1.4M
Downloads
472
Episodes
Ambient music mixes for a chaotic world
Episodes
Sunday Jan 02, 2022
Sunday Jan 02, 2022
A few things I noticed from my year-end list - no berlin-school music, very little what I would call 'space' music, a fair amount of dusty, loop music like Maps & Diagrams or Tapes & Topographies, several guitar based albums like Dave Depper, Dave Nelson, SUSS, and Devendra Banhart, and lastly, a lot of modern classical/modern composition albums from Mastrokristo & Alapastel to Max Richter and Viktor Orri Árnason and Glåsbird.
That collection of favorites is nothing new for me. I've been a big fan of that dusty, noisy, loop-based style for a long time & as modern composition has grown over the years, so has my interest. Although, I may need to dive back into spacey, droney ambient like the stuff in the stargazing mixes.
I guess there's not much else to say for this post other than here is part 2 of my favorite ambient albums of 2021.
Cheers!
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Ben Seretan - Cicada Waves 1 [Cicada Waves on NNA Tapes]
- 05:45 Sonmi451 - Lampenfiber [Seven Signals in the Sky on Laaps]
- 10:10 Bombay Dub Orchestra - Cultivating Compassion (Instrumental Version) Part 3 [Cultivating Compassion (Instrumental Version) on Six Degrees]
- 15:08 Glåsbird - Last Ritual [Siberia on Whitelabrecs]
- 24:26 Sailcloth - Red Woods [Woodcut on Lost Tribe Sound]
- 27:00 Dave Nelson - Easy and Preferred Answers [The Act of Vanishing]
- 29:52 Devendra Banhart, Noah Georgeson - Three Gates [Refuge on Dead Oceans]
- 33:25 Jens Pauly, Stijn Hüwels - The Leaves Will Fade [When The Night Ends on Vaagner]
- 39:36 Dirk Serries - Recloose(excerpt) [Recloose]
- 48:26 anthéne - Winter Sun [maritime on Ambientologist 2021]
- 53:17 Wil Bolton - Unraveling [Cumulus Sketches on Home Normal]
- 59:05 Jeannine Schulz - River [Luminous on Polar Seas]
- 63:17 Just a Human - Revive(Outro) [Hibernate]
- 65:25 Enrico Coniglio - Everything and Nothing [Alpine Variations on Dronarivm]
- 68:50 Asc & Inhmost - Obscured Form [Dimensional Space on Auxilairy]
- 75:07 Peter Gregson - Over [Patina on Deutsche Grammophon]
- 76:51 end
Saturday Jan 01, 2022
Saturday Jan 01, 2022
These year-end lists seem to be getting harder and harder to curate. The sheer number of releases makes it nearly impossible to keep up and listen to all the music. Through Spotify and Bandcamp most of this music is available immediately, which is great, but it can also foster a severe case of FOMO, fear of missing out. Whether it's ambient music or indie rock/pop I am on a constant prowl for new music, sometimes at the disservice of current music which I have not given time to sink in.
A list like this is obviously not a definitive "Best of" list. These are just some of my favorites from this year. Sometimes an album happens to catch me in the right mood, in the right place and it hits home. Is it better than all the other releases? Maybe. But all I know is it caught my ear at the right time, I latched on, listened, and it became one of my favorites.
I made the list with a top 5 and then listed everything else alphabetically. It's way too hard to say this one is #14 while that one is #22. That being said I totally loved the top 3 on this list.
