low light mixes

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Ambient music mixes for a chaotic world

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Sunday Jun 19, 2022

The New World of Deutsche Grammophon

Sunday Jun 19, 2022

I've been a fan of the Deutsche Grammophon label for a long time, ever since I got this Steve Reich box set back in the early 80s in college.

I've collected quite a few DG recordings over the years. Over the last 5 years or so I've noticed them branching out and releasing music by a wider variety of artists and music that isn't strictly classical. From Moby to Christian Löffler to Olafur Arnalds to Brian Eno to Clark, the music is surprising for DG but also seems to fit well. After a lot of listening to Parallels by Christian Löffler, I decided to do a mix of recent DG favs. I hope you enjoy it.

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Peter Gregson - Opening (Blackbird 2020)
02:34 Johann Johannsson - Divine Objects pt. 1 (Drone Mass 2022)
05:00 Agnes Obel - Can’t Be(Instrumental (Myopia 2020)
08:20 Christian Löffler - Dir Jehova (Parallels 2021)
12:25 Signum Saxophone Quartet- 1957 award montage (Quartet Echoes 2021)
15:41 Tale Of Us - definizione dell impossibile (Endless 2017)
19:46 Joep Beving - Morpheus' Dream (Henosis 2019)
21:36 Olafur Arnalds - Still _ Sound (Some Kind of Peace 2020)
25:45 Alex Baranowski - Constellations (Project 12 2019)
28:13 Benjamin Gustafsson - Silent In A World Of Talking (Project 12 2019)
31:02 Clark - Citrus (Playground in a Lake 2021)
33:20 Max Richter - War Anthem (Three Worlds Music From Woolf Works 2017)
40:05 Moby - God Moving Over the Face of The Waters (2021)
43:17 Peter Gregson Gifts at Dinner (Blackbird 2020)
47:23 Roger Eno & Brian Eno - Marble (Mixing Colours 2020)
53:20 Johann Johannsson & Yair Elazar Glotman - Slow Destruction Of Neptune (Last And First Men 2020)
56:58 Hildur Guðnadóttir - 12 Hours Before (Chernobyl 2019)
59:19 end

Sunday Jun 12, 2022

Soothing Sequencers by Paul Asbury Seaman

Sunday Jun 12, 2022

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I am always pleased to present a new mix from Paul Asbury Seaman and this one is no exception. It's a great collection of sequencer tracks that hits the ideal vibe. Coming on the heels of my Stranger Synths mix, I was still in a electronic, sequencer mood and this mix kept me in that zone perfectly.

Here's what Paul says about this mix:

“For a lot of people, the term ‘electronic music’ still brings to mind the chaotic synthesizer experiments of its early years, highly abstract and moody ‘space music,’ or the techno dance music that grew out of a merger of ‘70s disco with ‘80s pop. Or the characteristically propulsive textures associated with em godfathers Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream, where a simple sequence of repeating notes provided both rhythm and melody. But some artists (including the aforementioned two) are able to infuse their beeping machines with warm emotions and heartfelt melodies, as presented here—a softer side of the electronic universe. If you like a steady, waterwheel flow and bell-like tones, this one’s for you.”

Paul mentions Klaus Schulze which is appropriate because we timed this mix to be posted just days after the release of the final Klaus Schulze album. I grabbed the last track from that album and made it the final track in this mix as one last tribute to Klaus.

Links to the albums used in this mix in the order in which they appear:

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Andy Pickford - Temple of the Wonklord (RadioSilence: Objective Linearity 2022)
07:52 Lars Leonhard - Moon Gravity (Gravity 2022)
15:35 Mac of BIOnighT - Auralities (Auralities 2017)
20:36 Klaus Schulze - Fm Delight (En=Trance 1988)
28:00 Hollan Holmes - The River (Emerald Waters 2022)
33:22 State Azure - Ricochet (Dreams 2020)
41:45 Steve Roach - We Continue (Spiral Revelation 2016)
48:45 SpiralDreams - Pearl in the Sand part1 (Journey to Infinity II 2021)
54:30 Fritz Mayr - North Coast Night Lights (Milky Way 2021)
59:42 Johan Tronestam - Home Sweet Home (Next Step 2021)
66:06 Klaus Schulze - Der Hauch des Lebens Pt. 5 (Deus Arrakis 2022)
71:14 end

