week, sometimes it's a month between mixes. The last Blade Runner mix is the perfect example, I wasn't even thinking about that mix until we hit Nov. 2019 which is the month and year of Blade Runner. So I quickly threw that mix together and boom, there it was. So then other mix ideas get pushed back or forgotten about until some other piece of music catches my ear.

 

So it's not a big surprise that Paul emailed me the tracklist for this mix back in May. Every time I'd think about starting this set something would distract my social media addled brain and the mix would get pushed back. With the end of the year closing in I finally have laid down all the tracks and Mystical Ambience 2: Tactile Ground is here.

 

This is what Paul has to say about this mix:

 

"A listener on Bandcamp described a recent Spotted Peccary label sampler as “Not too sweet, not too dark.” Which is the same balance I try to bring to my selections for Low Light Mixes. This one is another journey concept. I’ve always had a special fondness for artists who can sensitively blend electronic and acoustic instruments to create beautiful juxtapositions of textures, and also offers a metaphor for balancing the ethereal and the concrete. In that spirit, this mix includes some slow- earthy, cross-cultural jazz before ending with cosmic tranquility.” 

 

Thanks Paul!

 

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00 Remote Vision - The Glittercliff (Into Light 2018)
• 06:17 Hibernation - Wabi Sabi (Second Nature 2012)
• 11:35 Hibernation - The Uncarved Block (Second Nature 2012)
• 16:00 Marion Brown Jazz Cussion - Naima (Echoes of Blue 2006)
• 22:09 Kaya Project - Forgive(ambient mix) (Ambient Mixes 2 2019)
• 27:42 Jan Garbarek - Cloud of Unknowing (In Praise of Dreams 2004)
• 32:49 Massergy - Phenakistoscope (A Novel Sense of Calm 2015)
• 38:15 Chronotope Project - A Prayer for Tenderness (Lotus Rising 2018)
• 43:20 Hollan Holmes - Prayer to the Energy (Prayer to the Energy 2017)
• 48:45 Northumbria - Sacred Ground (Helluland 2015)
• 52:35 Robert Rich - The Abiding Wheel (Tactile Ground 2018)
• 58:55 Meg Bowles - Chalice of Shadows (Evensong: Canticles for the Earth 2018)
• 63:30 Steve Roach - Spiral Triptych 2 (Texture Maps 2002)
  

 

Mostly Flute: Ambient New Age by Paul Asbury Seaman

 

I've been heckin' busy this summer. First of all, it's summer so beer gardens, baseball games, northwoods vacations, beer gardens, yard work, beer gardens, etc. Plus I've been doing a ton of freelance work. And lastly, my daughter is getting married in a month and I'm editing a video for the reception. I have not been able to get any new mixes going in a while.

 

So it's Paul Asbury Seaman to the rescue! Thankfully this excellent mix from Paul will fill the void. It's another great collection from my partner in ambient crime. Here's what he has to say about it:

 

“This is a crossover mix, as the title suggests, and may be the sweetest one I’ve ever done. I’ve kept the emphasis on an atmosphere of tranquility, tailor-made for going-to-sleep music. All of the tracks here are from the fairly-new Heart Dance Records. I discovered this label while looking on Bandcamp for an album recently featured on Hearts of Space. As I dug deeper, and contrary to my stereotypes about “uplifting” (read: new age) music, it became obvious that there was plenty here for space fans to like, or if you’re looking for something calm for meditation. Feel the flow around the stillness. (Cover image for this mix courtesy of Sherry Finzer, from the album LET THERE BE LIGHT.)”

 

Definitely check out more music from Heart Dance Records here...

https://heartdancerecords.bandcamp.com/

  

Thanks, Paul!

 

 

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00    Sherry Finzer & Darin Mahoney - White Sky In November(Transformation 2013)

04:32    Tom Moore & Sherry Finzer - Star Trails(Sound Currents 2019)

10:05    Paul Horn - Mumtaz Mahal(Inside 1969)

12:20    Ivan Teixeira - Abundance(ALLAYER Project One 2019)

16:37    Monica Williams - Wandering(Journey Of Tears 2018)

22:43    ANAAMALY - A Peaceful Drift(Fileds Of Light 2018)

29:18    Tom Moore & Sherry Finzer - Midnight Mystique(Sound Currents 2019)

34:48    Monica Williams - Love From A Distance(Journey Of Tears 2018)

38:18    Majestica - Aurora Australis(In the Midst of Stars 2016)

48:26    Sherry Finzer - Breathe(Acceptance 2018)

64:47    end

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lost Tribe Sound: The Western Divide

 

I can't tell you how excited I am for this mix. Well, actually I'm telling you right now so that first line was bullshit. Suffice it to say I love this mix. It comes from our good friends at Lost Tribe Sound, an amazing record label that is having a hell of a year. Of course, last year was pretty darn good as well.