FAVORITE AMBIENT ALBUMS OF 2021:
1. Mastrokristo - Departures [Lost Tribe Sound]
2. Dictaphone - Goats & Distortions 5 {Denovali]
3. AlaPastel - Ceremony [Lost Tribe Sound]
4. Max Richter - Voices 2 [Decca]
5. Loscil - Clara [Kranky]
-------------
AES DANA - (a) period. [Ultimae]
Andrew Heath - Drawings from Imagined Cities [Elm Records]
anthéne - maritime [Ambientologist 2021]
Arovane - Reihen [12k]
ASC & Inhmost - Dimensional Space [Auxilairy]
Ben Seretan - Cicada Waves [NNA Tapes]
Bombay Dub Orchestra - Cultivating Compassion(instrumentals) [Six Degrees Records]
Calm Whale - Breathing Earth Meditation
Christian Loffler - Parallels [Deutsche Grammophon]
Clariloops - Sun//Rain
Darkroom - The Last Sense To Fade [Whitelabrecs]
Dave Depper - Europa [Jealous Butcher Records]
Dave Nelson - The Act of Vanishing
Devendra Banhart & Noah Georgeson - Refuge [Dead Oceans]
Dirk Serries - RecloosE
Enrico Coniglio – Alpine Variations [Dronarivm]
Glåsbird - Siberia [Whitelabrecs]
Gray Acres - Dreams and Phantoms [Archives]
Igor Yalivec - Still Life [Polar Seas Recordings]
Jeff Parker - Forfolks [International Anthem]
Jeaninne Schulz - Luminous [Polar Seas]
Jens Pauly & Stijn Huwels - When the Night Ends [Vaagner]
Just a Human - Hibernate
Maps & Diagrams - Teygja Parts A & B [Handstitched]
Merope - Salos [Stroom]
Peter Gregson - Patina [Deutsche Grammophon]
Sailcloth - Woodcut [Lost Tribe Sound]
Sonmi451 - Seven Signals in the Sky [laaps]
SUSS - Night Suite
Tapes & Topographies - Monomials [Simulacra Records]
Tapes & Topographies - In Muted Forms [Shimmering Moods]
Taylor Deupree - Mur [12k]
Toumani Diabate & London Symphony Orchestra - Korolen [World Circuit]
Viktor Orri Árnason - Eilífur [PentaTone]
Wil Bolton - Cumulus Sketches [Home Normal]
William Ryan Fritch - Built Upon a Fearful Void [Lost Tribe Sound]
That's too much for one mix so I'll post part 1 and part 2. I also plan on doing a mix of favorite jazz-ish tracks from this year. I have a list of several non-ambient instrumental/jazz releases that I really liked so I'll post the list and a mix of fav tracks.
But first, my favorite ambient music, part one. Enjoy.
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Max Richter - Psychogeography [Vpices 2 on Decca]
- 06:30 mastroKristo - Ocean [Departures on Lost Tribe Sound ]
- 09:53 Dictaphone - Griot Dub [Goats & Distortions 5 on Denovali]
- 14:05 Alapastel - Releaseness [Ceremony on Lost Tribe Sound]
- 18:48 Loscil - Vespera [Clara 0n Kranky]
- 22:45 Arovane - Sicht [Reihen on 12k]
- 25:38 Aes Dana - Haphazard [(a) period. on Ultimae]
- 28:18 Calm Whale - Breathing EARTH [Breathing EARTH Meditation]
- 31:05 Merope - Vilnia [Salos on Stroom]
- 35:13 Dave Depper - Vienna Five [Europa on Jealous Butcher Records]
- 41:11 Christian Löffler - Pastoral [Parallels on Deutsche Grammophon]
- 44:42 Tapes and Topographies - Spec Work as Magic [Monomials on Simulacra Records]
- 47:23 Map & Diagrams - Mutability [Teygja Part B on Handstitched]
- 50:50 Igor Yalivec - Nymphaea [Still Life on Polar Seas]
- 55:40 Andrew Heath - Drawings from Imagined Cities [Drawings from Imagined Cities on Elm Records]
- 65:02 end
Sunday Nov 28, 2021
Sunday Nov 28, 2021
Between work and Thanksgiving I didn't have time to put together a new mix this week. But then I remembered I had another in the "simply ambient" series waiting in the wings. So here it is - "absolutely ambient."
Like the the others in this series there is no overall theme other than a nice collection of excellent ambient music. With so much new music being released every week it's difficult to keep up and difficult to get it all into mixes. This series allows me to get some of that new music out there.