Sunday Jun 05, 2022

Maps Without Edges - 90s Tribal Ambient

Sunday Jun 05, 2022

For a while now I've been planning on a drum/percussion mix similar to A Distant Pulse - https://www.mixcloud.com/lowlight/a-distant-pulse/ and A Rhythmic Passage - https://www.mixcloud.com/lowlight/a-rhythmic-passage/

In my search for tracks I came across a track by Vidna Obmana called "The Transcending Quest." It made me nostalgic for the heyday of tribal ambient in the 1990s with artists like Vidna Obana, Steve Roach, O Yuki Conjugate and Thom Brennan. So I decided to make this whole mix a trip back to the 90s for some hang drum and rain stick sounds.

The first thing you may notice is that not all the tunes are from the 1990s. Two are from 2001 and one is from 1989. I say close enough.

The other thing you may hear as you listen is that the tracks all definitely sound very similar. That was purposeful. I wanted the whole set to have a trance-like feel to it.

Sitting right in the middle of all this is one of my favorite ambient tracks of all time - "The Path Not Taken" by Thom Brennan from 1995. When I looked for a Bandcamp link I found he had an entire album by that name and it's only $4. An edited version of part is what was released in 1995 and the whole album remained unreleased until 2019. You can find it here... https://thombrennan.bandcamp.com/album/the-path-not-taken

Links to all the albums used in this mix in the order in which they appear:

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Ma Ja Le & James Johnson - Yaquona(Part 2) (Seed 2001)
09:00 Vidna Obmana - The Transcending Quest (Amplexus 1995)
14:55 Steve Roach - Walking Upright (Early Man 2001)
21:10 O Yuki Conjugate - Insect Talk (Equator 1995)
26:25 Thom Brennan - The Path Not Taken (Amplexus 1995)
37:20 STilLPOiNT - Maps 2&3 (Maps Without Edges 1996)
43:57 Al Gromer Khan - Unmoved Mover (Tantra Drums 1998)
51:10 Steve Roach & Michael Stearns - Flatlands (Desert Solitaire 1989)
55:42 Vidna Obmana - The Nebulous Pathway (The Spiritual Bonding 1994)
60:00 end

Sunday May 29, 2022

Stranger Synths 2022

Sunday May 29, 2022

It's been three years since the last season of Netflix's Stranger Things. Now with the 4th season upon us it must be time for a new mix - Stranger Synths 2022. Similar to previous version of Stranger Synths, this takes the retro vibe of the show's soundtrack and collects tracks that sound like they would fit perfectly in the TV series.

I wasn't planning on doing a mix this time around until I stumbled on the opening track Cybernaut by Jonny Fallout. The track can be found on a compilation from Triplicate Records called "Protozoa." As soon as I heard the track I was hit with a great Stranger Things vibe so I knew I had to gather more tracks and put together another mix.

I ended up going back to Triplicate Records three more times for this mix, using tracks from Hverheij, BVSMV, and Willebrant. Check the links below for these artists' album and bandcamp pages.

Here are links to the albums used in this mix in the order in which they appear:

Artist links:

Well, I guess I should go start season 4. Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Jonny Fallout - Cybernaut (Protozoa 2021)
03:20 Nils Frahm - #2 (All Melody 2018)
10:20 Pye Corner Audio - Leaf Mould (Entangled Routes 2021)
13:04 Belbury Poly - ffarisees (The Gone Away 2020)
17:01 Foam and Sand - Circle 13 (Full Circle 2022)
19:42 Michael Garrison - To the Other Side of the Sky (Soul Jazz Records presents Space, Energy & Light: Experimental Electronic And Acoustic Soundscapes 1961-88)
23:30 Cliff Martinez - Landscape Gardener (The Foreigner 2017)
26:00 Boards of Canada - Come to Dust ( Tomorrow's Harvest 2013)
29:20 Pye Corner Audio - Decade Counter (Prowler 2015)
34:30 Graintable - Vision Quest (UnIVersal Ash 2019)
38:09 Hverheij - Becoming (Afterlight 2022)
40:42 The Belbury Circle - No Cat's Eyes (Outward Journeys 2017)
45:07 BVSMV - Rubicon (Triplicate Tapes Vol. 1: Datacap 2021)
49:07 Peter Baumann - The Blue Dream (Machines of Desire 2016)
50:48 Paul Haslinger - Dreamers and Misfits (Halt and Catch Fire Vol 2 2019)
53:10 Willebrant - This Day (Music for Dotted Lines 2022)
56:34 Wolfgang Riechmann - Abendlicht (Wunderbar 1978)
60:55 end