 

Ryan Keane, the man behind Lost Tribe Sound, has put together a mix that is interesting and varied. It's cohesive without sounding all the same. This is a wonderful collection of tunes. 

 

Here's what Ryan has to say about this mix:

 

Rarely do I get the chance to work on creating mixes of music, but I’m definitely more inspired to do so when I can ground the mix in a solid theme or concept.  When I was given the chance to create one for the highly-esteemed Low Light Mixes, I figured, it better be decent.

 

‘The Western Divide,’ my latest mix, is a grab bag of emotions, sort of manic, nostalgic, playful, with the ever-present tinge of dread and uncertainty that really mirrors how I’ve been feeling about life and society as a whole lately.  I partly wanted to see how bizarre the music I mixed together could get while still remaining palatable. Honing in on some pieces of music that come across as somewhat otherworldly spaghetti western sounding, I set about juxtaposing them with odd forms of jazz, electronic, hymn-like horn and organ pieces. It may have a bit of that Ennio Morricone score to some dystopian future General Hospital sort of vibe to it.  

 

I’ve been infatuated as of late with unique uses of horns in experimental music, it seems that most of the time horns can easily be a pitfall in many styles of music. Either from overstaying their welcome, riding too long on what I like to call the “Dad Chords,” where it just gets cheesy, or simply becoming too noodly and irritating that the song would be better off without them. So hopefully I’ve combined some enjoyable uses of horns into the mix that avoid these situations, but who knows, I’m quite possibly out of touch.

 

In full disclosure, I run the label Lost Tribe Sound, so a few of the selections in the mix are from recent or upcoming albums on the label.  The opening piece is from a brilliant electro-acoustic Danish trio, Skyphone, which we’ve have the honor of putting out two albums for this August.  Kali Malone follows with her perfect use of a church organ as the ultimate drone machine. Next, a very odd find from a Spotify suggestion of all places, Jeremy Krinsley and Greg Heffernan’s only album together, ‘Material Culture 9.19.15’ is some left-field electronica, filled with loads of charming moments.   

 

Next, Hampshire & Foat kick in, their ‘Saint Lawrence’ album from this year is an instrumental masterpiece for those into dim-lit jazz fueled folk. Sailcloth up next, also blew my mind, primarily an experimental upright bassist, the featured selection works more off of a droning horn and subdued bass notes than some of the other more pronounced tunes on the EP, ‘Close Keeping.’  Then, Danny Scott Lane who’s recent album on Shimmering Moods is about as perfectly refined an example as one could hope for from an experimental drone/classical album. Hoera is a mixed bag of tricks as well, bizarre combos of electronics, jazz, ambient and folk somehow fold into a very satisfying whole, definitely recommend all three of their albums. Drombeg, another tasty discovery, thanks to the Thesis label, an intense focus of melody and progression make this breed of classical well worth checking out.

 

Working in his way slowly into the tail end of Drombeg is a new piece from Ben McElroy, a highly emotive and creative songwriter, his whole catalog is sublime.  Mute Forest, a long-time favorite, lent me an exclusive song from his upcoming album for this mix, introducing “The Riven Sun.”  Followed that with a rising master of primitive guitar experimentalism, Seabuckthorn, from his new album, “It Can Ashen” is a droning genius.  Next up, Spheruleus with his title track from his brand new and highly engaging electro-acoustic album for my label Lost Tribe Sound. Zakè follows with some seriously delicious droning classical string and tape experiments from this year courtesy of Past Inside The Present. Kinbrae’s album, ‘Landforms’ from earlier this year totally destroys me, and is a great example of how to use those horns properly.  After that, Federico Mosconi delivers beautiful finger-picked guitar, bathed in the most melancholic waves of static and synths one could ask for! 

 

MALK comes next with ‘Re-treat’ and delivers one of the most offbeat, original albums Lost Tribe Sound has ever produced, just give in to it. The penultimate piece comes from Offthesky, who’s had a hugely impressive year with two new albums that I’d consider among the best of the year. “Future Fire” provides another gorgeous example of how horns can work so beautifully in ambient music.  Finally, the mix closes with one of my favorite artists of all time, Geir Sundstøl. Geir’s newest genre-bending album on Hubro, is beyond genius.  I’ve got give a special thanks to Hubro, who’ve finally uploaded their entire catalog to Bandcamp, making it far easier to enjoy, definitely go explore the music they put out.

 

Hope you enjoy these tunes. Thanks for listening and having a read.

 

Thanks, Ryan!