Links to all the albums used in this mix in the order that they appear:
- https://tapesandtopographies.bandcamp.com/album/monomials
- https://andrewheath.bandcamp.com/album/drawings-from-imagined-cities
- https://ambientologist.bandcamp.com/album/thanks
- https://polarseasrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/saturnalia
- https://dirkserries.bandcamp.com/album/recloose
- https://laaps-records.com/album/seven-signals-in-the-sky
- https://real-soon.bandcamp.com/album/the-sun-in-the-east
- https://sofiebirch.bandcamp.com/album/whisper-fold-brush
- https://handstitched.bandcamp.com/album/teygja-part-b
- https://soundtrackingthevoid.bandcamp.com/album/thistledown
- https://fallowrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/e
- https://laaps-records.com/album/endless-shapeless
- https://ambientologist.bandcamp.com/music
- https://polarseasrecordings.bandcamp.com/music
- https://laaps-records.com/music
- https://real-soon.bandcamp.com/music
- https://seilrecords.bandcamp.com/
- https://handstitched.bandcamp.com/music
- https://soundtrackingthevoid.bandcamp.com/music
- https://fallowrecordings.bandcamp.com/music
Cheers!
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Tapes & Topographies - Bathed in Color and Light (Monomials 2021)
- 05:12 Andrew Heath - Melancholia (Drawings from Imagined Cities 2021)
- 14:55 Fields We Found - Time (Thanks 2021)
- 19:48 kj - Saturnalia (Saturnalia 2021)
- 24:51 Dirk Serries - Recloose (Recloose 2021)
- 34:47 Sonmi451 - Split Second (Seven Signals in the Sky 2021)
- 39:15 Ultramarine - Signals Into Space (The Sun in the East 2020)
- 44:55 Sofie Birch - Whisper Fold Brush Side B exerpt (Whisper Fold Brush 2021)
- 47:40 Maps and Diagrams - Mazinggarbe (Teygja Part B 2021)
- 50:00 Wodwo - Airlifted (Thistledown 2021)
- 53:00 Ishmael Cormack - Ōe (Ōe 2021)
- 56:15 Ian Nyquist - Sanctuary(Epilogue) (Endless, Shapeless 2021)
- 60:00 end
Sunday Nov 21, 2021
Sunday Nov 21, 2021
I kind of overdosed on Native American flute music back in my new age days in the late 80s and 90s. So I don't listen to this style very often. But Paul has pulled me back in with his excellent collection of tracks.
It starts off with new music from Sherry Finzer so I'm in automatically. From there Paul uses a variety of artists and styles to carry us through the hour-long mix. Here's what Paul says about this mix:
“The Native American flute is one of those instruments that instantly has cultural associations. Intertwined with and beyond that, its wistful, haunting tone is a sound that evokes gratitude and reverence. It is with those qualities in mind that I selected tracks for this mix.”
Thanks again Paul for another beautifully curated set.
