Episodes
Wednesday May 31, 2023
The Lonely Orbit
Wednesday May 31, 2023
Wednesday May 31, 2023
A few months ago I stumbled across two tunes called "Lonely Satellite" & "The Lonely Orbit." Those titles intrigued me and I thought they would make a great theme for a mix. I started collecting tracks, not knowing when the mix would come to fruition.
Then this past week I heard the new album from Alva Noto called "Kinder der Sonne (From "Komplizen")" and I knew immediately that I had to make this mix. I could have included 4 or 5 tracks from the Alva Noto album but Mixcloud only allows a maximum of 3 songs from one album. I ended up using two cuts.
As usual the mix leans heavily on new tunes, with 11 of 18 tracks from 2020 - 2023. That includes the two "lonely" cuts that started this whole thing.
Funny side note - there has been a lot construction in my neighborhood lately and as I was putting the mix together I would hear the beeping of a backhoe reversing or some other truck backing up. It got to be annoying because sometimes I couldn't tell if the beeping sounds were from the music or the construction outside. Haha!
Cheers!
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Alexandre Navarro + Letna - Psamathe (Redfish 2013)
- 03:15 Alva Noto - Kinder der Sonne(Intro) (Kinder der Sonne (From "Komplizen") 2023)
- 06:15 xu - this illusory continuity (slicing space-time into objects 2022)
- 07:55 Scanner - Wing Pinger 02 (Wing Pinger 2021)
- 09:14 Loscil - Estuarine (Endless Fall 2010)
- 17:10 Lunar Testing Lab - Lunar Radio Control (Space Debris - Space Transmission 2008)
- 18:17 Hainbach - Izmir (Voice Magnetic 2023)
- 19:40 Brian Eno - Cavallino (The Shutov Assembly 1992)
- 22:20 Saros Sky - Lonely Satellite (Ambient Oceania 2021)
- 25:47 Loscil - Bipolar, Pt. 2 (Lifelike 2019)
- 28:57 Hans Zimmer - Atmospheric Entry (Interstellar 2014)
- 30:17 Steven Price - Aurora Borealis (Gravity 2013)
- 31:22 Alva Noto - Die Untergründigen (Kinder der Sonne (From "Komplizen") 2023)
- 39:18 Peter Kvidera - Popping (Verism 2022)
- 44:30 State Azure - Prism (As The Dawn Fades 2023)
- 50:23 Brian Eno - Kazakhstan 4 (Kazakhstan 2023)
- 55:12 Aethernal - The Lonely Orbit (Exile 2022)
- 58:49 arovane - laap (gestalt 2020)
- 60:30 end
Wednesday Jan 25, 2023
Ambient Solar System
Wednesday Jan 25, 2023
Wednesday Jan 25, 2023
Fire up the Epstein Drive, get settled in your crash couch and set forth on a tour of the solar system. We'll travel from the sun past the inner planets and through asteroid belt out to the gas giants, into the kuiper belt and oort cloud, and finally reaching interstellar space.
All the track titles make it clear where we are on this journey.
Incidentally, there is a comet, C/2022 E3, that hopefully will be visible now through the first week of February. It should viewable first with a telescope then binoculars and maybe even with the naked eye around Feb. 1. This mix might make a good soundtrack for viewing.
Link to most of the music used in this mix:
- https://deliaderbyshireappreciationsociety.bandcamp.com/album/wow-and-flutter
- https://www.amazon.com/music/player/albums/B087TDDQS1
- https://www.amazon.com/music/player/albums/B0BSVCM1M7
- https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/album/home-diaries-014
- https://haroldbudd.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-mist
- https://www.maxrichtermusic.com/albums/ad-astra/
- https://www.amazon.com/music/player/albums/B01LVZ1PMQ?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
- https://johantronestam.bandcamp.com/album/space-collection
- https://shop.christopherwillits.com/album/horizon
- https://virtual1.bandcamp.com/album/deep-space-objects
- https://bilvermette.bandcamp.com/album/hunting-for-planet-9
- https://phonsonic.bandcamp.com/album/three-squared
- https://kagerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/kage-vol-one-quiet-dreams
- https://echospacestudio.bandcamp.com/album/echoes-in-space
Enjoy fellow space cadets.
Cheers!