 

 

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00    Skyphone - Les Clouds(Marsh Drones)

04:00    Kali Malone - Sacrificial Code(The Sacrificial Code)

06:56    Jeremy Krinsley / Greg Heffernan - Material Culture 9.19.15, Pt. 1(Material Culture 9.19.15)

08:00    Hampshire & Foat - The Undercliff(Saint Lawrence)

13:04    Sailcloth - Year Long Storm(Close Keeping)

15:04    Danny Scott Lane - Four(How To Empty A Cup)

18:08    HOERA. - Jin(Jaunu)

21:20    Drombeg - The White Raven(Thesis Drive 2/3)

27:52    Ben McElroy - They Told Us Not To Wonder(They Told Us Not To Wonder)

29:50    Mute Forest - The Riven Sun(Riders Storm)

33:20    Seabuckthorn - It Can Ashen(Crossing)

37:20    Spheruleus - Light Through Open Blinds(Light Through Open Blinds)

39:44    Zakè - 000425978 OTS1[pure violet](Orchestral Tape Studies)

42:24    Kinbrae - Meander(Landforms)

48:04    Federico Mosconi - Melody Not Melody(Light Not Light)

51:20    MALK - Re-Treat(WMAIDIT)

54:08    Offthesky - Future Fire(Illuminate)

57:36    Geir Sundstøl - Waterloo(Brødløs)

62:28    end

 

 

Levitate by Innesti

 

One of my favorite discoveries over the past year has been Innesti. The last album, released in February, is called Formless and that describes perfectly the music of Innesti. The tunes have a hazy, meandering feel that I love in ambient music.

 

Today Innesti releases a new album - Between Worlds, which I am very excited about. To celebrate this new release we have a new mix from Innesti created for Low Light Mixes. The new mix is called Levitate and here is what the artist has to say about it:

 

"This mix is designed to showcase some recent ambient releases from 2019. The soundscapes are introspective, quiet, and restorative, and should be ideal for reading, sleeping, or meditating."   

 

Check out Innesti music here:

 

https://innesti.bandcamp.com/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6vjQzIlQxwDP0miO2oGoXE 

 

I'm playing the new album for the first time as I type this and it's wonderful! 

Thanks for the great music and beautiful mix!

 

Cheers!

 

 

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00    Innesti - Oars Divide the Ocean (Between Worlds)

05:03    anthéne - Lost Channel (Lost Channel)

08:40    Bzaurie - Flight of Pollen (Floral Patterns)

13:50    Tabard - Garden Palace (Garden Palace)

17:45    扎克 - Radiance (扎克)

21:35    Eternell & endlesstrains - Elevation (Autumn Sky)

25.19    Kenji Kihara - Hayama Ambient 001 (Hayama Ambient 001)

30:00    end

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Open Spaces

One of my favorite discoveries late last year was the album In Currents by Innesti. It's a wonderful combination of field recordings, loops, drones and light touches. I put it on my second Best of 2018 mix.

 

Innesti has a new album coming out on Feb. 25th and we are lucky to have a preview of it on this guest mix he has created.The mix stays true to the Innesti sound - gentle, calming, floating. I am excited to hear the new album and excited for this sneak peak.

 

Here are a couple Innesti links...

https://innesti.bandcamp.com/album/in-currents

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6vjQzIlQxwDP0miO2oGoXE

Cheers!

 

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Innesti - The Architecture of Clouds (Formless)
• 04:42    Yoyu - Open Space, Holding You Tenderly (Manitoba Forest Medicine)
• 08:32    Astrolabe - Afterglow (Lights Beyond the Mist)
• 12:34    Gallery Six - Harukaze (Bansyun)
• 16:06    Ishq - Cloud Forest (Flowering Mountain Earth)
• 18:14    ASC - Hadal Zone (The Waves)
• 21:47    Jacob Newman - Invisible Autumn (Invisible Autumn)
• 23:49    Eternell - Haven (Haven)
• 28:56    end

 

 

 

 

 

 

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…

 

 

 

 

 

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Jonn Serrie - The Sentinel(The Sentinel)
• 03:30    Adam Fielding - You Have To Let Go(Mesmera)
• 09:30    ASC - Vortex Ring(Astral Projection)
• 14:45    Cydelix - Analog Digits(Analog Digits)
• 19:20    Fourth Dimension - In Between(In Between)
• 26:15    Germind - Time Consciousness(Antimatter)
• 32:20    Tigerforest - Vermilion(Songs Of Reverence)
• 36:26    Stefan Torto - Bending Time(Oceanian Dreams)
• 42:55    Zen Garden - Memoriam Seas(Emotional Ambient)
• 47:05    Tangerine Dream - Rain & Thunder(Sorcerer 2014)
• 54:20    Broekhuis, Keller & Schönwälder - Blue One(Blue)
• 74:36    end

 

 

 

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