Links to all the albums used in this mix in the order that they appear:
- https://sherryfinzer.bandcamp.com/album/connections
- https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Silence-Piano-Flute-Meditations/dp/B00SUFAR46
- https://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Voices-Ah-Nee-Mah/dp/B00005898T
- https://silverwaverecordsatrain.bandcamp.com/album/the-offering
- https://mysticjourney.net/album/2043842/whisper
- https://promotionmusicrecords.bandcamp.com/album/summerland
- https://randygranger.bandcamp.com/album/cloudwalker
- https://randygranger.bandcamp.com/album/handpan-music-for-a-pandemic
- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003FRTVMI/ref=dm_ws_sp_ps_dp
- https://canyonrecords.bandcamp.com/album/sanctuary-canyon-records-definitive-remaster
- https://silverwaverecordsatrain.bandcamp.com/album/totemic-flute-chants
- https://www.amazon.com/Night-Chants-Native-American-Flute/dp/B0798LHJT1
- https://tonygerber.bandcamp.com/album/red-lunar
- https://tonygerber.bandcamp.com/album/night-cathedral
- 00:00 Sherry Finzer - Red Hawk Hill (Connections 2022)
- 03:18 Peter Kater & Michael Brant DeMaria - Heart of Silence (Heart of Silence: Piano and Flute Meditations 2015)
- 10:09 Ah Nee Mah - Ceremony (Ancient Voices 2001)
- 15:20 Mary Youngblood - Flute Circle (The Offering 2002)
- 17:52 Suzanne Teng & Gilbert Levy - White Buffalo (Whisper 2021)
- 21:54 Peter Phippen - Returning Home (Summerland)
- 27:27 Randy Granger - Oh Shenandoah (Cloudwalker 2006)
- 30:18 Randy Granger - Chaco Moon Meditation (Handpan Music for a Pandemic 2020)
- 35:12 David & Steve Gordon - Daybreak Appears (Gratitude – Relaxing Native American Flute Music 2010)
- 40:51 R. Carlos Nakai - Shining Mountains (Sanctuary 2003)
- 44:22 Johnny Whitehorse - Cougar (Totemic Flute Chants 2007)
- 47:33 Gary Stroutsos - Adobe Walls (Night Chants: Native American Flute 2018)
- 50:39 Tony Gerber & Phil Keaggy - Mare Nectaris (Sea of Nectar) (Red Lunar 2019)
- 55:48 Dreamhub & Tony Gerber - Welcome Wind (Night Cathedral 2020)
- 59:12 end
Sunday Nov 14, 2021
Sunday Nov 14, 2021
If you see the film, see it in a theater. It's big and loud and really needs to be seen on a big screen.
Cheers!
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Just A Human - Messages from the Deep
- 01:00 Ben Chatwin - Nordsjøen (Drone Signals 2018)
- 05:10 Serena Gabriel & Steve Roach - From The Sea (Seeing Inside 2021)
- 12:00 Murcof - Ideology Storm (The Alias Sessions 2021)
- 16:27 A Winged Victory for the Sullen - Thirteenth Century Travelogue (Invisible Cities 2021)
- 18:22 Robert Rich & B. Lustmord - Undulating Terrain (Stalker 1995)
- 22:12 Hibernis - The Grape Leaves (Middle of the Meds 2018)
- 27:00 Soriah - Uger-Khan Kargyraa (Gnostic 2019)
- 28:51 Rapoon - Don't Come Out At Night (Melancholic Songs of the Desert 2009)
- 32:40 Michel Banabila - Our Alien Voice (Trespassing 2017)
- 35:12 Brett Janzen - Penumbra (Aphelion 2021)
- 37:55 Arrowounds - Antarctica's Spherical Anomalies Leave Residual Trails (The Rise and Fall of the Melting World 2021)
- 41:55 Strië - Test for Ability (Perpetual Journey 2018)
- 44:44 Loscil - Zephyr with wind and strings
- 47:25 Tineidae - Epilogue (Exo 2020)
- 50:55 Jim Cole & Spectral Voices - Hear Earth (Innertones 2006)
- 52:35 Hanno Leichtmann - Wind (Nuit Du Plomb 2006)
- 57:00 end
Sunday Nov 07, 2021
Sunday Nov 07, 2021
I have done several train mixes over the years. They basically come about because I hear a tune and think - Hey, that would be great in a train mix. So it was with this one. I heard the track "A.O.E." by Portico Quartet and I knew immediately that I need to build a mix around it.
This mix differs from most of my other train mix(except one) because it's mostly a jazz influenced mix. Berlin-school sequencers have been replaced by a drum kit and synth washes are now horns. I folded in some recordings of trains and subways but I didn't want to over do it so I kept to 3 spots in the mix.