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Delia Derbyshire Appreciation Society - She Brought the Sun (Wow and Flutter 2018)
- 08:34 Underworld & John Murphy - Mercury (Sunshine OST 2008)
- 10:25 Casino Versus Japan - Names on Maps of Venus pt. 6 (Casino Versus Japan 1998)
- 11:50 Polaroid Notes - The Good Earth (Home Diaries 014 2020)
- 14:58 Harold Budd - Mars and the Artist (In The Mist 2011)
- 16:40 Brian Eno - Asteroid Dawn (Curiosities Volume II 2004)
- 20:42 Erstlaub - Jupiter (Deconstructed Music 1 2004)
- 24:50 Max Richter - The Rings of Saturn (Ad Astra OST 2019)
- 27:35 NASA Voyager Recordings - Rings of Uranus (Symphonies of the Planets 2009)
- 29:30 Johan Tronestam - Neptune (Space Collection 2017)
- 37:25 Christopher Willits - Comet (Horizon 2017)
- 41:50 Ishq - Pluto Shift (Deep Space Objects 2012)
- 47:10 Bil Vermette - Kuiper Belt (Hunting for Planet 9 2021)
- 52:35 Konstruct - Oort Cloud (Three (squared) 2021)
- 55:12 Factory - Interstellar (Kage, Vol. One: Quiet Dreams 2016)
- 57:50 Echospace - Where Are We Now (echospace [detroit] presents echoes in space 2014)
- 60:00 end
Sunday Jan 23, 2022
Unfold the Universe
Sunday Jan 23, 2022
Sunday Jan 23, 2022
A million miles from Earth, the James Webb Space Telescope has arrived at it's parking spot at Lagrange Point #2, the perfect place to search the heavens for faint light from the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe. This mix tells the story of the Webb observatory as it seeks to "Unfold the Universe."
The telescope, like its mission, is big. When expanded to full size, it can’t fit into the nose cone of any available launch vehicle. One of Webb’s main components, sunshield, is the area of a tennis court. It was carefully folded and packed to fit inside the Ariane 5 rocket. In space, the sunshield will expand and separate into five distinct layers. The telescope's primary mirror, the largest mirror ever flown into space, is also too wide to fit into the rocket in one piece. So it is segmented into 18 hexagonal pieces on a hinged structure so it can fold up for launch and unfold in space.
Sunday Nov 15, 2020
The Stars Appear Like Diamonds
Sunday Nov 15, 2020
Sunday Nov 15, 2020
As is well documented in this blog, I am a space nerd. Over the years I have posted a ton of mixes related to the cosmos. Whether it's a stargazing mix or a celebration of the discovery of the Higgs Boson particle or a requiem for a dying space probe, ambient/electronic music is the perfect companion for turning your gaze to the heavens.
Over the last couple of months we've been treated to beautiful views of Mars, Jupiter & Saturn. Mars has been visible just after sunset in the eastern skies and has looked terrific with it's red/orange color easily setting it apart from the rest of the celestial objects.
Jupiter and Saturn are headed for a "Great Conjunction." Jupiter is usually one of the brightest night objects, but in recent months it has stood out even more than usual because of the presence of bright Saturn trailing just off to its left (east).
Jupiter & Saturn on Nov. 1, 2020 |
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00:00 Alva Noto - Xerrox Neige (Xerrox Vol. 4 2020)
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04:44 Loneward - Ethereal Glow (Moongate 2020)
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10:25 In The Branches + Bluetech - Celestial (Portals 2020)
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15:15 Thom Brennan - Night Lights Part 3 (Night Lights 2020)
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20:01 Machinefabriek - Waqur (To Yemen With Love 2020)
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23:12 Tatsuro Murakami - Inevitable Silence (Between 2020)
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28:46 Echoflex - 50°21'40"N 4°09'44"W veering S (Echoflex II 2020)
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33:55 Pulse Emitter - Winds (Calming Winds 2019)
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44:50 Lauge - Floating (Latitudes 2020)
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49:10 Altus - Dust Lanes (The Grand Expanse 2007)
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55:41 36 & zakè - Stasis Sounds for Long-Distance Space Travel Reduction 3 (Stasis Sounds for Long-Distance Space Travel 2020)
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64:22 end
Monday Nov 26, 2018
The Dreamer Descends - InSight Lands on Mars
Monday Nov 26, 2018
Monday Nov 26, 2018
After six months of travel from Earth, NASA's InSight spacecraft is on a precise trajectory to land on Mars. If all goes well it should be touching down on the surface of the red planet about 6 hours after this mix is initially posted.
The tracks for this mix have all been selected to tell the story of InSight and its journey to Mars. The track titles take us chronologically from Farewell, O Earth to Between Two Worlds to Arrival to Descent to Landing to Sunrise on Mars.
Godspeed InSight!