Thursday May 19, 2022

Tears in the Rain - A Tribute to Vangelis

Thursday May 19, 2022

We lost Klaus a few weeks ago and now Vangelis. I'm getting tired of doing these tribute mixes.

His music was my electronic soundtrack to the 80s. I played the daylights out of Antarctica and Soil Festivities back then. And then of course there is Blade Runner. I am still in awe of that soundtrack today.

I don't know what else to say other than I loved his music. Godspeed Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou.

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Vangelis - Theme from Antarctica (Antarctica 1983)
07:23 Vangelis - Movement 1 (Soil Festivities 1984)
24:46 Vangelis - Blade Runner Blue (Blade Runner 1994)
33:20 Vangelis - Opening Titles (The Bounty 1984)
37:11 Vangelis - L'Enfant (Opéra Sauvage 1979)
42:00 Vangelis - Pulstar (Albedo 0.39 1976)
47:06 Vangelis - Movement 4 (Mask 1985)
54:21 Vangelis - Juno's Echoes (Juno to Jupiter 2021)
57:50 Vangelis - Heaven & Hell pt. 1 (Heaven & Hell 1975)
62:04 end

Sunday May 15, 2022

Fractal Panorama - Guitar Space Rock

Sunday May 15, 2022

Seven years ago I did a mix called "Space Rock" that is unique in the Low Light Mixes catalog. It's a collection of instrumental tunes that are guitar driven and are a bit spacey, a little prog rock, and with some post-rock tossed in as well. You can find to original mix here: http://lowlightmixes.blogspot.com/2015/04/space-rock.html

I've always wanted to do a follow-up mix but never got around to until now. So here is "Fractal Panorama - Guitar Space Rock". It's a set of new and old instrumentals with the same vibe as the first mix. I was happy to have dug up some really old cuts from 1972, '73 & '74. I was especially psyched to have stumbled on the Richard Pinhas homage to Robert Fripp with the track "In the Wake of King Fripp" from 1974. But my favorite cut in the mix is "Slowburn" by Sonar With David Torn. It's got this great, slightly menacing vibe to it.

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 The Re-Stoned - Fractal Panorama (Stories of the Astral Lizard 2018)
09:50 Dungen - Kalifen(versio) (Haxan - Versions by Prins Thomas 2017)
17:20 Agitation Free - First Communication (2nd 1973)
22:46 Maat Lander - Planet of the Intelligent Gas-shaped Lifeforms (Seasons of Space Book #12017)
27:50 Sonar With David Torn - Slowburn (Tranceportation Vol. 2 2020)
37:00 Papir - IIII (IIII 2014)
41:50 Achim Reichel & Machines - Invitations (Echo 1972)\
46:45 Heldon - In the Wake of King Fripp (Allez Teia 1974)
53:12 My Brother the Wind - Once There Was A Time When Time And Space Were One (Once There Was A Time When Time And Space Were One 2014)
56:32 My Brother the Wind - Epilogue (Once There Was A Time When Time And Space Were One 2014)
60:49 end

Sunday May 08, 2022

A Faint Resemblance - Tapes & Topographies mix

Sunday May 08, 2022

A new album from Tapes and Topographies dropped last week and as expected it is very good. Tapes & Topographies is one of my favorite ambient artists so I asked if they would do a guest mix. And I am happy to present "A Faint Resemblance".

I'm stealing this background info from friend of the blog, Harry Towell over at Whitelabrecs. "Tapes and Topographies is US based artist Todd Gautreau, who has had music releases on labels such as Past Inside the Present, Dronarivm, Shimmering Moods and his own imprint, Simulacra. His project has been active since 2014 following his previous alias Tear Ceremony and he also produces a downtempo as Sonogram."