Links to all the albums used in order of how they appear in this mix:
- https://porticoquartet.bandcamp.com/album/monument
- https://nickgarbett.bandcamp.com/album/the-glider
- https://snowpalms.bandcamp.com/album/land-waves
- https://tangents.bandcamp.com/album/new-bodies
- https://elskavonjohnhayes.bandcamp.com/album/du-nord
- https://nalasinephro.bandcamp.com/album/space-18
- https://porticoquartet.bandcamp.com/album/terrain
- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DCDQG7K/ref=dm_ws_sp_ps_dp
- https://bellorchestre.bandcamp.com/album/house-music
- https://eremiterecords.bandcamp.com/album/mandatory-reality
- https://danielbrandt1.bandcamp.com/album/eternal-something
- https://alapastel.bandcamp.com/album/ceremony
The mix has some good energy and I could see it being a great companion for bike riding.
Cheers!
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Portico Quartet - A.O.E. (Monument 2021)
- 05:30 Nick Garbett & Mike Majkowski - Aerial (The Glider 2021)
- 11:35 Snow Palms - Kojo Yakei (Land Waves 2020)
- 15:08 Tangents - Terracotta (New Bodies 2018)
- 21:20 Elskavon & John Hayes - Vermilion (Du Nord 2020)
- 23:23 Nala Sinephro - Space 6 (Space 1.8 2021)
- 26:50 Portico Quartet - Terrain: III (Terrain 2021)
- 36:30 Olafur Arnalds - Undir (re:member 2018)
- 39:27 Bell Orchestra - Movement (House Music 2021)
- 45:00 Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society - Shadow Conductor (Mandatory Reality 2019)
- 52:42 Daniel Brandt - Eternal Something (Eternal Something 2017)
- 58:45 Alapastel - Transmission (Ceremony 2021)
- 64:16 end
Sunday Oct 31, 2021
Sunday Oct 31, 2021
This is mix #3 in the "simply ambient" series. It started with "simply ambient" then "purely ambient" and now "always ambient."
I listen to a ton of new music every month and this series gives me a chance to get some of that new music into mixes without having to wait for an appropriate theme. It's just straightforward ambient tracks, no theme, no big concept no story to tell - just excellent ambient music, always.
Music used in the mix:
https://vaagner.bandcamp.com/album/when-the-night-ends
https://polarseasrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/still-life
https://ambientologist.bandcamp.com/album/maritime
https://lontanoseries.bandcamp.com/album/stanotte
https://archivesdubmusic.bandcamp.com/album/slow-morning
https://rhucle.bandcamp.com/album/cycle
https://innesti.bandcamp.com/album/in-letters
https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/album/siberia
https://asc77.bandcamp.com/album/the-moons-of-saturn
https://devendrabanhart.bandcamp.com/album/refuge
https://keepsleep.bandcamp.com/album/past-life-memories
Cheers!
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Jens Pauly & Stijn Hüwels - The Leaves Will Fade (When The Night Ends 2021)
- 11:00 Igor Yalivec - Viola (Still Life 2021)
- 15:35 anthéne - juniper (maritime 2021)
- 19:10 Michele Andreotti - Ovunque (Stanotte 2021)
- 25:10 Robert Farrugia - Coastal (Slow Morning 2017)
- 32:00 Rhucle - Distance (Cycle 2021)
- 35:15 Rhucle - Tone (Cycle 2021)
- 38:40 Innesti - Narrative Forms (In Letters 2021)
- 42:40 Glåsbird - Thermokarsts (Siberia 2021)
- 46:40 ASC & Inhmost - Sunrise On Titan (The Moons Of Saturn 2021)
- 53:20 Devendra Banhart, Noah Georgeson - A Cat (Refuge 2021)
- 57:30 KeepSleep - 上次会议 Farewell (Past Life Memories 2021)
- 62:00 end
Friday Oct 29, 2021
Friday Oct 29, 2021
I'm getting this mix up & running just in time for Halloween. This one, while it does have a bit of a nighttime feel to it, is a little less creepy than some past Halloween mixes.
For this collection I looked for titles that fit the theme of night to day. The mix moves chronologically from sunset to night to moonrise and set to darkness to dreaming and finally to light and dawn.