Cheers!
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Murcof & Vanessa Wagner - Farewell, O World, O Earth
- 07:15 Warmth - Insight
- 14:50 Moon Wiring Club - Between Two Worlds
- 15:52 Rival Consoles - Untravel
- 21:10 Johann Johannsson - Arrival
- 23:27 Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - Mars
- 27:05 Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - Mars Theme
- 28:40 Ohrwert - Angle of Incidence
- 30:05 Pye Corner Audio - Descent
- 31:15 Steve Roach - The Dreamer Decends
- 35:30 Seabuckthorn - Blackout
- 38:08 Tonepoet & Cloudfall - Free Falling Through Life's Cavernous Atmosphere
- 43:25 Porya Hatami - Landing
- 45:25 The Future Sound Of London - The Dust Settles
- 48:25 Dirac - Elysium
- 51:56 Lights Out in Asia - All Is Quiet In The Valley
- 55:18 Heavenchord - Sunrise on Mars
- 60:13 Julien Marchal - Insight XIV
- 62:45 end
Sunday Aug 26, 2018
The Way Home
Sunday Aug 26, 2018
Sunday Aug 26, 2018
Earlier this year I was asked by the folks at Lifted Icons to do a guest mix. It was a unique mix because I did two 20 minute sets that were then incorporated into a larger nearly 2-hour mix.
The parameters for my mixes were as follows:
1. A lonely, melancholic wander through the void between stars
2. A triumphant end for our struggle to the stars
You can find the 2-hour mix at Lifted Icons here... https://www.mixcloud.com/LiftedIcons/cartographer/
I liked how everything turned out. It was especially fun to cut the 2nd mix as it had a few louder tunes that I normally might not use. I was too lazy to put together a totally new mix so I decided to put my two parts of the Lifted Icons mix into one new mix.
After I put them together I started tinkering. I added a few tunes to make it longer. And then I changed a lot of the first part but kept the same "drifting in the void" feel. The transition from melancholic wander to triumphant return starts at the 22:28 mark with the Underworld tune. The title for the mix comes from a track I used by the same name from Tony Anderson. It fit perfectly with the journey from part one to part two.
Cheers!
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Lunar Testing Lab - Space Traffic Control(& added Nasa quindar Tones)
- 00:40 Steven Price - Aurora Borealis
- 01:50 Tim Hecker - Boreal Kiss
- 04:06 Chris Weeks - Spiders & Plugholes
- 05:42 Clinton Shorter - An Impossible Dream
- 07:25 Strië - Man with Thick Glasses
- 10:20 Northumbria - Helluland
- 13:10 Bryantist - Spherical Harmonics
- 14:30 Conet Project & other fx
- 14:57 Memories of JJ
- 18:12 Jon Hopkins - Feel First Life
- 22:28 Underworld - Capa's Last Transmission Home
- 24:12 Ólafur Arnalds - Doria
- 27:05 Tony Anderson - The Way Home
- 30:13 Stellardrone - Red Giant
- 32:30 Johann Johannsson - A Pile of Dust
- 34:20 M83 - Another Wave From You
- 35:50 Ulrich Schnauss & Jonas Munk - Amaris
- 38:25 B. Fleischmann - A Letter From Home
- 43:22 Jon Hopkins - Light Through The Veins
- 50:45 Johann Johannsson - End(Snowing)
- 57:00 end
Saturday Jan 27, 2018
Frontiers of Space
Saturday Jan 27, 2018
Saturday Jan 27, 2018
I recently stumbled upon an album by The National Pool called "Relaxation Tape for Solo Space Travel."
https://infraction.bandcamp.com/album/relaxation-tape-for-solo-space-travel
First of all, what a great title! And second, what fantastic cover art!
When I heard the song "Simpler Times" I knew that I had to buy the album and I knew that I had to make a mix with an retro, analog, space sound. So I set about collecting tunes that sound like they could have come from an old space science filmstrip. Some of the music is from current artists like Boards of Canada, Air, The Belbury Circle, Panabrite, Cafe Kaput, Moon Wiring Club, Schengen and Lunar Testing Lab. But mixed in there is also old electronic music from Eric Vann, Paul Hart, Alan Hawkshaw and Frank Comstock. Much of the old music has a sort of cheesy, retro vibe that I love in a mix like this.
Grab some Tang and kick back for this journey to the moon and beyond.
Cheers!