This mix hits the sweet spot for me - the perfect combo of dusty noise and loops and ambience to create a dreamy, meandering mix. If you like that kind of sound and enjoy the mix the definitely check the new Tapes and Topographies album. Here's the link:

https://tapesandtopographies.bandcamp.com/album/modalities

Here is a list of all the albums used in this mix in the order in which they appear:

Thanks Todd for a great mix!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Tapes and Topographies - With that being said (Modalities 2022)
06:25 r beny - Ektar 100 (Seafoam & Dust 2020)
10:00 The Lifted Index - Chronologic Moss (Host of Living Forms 2021)
13:00 Jogging House - Strangers (Holds 2021)
17:35 Color of Time - Color of Time (Color of Time 2021)
20:05 Andrew Tasselmeyer - Becoming (Vantage Points 2018)
22:22 Tomosla - Possum (A Small Town In The Mountains 2021)
25:20 Tapes and Topographies - Verticals (Modalities 2022)
29:10 Halftribe - Imperfect (Archipelago 2020)
35:05 Sonogram - Certainly Obscured (Cubists 2012)
41:10 zaké - Variation (Sound Space Variations 2022)
44:25 Brian Eno - Chamber Lightness (Lightness 1997)
56:34 end

Sunday May 01, 2022

Space Requiem - A Tribute to Klaus Schulze

Sunday May 01, 2022

Klaus Schulze 1947 - 2022

Klaus Schulze, considered to be a godfather figure in electronic music, died this week. I'd say he was one of the big four of early electronic music pioneers which in addition to Schulze would include Jean-Michel Jarre, Kraftwerk, and Tangerine Dream.

I've always enjoyed his music but I was a bigger fan of the other three artists in that group. That being said, somehow I still ended up accumulating around 20 of his albums. He released more than 60 during his life.

This mix is a collection of his solo work and his collaborations as well as his early work in the groups Ash Ra Tempel & Cosmic Jokers. This set is expanded in length because so many of his tracks are long. While putting this together is was great to rediscover that I love the album Transfer Station Blue. Check it out if you get the chance.

https://michaelshrieve.bandcamp.com/album/transfer-station-blue

Take time to remember Klaus, listen to this mix and seek out some of his myriad recordings.

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Klaus Schulze - Floating (Moondawn 1976)
07:09 Ash Ra Tempel - Amboss (Ash Ra Tempel 1971)
10:20 Michael Shrieve & Kevin Shrieve & KS - Communique (Transfer Station Blue 1984)
23:10 Pete Namlook & KS - Set the control for the heart of the mother 5 (Dark Side of the Moog 9 2002)
30:48 Lisa Gerrard & KS - Unity (Come Quietly 2009)
32:15 Klaus Schulze - Dune (Dune 1979)
37:55 Cosmic Jokers - Galactic Joke (Cosmic Jokers 1973)
41:50 Stomu Yamashta - Space Requiem (Go 1976)
42:53 Klaus Schulze - Minority Report (Eternal: The 70th Birthday Edition 2017)
55:55 Klaus Schulze - My Ty She (Ballet 3 2007)
1:28:50 Richard Wahnfried - The End - Someday (Trancelation 1994)
1:32:45 end

Sunday Apr 24, 2022

Totally Ambient

Sunday Apr 24, 2022

Here's the latest in a series of simple, straightforward ambient mixes. It started with Simply Ambient then we also had Always Ambient, Purely Ambient, and Absolutely Ambient.

This is a mix with no theme or story or concept. Just excellent ambient tracks. All the cuts used here are from 2022.