Grab a pumpkin spice beer and...UGH, no don't do that! Grab a normal beer, like a refreshing Hamm's, and sit on the porch, in the dark, listening to this mix. Happy Halloween.
Cheers!
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Eli Keszler - Civil Sunset (Icons 2021)
- 03:55 Seabuckthorn - It Will Be Dark By Then (Other Other 2020)
- 06:49 Zoe Keating - Hello Night (Into The Trees (2010)
- 10:21 A-Sun Amissa - Outr Past Dark (Black Rain 2020)
- 14:53 Wodwo - that full-mooned night (Filey Bay 1978 2018)
- 18:06 Loren Connors - Moon Gone Down (Night Through: Singles and Collected Works 2003)
- 19:45 Observatories - Visible Darkness (Flowers Bloom, Butterflies Come 2021)
- 22:42 Robert Davies - Nocturnal Reverie (Shadow Dreams 2009)
- 29:20 Ki Oni - Dream World (A Little Night Music Aural Apparitions from the Geographic North 2020)
- 33:35 Ben Salisbury & Geoff Barrow - Other Dreamers (Black Mirror: Men Against Fire 2016)
- 34:18 ASC & Sam KDC - Another Evasive Dream (A Restless Mind 2020)
- 39:00 Andrew Heath - There’s a Ghost in My House (The Alchemist’s Muse 2020)
- 40:00 Olga Wojciechowska - Nothing To Be Afraid Of (Salaam For Yemen 2018)
- 43:38 Windy & Carl - Will I See the Dawn (Allegiance and Conviction 2020)
- 48:40 Adrian Lane - The Dawn Seems Reluctant To Come (Ennio's Muse 2021)
- 51:15 Hipnotic Earth - Where Night Sky Meets Day (HomeWorld 2021)
- 56:00 Observatories - I Knew I Was Close When I Saw The Bloom Of Your Light (Flowers Bloom, Butterflies Come 2021)
- 59:35 Ecovillage - Break Of Dawn ft. Gallery Six (Clouds And Waves 2020)
- 62:45 end
Sunday Oct 24, 2021
Sunday Oct 24, 2021
WORLDS COLLIDE! In this mix I combine my love for new indie music with my love for all things quiet. The third installment of the Quiet Indie Songs series is here.
All tracks are from 2021 and it features artists like Jose Gonzalez, Billy Bragg, Matt Maltese, Cassandra Jenkins, Big Red Machine, Big Thief and more.
Go for a nice walk in the woods while listening to some quiet indie songs.
Cheers!
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Jose Gonzalez - Swing
- 03:25 Chorusing - Watching the Beams
- 06:43 Art School Girlfriend - Eyes on You
- 11:10 Slow Meadow - Artificial Algorithm Snorri Hallgrímsson Rework
- 15:39 Sandrayati Fay, JFDR, Damien Rice - Song for Berta
- 18:53 Cassandra Jenkins - New Bikini
- 23:00 Big Red Machine - New Auburn feat. Anaïs Mitchell
- 26:14 Big Thief - Change
- 31:00 Matt Maltese - Oldest Trick in the Book feat. Bedouine
- 34:15 Cande y Paulo - Treaty
- 38:44 Allison Russell - Montreal
- 42:11 Billy Bragg - I Will Be Your Shield
- 45:36 Big Red Machine - Hoping Then
- 49:24 Avocet - Callina
- 51:28 Sun June - Colors
- 54:11 Jose Gonzalez - En Stund På Jorden
- 56:48 end
Sunday Oct 17, 2021
Sunday Oct 17, 2021
- 00:00 Alexander Elliott Miller - Music for Airports 1/1 guitar
- 03:19 Dan Piccolo - Music for Airports 1/1 percussion
- 08:03 Sean O'Neill, Ben Witt & Daniel Fragomeni - Music for Airports 2/1
- 16:30 Kai Schumacher - Music for Airports 1/2
- 26:30 Ambientorg - Music for Airports 2/2 pipe organ with electronics
- 35:18 Psychic Temple - Plays Music for Airports
- 48:33 end