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Alan Hawkshaw - Probe 2
- 01:06 Vector Lovers - Long Wave
- 01:40 Boards of Canada - Wildlife Analysis
- 02:01 The National Pool - Simpler Times
- 08:42 Solvent - wig $1.00
- 11:07 Eric Vann - Space Face
- 11:55 Frank Comstock - Stairway to the Stars
- 14:25 Panabrite - Departing
- 17:28 The Belbury Circle - Light Industry
- 21:42 Lunar Testing Lab - The Cosmic Unknown
- 23:36 Café Kaput - Maranyl Is Chosen
- 26:05 Paul Hart - Superfine
- 26:41 Schengen - Me n'U
- 27:22 Moon Wiring Club - Between Two Worlds
- 28:40 Alan Hawkshaw - Terrestrial Fanfare
- 30:52 Air - Cosmic Trip
- 34:51 Lunar Testing Lab - Lunar Radio Control(with Russian Conet voice added)
- 36:25 Alan Hawkshaw - Saturn Rings
- 40:15 Boards of Canada - Come to Dust
- 43:36 Café Kaput - Ergonomo
- 49:05 Orgasmo Sonore - Space Team
- 50:52 Eric Vann - Astroport
- 53:00 The National Pool - Through the Breach
- 60:01 end
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Requiem for Cassini
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Friday Sep 15, 2017
As I said a few posts back, I am a huge space science dork. My top 5 favorite NASA probes are:
1. Voyager
2. Cassini
3. Viking
4. Galileo
5. Spirit & Opportunity
Number two on that list disintegrated in the atmosphere of Saturn today. Cassini was in orbit around Saturn for 7 years and made some of the most fantastic encounters of any planetary mission. The most amazing discovery concerns a little moon called Enceladus. Through Cassini, scientists have determined that Enceladus has a global subsurface saltwater ocean that might host hydrothermal vents. It's probably our best bet for finding life in our solar system.
But Cassini was running out of fuel and rather than risk crashing into a moon and contaminating it, the folks at NASA decided to plunge the spacecraft into Saturn. Cassini will dive into the planet's atmosphere, sending science data for as long as its small thrusters can keep the spacecraft's antenna pointed at Earth. Soon after, Cassini will burn up and disintegrate like a meteor.
This mix is a Requiem for Cassini. Rather than an electronic, space music feel I went with all neo-classical and soundtrack cuts. The track titles tell the story.
Thanks to NASA and everyone on the Cassini team.
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 David Sylvian - Preparations for a Journey
- 03:05 Cliff Martinez - Have a Good Trip
- 04:47 Max Richter - Journey 3 & 5
- 06:00 Balanescu Quartet - Empty Space Dance
- 09:15 Robert Fripp & Theo Travis - Return to Saturn
- 13:27 Cliff Martinez - Finally, you two meet
- 15:15 Jóhann Jóhannsson & BJ Nilsen - I am Here
- 18:35 James Newton Howard - I'm Listening
- 20:03 James Newton Howard - Talk to Me
- 20:41 Broken Gramophone - Titan
- 23:55 Echospace - Longing for Life
- 24:30 Adam Bryanbaum Wiltzie - Bring This Place to Life
- 26:50 Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - What Must be Done
- 28:40 Clint Mansell - Death is the Road to Awe
- 35:00 Max Richter - Never Fade into Nothingness
- 43:51 Hammock - Things of Beauty Burn
- 48:00 36 - Sky Fire
- 51:35 M83 - Undimmed by Time, Unbound by Death
- 53:47 end
Saturday Apr 22, 2017
Pale Blue Dot - Earth Day 2017
Saturday Apr 22, 2017
Saturday Apr 22, 2017
- 00:00 Carl Sagan & Max Richter - Pale Blue Dot & On the Nature of Daylight
- 05:05 Jim Cole & Spectral Voices - Hear Earth
- 08:00 Steve Roach - On This Planet
- 15:20 Map & Diagrams - Particles of Earth
- 18:10 A Small Good Thing - Scorched Earth
- 23:15 Adam Pacione - Warming Trend
- 25:27 Shuttle358 - Melt
- 30:10 Jeff Greinke - Changing Skies
- 32:50 Brian Eno - Climate Study
- 35:30 J. Ralph - The Glaciers Are Telling
- 37:20 Michael Brook - Earth Alone
- 39:20 Mathias Grassow - Planetary Consciousness
- 43:45 Lav & Purl - Earthship
- 49:50 Robert Scott Thompson - Pale Blue Dot
- 65:00 end
Saturday Jul 16, 2016
The Color of Space guest mix by Mike G of Ambient Music Guide
Saturday Jul 16, 2016
Saturday Jul 16, 2016
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
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