Here are links to the music used in this mix in the order in which they appear:

https://krysalisound.bandcamp.com/album/our-own-unknown

https://jogginghouse.bandcamp.com/album/weight

https://ambientologist.bandcamp.com/album/the-unavoidable-death-of-loneliness

https://projektrecords.bandcamp.com/album/neogene

https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/album/bullfinch

https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/album/1989

https://aliodie.bandcamp.com/album/distillation-of-time

https://wreathmusic.bandcamp.com/album/green-wall

https://andrewheath.bandcamp.com/album/quiet-noise

https://michaelscottdawson.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-listening

https://krysalisound.bandcamp.com/album/imaginary-taleshttps://polarseasrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/restful-spaces

https://benmcelroy.bandcamp.com/

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Austin Rockman - Illuma (Our Own Unknown on [Krysalisound 2022)
06:52 Jogging House - Shape (Weight on Seil 2022)
11:08 Sven Laux & Logic Moon - A Cascade Made of Stars (The Unavoidable Death of Loneliness on Ambientologist 2022)
15:50 Jarguna - Neogene (Neogene 2022)
20:48 headland - jellybone (bullfinch on Whitelabrecs 2022)
25:02 Jens Pauly - Ohne (1989 on Whitelabrecs 2022)
29:35 Alio Die - L'estasi Del Silenzio (Distillation Of Time on Hic Sunt Leones 2022)
35:15 wreath - Esjan (Green Wall on Stereoscenic 2022)
38:06 Andrew Heath - Particle Drift (Quiet Noise on Whitelabrecs 2022)
42:43 Michael Scott Dawson - Praise and Other (Music for Listening 2022)
45:00 Wil Bolton & Francis Gri - The relief in an empty row (Imaginary Tales on Krysalisound 2022)
51:09 Harry Towell & Guy Gelem - The Springs (Restful Spaces on Polar Seas 2022)
56:20 Ben McElroy - Bed Down in the Murk (How I Learnt To Disengage From The Pack on The Slow Music Movement 2022)
61:00 end

Sunday Apr 17, 2022

Severance - and alternative soundtrack

Sunday Apr 17, 2022

I love doing these alternative soundtrack mixes. I believe this is the fifth one I made. Sometimes I have the mix take the soundtrack in a different direction and sometimes I simply follow the vibe of the original with all new tracks. This mix takes the later approach.

For anyone not familiar with it, Severance is a series on AppleTV+, an eerie dystopia where people can sever their work life from their home life with a brain implant. Variations on the main theme are used throughout the show. It's just odd & sinister enough to leave you feeling off kilter. Here's the opening credit sequence:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmS3m0OG-Ug

And here's the series trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJYlG5I4rOk

I was happy to have stumbled upon a collection of Erik Satie piano pieces that I've had for 40 years and found that the Gnossienne tracks worked perfectly with the feel of the Severance theme. Another common sound in the show is ticking or pulsing so you hear that in the Hans Zimmer cut and The Nick Cave track as well as a few others.

Even if you don't watch the show I hope you enjoy the mix.

Cheers!

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00 Just a Human - The Basement (2022)
01:20 Hans Zimmer - The Mole (Dunkirk 2017)
02:58 Erik Satie - Gnossienne No. 1 (Early Piano Works, Vol. 1 1975)
08:31 Roedelius & Tim Story - Seeweed (4 Hands 2022)
12:19 Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross - Orphans of Krypton (Watchmen 2019)
14:11 Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - Red Ford (Kings OST 2018)
16:18 Piero Umiliani - Sole Percussioni (Continente Nero 1975)
18:50 Martin Glass - Okinawa Fantasia (The Pacific VIsions Of Martin Glass 2017)
20:10 Wilburn Burchette - Witch's Will (I Am The Center: Private Issue New Age In America, 1950-1990, 2013)
21:33 Eli Keszler - Realtor Creep (The Scary of Sixty-First 2021)
22:14 Angelo Badalamenti & David Lynch - Mysterioso #2 Film Version (Twin Peaks Archive 2011)
25:38 Nicholas Britell - Keepers of the Keys and Seals (If Beale Street Could Talk 2018)
27:20 Klaus Gesing, Björn Meyer, Samuel Rohrer - What We Leave (Amiira 2016)
32:08 Erik Satie - Gnossienne No. 4 (Early Piano Works, Vol. 1 1975)
35:02 Corey Fuller & Richard Skelton - Insula (Isolarii 2022)
38:19 Klaus Gesing, Björn Meyer, Samuel Rohrer - Flimmer (Amiira 2016)
40:20 Seefeel - Monastic (Succour [Redux] 2021)
46:08 Tale Of Us - Alla sera (Endless 2017)
52:09 Erik Satie - Gnossienne No. 3 (Early Piano Works, Vol. 1 1975)
56:33 end